Ebon Moss-Bachrach, who has appeared in Andor and The Bear, will play Ben Grimm, also known as The Thing, in Marvel Studios’ upcoming film, The Fantastic Four: First Steps. He was recently on Jimmy Kimmel Live! where he talked about his new role.
Moss-Bachrach mentioned that they are using motion capture technology with help from Andy Serkis and his company, The Imaginarium, which provided real-time feedback while filming. This process involved wearing a motion-capture suit and using cameras to capture small details for the character’s digital version.
While he kept quiet about the plot, Moss-Bachrach did respond to questions about Robert Downey Jr. possibly playing Doctor Doom, joking that he couldn’t say much due to media training. He did say that he tried to include The Thing’s famous line, “It’s Clobberin’ Time,” in the movie, but it’s not confirmed if it will make the final cut.
Moss-Bachrach admitted, “I slipped it in there a couple of times. We’ll see what happens. I don’t have final cut on this one, so we’ll see.”
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The Fantastic Four: First Steps is set in a retro-futuristic world inspired by the 1960s. The cast includes Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/Human Torch, Ralph Ineson as Galactus, and Julia Garner as Silver Surfer. There are also supporting roles from Paul Walter Hauser, John Malkovich, and Natasha Lyonne.
The screenplay was written by Josh Friedman (co-writer of “Avatar: The Way of Water”) and Cam Squires (from “WandaVision”), with additional work by Eric Pearson (from “Black Widow”). The film is directed by Matt Shakman. The story focuses on the Fantastic Four trying to balance being heroes with their family life while facing the threat of Galactus to Earth. The movie is set to come out in theaters on July 25, 2025, and was filmed at Pinewood Studios.
