I'm Even More Convinced By The Avengers: Secret Wars MCU Reboot Theory After The Latest Fantastic Four Movie Reveals

By Kai Young

Published Apr 15, 2025

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There has been a huge amount of speculation that the Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars are expected to be the MCU's biggest adventures yet, and they could establish a new status quo for the entire franchise.

Before Doomsday and Secret Wars hit theaters, however, Phase 6 will kick off with the Phase 6's Avengers movies and beyond.

Sue Storm Will Be Pregnant With Franklin Richards In The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Vanessa Kirby Will Debut As Sue Storm's Invisible Woman In The MCU's Phase 6

New footage from The Fantastic Four: First Steps shown to the audience at this year's CinemaCon confirmed that Vanessa Kirby's Sue Storm will be pregnant in the movie. This had previously been theorized, and the new footage sees Storm revealing that she is pregnant to her Fantastic Four family. In Marvel Comics, Sue Storm and Reed Richards have two children, Franklin and Valeria Richards, with the former being the older of the two. This suggests that Franklin Richards may be introduced to the MCU in The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

The teaser begins with the host of The Ted Gilbert Show talking about the story of the Fantastic Four, with people saying, “Thank you, Fantastic Four.” We have a couple shots from the first teaser.

Then, at a family dinner, Sue reveals she is pregnant.  “Are you the protectors of this world? Your planet is now marked for death,” an alien woman says to the Fantastic Four. Then all of the electronics, or at least the lights, in the world go out. A man asks Mister Fantastic, “Are we safe?” He responds, “I don’t know.” We see him try and fail to solve some kind of problem.

After a couple of action shots, it wraps up with Mister Fantastic saying, “We will protect you.” The final shot is of the Silver Surfer, a female version it seemed like - Shalla Bal?

This will mark the first time in the team's live-action history that Sue Storm has been pregnant and Storm and Reed Richards' kids have been mentioned or even introduced. Franklin Richards first appeared in Marvel Comics in 1968's Fantastic Four Annual #6, long before his sister, Valeria, who first appeared in 1999's Fantastic Four (Vol. 3) #15, so it makes sense that he would appear in live-action first. It will be interesting to explore this new dynamic for the Fantastic Four in live-action, but Franklin Richards' debut could set up a massive Avengers: Secret Wars storyline.

Franklin Richards Plays A Key Role In Rebooting Marvel Comics In 2015’s Secret Wars Event

The Marvel Universe Was Rebooted After The Comics' Secret Wars Event In 2015

Franklin Richards fixing the multiverse after Secret Wars in Marvel Comics

Franklin Richards' debut as a baby and perhaps young child in The Fantastic Four: First Steps would be hugely important for the rest of the MCU's Multiverse Saga, most notably as he plays a crucial role in the events of 2015's Secret Wars storyline in Marvel Comics. The Russo brothers recently confirmed both 1984's and 2015's Secret Wars events would inspire Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, which means Franklin Richards' role could be adapted faithfully. Initially, Franklin and the Future Foundation built life rafts that allowed some individuals to survive destructive incursions.

Franklin was killed during a hull breach of one of these life rafts, though he was brought back to life by his father after Reed Richards stole the Beyonders' power from Doctor Doom. In the aftermath of the Secret Wars event, Franklin Richards used his reality-warping and universe-creation abilities to help the Future Foundation rebuild the multiverse, establishing a new status quo and beginning a new continuity for the Marvel Universe. This means that Franklin Richards' debut in The Fantastic Four: First Steps could a wild MCU reboot theory.

First Steps’ New Addition Makes A Soft-Reboot After Avengers: Secret Wars More Likely

Rumors Suggest The MCU Will Reboot After The Multiverse Saga

Reed Richards' Mister Fantastic fighting Doctor Doom in Marvel Comics' Secret Wars

Back in October 2023, rumors emerged from Joanna Robinson's book, MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios, that suggested Kevin Feige had hinted at Avengers: Secret Wars acting as a soft-reboot for the MCU. Some of Marvel's audience have felt as though the franchise has grown too large to keep up with, so a soft-reboot could bring the MCU back to basics, reintroducing lost beloved characters and allowing new kinds of stories to be told. This would surely be a polarizing decision, but there is precedent in Marvel Comics for this to happen in the MCU.

We have a quote from Kevin Feige sort of implying that, like, Secret Wars will serve as a soft-reboot in which they can prune everything... That's not to use a Loki-ism. [They'll] prune everything that's not working and just keep what is [working], or bring back people you thought were gone forever.

Franklin Richards helped to facilitate the soft-reboot of the Marvel Comics continuity in the immediate aftermath of 2015's Secret Wars event, so it would make complete sense for this to also be the case in 2027's Avengers: Secret Wars. This would be a brilliant way to remove the weakest aspects of the MCU and rewrite history while also establishing new characters and recasting long-lost heroes. This prospect means Phase 6 will be the most transformative chapter of the MCU yet, and it can all be set-up in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which hits theaters in July 2025.