Now that the rights to the characters are finally under the purview of Kevin Feige’s Marvel Cinematic Universe, the chances are exceedingly high that the Fantastic Four are finally going to get the blockbuster treatment they deserve at the fifth time of asking.
The first live-action movie from 1994 was only made so that producer Bernd Eichinger could keep hold of the rights, and it was never released or even made available other than in grainy bootleg form. Tim Story’s mid-2000s duology could very generously be described as mediocre at best, while Josh Trank’s reboot was an unmitigated disaster.
Nobody involved in the critical and commercial bomb has ever had particularly kind things to say about their experience, so you can only imagine how former Sue Storm Kate Mara reacted when she was asked in an interview with ComicBook if she’d be interested in a multiversal MCU return.
“I’m like, ‘Who’s directing?’. Sadly, I don’t think anyone’s calling to ask me to do that, but, sure, in a fantasy world.”
Suffice to say, Marvel Studios will be disregarding any Fantastic Four feature to have been before when it comes to crafting the reboot, which has Spider-Man‘s Jon Watts attached to direct. Having gone zero-for-four so far, most folks wouldn’t be particularly enthused about seeing the heroes back on the big screen all over again, but it would be an understatement to say that Feige and his team have cultivated more than enough goodwill from audiences.