The good thing about parting ways with Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal) and company in “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” is that we won’t have to wait long until we’re reunited with them. Next year, Marvel’s First Family will be teaming up with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, and even a few X-Men, in “Avengers: Doomsday” for some reality-shaking comic book movie action. It’s just a shame that they’ll likely be leaving some key characters behind.

We don’t want to call it too early, but we stumbled into the middle of a kidnapping in the mid-credits scene of “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” with Victor von Doom seemingly on the cusp of snatching Franklin Richards from the Baxter Building before heading off into another reality. Naturally, Sue (Vanessa Kirby) and her superhero family will be on his trail, leaving Earth-828 behind. 

Now, while it’ll certainly be exciting to see the Fantastic Four chewing the fat with some of our favorite Marvel Cinematic Universe characters, what does that mean for their homeworld? Will they be able to return after Doom is vanquished? We certainly hope so, because if not, three characters in particular will be left by the wayside that we hope will be revisited in some capacity further down the line, beginning with the heroic herald of Galactus, who may or may not have shown signs of romance with one of the titular team’s members.

While she might not be the Silver Surfer comic book fans are used to, Julia Garner’s handling of the surfboard Shalla-Bal was one of the film’s highlights. Wielding a guilt-ridden omniscience, paired with a T-1000-like intensity, the “Ozark” star’s take on Galactus’ space-surfing scout made her a character we wanted to learn more about, which we might be at risk of missing if we put the MCU-related pieces together that we have so far.

“First Steps” ended with Galactus being flung to the other side of the universe, but only thanks to the Silver Surfer sacrificing herself to ensure he made the trip. The concern now, however, is that Earth might be even higher on his menu than before. Shalla-Bal might be able to hold him at bay for a while, but should the big purple-helmet-wearing planet-gobbler return, the Fantastic Four might not be there to greet him — if the “Thunderbolts*” post-credit scene is anything to go by.

Our only hope is that Shalla-Bal will eventually get her own MCU movie, something that Julia Garner has expressed her interest in. “A hundred percent, I would love to do that,” she told Entertainment Weekly. “The Silver Surfer is such a cool character, and I feel like it’s so rare to be presented with any sort of mystery in this day and age. So any kind of energy like that on screen, I know I want to see that, so that would be awesome if that happened.”

Arguably the most on-point casting in “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” is Paul Walter Hauser, who dons the iconic shades of Harvey Elder, aka Mole Man. Somehow stealing every scene he’s in, thanks to his petty hatred for the family of superheroes, Moley works wonderfully here as the foe who’s more of a nuisance than a threat. The only concern now is whether he’ll be left to head back below the surface and be forgotten about now that the Fantastic Four are taking a trip across the multiverse. It would be a terrible shame, given that Hauser sells the character so well that he quickly becomes a welcome presence, and there is ample opportunity to provide him with more screentime in the future.

It’d be great to see that, in the event of Reed and family heading to another dimension, they leave Earth-828 under the protection of their former adversary. It might be a strange call to make, but given that they put their faith in Mole Man’s muddy hands when it came to protecting some of New York’s citizens in “First Steps,” it wouldn’t be that wild a request. In fact, given the wild spin-off shows and movies that have spun out within the MCU, seeing Mole Man get his own Disney+ show wouldn’t be that bad of a call, either. Warner Bros. gave The Penguin his story, so why doesn’t the MCU dig deep and do the same for the misunderstood Mole Man, as well?

While John Malkovich’s Red Ghost got removed entirely from the final cut of “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” it certainly feels like Natasha Lyonne’s Rachel Rozman came close to getting the same treatment. The not-quite-but-almost romantic interest of Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) appears in only a few scenes in the film, but it’s not enough to make us care or even consider what the future holds for the character in Ben’s life. It’s a shame, given that Lyonne really feels like a star who deserves more than she’s given in the film and doesn’t seem likely to get much more in the future — particularly when you consider The Thing’s inevitable future relationship.

In the comics, Ben ends up marrying and even starting a family with Alicia Masters, who was played in the 2005 films by Kerry Washington. So far there’s been no allusion to Ben’s future flame, given that Rachel takes up what little romantic crumbs are left for our stone-headed hero. Nevertheless, that doesn’t rule out the possibility that Rozman could get some brief time with The Thing, if and when they ever make it back to their own dimension after “Avengers: Doomsday.” If not, well, there’s always the chance that Lyonne could return to the MCU as Byrdie, following her stint in “What If…?” Ebon Moss-Bachrach has already played two characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe so far; what’s stopping Lyonne from returning to her previous one as well?