Category - Music
The Next Big Marvel Movie Dropped a Beatles Easter Egg That Everyone Missed
In the 2022 movie Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, Steven Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) meets an alternate version of Reed Richards (John Krasinski) and quips, "Didn't you guys chart in the 60s?" This joke works because the nickname for the Beatles—"The Fab Four"—sounds a lot like The Fantastic Four. But now, with the new MCU film, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, it looks like Marvel is actually making sense of that Beatles/Fantastic Four connection. In fact, the Fantastic Four might be the replacement Beatles in this new alternate 1960s timeline.
Confused? Here's what's going on. In the newly dropped trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps, we briefly see the titular group on a raised platform, surrounded by arrows, seemingly on some kind of 1960s live show. The new Fantastic Four is set in an anachronistic, alternate version of the 1960s, which will somehow connect to the regular Marvel Cinematic Universe in ways that are not yet clear. But, what is clear to eagle-eyed Beatles fans online, is that this brief shot in the trailer clearly references the historic performances of the Beatles in February 1964, on the Ed Sullivan Show.
the Beatles homage man oh my goddddd pic.twitter.com/uNQiNYlQMG
— Harry (@hdwmovies) February 4, 2025
As pointed out by fans on Twitter/X, the stage the Fantastic Four stands on is a clear homage to the Beatle's stage from 1964 on the Ed Sullivan Show. Those massive white arrows are a dead giveaway.
Historically, this specific stage came from one of three nights the Beatles played on the Ed Sullivan Show in February 1964. Those exact dates were Feb. 9, 16, and 23. The stage and set with the massive arrows come from the first night, Feb. 9, which was their very first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, and effectively the debut of the Beatles in America.
For those who care about the nitty-gritty historical accuracy of these things, this set was changed a few times during that night, so this iconic arrow stage isn't in all those photos from 1964.
Regardless, the production design folks at Marvel Studios clearly know what they're doing here. And this isn't even the first time there was a Fantastic Four/Beatles connection. In the early development of the 2005 Fantastic Four, one script by Peyton Reed would have modeled the story off of The Beatles' film A Hard Day's Night.
The question is now, will the Fantastic Four shock everyone by revealing that in addition to being superheroes, they're also a rock band? Stranger things have happened in Marvel movies, but here's hoping that the retro-future soundtrack for First Steps includes some 1960s bangers, with or without the Beatles.
