In drips and drabs, we’re getting more information about the MCU’s take on the Fantastic Four reboot, and the appearance of John Krasinski as a variant of Reed Richards in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has only fueled the fire. Now the actor who played The Thing in 20th Century Fox’s version of the Fantastic Four is reminding everyone of what came before.
The actor Michael Chiklis, known for the cop dramas The Commish and The Shield, and who played against type in the 2005 Fantastic Four movie (but also kind of on-type), shared a timely reminder on social media about his time as Ben Grimm. Is he campaigning for the role? Maybe!
While that fedora hasn’t aged well at all, Chiklis did bring a certain manly je ne sais quoi to the role. Take a look at a scene from the movie where he saves a man on a bridge while also causing a lot of mayhem.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Chiklis revealed that The Thing suit was incredibly claustrophobic and felt like being “in your own personal torture chamber.” He also talked about how he felt about a reboot by Marvel, claiming that it wouldn’t work if they made the story too “dark and brooding,” according to Screen Rant.
Just understand, the real tone and tenor of The Fantastic Four is as we did it. It’s not meant to be dark and brooding. It’s never going to be The Dark Knight. Don’t try to make it that. Don’t expect it to be that. The Ever-Lovin’ Blue-Eyed Thing was from Brooklyn and he was a Dodgers fan. They were a sweet family and that’s the way it’s meant to be. It wasn’t meant to be hardcore and dark and brooding. Try to make it that, you will fail.
He’s not wrong. The 2015 reboot starring Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara, and Jamie Bell was supposed to be a dark and gritty retelling of the group’s origin story, but it didn’t really catch on with fans or critics alike. It was so poorly received that a scheduled sequel was canceled even though it had a release date and everything.
That, however, was the last Fantastic Four movie to be released by 20th Century Fox before the rights to the property went back to Marvel following Disney’s acquisition of the company. Whether Chiklis will carry on the legacy of The Thing in the MCU feels a tad unlikely, but as they say in Hollywood — anything is possible. Stay tuned for more information.
The MCU’s Fantastic Four will round out Phase Six of the Multiverse Saga when it premieres in theaters on Feb. 14, 2025.