Clocking in at under two hours, The Fantastic Four is one of the MCU's shorter entries — although, as fans are well aware, this was not originally the case. Entire sequences were shot and then removed from the movie's final edit, most of which were focused on the team's backstory and early years.

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).