With details about The Fantastic Four: First Steps beginning to find their way onto the internet, fans have had a first look at Franklin Richards – and frankly, it’s terrified them.
We’ve still got two months to go until the new Marvel movie hits cinemas, officially being released on July 25. However, that hasn’t stopped alleged information from trickling out on socials, including a potential post-credits scene leak following an LA test screening.
With filming for Avengers: Doomsday now taking place, the spotlight has been taken off spoilers – but that hasn’t stopped new legitimate information from being found out.
One such reveal is how Franklin Richards is set to look in the new Marvel movie, and his “terrifying” appearance means one huge problem could soon become a reality.
“Terrifying” Franklin Richards model sparks Fantastic Four CGI concerns
A first-look model of Franklin Richards has debuted at CCXPMX25, with his “terrifying” look getting fans concerned that his baby form will be a CGI job.
While we’ve not officially seen any version of him in the film’s trailers or posters, the sculpture shows him as a toddler, with a full blonde head of hair and kitted out in the classic family blue suit.
“I hope they use a real baby, the sculpture looks terrifying!!” one fan replied to the snap, with a second weighing in, “It better not be a terrible CGI baby…”
“Can you imagine if the baby was CGI in the movie, it’d look like that,” a third added.
While we’ve got a model of what he could eventually look like, we still don’t know how Franklin will appear in the new movie – or if he even will at all. Judging by the comics, we can expect to see him as a newborn, with Sue hinting at her pregnancy in the official trailer.
We also know Franklin is set to be seen again in Secret Wars, with the comics aging him around 10-13. If this is the case in the movies, we could see him being aged up, but we’re a few years away from knowing for sure.
Who is Franklin Richards?
If you haven’t already guessed, Franklin Richards is the baby of Sue Storm (Invisible Woman) and Reed Richards (Mister Fantastic). This would make Johnny Storm (The Human Torch) and Ben Grimm (The Thing) his de facto uncles.
In the comics, Franklin wanted to enjoy life as a normal kid without taking on all the responsibilities that came with his powers. It was originally thought he used his god-like abilities to help restore the Multiverse following its collapse due to the incursion crisis, which seemingly depleted his powers.
However, we later learn this isn’t the case. Instead, he secretly altered reality to pretend to be depowered after taking a stand against the Cormorant, making everyone (including himself) believe he was a depowered human mutate all along.
We’re a long way off from exploring any of this, though. The cosmic radiation that gave Reed and Sue their superhuman powers obviously affected their baby too, with Reed and co needing to find the Cosmic Control Rod wielded by Annihilus in order to save Sue and her unborn baby. Whether this will be a storyline explored in the movie we don’t yet know.
Agatha Harkness acted as Franklin’s nanny and protector throughout his early years, meaning we could see a return to the MCU from her following her seeming death in Agatha All Along.
Fantastic Four: First Steps releases in cinemas on July 25. In the meantime, check out our ranking of the MCU movies and our list of the best superhero movies ever made.
