Vanessa Kirby is the latest actress to take on the iconic role of Susan Storm/The Invisible Woman. As part of the cast of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Kirby is poised to bring Sue to stunning life and show off her powers of invisibility and force field projection. You better believe that the British actress is pumped about being part of the film, too, as she's gushing about having become a “Sue nerd” during development. If anything her enthusiasm is getting me excited for her Marvel Cinematic Universe debut.
With all of the various Fantastic Four comics and multiple movie adaptations at her disposal, Vanessa Kirby didn’t have to be introduced to Sue Storm to play her in the upcoming Marvel movie. During her interview Empire, Kirby explained that by the time she met with Marvel Studios for the first time, she already knew everything that was necessary to prepare her for the highly anticipated First Steps:
I’m such a Sue nerd. I think I out-nerded everyone in that room.
It's lovely to see an actor commit to a role in almost any kind of production, but that's especially true with a superhero movie. There's just something about seeing an actor dive into the research necessary for a role. I just can’t wait to see all of Vanessa Kirby exude her Sue Storm knowledge via her performance when the 2025 movie schedule release opens.
Many major Marvel superheroes have a science background, like Iron Man, Hulk and Ant-Man. While Reed Richards in Fantastic Four is a real brainiac with extensive knowledge of physics, his wife, Sue, sure isn’t far from that. Not only did Vanessa Kirby learn all about The Invisible Woman as a person and a superhero, but she also made sure to exhibit the same studious nature her character has:
I got so into quantum physics. It’s sad how much I got into it. I could waffle on about cellular vibration frequency.
That’s really impressive and not sad at all! If Sue is going to have to dish out a lot of scientific jargon, then it would make sense for Kirby to have done her homework.
Of course, Matt Shakman's upcoming superhero movie will also make a few changes to the FF mythology. First Steps takes place in a retro-futuristic 1960s universe that's not part of the Sacred Timeline in the MCU. Not only that, but the main events of the film take place after Marvel's First Family goes into space and gains their abilities.
As for Sue Storm, she'll also be somewhat different, as Shakman revealed that the Fantastic Four team member will be the Secretary-General of the UN. The character will also have more to contend with, as the First Steps trailer confirmed that Sue is pregnant, and that should raise the stakes as the planet-devouring Galactus makes his way to Earth.
The fact that Vanessa Kirby is a self-professed “Sue nerd” delights me to no end. Here's hoping that her research was indeed put to good use. We'll finally see Kirby's performance when The Fantastic Four: First Steps opens in theaters on July 25th. And here's hoping the actress' love of Sue continues as she films Avengers: Doomsday, too.
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