Marvel’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps is gearing up for its highly anticipated release this summer, and it’s only a matter of time before tickets go on sale. Before those pre-orders become available, theaters need to book showtimes, which means they need to know how long the film is. First Steps has a new run time, and it’s a little shorter than the figure that was initially reported. The movie’s landing page on the official AMC Theatres website has been updated to indicate that it is 2 hours, 10 minutes (130 minutes) long.
Despite this change, First Steps remains the longest Fantastic Four feature film. The Tim Story-directed movies from the mid-2000s ran for 106 minutes and 92 minutes, while 2015’s reboot from director Josh Trank was 100 minutes. First Steps is also the longest Marvel Cinematic Universe installment released this year. Thunderbolts* ran for 127 minutes and Captain America: Brave New World was 119 minutes.
Back in February, the website for the UK-based theater chain Odeon claimed The Fantastic Four: First Steps would be 140 minutes. While it’s possible this figure could change again at some point over the next couple of months, it’s reasonable to assume AMC has received new information as the chain prepares for the film’s release this summer.
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The new First Steps run time comes out in the midst of Disney/Marvel putting together a big marketing push for the summer tentpole. In addition to releasing a new trailer that offered fans a look at the MCU’s Silver Surfer, the studio has looked to raise awareness by airing ads highlighting the cast’s chemistry during ESPN’s coverage of the 2025 NBA playoffs.
It’s unclear why the First Steps run time is different now than it was a few months ago. One possibility is that the original figure from Odeon was merely a placeholder. Another is that different chains might have received different information about the film. Perhaps at one point, The Fantastic Four: First Steps was going to be a bit longer before some footage was left on the cutting room floor. Every film has deleted scenes, so the run time could have fluctuated as the movie made its way through the editing process.
Some might be surprised that The Fantastic Four: First Steps is slightly shorter than initially believed. As the kickoff to the MCU’s Phase 6, the film has a lot on its plate, introducing viewers to a new set of characters and an entirely different setting (First Steps takes place in a 1960s-inspired retro-futuristic reality). The Fantastic Four are set to be key figures in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, so First Steps needs all the time it needs to properly flesh everything out and get audiences acclimated with the new take on Marvel’s First Family. But arguably what’s even more important is how First Steps uses its time. Whether it’s 130 minutes or 140 minutes, what matters most is entertaining viewers with a well-paced story. As long as First Steps is that, Marvel fans won’t care about missing an extra 10 minutes.
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