Fox’s new trailer for Fantastic 4 started showing up around the internet a little early, but no matter! They posted it officially on their YouTube channel so that we can all see it legit. The big thing here is our first non-set-photo look at Doctor Doom. Sadly, I am not a fan. It looks like he’s wearing a garbage bag… and that feels really awful to say! I’m usually the first person to say that the comics and movies have different design aesthetics and you can’t compare the two, but man, I wish we could see a version of Doom closer to his comic book iteration. Ok, enough complaining: the Thing looks pretty great!
Do you think we’ll ever find out if the rumors about Josh Trank’s behavior are true? He didn’t show up to the Star Wars Celebration panel he was supposed to be on yesterday due to feeling “under the weather.” Very last minute! I wonder if there’s trouble following the director?
The Josh Trank Fantastic Four film grows closer, and stills seems to be a bit of a mystery. Even with a teaser trailer, the movie seems to be a bit obtuse from a marketing standpoint. It doesn’t help that there have been negative rumors floating around during filming (mainly that Trank has been incredibly unprofessional). Those rumors haven’t really solidified since, but the lack of marketing and Fox’s general disregard for the film has been puzzling. Still, they released four new photos with Empire, and well… they sure are photos of the cast. Nothing really special though, and definitely nothing big enough to start the hype train rolling. Check them out below! Read more…
Josh Trank’s Fantastic Four reboot is not part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, just like X-Men and Spider-Man. A lot of Marvel fans are upset about that and would rather Fox hand the rights back over to Marvel so they can make a proper adaptation. But that’s not happening, so let’s look at what we’ve got. Despite all the talk of stupid decisions like Doctor Doom being a blogger and a fantastic team being “grounded,” this actually looks pretty good. Despite being Marvel’s first superhero team, a lot of the aspects of the comic could seem more like a horror story; one guy gets turned into a monster! It’s not a bad idea to move their origin from space to an alternate-dimension experiment, taking inspiration from Ultimate Fantastic Four. So while I’d prefer this to be a lighter, more “out there” story in the vein of Marvel’s other films, I have to admit Trank and Fox’s version doesn’t look half-bad. Read more…
For a character with a name like “Doctor Doom” to work, you have to make sure he owns that name. You might as well make it his real name, Victor von Doom, and have him rule his own country. But in The Fantastic Four, the reboot directed by Chronicle‘s Josh Trank, Doom’s origin is much more “ultra-real” and “lo-fi,” according to his new actor Toby Kebbell. Now the man who becomes Doctor Doom is Victor Domashev, because no one is named “Doom” in real life. And Domashev is an anti-social programmer, who goes by “Doom” online. I’m not saying the original basis for the character isn’t a bit hokey, but this new origin is really hokey. It reminds me of using the same online handle as my D&D character in high school. Maybe the other parts of the film are better? I mean, you can’t go too “ultra-real” in a movie about “fantastic” people, right? Read more…
Josh Trank’s Fantastic Four is getting a slight delay: it’ll be moving from June 19th to August 7th, 2015. Now, the movie was going to make its release date no matter what, but this is interesting because Fox is clearly moving it out of the way of the biggest June releases and instead putting it into the same slot as Guardians of the Galaxy from this year. I imagine they hope to replicate the same success. Apparently, as long as you have a good movie, people will come to see it anytime, not just during the peak summer months. Surprise! Also, in related news, Fox has taken the Assassin’s Creed film off its August 2015 release date and move it to “to be determined.” Only time will tell if this is a minor scheduling change or a sign of a film stumbling already. Read more…
A little while ago, a photo leaked out from the upcoming Fantastic Four film set, featuring a model of The Thing — a bust used for choreography and to give the actors something to look at when using green screens. Josh Trank, the director, has now confirmed that yes, that’s Ben Grimm. Sometimes it’s better own leaks and make them your own promotion, even if it is a little late. So: how does Ben look? Not bad! I mean, his classic eyebrows have definitely been subdued a bit, but he doesn’t look too bad. The green lighting makes him look more sickly, but I’d bet in normal lighting he’ll look more brown. Read more…
Here’s the full, most-official cast for Fox’s Fantastic Four. From left to right, taking on the role of Reed Richard is (rumored to be) Miles Teller, and Sue Storm (confirmed) will be played by Kate Mara. Jamie Bell, while not yet confirmed, will likely play Ben Grimm. And last but not least, just confirmed, Michael B. Jordan will play Johnny Storm. Assuming that everything works out, I’m pretty okay with this casting. I think Michael B. Jordan as the Human Torch is a great bit of casting in particular. I’m a bit disappointed this cast isn’t under Marvel’s Cinematic Universe umbrella, though. If only Marvel’s other rights could return to them! Read more…
A short while ago we heard that the director of Chronicle, Josh Trank, would be helming the upcoming Fantastic Four film. And it seems like Trank might be dipping into his pool of actors from Chronicle for his first big-budget blockbuster – he’s reportedly getting Michael B. Jordan for the part of the Human Torch. While no formal offer has been made yet, it seems like a solid bet, given their previous history working together. I think this could be a great casting choice too, and would help freshen up the Fantastic Four, as it’s been a very stale property to me in recent times. Here’s hoping that this movie turns out well! Read more…
It seems 2015 is going to be jam packed with big films. We already have so many heavy hitters like Justice League, Avengers 2, Star Wars: Episode VII, and more (and who knows if they’ll hit their respective dates anyway). But Fox is throwing another one on the pile: The Fantastic Four. Fox has been trying to reboot the film series for a while now, and with them marking the calendar it seems they’re ready to move forward. Currently we have no story details, but Jeremy Slater will be scripting the project, with Chronicle director Josh Trank set to helm it. A much more promising set of folks than last time around, wouldn’t you say? While I’d love for the Fantastic Four to come back to Marvel, for now this seems to be an adequate substitute. Read more…
Here’s some hilarious clips featuring the 1978 Fantastic Four animated series with a cameo by none other than the master of magnetism himself. The show only lasted 12 episodes, no doubt due to the lack of the Human Torch — after all, he’s the only member anyone really liked. While there had been a long-running rumor that network executives were worried about kids immolating themselves, the fact of the matter was that Johnny Blaze had been licensed to NBC at the time for a potential pilot that never got picked up. Of course, with amazing scripts like The Menace Of Magneto here, I’m sureno amount of “flame on” could have saved it, and can someone please tell me why every 70’s cartoon villain felt the compulsive need to narrate everything?
