When Does the Film "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" (2025) Take Place?
"The Fantastic Four: First Steps" is a superhero film written by Josh Friedman with Jeff Kaplan, Ian Springer, Kat Wood, Eric Pearson, and Peter Cameron [adapting "The Fantastic Four" #48-#50 (1965-1966) by Stan Lee with Jack Kirby as well as "The Fantastic Four" annual #6 (1968) by Stan Lee] that released July 25th, 2025. So when is "First Steps" set?
It takes place on an alternate timeline of the fictional Marvel Cinematic Universe in the years:
We know this because throughout the movie, in the background of several shots in Times Square, a movie palace can be seen with a huge sign reading "RKO Palace". Originally a vaudeville stage theater that opened on March 24th, 1913, this real-world building became the RKO Palace Theater in July of 1932 AD when it was bought by RKO Pictures and began screening films after/instead of live vaudeville shows. In the summer of 1965 AD, the theater was purchased again and became a Broadway stage theater on January 29th, 1966 AD. So it is probably after July of 1932 AD but before January of 1966 AD.
1964 AD - 1965 AD
We know this because throughout the movie, in the background of several shots in Times Square, a movie palace can be seen with a huge sign reading "RKO Palace". Originally a vaudeville stage theater that opened on March 24th, 1913, this real-world building became the RKO Palace Theater in July of 1932 AD when it was bought by RKO Pictures and began screening films after/instead of live vaudeville shows. In the summer of 1965 AD, the theater was purchased again and became a Broadway stage theater on January 29th, 1966 AD. So it is probably after July of 1932 AD but before January of 1966 AD.
More specifically, very early on as a television program within the fictional world (diegesis) is being broadcast a title card representing the live transmission reads "SPECIAL abc PRESENTATION COPYRIGHT MCMLXIV BY ABC WESTINGHOUSE PRODUCTIONS". Roman numerals were used as was common in film and television copyright markers for many years. "MCMLXIV" represents the number 1,964 for the year 1964 AD. While sometimes these copyright marks appear on a product or advertisement in the year before or the year after the year the product or advertisement actually appears, most often they correspond exactly to when the thing comes out. So it might be 1963 AD or 1965 AD but is most likely 1964 AD for this first part of the story.
Since, during the television program, there is a magazine cover that specifically says, "CELEBRATING 4 YEARS OF THE FANTASTIC FOUR" around the same time the copyright date is shown but, at the end, an announcement of 5 years of the Fantastic Four is made, we know about 1 year passes during the main action. So the main action ends in 1965 AD.
5 - 4 = 1
and
1964 + 1 = 1965.
Additionally, there is an epilogue in the form of an after-credits scene which begins with a relative time setting title card declaring it "FOUR YEARS LATER" making it now 1969 AD.
1965 + 4 = 1969.
It is a midway chronological film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline (a chronologically early film to feature the Fantastic Four) and it can be watched at its timeline point, after "Fantastic Four" (2005), after "Fantastic Four" (2015), or (almost) entirely separately.
