To hype up the arrival of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Marvel Studios and Disney+ are teaming up to do something that’s never happened before. The film’s blue carpet premiere event, which takes place on Monday, July 21st at 7 p.m. PST, will be livestreamed on the streaming service. According to The Wrap, Disney+ users will be treated to “an exclusive sneak peek” at First Steps, as well as interviews with various members of the cast and crew. Among the talent attending are stars Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, director Matt Shakman, and Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige.
For those who can’t watch the premiere live, the event will be available to be streamed in full as a replay afterwards. This marks a drastic shift from how Disney has handled past premieres. Usually, fans just get interview snippets shared by various media outlets in attendance. Now, they’ll get to see the whole thing as it unfolds.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is Marvel’s third and final big-screen release of the year. It’s positioned as a vital piece of the Multiverse Saga, introducing a new team of characters who will have a part to play in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. Marketing materials have placed an emphasis on the Fantastic Four’s impending showdown with Galactus, who is after Reed Richards and Sue Storm’s son Franklin.
First Steps is also Marvel’s last chance to salvage what’s been a rocky year at the box office so far. Both Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts* underperformed during their respective theatrical runs, sparking speculation that Marvel could implement some changes in their film strategy moving forward. After First Steps debuts, there will be an extended wait for the next Marvel Cinematic Universe film; Spider-Man: Brand New Day releases in July 2026.
Marvel and Disney breaking the mold for the Fantastic Four premiere indicates the studios are trying to make the reboot feel more like an “event” than some of the MCU’s other recent releases. They’re hoping to reach out to the Disney+ subscriber base and generate excitement for First Steps, which in turn will ideally have a positive impact on the film’s box office performance. This extra push can’t hurt; Fantastic Four is arriving on the heels of two massive box office hits: Jurassic World Rebirth and Superman. Getting a special sneak peek at First Steps might help encourage more casual audiences the film is worth checking out even after they’ve seen two other major tentpoles.
It’ll be interesting to see if this becomes the new norm for Marvel Studios premieres. If the Fantastic Four event is successful, it stands reason to believe something similar will happen with Spider-Man: Brand New Day (Sony probably wouldn’t mind the extra publicity as part of their partnership with Disney) and Avengers: Doomsday, with livestreams serving as the culmination of extensive marketing campaigns. Perhaps other Disney releases will also receive similar treatment. Star Wars fans would enjoy seeing the Mandalorian & Grogu red carpet to celebrate that franchise’s return to the big screen.
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