SDCC Coverage sponsored by Mad Cave
By Sean Manning
With the opening of the first step in the theatre literally in the middle of Fantastic Four: San Diego Comic-Con, it’s no surprise that Marvel has dedicated several panels to hype the brand new entry in the film’s universe. On Saturday afternoon, Editor-in-Chief CB Severski held a panel that dealt directly with the screen process, along with panelist Tom Breboat, executive editor of the panelist and editor of the Fantastic Four. Jonathan Hickman, former Fantastic for Writer, is currently writing The Ultimate Spider-Man. Brian Minoring, head of visual development, Marvel Studios. Grant Curtis is a Marvel Studios executive for production and development.
The panelists began by discussing the clear influence of Jack Kirby in their design choices, especially for Harvey and Things. Meinerding said in Kirby’s own interpretation of Ben Grimm, “He’s been working on it for a long time,” and the Marvel Studios team enjoyed making this vision come true.
“One of the things we saw is that Thing’s Brow is so unique to filming cinematically,” Curtis said. He added that the crew must do a lot of tests to make it look realistic and enable actor Evon Moss Bachalach to use all range of facial expressions.
“You really get Ebon’s performance through his eyes,” Curtis said.
Cebulski said that Meinerding has built a model for reference, including “huge” clothing and shoes, despite the rocky appearance of the objects being primarily done through CGI. Meinerding said these physical models will help you see “how the costumes are covered on those rocks.”
Curtis said he was first questioned about these physical models, especially when Meinerding wanted to create physical costumes for Galactus rather than trusting CGI. “The thing I love about being a producer is because when I’m wrong, when I’m wrong, something cool happens,” Curtis said.
Looking back at his start in the Fantastic Four, Hickman was not a fan before being hired to write the series, but he admitted reading the characters and finding out what makes a clicking noise. Severski recalled that when Hickman first attended one of Marvel’s writing retreats, when editors and writers knocked out ideas for the next 18 months or so stories, Hickman “pulls out a stack of Moleskine and says that it’s basically the beginning of my eight-year plan here.” This led to then-editor Joe Quesada becoming skeptical of Hickman’s suitability for the Fantastic Four, which he told Breboat about after the meeting. But after seeing Hickman’s first problem, he said, “He got it right away.”
Curtis also states that “solving everything” the first arc, along with “Advent of Galactus” and the Fantastic Four #1, as inspiration for the first step. “The Fantastic Four has been popular for over 60 years and this is the story that started it all.”
Curtis said of the decision to use the Silla-Bal version of Silver Surfer rather than the more famous Norrin Radd, “it really came down to the story,” and Shalla-Bal fitted well with the theme of the family’s first step.
Julia Garner from “Fantastic Four: First Step” (Disney)
Minording also discussed the design of the characters’ “discolored mirrors.” Curtis noted that lighting “changes her appearance” depending on the angle and what she reflects. “I saw her on Earth, I saw her in Times Square, I saw her on a ship” changes the appearance of the surfer.
After showing videos of Marvel’s publishing talent, including Dan Slot, Ryan North and Chip Zudalski, who visit the London set of Fantastic Four, the first step, exploring Baxter’s buildings and wandering around with Harvey, Curtis said he has another confidence in the premiere where Jack Kilby’s grandfather said he loves the film.
Keep an eye out for more coverage from SDCC ’25.
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SDCC Coverage sponsored by Mad Cave
