Having been consistently building for the last 17 years, the Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline is quite complicated… and the arrival of The Fantastic Four: First Steps doesn’t exactly make things much clearer. Not only is the film set in a separate reality from the main continuity (Earth-828 vs. Earth-616), but it’s also notably a period movie. Acknowledging this (particularly the latter), you may find yourself a bit confused about how everything lines up –especially with the big crossover planned in the upcoming Marvel movie Avengers: Doomsday – but we’re here to save you from head scratching activities with some clarity via director Matt Shakman.
Earlier this month, CinemaBlend’s Jeff McCobb sat down with the filmmaker during the Los Angeles press day for Fantastic Four: First Steps (as captured in the video at the top of this article), and one of the subjects discussed was new 2025 blockbuster’s complicated fit into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Thankfully, Shakman provided answers about both the when and the how of the whole thing.
Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Setting Is “Purposefully Vague,” But Filmmakers Did Focus On A Particular Year
teased in the post-credits scene of Thunderbolts*), does that mean that they are going to be doing some time traveling? According to Matt Shakman, the answer is no.
When you’re grappling with the concept of infinite realities, that means that there are infinite realities that are perfectly in sync with their timelines, but there are also infinite realities that are totally out of sync. That seems to be the case here: the 1960s of Earth-828 is unfurling parallel the 2020s of Earth-616. Or as Matt Shakman put it:
In terms of your question, though, in their version of the world, they’re in the 60s, but different universes are of different ages, right? And so when they cross over, they won’t be time traveling.
Is it still a bit complicated and geeky? Absolutely. But hopefully this clarifies things a bit.
Featuring the talents of Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Paul Walter Hauser, Julia Garner and Ralph Ineson, Fantastic Four: First Steps is playing in theaters now, and as far as its connection to the larger MCU goes, stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for all of the latest big updates about Avengers: Doomsday, which is now in production and is scheduled to arrive in theaters on December 18, 2026.