According to Shakman, the alternate universe is to get around the problem of the Fantastic Four being absent during Thanos’s snap. The Avengers and other heroes joined forces in the MCU’s Earth-616 to battle the Mad Titan, but there was no Ben Grimm, Reed Richards, Sue Storm or Johnny Storm to be found. Clearly a team as well known and powerful as the Fantastic Four would have joined the fight, and their absence in the main timeline would have been obvious.
Marvel sidesteps this problem altogether by setting First Steps in Earth-828, a retro-futuristic universe modelled after the 1960s. “We didn’t want them to be on this Earth with all the other Marvel characters because where were they when Thanos came? They would have helped out,” Shakman says. The Fantastic Four’s introduction now makes sense and doesn’t retcon the existing MCU history.
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The alternate universe gives The Fantastic Four: First Steps a unique style and tone, as well as solves the continuity problems. The film goes full retro-futurism, 1960s style, and brings back the fun of the Space Race era when Stan Lee and Jack Kirby first introduced the team in 1961. Shakman calls this “part what you know from the 1960s, but part what you’ve never seen before”. It fits with the comic book origins of the Fantastic Four, their daredevil scientist vibe.
Unlike the previous Fantastic Four movies which were set in modern times, this alternate universe, with no other MCU heroes, allows the Fantastic Four to be the only famous superheroes in their world, just like the Beatles in the comics and the trailers for the movie.
In the alternate universe the Fantastic Four are set up for their eventual inclusion in the larger MCU, particularly in the next Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. Because Earth-828 is close to other realities like the Illuminati’s Earth-838 from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the Fantastic Four are in a good position for smooth crossovers as the Multiverse Saga has been building towards events where universes collide.
According to theories their planet could be destroyed by Galactus or an invasion and the crew would have to take refuge in Earth-616 which would tie into the Secret Wars plot where universes unite. Their absence from previous MCU events is explained by this and also raises hopes for their inclusion in the big finale of the Multiverse Saga.
