It’s hard to believe that a series of films as bad as The Fantastic Four was (hey, I didn’t hate the first one actually… but it wasn’t exactly “good”, and the second was a total train wreck) made about $500 million domestically at the box office. You’d think that with those kind of numbers, they’d just keep making them till the cows came home.
However, Fox saw the writing on the wall when critics and fans pretty much gave the second film the big thumbs down and knew that if they made a third film, the financial intake would be SIGNIFICANTLY less this time around.
BUT… there’s a problem. The Fantastic Four is one of the most recognizable and successful names in all of comics. What is a studio to do?
The same thing they did with Hulk. REBOOT IT!
So yes, Fox studios is going to ditch the cast and totally restart Fantastic Four… and I’ve got to say I really like the move. Fantastic Four is just too good of a property to leave in the hands of the people who were doing it. Give it another shot. The material is worth it. It worked quite well with Hulk… why not Fantastic Four?
Look, I’m not saying that a rebooted Fantastic Four WILL be better than the previous ones… but there is a chance, and that’s something a third film with the same cast and crew didn’t have.
What about you? Do you like this news or do you think it’s a bad move?
I’d like this news a lot better if Marvel was doing the reboot.
I always felt the first film was underdeveloped, and the second film was maligned unjustly. I actually enjoyed Galactus’ arrival, but I can understand the fan’s dissapointment at the way the material was handled.
Bring on the reboot!!!
Jeez. All this attention going toward the actors when the real culprits for both films’ poor quality are the damned writers and the lousy director! Hopefully the producers will get a team with talent next time!
I’m looking forward to this. The Fantastic Four has so much potential if it’s done right. The first two movies were an abomination. This is also the beauty about comic characters. Comic movies I think will be much like Comic Books. Different creative teams can work on different characters. Much like in comic books you gave different writers, artists, inkers, etc. work on different books. The same goes for Comic movies. Different Directors, writers, producers, actors on these kind of movies putting forth their take on these iconic characters. We’ve seen it already with Batman, Superman, X Men, and the Hulk for better or worse. But Just like in comic books sometimes you get Brian K. Vaughn and Jim Lee on your favorite comic or sometimes you get whovever is the equilevlent of Joel Shumacher and Akiva Goldsman in the comic world. (Thankfully Akiva is just producing this Fantastic Four reboot he isn’t writing or trying his hand at directing.)
It’s to soon for a reboot. Concentrate on a untouched comic book character to put on the big screen.
Well if they do a reboot they need to focus on one of the characters more than another. That’s why I’ve struggled with the movies so far, they haven’t had a central focus.
Reboot but leave the core story in it. Hulk was rebooted but to me it always felt like an ongoing tale like a follow on of the journey, albeit with different actors.
Okay, smart move (for once). But see the problem in comparing it to “The Incredible Hulk” is that this one will not be done by Marvel Studios, so I really can’t see them improving at all. Also, when the public (at large) hears of a new Fantastic Four movie, they’ll immediately turn off to it (many of them anyway) the way they did with Hulk. Oh well. I hope it gets better!
ryan reynolds x4!
invisible girl is invisible -right?
I can see Johns head explode when they recast Jesica Albas part with Megan fox or Kirsten Dunst….Or some other pretty face with little to none acting ability.
Dunst can act. Watch Interview With The Vampire(she was 12 when they made that movie). Then watch Elizabethtown. Then tell me, in all honesty, that you really think the girl can’t act. She can act. She’s not a particularly good MJ, but that doesn’t make her a bad actress.
I’ve said before, just because a movie doesn’t strike financial or critical gold, it doesn’t always need a reboot. Sometimes movies just aren’t as great as we(or the studios) would like. But to start over seems to be the new easy way out. Not that I want to start debating the quality of any of these next few films, but what if any of these weren’t all they were hoped for, would their sequels never have come out? Empire Strikes Back, Die Hard 2, Lethal Weapon 2,etc. My point is that you make the best film you can make and go from there. Let the trilogy or the entire story define the franchise. But keep moving on, and redeem yourself with another film, or you’re losing all the story you’ve already told.
Okay now I liked the fantasic four movies. A reboot wouldn’t be bad but get a cast that is good. All actors can be replaced.
Daniel Craig as James Bond and Heath Ledger as The Joker have proven that it can happen. Not only can it happen but it could possibly be better.
My Cast for Fantastic Four
Human Torch= Mark Paul Gosselar…Yeah he maybe old but after seeing him on Jimmy Fallon as Zack Morris. I say let him have a shot as Johnny Storm.
Dr. Doom= Ed Harris or Hugo Weaving.
Mr. Fantastic= I would like to see the guy who played Dr. Manhattan in Watchmen. I think that he would pull it off nicely.
Sue Storm= Hmmm I liked John’s casting for her. I think that she would work perfectly.
The Thing/Ben Grimm= I loved Micheal Chiklis as the thing. I wish they would bring him back for it. If not Chiklis then I am not sure. Perhaps someone who knows of the character. Someone who will respect what has come before and then try to do their own take on it.
Wait, i read this article 3 months ago, whats the difference between this one and that one? The last one was a rumor, this one….i cant tell
What source said this? Is it official?
When it was announced the other day that Disney bought Marvel (pending shareholders final approval, and peeks into antitrust laws) In John’s post, I recall a commenter said something to the effect of “Some properties, such as sequels to Fantastic Four and Daredevil will be put on a fast track, (rushed)..” And look, one day later, no less.
Here’s how I’d handle the reboot (restart):
WHAT TO KEEP
– Keep the uniforms.
– Keep the Fantastic car
– Keep the Silver Surfer (should character appear again, or origin spinoff story of his own)
ON THE BUBBLE
– Michael Chikilis as The Thing, or at least the voice of/the motion capture actor of. While I disagree with Rodney about having a guy in a suit, as well as recasting the part, (after all, Judi Dench is still M in the rebooted Bond films) I do think some additional CG work could help with the Thing. At least in the eyebrow department.
GONE
The rest of the cast. I liked Chris Evans as Torch. But I think the actor has moved on. I am the only person alive who thought Jessica Alba was actually good in The Eye, but as far as FF goes, she was horrible. It had zero to do with her being Latina, it had a lot to do with her being too young for the part to begin with.,,,and her part being written (and acted) like that of a spoiled child. Ioan was also serviceable as Mr. Fantastic, but with two films, the character was treated as more of a joke and a questionable leader.
Doctor Doom, despite potential, was a flat out waste.
So who would I recast with?
1) Doctor Doom- should the Lord Of Latervia have a slight accent? That’s always been my thought. He should also have something going on behind the mask. We always see his eyes.
so: a) Christopher Lambert b) Antonio Bandaras c) Armand Assante or d) Joaquin Pheonix comes out of his semi-retirement
2) Reed Richards – John Travolta or Richard Gere. Gere would never go for it though. A longshot would be Jim Caviezel.
3) Sue Storm Richards- if we got John, maybe we can get Kelly Preston. I might think Cameron Diaz or Naomi Watts.
4) John Storm/Human Torch: player to be named later.
STORY
Either have them go below Earth (to fight Mole Man) or have them fight off Doctor Doom- who has something more sinister than corporate takeovers.
Is “rebooting” the new “sequel/prequel”? Think about it. How can we squeeze some more money out of the public? Hey! I know. Let’s make it again. Except this time let’s call it “darker”.
To me it doesn’t matter, I suppose. It’s not like anything I say is gonna change their mind about this.
That being said however, I think it’s a very bad mistake. They’re not really learning anything by doing this. What they should have done, was take the cast/crew of the first two, and see what worked, and what didn’t. Then they take that and make the third film based off of those findings.
How flippin’ rediculous…are you serious? Those movies weren’t that bad? I mean they weren’t ‘The Dark Knight’ or ‘X2’…but come on?? a reboot?? how many times can we watch the same story over and over and over and over and over and over…
be original hollywood!! rediculous!!
one more batman movie then guess what??
reboot!!
My ideal (impossible) cast would be:
Fantastic – Younger Goldblum
Invisible Woman – Nat Henstridge
Torch – Reynolds
Thing – CGI
Doom would be someone mature like Hopkins or Nicholson. They both do meglomaniac well.
Won’t happen (obviously) but I just hope that they make Thing CGI next time around. Man-in-suit made him less convincing to me. Make him 8 feet tall.
I would like to see Ryan Reynolds as the Torch, but you’d consider him getting 3 superheroes?
Not like I care either way, I hate both movies and wouldn’t want to see a reboot. Good thing they’re dumping the cast, they were all terrible. Here’s who they should cast:
Mr. Fantastic-John Cusack
Invisible Woman-Scarlett Johannson
Human Torch-Channing Tatum(seriously though, Bradley Cooper,revenge for Ryan Reynolds getting Green Lantern)
Thing- Bruce Willis
Dr. Doom- Tom Hanks
John Cusack: Love him, but not quite right for this role. He wouldn’t be a BAD choice, but not my first.
Scarlett: Great actress, perfect looks…but can she carry the matriarchal dignity of Sue Richards?
Tatum: Sorry, but like you said yourself, Cooper would rock this part!
Bruce Willis: This has possibilities. Most of it would have to be voiceover work, since we HAVE to do the Thing in CGI this time. The Chiklis costume was TERRIBLE.
Tom Hanks: Forrest Gump as Doctor Doom? Dumbest thing I’ve heard all day. And I’m at work right now, so I’ve heard a LOT of dumb things said today.
Don’t forget that Hanks was also the soldier from Saving Private Ryan, instead how about the guy who played the villain from the Matrix?
If we really want to known Jessica Alba’s worth as an actress, please let’s have these writers pen a REAL part. Most Hollywood big budget movies writer CAN NOT write a female character’s part. It is safe to say that Alba got the part because they was actually no substance in it for a trained actor to compete for.
Yes, because Alba’s failures as an actress were all due to the writing.
Amazing that there are dozens of other legendary female actors who get recognized despite not one big budget film writing a woman properly.
There are lots of serious roles given to serious actresses. Alba isn’t one of them. She’s eyecandy.
Agree, she is been in plenty of dramatic movies, and her performance is just flat. Even she can’t be convincing as a villain.
I hope you’re not ragging on villain parts, there.
I thought both were okay, but could’ve been much much better. I like the cast they have now, except for Jessica Alba. I really liked Julian McMahon as Dr. Doom.
I liked all the cast aside from Alba. Its a good thing shes hot or she wouldn’t get any roles. I enjoyed the first film, but the second was just ass awful. Anyway, I’m looking forward to this reboot.
point to note: Jessica Alba can’t act… Period.
Correct. I generally give any popular actor the benefit of the doubt, but Alba really can’t do anything right in terms of acting. It’s quite sad, really.
SIGH.
Send it to pixar, they’ll touch it, they’ll make gold. yada yada
Well, it’s more or less true. It’d certainly come out better than before.
I’ve said it before, this whole “reboot” nonsense, especially with the comic films, is so ridiculous.
Why not just make a sequel that’s BETTER. There isn’t generally a ton to go on that may end up being a required reference. With comic books they are just cannibalizing/retelling stories that have been established 30+ years ago anyway.
Mostly I just hate seeing the same origin story retold over and over.
You can’t make a BETTER sequel with Jessica Alba having the main role. This is a very good reason to reboot the series. It’s like the Batman series. They know they screwed up really bad with “Batman & Robin” so they canceled “Batman Triumphant” and rebooted the series eight years later. And what was the result?
A house built on a foundation of sand, regardless of how great a house it is will still suffer from its past.
Yes, they COULD make a better sequel. Or let it lay as it was and move on with a new direction and a fresh start.
What if Batman Returns was a direct prequel? It would have to be burdened by all that went before it. But fresh start, and new look at everything worked out much better for that franchise.
Excellent point Rod
While I myself would like a third film with the previous cast, I also didn’t like the way things wound up being shown overall. Jessica Alba especially was getting to be a pain, although I also fault the way her character was written.
And poor ol’ Doctor Doom. Never quite the villain, even when briefly granted the Surfer’s board- wasted opportunities.
But I also have to take into account that I liked Ang Lee’s Hulk a lot- and when last year’s restart came out, the origin story was seen in a brief yet effective overview. So- I don’t really see a problem with The Fantastic Four. (However, the Punisher reboot bothered me like HELL, but that was a bad movie overall)
In fact, I would love to start a reboot of the FF with The Watcher, who says “This is the real story”…
@EZELL – by “they” I meant filmmakers in general. I know Nolan did Batman.
I actually enjoyed the first Fantastic Four. The second one was a bad movie, but there were parts I enjoyed of that also.
I’m glad they’re rebooting the series.
omfgwtf another reboot? Listen up Hollywood, COME UP WITH SOMETHING ORIGINAL dammit!
Hey Geoff,
In 2009 there will be over 300 wide release films and over 900 feature films with at least limited release. Of all of those, only a small percentage are remakes or sequels. There’s no problem with original movies in Hollywood.
Seriously, you want them to make more original movies? THen stop buying tickets for remakes…It’s that simple!
In a way, it’s a shame that Human Torch and The Thing will probably be recast. Chris Evans and Michael Chiklis did the best with what they were given in those roles. On the other hand, it’s good that Reed Richards, Susan Storm, and Dr. Doom could be recast. Also, I hope they do a better job on the Thing suit & make-up.
I wonder how this affects a possible Silver Surfer spinoff. Would it still be based on the 2nd old movie, or would it start over too?
I agree, keep Michael Chiklis as he was perfect for the Thing. Though I think they can find a better Human Torch. As for the Invisible Woman, find someone who can act, forget the eye candy!
I agree that Chiklis and Evans were great in their roles. They did a fine job with them.
However if they are rebooting, they will start fresh. I don’t see them “keeping” anyone on.
Just wanted to add my 2¢ that I agree that Evans and Chiklis were probably the best people they could have cast in those roles.
The others, not so much.
Good question on Silver Surfer. I have an answer. If it is still on, my understanding is that it was supposed to be an origin story? If that is the case they can, in theory, “restart” the Silver Surfer as well.
FF have no place in theaters. They should stick to Comics or Cartoons. They only have one good story and it was butchered in FF2, so no thank you. Reboot X-Men instead and this time stick to the original story … real talk.
Onestly, the first two movies were nothing but pure fun. But if they want to do something more serious, darker (like they did with Batman)…HELL, why not? But they’d better move fast, ’cause I’m eager for a new FF movie.
They didn’t do Batman… Christopher Nolan did Batman… and he liked it.
Hi all –
Fantastic Four is my favorite all time comic book series. It is light hearted and fun, which means that in no way can it ever be like any of the Batman’s (save for maybe the Adam West style TV show which was campy).
Rebooting the series is OK, but as has been stated too many times before – FF2 had too little action and as a super hero movie, action must be the driving force.
Jessica Alba was hot, and Invisible Woman is hot – but someone with a whole lot more range and dignity is needed. Mr. Fantastic (Ioan Gruffodd) is an American Icon – to be played by a Welsh actor just doesn’t fit. Dylan McDermit would have been a better Mr. Fantastic. Micheal Chiklis as Ben Grimm/Thing was excellent, much better in the second movie, but with a reboot you can’t have him reprising his role.
So a light hearted action packed movie with good humor is required for a decent reboot.
Be Well. Be Well Foured.
Theocrat
Theo, you said, “Mr. Fantastic (Ioan Gruffodd) is an American Icon – to be played by a Welsh actor just doesn’t fit”
Like WB’s Batman is also an American Icon. Who’s the actor currently playing Bruce Wayne, remind me again? When you do, think about your statement. Just for a few moments…
As for actors not reprising roles, if nothing else, they could have the actor back as Thing, like Dame Judi Dench is M in the James Bond films.
” …a light hearted action packed movie with good humor is required for a decent reboot”
Strange, considering the previous two pix were light hearted action with humor…
I’m all for the reboot! Although I’m not too keen on Akiva Goldsman on-board as Producer.
While the whole reboot thing did work for the hulk in fan’s appreciation of it, it didn’t really work financially, and I think that’s the reason they’re rebooting it.
I guess I long as they make it perfectly clear to the public that it is a reboot it might turn out better. It may be ok. Though I really like the human torch in the old Fantastic 4, I hope they get someone good to replace him.
Sweet First comment.
I do think that its a good move. I would really like to see those movies brought to a good and mature form. But the people behind the original was so out of touch in my mind. Or maybe I am wrong. Either way, it cant hurt to try.
I agree completely. The Fantastic Four films were messed up.