so you want a fantastic 4 movie, well tough the director says no

[deano_ue]

Fantastic 4 Reboot Film Has No Relation to the Comics
Remember how ticked off everyone got when they found out the studios cast a black actor as the Human Torch and a white actress for his sister Sue Storm? Well there apparently was good reason for them not clarifying why this brother and sister duo are bi-racial. That's because nothing in the movie has anything to do with the comics. Period.

Apparently the director has thrown everything about the comics out the window. There likely won't be any fancy costumes, the characters won't be called "The Fantastic 4" in the movie itself, and no part of the plot is going to be related to ANY prior comic storyline. The actress for Sue Storm asked if she should read any of the comics to get caught up and the director told her "don't bother."

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/136178-Fantastic-Four-Reboot-Movie-Wont-Be-Based-on-Any-Comics


ok seriously what the hell.

[Panther_Gunn]

So, instead of getting a serious, well-done reboot that can be built off of for future films, we're getting a What If...? story, that, even if it gets any sequels, will require *another* reboot later down the road to get back to the mainstream characters, and probably alienate more potential legacy viewers than attract new ones to the not-quite franchise.  Good job Fox.   

Seriously, Disney needs to get their heads out of the sand and stop looking at the short term for these licensed properties, and realize they will make *way* more money in the long run by doing whatever they need to do to get the rights to X-Men, Spider-Man, and the Fantastic Four back into the hands of Marvel.  The success of the Avengers line of movies (including the solo movies) should be proof enough that they know what they're doing.

[BentonGrey]

Yeah, those Marvel losers are basing all of their movies on the comics, and that's obviously not working.  Why should you be at all concerned with source material that has lasted for half a century?

Now, to be fair, this is drawn from one quote by the actress, passing along one conversation with the director, but I could hardly say I'd put it past Hollywood.  The producer's description of the film does seem to support this nonsense.  Gah, the Fantastic Four, much like Superman, are characters that don't lend themselves to 'grim and gritty.'  They're the original champions of wonder in the Marvel U, all about adventure, family, and exploration!  Sure, there's melodrama and the like, but there's nothing "grounded" about them!

PG, while I agree, I imagine that it may not be easy for Disney to get the rights back to these films.  The other studios have as great an interest in keeping them out of Marvel's apparently golden grasp as they do in capitalizing on the 'hey, you know what's hot right now?' version of what passes for wisdom in the film industry.  They can attempt to (ineptly) cash in on the superhero craze on the one hand and prevent Marvel from milking this property on the other.  That wouldn't be that big of a problem, except that they're really bad it, and we, the fans, suffer because of their stupidity.

[Tomato]

Pfft, you're just all upset over the Black Johnny Storm 

But no, seriously, I'm not surprised by this at all. I've heard nothing good about this project at all, and my expectations for it are not high. And frankly... I'm glad for that. I hope this movie crashes and burns and that Fox gives up and gives the rights back to Marvel.

[hoss20]

I also wonder if this is just Fox's way to do just enough to maintain the rights. I recall reading about another franchise a while back and how the current studio was able to get the rights to make the new movie. I guess it depends on the original agreement signed, but I was surprised to see that a movie doesn't even have to be released or even begin production in order to maintain rights; just enough activity with the property involved to keep them. I wish I could remember what movie was in the story I read. It may have been discussing the Lord of the Rings and how Peter Jackson was able to get his hands on it.

Maybe someone with more knowledge of the movie industry could clarify this or correct me if I'm wrong.

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

It was, in fact, the very same property.  Quite a few years ago, the studio that held the rights to Fantastic Four previously decided that they weren't really going to use it and wanted to sell the rights to someone else.  Instead of letting the rights revert to Marvel, they quickly threw together a low-budget film film and sold it on threat of it actually being released.  Essentially, the thinking at a time was having an unsuccessful film belonging to a given property would make that property completely unusable for a decade or more.  Some folks dispute this story, but it appears to be the case.  The rights were sold and we got the movie that we got.

Thanks to the second Hulk movie showing that you can reboot a right after a failed movie and do just fine, that is no longer a difficulty, so now we have this potential mess to contend with--and 5 million other superhero film reboots.

More info about the unreleased film

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fantastic_Four_(film)

It was available on youtube at one point, and may still be there.

[Starman]

"EW reached out to Mara's rep for clarification on the quotes. The House of Cards vet says that she actually told Esquire Latin America's reporter that the film is not based on one comic, but rather drawn from the entire canon."

http://insidemovies.ew.com/2014/07/16/kate-maras-fanatastic-four/

So something has been lost in the translation or the interview given to Esquire Latin America, which is a Spanish language magazine.

I doubt Josh Trank or any filmmaker working on a comic book film nowadays is going to "throw everything about the comics out the window" and risk not getting fans on board. This is just a load of hyperbolic reporting from comic news sites trying to whip fans into a frenzy.

I don't think this is anything to get worked up about.

[Podmark]

The actress for Sue Storm asked if she should read any of the comics to get caught up and the director told her "don't bother."

To put things into a little perspective here, Chris Pratt was told something similar by director James Gunn for Guardians of the Galaxy. That said the context of Pratt's quote was that the director and Marvel wanted him to concentrate on the script which is inspired by but different from the comics, learn his his version of Starlord. It doesn't sound like things are quite the same with FF.

Marvel/Disney actually had a chance to get FF back, just before this current film was getting under way. This did happen with Daredevil and Blade but Fox rushed this FF movie to production to maintain the rights (at least that's what I remember reading). So I think Marvel/Disney getting FF back is quite possible, especially if this film tanks.
X-Men is a completely different story. That's a successful franchise for Fox and there's little reason for them to ever give it up. And to be honest I like most of the X-Men movies so it's not a big deal to me if Fox keeps them. It would be nice if they could play nice and get Jackman into an Avengers movie though.


I haven't heard anything yet about this FF movie to make me interested, but I'd like to see a trailer before I really condemn it.

[BentonGrey]

Right Cat, a crazy story, that one.  Ohh Roger Corman, you are a piece of work.  Anyway, you can actually find the entire film on Youtube.  Here's the trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcpmM-eTESI
This movie is a good illustration that faithfulness to the source material, while a good thing, is not all you need to make a successful comic book film.  

Pod, I think you're right about the FF history here, but like I said, it seems unlikely that they'd give up the rights anytime soon.  I do really wish Disney could snag them, though.  I'd love to see a really awesome FF trilogy built on the classic stories, culminating in a really well-done Galactus.  How amazing would that be?

I agree about the X-Men movies; they've been mostly good, but at the same time, I do wish that they could go back to Marvel and have a blank slate approach with more willingness to let the comics show through.  I'm a bit torn about that, both wanting to see more of what Fox has done and wanting see something new.  For my part, I actually don't want to see Wolverine in an Avengers movie.  I've never really liked it when my Marvel super-teams bleed into one another.

[BWPS]

Good, Fantastic Four are really lame in the comics. I'd like to see what this new movie has to offer.

[kkhohoho]

Good, Fantastic Four are really lame in the comics. I'd like to see what this new movie has to offer.

Personally, I think they're alright, but your sentiment isn't an uncommon one. While I like the Fantastic Four as they are, I also know there's a decent amount of people who think that the FF just aren't relevant anymore, and that they need a serious revamp for today's day and age. I don't agree, seeing as Captain America, of all people, seems to work just fine and dandy these days, among other characters created decades ago. Still, I'd be interested to see just what a modern attempt to make FF more 'relevant' would be.

[Shogunn2517]

You know what?  Hearing this, I just might have less of a problem with a Black Johnny Storm.  I mean if this movie is to PURPOSELY have very little to do with the comic, then can I really be bothered by another mixed family on film?

I'm still not going to waste my money seeing it.  But I hope for the best for Mara and Jordan and company.

[Tomato]

Good, Fantastic Four are really lame in the comics. I'd like to see what this new movie has to offer.

I keep hearing stuff like that, and I call BS. People say that they don't want another FF film, that the property is outdated... but I just roll my eyes and point to "The Incredibles". That film is a far better embodiment of the Fantastic Four than any of the actual Fantastic Four films, and it's one of the most beloved Pixar films to this day. Even the original FF movie (which was more in keeping with the comics than the galactacloud in the sequel) wasn't "bad" just... eh.

[BentonGrey]

Great points, 'Mato.  I've read a good portion of the Marvel Adventures: Fantastic Four book from some years back, and found it, on the whole (though there were certainly weak points), a really excellent distillation of everything that made the FF great, fitting in fine with the modern day.  They told great stories with a lot of heart and a great sense of joie de vivre!  In fact, one of my favorite FF stories of all time is from that run. Clearly, you can tell good FF stories these days, it's just a matter of getting to the core of what makes the characters work, and that is the wonder of their world mixed with the mundane of their domestic life...surprisingly enough, that is just what we saw from The Incredibles.

[BWPS]

Except that movie is nothing like the FF except that there's for of them.

[kkhohoho]

Except that movie is nothing like the FF except that there's for of them.

You're right; it's nothing like the FF expect that there's for (four) of them. Oh, and that one character is middle-aged with superstrength, another has stretchy powers, another can turn invisible and make force-fields, and another, while not able to set things on fire, is still a blond hothead. Nothing similar about that.

The Incredibles wasn't a blatant copy of the FF, but it still got the heart and soul of it down. The FF is a family, first and foremost, though that's not always apparent with all the cosmic adventuring that the FF tends to do. The Incredibles strips that away and gets right to the heart of the matter, while still providing some fine superhero action. Honestly, I have to wonder if you've read that much FF...

[BWPS]

I haven't read a ton of Fantastic Fore,  but I've given it a shot and while the powers have some similarities,  the characters and family dynamics do not. My time is too valuable to me to spend arguing about how FF is completely different from and worse than the incredibles when it's not going to sway your opinion nor would I have any reason to want it to,  so I'll just stop here. I'm glad they're doing an original take on the characters,  I hope it's good.

[Tomato]

BWPS, if you're going to troll, put more effort into it. If you can't even be bothered to spell "Four" right, no one's going to take you seriously.

[JeyNyce]

I have  two questions or something to think about:

1 - If this movie will have nothing to do with the FF comic and they won't even be call the Fantastic Four, would this void the deal/ contract that Fox has with Marvel?  Could Marvel just say that Fox is making a movie with character similar to our?  It's a long shot, but still......

2 - Do you think Fox is doing this because of the way Marvel treated them with X-men: DOFP?

[Shogunn2517]

Maybe my definition of "trolling" is different than most but I didn't think BWPS's comments were inflammatory or attempting to derail the discussion because he was responding to your comment while spelling "Four" wrong.

So he spelled Four wrong.  No big deal.

I gotta wonder how much the producers know what fan reaction is going to be.  They give wholesale changes to characters but keep the title and names, making it unrecognizable yet still calling it FANTASTIC FOUR.  Even IF the actors and director put forth a good effort, it IS possible that a good movie not well received.

[kkhohoho]

So he spelled Four wrong.  No big deal.

Spelling four wrong once is one thing. Spelling it wrong twice comes close to being deliberate.

[BWPS]

So he spelled Four wrong.  No big deal.

Spelling four wrong once is one thing. Spelling it wrong twice comes close to being deliberate.

At least I didn't spell it wrong phore times.

[BentonGrey]

So he spelled Four wrong.  No big deal.

Spelling four wrong once is one thing. Spelling it wrong twice comes close to being deliberate.

At least I didn't spell it wrong phore times.

Ohh! 

[Tomato]

Personally, I think that post was in phoor taste

[JeyNyce]

*SIGH*   Can we please keep it moving?

[hoss20]

I have  two questions or something to think about:

1 - If this movie will have nothing to do with the FF comic and they won't even be call the Fantastic Four, would this void the deal/ contract that Fox has with Marvel? Could Marvel just say that Fox is making a movie with character similar to our?  It's a long shot, but still......

If the initial quote from Ultimate Evil is any indication, "The actress for Sue Storm asked.....," they still may be using the same characters. If this is the case, it doesn't matter what they name the movie, as the rights to the characters were sold as well.

[Shogunn2517]

So he spelled Four wrong.  No big deal.

Spelling four wrong once is one thing. Spelling it wrong twice comes close to being deliberate.

At least I didn't spell it wrong phore times.

On the real though, my first TWO thoughts reading this were:

1.  What in the world is wrong with this dude's spell-checker?
2.  If it's not working on his phone, then he should use his computer to post.

It took me a whole 4 seconds to get it.

[trebean]

Thoughts on the leaked Thing?

[BWPS]

I think that looks awesome.

[Silver Shocker]

He looks really good to me.

I don't know what to expect from this movie. I'll have to see a trailer before I can make any kind of strong judgment. Not really a big FF fan, but it would be impressive to see a FF movie that gets it right. I really liked the Incredibles, and I can see why it gets compared to Fantastic Four.