Fantastic Four trailer theory: is the dying planet Earth X?

One of the biggest questions left by the Fantastic Four trailer was which planet the team is seeing destroyed in one striking scene. My theory is that this shot echoes something the MCU already showed in Eternals, and that it points to the Fantastic Four's timeline being Earth X, also known as Earth 9997.

The way the scene is presented, Marvel seems to want us to at least wonder whether this is the Fantastic Four's home world. If it is their Earth, presumably the team is aboard their spaceship, the Marvel 1, seeing their own planet die. Whatever the premise of that plotline, it would be absolutely traumatizing for the team. Still, I don't think this is their timeline's Earth. I do think we've seen this image before in the MCU, from an unlikely place.

The Fantastic Four trailer shot mirrors a Celestial birth in Eternals

Set the new frames from the Fantastic Four trailer beside frames from Eternals, and the resemblance is clear. In Eternals, Arishem explains to Sersi how new Celestials populate the universe and what it looks like when a Celestial is born from a planet. The CGI in the two moments is almost identical, right down to the circular motion in the middle that we only see very briefly in the Fantastic Four trailer.

What's more, the destruction looks nothing like Galactus devouring a planet. Unless he's been painted out with CGI, he isn't even in the frame. Before anyone calls this a reach, I'm basing this strictly on actual frames we've seen in the MCU and on comic book canon.

How Galactus keeps the Celestials in check in Earth X

It's natural to ask what Celestial seeds have to do with Galactus. Depending on which timeline the Fantastic Four occupy, it might be quite a lot. In the comics, the Earth X series, set on Earth 9997, reveals Galactus as one of the three main cosmic entities that keep the Celestials in check. He does it by consuming the planets where Celestials have already planted a seed.

We know from our own timeline, Earth 616, that Earth is a prime candidate for a Celestial embryo. If the Fantastic Four's Earth is anything like ours, it may have an embryo too. That got me thinking about the all is lost moment that director Matt Shakman indicated is in the film. It might be Reed Richards and the team realizing that Galactus isn't the real problem. The real problem could be that if Galactus doesn't destroy Earth, an emerging Celestial will. That may be what this scene shows as the Fantastic Four work it all out.

Earth X reveals Galactus is Franklin Richards

The Earth X storyline gets stranger. Near its end, the heroes successfully call Galactus, with Black Bolt sacrificing himself to use his voice to do it. Galactus arrives and kills some Celestials. In the wake of that battle, Reed Richards asks Galactus to remove his helmet, and Galactus turns out to be Franklin Richards.

After defeating Galactus, they had realized he was necessary to keep the Celestials in check. So Franklin used his ultimate power to forget who he was and become Galactus. When Reed realizes it's his son, he decides not to remind him, letting him go on being Galactus for the sake of the universe. It's an absolutely crazy moment from the comics, and one of the indelible bonds between Franklin and Galactus, alongside a different storyline in which they fought the Celestials and Franklin became his herald.

This is why Galactus may be so interested in finding Franklin Richards: he might actually be Franklin Richards. If the movie goes down this path, I can't wait for that moment.

Why Shalla-Bal's Silver Surfer points to Earth 9997

Taken as a whole, it might be a reach to say definitively that the Fantastic Four's timeline is Earth X, Earth 9997. Except we know the movie features Shalla-Bal's Silver Surfer, and Shalla-Bal's Silver Surfer comes from Earth 9997, the Earth X where this storyline takes place.

Knowing that, compare those images again. I think the film may reveal, drawing directly from Earth X, that Galactus' main purpose and point of balance in the universe is helping keep the Celestials in check.

What bringing Galactus to Earth 616 could mean for the MCU

That would suddenly highlight the importance of Eternals in MCU canon again. The general assumption was that, incursion or not, the Fantastic Four's timeline would cross over with Earth 616 by the end of the film in order to set up Doomsday. Galactus could end up coming with them. Putting him in our universe would let him protect us later against the Celestials, if Arishem ever returns to judge Earth, the cliffhanger Eternals left off on.

Marvel Studios' top brass has said there are currently no plans to develop Eternals 2. But we've also heard that Galactus, like America Chavez as revealed in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, might be one of one in the multiverse. Moving him from Earth 9997 to Earth 616 would give the MCU access to him later, especially if Franklin Richards is going to serve as his herald, or even become him as this theory suggests.

I know some will ask how Franklin could be both a baby and Galactus. That wouldn't be as crazy as it sounds, considering that in the comics Franklin has projected himself as an adult while still a child. I know it's a crazy theory, but there are so many Easter eggs for it, and it's undeniable how much it links to the comics.