It’s fair to say that 20th Century Fox’s upcoming reboot of The Fantastic Four hasn’t had the smoothest of rides with fans of Marvel’s First Family so far, but the studio certainly has high hopes for the film, having already announced a 2017 release date for The Fantastic Four 2. And now, as cameras roll on the reboot, Fox’s president of production Emma Watts has spoken about director Josh Trank’s vision for the film, as well as seemingly confirming that it will adopt a similar found footage style to that of Chronicle.
“Certainly the audience seems to still be really enjoying it. We’re making a big bet for 2015 with The Fantastic Four and director Josh Trank. To me, the key is the originality of the filmmakers and the choices they make. Josh is another really interesting example, who is using the vision he gave us in Chronicle to reinvent a franchise he’s loved his whole life. It’s not that you can’t make original ideas — you can, and we did it with Chronicle. The director is the key to not letting superhero movies go stale. That’s the truth… It’s Josh, so it can’t not have that [found footage] feel. That’s his talent, that’s what he does, and that’s what excites him about it. It is a really interesting young cast, and he is the magnet that’s brought them all together.”
The Fantastic Four is set for release on June 19th 2015, with a cast that includes Miles Teller (Divergent) as Mr. Fantastic, Kate Mara (American Horror Story) as the Invisible Woman, Michael B. Jordan (Chronicle) as the Human Torch, Jamie Bell (Nymphomaniac) as The Thing, Toby Kebbell (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) as Doctor Doom, Reg E. Cathey (The Wire) as Dr. Storm, and Tim Blake Nelson (The Incredible Hulk) as Harvey Elder.
Originally published June 27, 2014. Updated April 12, 2018.
