Marvel’s FANTASTIC FOUR Is Channeling 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY with 14-Foot Miniatures and Less Green Screen
Marvel’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps is looking like a wild cosmic adventure with a visual retro-futuristic 1960s vibe that I’m loving.
Director Matt Shakman is steering the franchise reboot with a surprising creative north star… Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, and that influence is showing up in ways we don’t usually see in modern superhero movies. Like 14-foot practical miniatures and a sharp pullback from green screen overload.
During a set visit attended by Collider, Shakman revealed that he’s fully embracing tactile filmmaking for Marvel’s Phase 6 kickoff, grounding the film’s alternate-history 1960s setting with real sets, in-camera effects, and retro-futurist design. He said:
“It’s real for me as a filmmaker, it’s real for the actors. I think the audience loves it. We’re trying to go on location as much as we can. We’re building real sets. We’re depending less and less on blue screen, green screen.”
That’s great to hear! A lot of the CGI in Marvel films in recent years hasn’t been that good, so this is a great way to go! Shakman continued.:
“The movie is set in the ‘60s, and so a lot of our inspiration is what Stanley Kubrick did in the 60s.”
Kubrick, of course, set the bar for futuristic visual storytelling with 2001: A Space Odyssey, using groundbreaking miniature work, meticulously crafted set designs, and a level of realism that still holds up today.
The crew has constructed a massive 14-foot miniature of The Excelsior, the Fantastic Four’s spaceship, which will be used in filming. Shakman explained:
“The more you can make things with your hands and see things with your eyes, I think the more people will believe it when they see it on the screen,”
This kind of approach could make Fantastic Four a visual standout in the MCU. It’s already turning heads with its clean, retro utopian aesthetic. Throw in this kind of Kubrickian craftsmanship, and you’ve got something that feels more timeless than trend-chasing.
“Set against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps introduces Marvel’s First Family — Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Johnny Storm/Human Torch and Ben Grimm/The Thing as they face their most daunting challenge yet.
“Forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, they must defend Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer. And if Galactus’ plan to devour the entire planet and everyone on it weren’t bad enough, it suddenly gets very personal.”
Pedro Pascal leads as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, alongside Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm), Joseph Quinn (Johnny Storm), and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Ben Grimm). Fantastic Four will also introduce Ralph Ineson as Galactus, and Julia Garner as a “Shalla-Bal version” of the Silver Surfer.
If this creative team really pulls off what they’re aiming for, we might be looking at one of Marvel’s most stylistically daring projects yet.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps hits theaters July 25th.