Josh Trank’s Fantastic Four once held so much promise. Riding high off the back of Chronicle‘s success, the director had assembled some of the most promising rising stars in the industry in Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara and Jamie Bell for a reboot that was designed to Nolanize Marvel’s First Family. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s indelible foursome have a long and storied history in the comics, but after much hullabaloo, alleged internal fallouts and reshoots, it’s official: Trank’s Fantastic Four is an unmitigated turkey.
Panned by critics – including our own Sam Woolf – the film is a forgettable, incoherent attempt at re-inventing the superpowered foursome. With Trank’s feature now on an international mission to recoup its initial budget, the possibility of a direct sequel has been put to question, though the director has now claimed that the studio is to blame for Fantastic Four‘s shortcomings.
In a now deleted Tweet, the filmmaker pointed the finger of blame in Fox’s direction, stating that he had an, er, fantastic version of the origins story that was altered in its journey from page to screen. Here’s what Trank had to say on the controversial matter.
While Fantastic Four‘s problems aren’t exclusive to its mishandled storytelling – shoddy CGI and a confused pacing – it is interesting to hear Josh Trank’s take on the matter. Granted, the director is reportedly known for his passionate outbursts, and it’s likely that this deleted Tweet was a knee-jerk reaction to the early unfavorable reviews. Though his abrupt departure from Star Wars does raise more questions than answers.
Written by Simon Kinberg alongside Trank, Fantastic Four may have been the victim of script doctoring up until the cameras began rolling, but ultimately the film takes itself too seriously. Too many cooks in the kitchen, as Chronicle scribe Max Landis so aptly put.
Fantastic Four is in cinemas now – just don’t hold your breath for that sequel.