Simon Kinberg talks Fantastic Four, says “it’s not a disaster”

Ahead of its release this Friday, Fantastic Four producer Simon Kinberg has been talking to Entertainment Weekly about the superhero reboot, stating that he’s proud of the final film despite reports of a less-than-perfect production last year.

The reboot has been plagued with rumours of problems since it started shooting in 2014, ranging from issues with the film itself which consequently led to extensive reshoots, to behind-the-scenes tensions with its director Josh Trank. But Kinberg has said that he is happy with the final result:

“I am proud of it. It’s not a disaster. It’s a good movie. I’m happy with the way that it turned out. What I think we had was a very young director making a very big movie —a director that, for whatever reason, people were either rooting against, or his personality troubled the press. So it just got viewed differently than any other movie that’s a tough movie. We came in on schedule, under budget, [with] a movie that was pretty true to the original intent of the film. Whether people like it or not, it was his vision, which was a more grounded, a much more real version of Fantastic Four. Was it an easy production? No. Was it harder than a lot of the movies I’ve been on? No. But I may also have a higher threshold. I think there was something about Josh’s identity that made him a good target. I’m not sure what that is.”

Fantastic Four is set to hit theaters on August 7th, with Josh Trank (Chronicle) directing a cast that includes Miles Teller (Whiplash) as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, Kate Mara (House of Cards) as Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman, Michael B. Jordan (Fruitvale Station) as Johnny Storm/The Human Torch, Jamie Bell (Nymphomaniac) as Ben Grimm/The Thing, Toby Kebbell (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) as Doctor Doom, Reg E. Cathey (House of Cards) as Dr. Storm, and Tim Blake Nelson (The Incredible Hulk) as Harvey Elder/Mole Man.