Face front, True Believers, because the first trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps has arrived. We now have our first look at Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Marvels First Family, as well as robot companion HERBIE and a better sense of the retro-futurism-inspired art design. The trailer strikes the right tone for this property and feels far different from most other MCU projects. While were excited for everything the movie has in store when it arrives on July 25, 2025, the one character who (literally) stands above the rest is Galactus, the devourer of worlds.We only get a glimpse of him in the trailer, but Galactus already looks to be far closer to his comics self than the last attempt in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Lets take a look at why The Fantastic Four: First Steps seems poised to finally do justice to this iconic Marvel character.The Fantastic Four: First Steps seems poised to finally do justice to this iconic Marvel character.Who Is The Devourer of Worlds? Galactus ExplainedIn case youre not familiar with Galactus, lets go over his history in the comics. Galactus is a cosmic entity in the Marvel mythos first created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in Fantastic Four #48. Galactus started his life as Galan, a mortal being and the only survivor of the previous universe before the Big Bang that created our own. Galan survived by being merged with the sentience of his universe, recreating him as the first being of the new one. Now called Galactus, he became a giant figure who would roam the cosmos, needing to consume life-bearing planets in order to survive. Galactus would later take on a number of heralds who sought out planets for him, the most famous of which is the Silver Surfer.PlayIn the first confrontation between Galactus and the Fantastic Four, the super team was warned of Galactus arrival by the Watcher, who broke his oath of non-interference to try to save Earth from being consumed. The heroes battled the Silver Surfer, but failed to stop him from signaling his master, who arrived shortly afterwards to eat the planet. Even though the FF managed to convince the Surfer to turn against Galactus, the Human Torch still had to travel into Galactus worldship, Taa II, and retrieve the Ultimate Nullifier, one of the only items in the universe capable of harming Galactus. When Mr. Fantastic threatened the devourer with it, Galactus swore to leave Earth in exchange for returning the Nullifier. Galactus then departed for space, but not before sentencing the Silver Surfer to exile on the planet for his betrayal.Galactus would be an important figure in the Marvel universe ever since, returning several more times to battle the Fantastic Four under various circumstances, and also having encounters with Thor, where Galactus backstory was first revealed. Hes also not really evil in the traditional sense, instead being a morally ambiguous figure since he only eats to survive. But despite being one of Marvels coolest antagonists, he hasnt been done justice on the big screen. Yet.The Second Coming of Galactus in The Fantastic Four: First StepsAlthough hes made several appearances in cartoons and video games, such as in the 90s Fantastic Four cartoon and Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Galactus has only appeared in one film before First Steps. That would be Tim Storys 2007 entry Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and it wasnt exactly the best outing for the devourer of worlds. Although the film followed the basic template of the comic story with the Surfers arrival beforehand leading to Galactus coming to eat the planet (they also threw in Doctor Doom stealing the Surfers board, something that happened a few issues later in the source material), Galactus himself was a let-down, reimagined from his iconic comic design with purple armor and a giant helmet to a big cloud with little to no distinguishing features. He also never spoke, and was seemingly killed by the Surfer with very little effort. It certainly wasnt what fans wanted from Galactus first appearance on film.Galactus is one of the few remaining Marvel villains with enough of a pedigree to help turn things around for the MCU.However, from what weve seen so far, Galactus in The Fantastic Four: First Steps looks to be a serious course correction. The small look at him we got in the trailer as well as the tease from a drone light show at last years San Diego Comic-Con indicates that the new film will be sticking close to Jack Kirbys classic design for the character. The fact that Marvel Studios selected Galactus for the villain of their Fantastic Four reboot in the first place is also an interesting choice. Even though there were plenty of FF baddies to choose from (and we might still see others does anyone know who John Malkovich is playing?), Marvel picking Galactus indicates that they know fans werent happy with 20th Century Foxs take and want to get him right this time around. And since it appears that Robert Downey, Jrs Doctor Doom is being reserved for Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars (although were still hoping for a cameo in First Steps), Marvel can put all their focus on giving Galactus the MCU debut he deserves.This is especially important because of the MCUs recent struggles in the Multiverse Saga. Given how many movies theyve made and villains theyve burned through, Galactus is one of the few remaining Marvel villains with enough of a pedigree to help turn things around for the franchise. A good Galactus adaptation could help swing the MCUs reputation around and generate further excitement for the next two Avengers films, which the Fantastic Four are set to be major figures in.The Fantastic Four: First Steps - Trailer 1 StillsAfter all, a common refrain from fans back when the Fantastic Four were in exile due to the Fox-Marvel feud over the film rights was that they were more interested in seeing the FFs rogues gallery, such as Doctor Doom, Annihilus, and Galactus in the MCU than the First Family themselves. Now, hopefully were all back on the the Fantastic Four are actually good train (you should check out Ryan Norths current run on the comics; its great), but it is true that Galactus and many other characters associated with the FF could be the secret sauce the MCU needs to rejuvenate the brand after they wrap up the Multiverse Saga.Either way, Galactus is one of the best characters associated with the Fantastic Four, and its way past time we get to see him in all his glory in live-action. Well see how Marvels attempt at Galactus and the FF fares this July, but at least going by this trailer, their first steps seem to be on the right path.Carlos Morales writes novels, articles and Mass Effect essays. You can follow his fixations on Bluesky.