Phase Six of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is officially here. In just a few short days, The Fantastic Four: First Steps will be in theaters around the world, and Marvel’s first family will finally be home.

Friends From Work will be there every step of the way to break down the biggest and most important week of the year for Marvel Studios. If everything goes according to plan, Kyle and Robby will see the movie within the next 24 hours. Then the mics will turn on and they’ll record all of their initial reactions so that a podcast can be ready for release as soon as public showings begin on Thursday. By that time, our friendly neighborhood podcast hosts will be on their way to San Diego Comic-Con for the first time ever! It’s going to be a jam-packed week.

But before all of that, we need to stop by…

THE WATERCOOLER

THIS WEEK IN THE MCU

• For the first time in a long time, Kevin Feige sat down for a lengthy interview with several media outlets. Feige discussed everything from Fantastic Four to Blade to where the Multiverse Saga went wrong to what’s next. Check out Variety to learn why you shouldn’t expect to see Miles Morales in the MCU any time soon, The Hollywood Reporter to find out why Feige thinks the “Marvel method” still works, and Deadline to learn how much annual output to expect from the studio moving forward. Head over to Collider for updates on Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Comicbook for confirmation that Jake Schreier will direct the first Marvel Studios X-Men movie, and back to Variety to find out Feige’s post-Secret Wars plan.

• Feige also revealed that Michael Waldron has been assisting Stephen McFeely with the script for Avengers: Doomsday.

• The Fantastic Four: First Steps world premiere is tomorrow at 10 pm ET/7 pm PT, and you can join the cast and crew on the blue carpet via Disney+ livestream! The social media embargo was moved up to last Friday after the first critic screenings began, and many of the initial reactions to the movie have been positive!

• Arian Moayed (Succession) will reprise his role as DODC agent Cleary in December’s Wonder Man series per Deadline. According to the report, Moayed will “feature prominently” in the show. Moayed first played the role in Spider-Man: No Way Home and returned for the Ms. Marvel Disney+ show.

• The entire soundtrack for The Fantastic Four: First Steps is now available digitally everywhere.

• In an exclusive interview with Variety, director Matt Shakman confirmed that John Malkovich had been set to play “Red Ghost” in the movie, but unfortunately, his role ended up on the cutting room floor.

• Yet another Fantastic Four featurette was released last week, showing off the movie’s practical sets, miniatures, and Galactus.

BEYOND THE MULTIVERSE

• The most anticipated show of 2025, Stranger Things 5, released its first full-length trailer last week. The final season of the show releases across three dates between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve.

• Superman continues to soar above the competition at the box office, racking up another $57+ million domestically, pushing its total to $235 million. If not for the lukewarm reception overseas, Superman would have had a chance to be the highest-grossing Superman movie of all time.

TRUE BELIEVERS RUMOR OF THE WEEK

• According to various reports, the trailer for Marvel Zombies is ready to be released, but barring a surprise, I wouldn’t expect it soon. A full trailer for Eyes of Wakanda should be the next trailer released, and a teaser for Wonder Man is another possibility.

I hope everyone has a great week and gets a chance to see The Fantastic Four: First Steps on opening weekend. Make sure you are subscribed to Friends From Work wherever you get your podcasts, and we would love to see you jump in over on Discord, if you haven’t already. There is no better time than now to share your thoughts on the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe.

See you on the other side of Fantastic Four!

-Greg