Let’s be real for a second. We’ve been burned before. Every time a new Marvel movie gets announced, specifically when it involves Marvel's First Family, there’s this collective holding of breath. We remember the rubber suit from 2005. We definitely remember the... whatever that was in 2015. But The Thing in The Fantastic Four: First Steps is doing something fundamentally different, and honestly, it’s about time.
The internet had a meltdown when those first set photos leaked. You probably saw them: a massive, orange, craggy silhouette standing in the middle of a retro-futuristic New York set. People started shouting "Practical! He’s practical!" while others screamed "It's just a lighting reference!"
The truth? It’s both. And neither.
Why Ebon Moss-Bachrach is the Ben Grimm we actually need
Casting Ebon Moss-Bachrach was a stroke of genius. If you’ve seen him as Richie in The Bear, you know he can do "tough guy with a shattered heart" better than almost anyone working today. Ben Grimm isn't just a brawler. He’s a tragic figure. He’s a guy who looked in the mirror and didn’t recognize himself anymore.
Ebon’s version of the character is, in his own words, "more socially evolved" than Richie.
He’s the pilot. The muscle. The heart. In First Steps, which hit theaters in July 2025, we finally see a version of Ben that feels like he actually exists in 3D space. He’s not just a guy in a suit, and he’s not a weightless CGI blob. The production used a hybrid approach that Marvel hasn't really leaned into this hard since the early days of the MCU.
They built a tangible, full-scale "body" for the actors to interact with on set.
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This is huge. When Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm) or Pedro Pascal (Reed Richards) looks at Ben, they aren't looking at a tennis ball on a stick. They’re looking at a 500-pound rock monster. It changes the eye lines. It changes the way light bounces off their faces. It makes the performance human.
The tech behind the orange rocks
Ebon spent his time in a motion-capture suit, but not the old-school kind. He worked with Andy Serkis’s company, The Imaginarium. They used something called the "Magic Mirror," which basically allowed Ebon to see a low-res version of The Thing moving in real-time as he moved.
He didn't just play the voice. He played the physics.
- The suit: A physical reference model used on set for lighting and actor interaction.
- The performance: Full motion-capture with head-mounted cameras to catch every twitch of Ebon's eyes.
- The finish: High-end VFX that layered the "rock" texture over the physical performance.
It isn't perfect, though. Some fans pointed out that in a few scenes—specifically one where Ben is talking to Natasha Lyonne’s character, Rachel Rozman—the lighting felt a bit "pasted on." But compared to the weightless Thing from previous reboots? This is a massive leap forward.
Breaking the 1960s myth
One of the biggest misconceptions about The Fantastic Four: First Steps is that it’s a period piece. It’s not. Well, not exactly.
Director Matt Shakman went for a "retro-futuristic" vibe. It’s Earth-828. It’s a world where flying cars and faster-than-light travel exist in the 1960s, but the computers still look like they belong in a high school AV club. This setting is vital for The Thing. In this universe, the Fantastic Four are celebrities from day one. Ben isn't hiding in a sewer; he’s a public figure.
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That fame adds a layer of "sad clown" energy to Ben Grimm. He’s a hero, sure. He’s also a freak show.
The movie spends a lot of time on the relationship between Ben and Reed. It’s a "working-class drama" hidden inside a space god movie. While Galactus (played by the terrifyingly bass-voiced Ralph Ineson) is trying to eat the world, Ben is just trying to figure out if he can still be a "guy."
What really happened with the "Clobberin' Time" line?
There was a lot of talk about whether the iconic catchphrase would feel cheesy in a modern movie. Ebon actually admitted he "slipped it in there a couple of times" during filming, but he wasn't sure if it would make the final cut.
It did. And it worked because they didn't treat it like a joke.
In the film, when Ben finally drops the line, it’s not a quip. It’s a release of tension. It’s a moment of peak "ever-lovin' blue-eyed Thing" energy that feels earned after two hours of seeing him struggle with his new body.
The elephant in the room: The Silver Surfer and Galactus
We can't talk about Ben without mentioning the stakes. This isn't a small origin story. The team faces Shalla-Bal (Julia Garner), a female version of the Silver Surfer who acts as the Herald of Galactus.
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The plot gets weirdly personal.
Galactus doesn't just want to eat Earth; he wants Reed and Sue’s son, Franklin. This sets up a dynamic where Ben has to be the protector of the family unit. He’s the uncle who will literally go toe-to-toe with a space god to keep a kid safe.
If you're wondering how the movie holds up now that it's out on Disney+, the consensus is pretty clear. It’s the most "comic-booky" Marvel movie in years. It’s bright, it’s weird, and it focuses on the family first.
How to spot the best "Thing" moments
If you're re-watching or heading into it for the first time, keep an eye on these specifics:
- The footsteps: Listen to the sound design. The foley team made sure every step Ben takes sounds like literal tons of weight shifting. It’s subtle but effective.
- The eyes: Pay attention to the blue eyes. They kept Ebon's actual eye movements. It’s where the vulnerability lives.
- The texture: Look at the way the "rocks" move. They don't stretch like skin; they slide over each other like tectonic plates.
Marvel took a huge risk by not doing a standard origin. They just threw us into the deep end of Earth-828. It paid off because they trusted the audience to understand Ben Grimm's pain without a forty-minute backstory of him looking at his hands in a hospital bed.
The Thing in The Fantastic Four: First Steps isn't just a special effect. He’s a character. And for the first time in cinematic history, he actually looks and feels like the guy Jack Kirby drew back in 1961.
If you’re catching up on the MCU Phase 6, make sure to watch the "1994 Cameos" featurette on Disney+. It shows how the 2025 production paid homage to the unreleased Roger Corman film, including some very deep-cut Easter eggs that explain why Ben’s design has those specific "brow" ridges. It’s a love letter to the fans who have been waiting decades for a version of The Thing that doesn't just look like orange clay.
Check the special features for the "Magic Mirror" breakdown to see Ebon Moss-Bachrach actually performing the motion capture—it’s the best way to see how much of the character is real acting versus computer magic.