The Fantastic Four: First Steps - Why Reed Richards appears powerless in the teaser, theory explored

The Fantastic Four: First Steps saw Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn) in blazes, Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby) almost getting invisible, and Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) donning a hat while staring at his rocky look into a glass. But Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal) wasn't seen stretching his body anywhere in the recent teaser and that has birthed a lot of theories among the fans.

All the film's lead cast joined the fans before the teaser opened, which took back to the 60s. We got the Baxter Building, which Marvel Cinematic Universe's first family is likely to be using as sort of their headquarters it.

We got the big baddie Galactus, whom The Green Knight's (2021) Ralph Ineson will be voicing. Silver Surfer is in the movie too, but like Richards' missing power, the character wasn't there. John Malkovich was confirmed to be in the movie but other than his Red Ghost-like looks, we don't know anything about it.

A lot of questions are there concerning the movie, but we will look at the theories that could explain why Reed was as plain as a normal human being in the film.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps team might still be working on VFX

Let's begin with the most obvious theory of all, fans believe that the studio is still working on the CGI. The question has popped up hundreds of times on the social media platform Reddit and this remains the most obvious answer to it. And this one user made it clear.

The fact that fans are talking about the absence of Reed Richards' powers in The Fantastic Four: First Steps trailer comes as some theories believe that he might not have any powers yet and might get them later.

But then most of the fans remain ardent in their belief that it is indeed the VFX issue and Reed Richards does possess his stretching abilities.

From what we know, The Fantastic Four: First Steps isn't going to be an origin story; just a few instances of it will be there. It will mainly revolve around the plot that goes like this:

Set against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, Marvel Studios’ 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' introduces Marvel’s First Family—Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Johnny Storm/Human Torch and Ben Grimm/The Thing as they face their most daunting challenge yet.

That's an official synopsis from Marvel, by the way. So yeah, we can say that Reed Richards indeed has those powers; it's likely to be the CGI that needed some work.

This is perhaps the best theory surrounding Reed's absent powers one can find on the internet

Reed Richards is often considered the smartest man on earth and given that events are happening in a different timeline, he is the one for this earth. That said, another fan has this fantastic theory that explains why the character didn't end up showcasing his powers. According to this one, he wants to solve everything using his natural talent rather than his enhanced abilities.

He is like Dominic Toretto of Marvel; for him, the family comes first. The Pedro Pascal version in The Fantastic Four: First Steps is no stranger. We cannot say for sure why his powers didn't end up in the first look, but we can say for sure that he is the driving force of the family.

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Also Read: Who is playing Silver Surfer in Fantastic Four: First Steps?