VISI-PHONES, PSA MADNESS & FANTASTIVISION: MARVEL'S WEIRDEST FLEX YET
Marvel just dropped a cinema PSA—and the internet is glitching. Instead of another slo-mo trailer or Galactus tease, The Fantastic Four: First Steps is using a 60s-style public service ad to tell fans two things: silence your phone (er, your Visi-Phone) and buckle up for Fantastivision. Retro-futurism just went full MCU—and diehards are SCREAMING.
Wait… a “Visi-Phone”?
Yes. And it's not a typo. In this tongue-in-cheek spot that recently started airing before select theatrical releases, a vintage voiceover says, “Settle into your seats. Silence your devices. (Visi-Phones included.)” Comic nerds caught the reference instantly—Visi-Phones are deep-cut Marvel tech from the early Fantastic Four runs, invented by Mr. Fantastic himself. Think FaceTime, but from 1961.
And now, they might be canon in the MCU. A throwaway joke? Maybe. But in Marvel's world, Easter eggs always hatch.
This Isn't a Video—It's a Time Machine
Then there's the closing line: “Make sure to see Marvel Studios' The Fantastic Four: First Steps, presented in brilliant Fantastivision.” No, that's not a real tech format. It's Marvel's retro bait, riffing on 60s gimmicks like Cinerama or Panavision. But here's the kicker—this movie was shot on IMAX digital cameras. Meaning this jokey ad is also sneakily telling fans: “Yes, we're being silly—but seriously, watch this on the biggest screen you can.”
The contradiction is intentional. This film wants to look and sound like a Saturday matinee from a future that never existed. Think: Jetsons with trauma.
Throwback Aesthetic, High-Stakes Payoff
Directed by WandaVision's Matt Shakman—no stranger to TV nostalgia acid trips—this is the first MCU film to launch Phase 6, following Thunderbolts and building toward Avengers: Doomsday. The cast is loaded: Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach make up the new core four, and Ralph Ineson (yes, The Witch guy) is voicing Galactus.
But this PSA is more than flavor—it's function. Marvel's message? “You better see this in theaters… before the spoilers hit TikTok.” Which, if you remember Thunderbolts' spoiler leak on day two, is a very real risk.
The marketing's hinting at a major twist: how exactly this Fantastic Four gets from their alternate Earth to the MCU's mainline reality. That's key setup for Avengers: Doomsday. So yeah, this “cute” video might be warning you with a wink: see it now, or get wrecked by Reddit later.
Marvel's Retro Gamble—and Why It Might Work
Marvel has tried “retro” before (Captain Marvel, WandaVision, even Loki), but this one's different. The Fantastic Four: First Steps isn't just referencing old aesthetics—it's living in one. The whole ad campaign feels like a lost Cold War-era broadcast from Earth-Whatever.
The last time Marvel leaned this hard into an alternate visual language was WandaVision—and that ended with Agatha singing and fan theories melting. If First Steps hits the same nerve, it could revive a franchise that's failed twice (sorry, 2005 and RIP, 2015).
Would You Watch This or Burn $20? (No Judgment)
Marvel's not even pretending this is a normal reboot. It's weird. It's retro. It might include comic-book FaceTime and a planet-eating god voiced by a British horror icon. But it also might be the MCU's boldest style swing since Guardians.
So… genius or gimmick?
Would you rather watch a retro-futuristic PSA about “Visi-Phones” or pay $20 to hear another multiverse monologue?
Pick a side. Fantastivision demands it.
