It may be tough to accept, but the first theatrically released live-action “Fantastic Four” film will be two decades old when “Fantastic Four: First Steps” hits theaters. It was the first time audiences got a look at the Fantastic Four in the flesh, with stretchy team leader Mr. Fantastic being played by Ioan Gruffudd. Though the film feels today like a relic of a different era — because it is — but while it has a decidedly goofy feel to it, most fans responded warmly to Gruffudd’s portrayal of Reed Richards as a genius, but sometimes clueless, scientist.

“Fantastic Four” and its sequel, “Rise of the Silver Surfer,” were generally accepted by fans, but they hardly did the team justice in depicting them as the intrepid explorers and stalwart heroes that they’ve always been in the comics. As for the failed 2015 reboot, well — the less said the better. Miles Teller’s performance as a younger, more complicated Reed Richards was mostly panned by critics and audiences, just like the film as a whole. Thankfully, the third time appears to be the charm for the first “Fantastic Four” film set in the MCU, “Fantastic Four: First Steps.”

For this latest reboot, Marvel cast “The Mandalorian” and “The Last of Us” star Pedro Pascal as Reed, and while this has proven divisive in some circles, his portrayal as a humble scientist and family man is already striking a chord with longtime fans. Before you hit the theater, though, be sure to check out our Reed Richards explainer, which will get you up to speed ahead of “First Steps.”

A husband, a father, and a superhero with super-stretchy powers, younger audiences might be forgiven for thinking that Mr. Fantastic and the Fantastic Four is just a rip-off of Mr. Incredible and Pixar’s “The Incredibles.” But anyone over the age of 15 probably knows that the Pixar film was an homage to Marvel’s First Family, which makes it doubly ironic that critics are calling “Fantastic Four: First Steps” a live-action version of “The Incredibles.”

Still, even if Reed Richards seems like a mix of Mr. and Mrs. Incredible, he’s something very different, too. In the comics, Richards is, in fact, one of the Marvel Universe’s most towering intellects, even more so than the likes of Tony Stark and Bruce Banner. And that’s something that “First Steps” appears to be leaning into, with Reed portrayed much less as an intrepid adventurer as he is a scientist and intellectual whose unexpected acquisition of alien-like powers makes him a reluctant superhero.

In “First Steps,” we’ll see Reed go from husband to father, from explorer to hero, and from scientist to humanity’s savior. As leader of the only group of heroes who have a chance to stop the cosmic devourer, Galactus, Reed will have to make difficult choices. And when Galactus brings the life of Reed and Sue’s son, Franklin Richards, into the equation, he’ll have to balance the entire planet vs. the life of his child.