The Marvel Cinematic Universe has always thrived on interconnected storytelling, with post credits scenes often teasing what’s next. So when Thunderbolts gave fans a surprise introduction to the Fantastic Four, many expected Fantastic Four: First Steps to circle back to that stinger. But it didn’t. Director Matt Shakman recently explained why, and it’s actually a pretty simple reason: timing.
The Thunderbolts post credits scene, which showed the New Avengers becoming aware of the Fantastic Four’s presence in Earth 616, was added just weeks before that film hit theaters. By then, First Steps was already deep into post production. Shakman had no way of integrating that moment into the story he was telling, which was firmly set in Earth 828 and focused on the team’s origin within that universe.
In an interview with CinemaBlend, Shakman described Marvel’s handoff process as a relay race, where each creative team focuses on its leg of the journey before passing the baton to the next. That means he was building First Steps without knowledge of the scene that would later appear at the end of Thunderbolts — it simply didn’t exist yet.
Instead of trying to force in a connection that wasn’t there, Shakman stuck to his story. The First Steps post credits scene gave us a big reveal of its own: Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom, showing serious interest in Franklin Richards. This scene was directed by the Russo brothers while working on Avengers: Doomsday, which will presumably tie all these threads together later.
From a storytelling perspective, revisiting the same scene from Thunderbolts would’ve added little. We’ve already seen the Four arrive in the Sacred Timeline. Rather than double back, Marvel chose to build hype for Doom’s future role, giving fans something new to theorize about.
It’s a reminder that not every connection needs to be immediate. The MCU is playing the long game, and if the payoff comes in Avengers: Doomsday, that’s where it matters most.
Sources:
CinemaBlend interview with Matt Shakman
gfpods.com 
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