SPOILER ALERT: This post contains details about The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
Director Matt Shakman is explaining why The Fantastic Four: First Steps didn’t give continuity to the post-credits scene in Thunderbolts from earlier this year.
The Marvel Studios film starring Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach is part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but not in the same timeline as the other films. Earth-616 is the primary universe where most of the storylines take place, whereas First Steps takes place in Earth-828.
At the end of Thunderbolts earlier this year, audiences were teased with the arrival of the Fantastic Four to Earth-616, but this was not referenced in the latest Marvel film, and Shakman is revealing why.
“No, no, no, because the Thunderbolts* end credit scene was also created, you know, relatively late in my process too, so that was not something that I was familiar with because it hadn’t been created at the time that I was working on my script, you know?” the filmmaker told CinemaBlend.
He continued, “I often use the metaphor of it’s, you know, like a relay race, right? You pass the baton, you run your section of it as hard and fast as you can, do the best you can with your version of Fantastic Four – Earth 828, this world – and then you pass the baton, in this case to the Russo brothers.”
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Although The Fantastic Four: First Steps didn’t tease their arrival in the main universe, Shakman did hint at where the MCU is taking the superheroes next. In an end-credits scene, Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom shows up and engages with Franklin Richards, the son of Sue Storm (Kirby) and Reed Richards (Pascal).
The continuation to this storyline will play out in Avengers: Doomsday, which is set to be released on December 18, 2026.
The post Matt Shakman On Why ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Didn’t Give Continuity To ‘Thunderbolts’ Post-Credits Scene appeared first on Deadline.
