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I'm really curious to see how the fan community is going to react to this new Fantastic Four movie after they actually see it. There are lot of people complaining out there about this reboot, and we've hardly seen anything from it yet. I really love the cast of this movie, and because of that I want it to succeed. I know a lot has been changed with this new adaptation, and we aren't going to get the comic book version that fans might have been looking for. I'm open to new interpretations, especially if it's good. I'm just not sure yet what exactly we have here with this film. It looks like it has potential, but I can't tell if it's going to be good or bad yet.
Last night we posted some new images from the film, and director Josh Trank described it as being a "dark Amblin movie." Now we have some additional comments from the director, thanks to Empire, and he opens up a little about his version of the story and these characters. First he address the first two Fantastic Four movies, saying:
"The original two films to me are very similar to a lot of recent movies that have come out, in terms of that kind of cartoonish. It's just not something that me and Simon are interested in as storytellers. There's the opportunity to make something that is challenging and tragic and dramatic. The opportunity is right there in the material. We'd rather steer it in that direction as opposed to just embracing a tone that comes right off the page."
So it sounds like he is going for more of the gritty Dark Knight kind of vibe. There's nothing wrong with that, but I think Marvel Studios has managed to perfectly provide that same kind of tragic drama that Trank is talking about, and merge it with a lot of fun. I guess Trank isn't into those kinds of movies.
When it comes to the characters in the film and the actors that he cast to play them, he starts off with praising Miles Teller for his intelligence and resemblance to the comic book version of Reed Richards, and then moves to the casting of Michael B. Jordan as Johnny Storm, saying:
"I have mixed family. When I go home for Christmas, you'll see white people and black people. That's normal to me. I wanted a Storm family that represented 21st century families."
When talking about his vision for Sue Storm (Kate Mara), he says:
"There have always been two categories of Sue - the slutty secretary version, and this brilliant scientist version. This is a really, really smart Sue, and one that is dignified and has integrity."
As for Ben Grimm a.k.a. The Thing (Jamie Bell), the director reveals that the character was breaking out of a "transformation cocoon" in the teaser trailer. He adds:
"Ben is supposed to be a smaller guy in terms of height. That idea of Ben being Reed's best friend in the archetypical way, you want that character to have warmth and strength, qualities Jamie has."
He went on to reveal that at one point in the movie The Thing will be portrayed almost entirely with the help of motion capture effects. Then when asked if he will be paying homage to certain aspects of the comic book in the film, such as Reed's greying hair on the temples of his head, he replies:
"There are surprises for everybody in the movie. We've had time to figure out every single iconic and subtle aspect of the Fantastic 4, and how it can organically belong to this film."
So there you have it. What do you think about the comments that Trank made in this interview? Did they manage to help you get any more excited? Or did they drive you further away?
