It’s safe to say that 20th Century Fox’s reboot of Fantastic Four is the summer’s highest profile casualty. Dying a horrible death across the globe at the box office, early word before the film was released was that it was a production that was filled with problems, many of which may well be true given the reaction and final product.
Director Josh Trank supposedly battled through the production, and word of reshoots were seemingly just the tip of the iceberg. Now, word comes from EW that a scene present in the early trailer for the film may have gone at least a small way to making the film a little better. The scene, featuring Jamie Bell’s The Thing, centered around the image of the hero dropping from a plane back down to Earth.
Apparently coming just after the heroes gained their powers from their unsupervised trip through the dimensional portals, it was supposedly a quite major action set-piece, something the final film clearly lacked. The description that EW have pieced together reads as follows, which would have followed the “one year later” title card which was rumoured to be always part of the original script:
A Chechen rebel camp in the wee hours of the night. There’s no explanation for where we are, but there are soldiers speaking a foreign language, and they are loading up some heavy-duty weaponry.
Crews are filling truck beds with the gear, preparing to mobilize – then a siren goes off. Everyone freezes, and one by one they turn their faces to the sky. A stealth bomber whispers by overhead, and a large object falls from it, streaking through the air at great speed.
The object – a bomb, a missile? – collides with the earth in the center of the camp, sending debris is all directions. The soldiers take cover, then tentatively emerge and walk toward the crater, where there is a giant pile of orange boulders.
Slowly, the rocks begin to move on their own, becoming arms, legs, a torso, a head … This rock-figure lumbers out of the smoke, and the soldiers level their weapons – then open fire. As The Thing lurches into view, bullets spark and ping off his impenetrable exterior.
Rather than some elegant, balletic action sequence, The Thing moves slowly and deliberately. He’s in no hurry. The storytelling goal was to show the futility of firepower against him as he casually demolishes the terrorists. It’s a blue-collar kind of heroism.
When it becomes clear this rock-beast cannot be stopped, the surviving Chechen rebels make a run for it – and that’s when a hail of gunfire finishes them off.
From the shadows of the surrounding forest, a team of Navy SEALS emerge with their guns drawn and smoking. The cavalry has arrived, but the enemy has already been subdued.
From there, the scene would have continued before The Thing boards a helicopter and is lifted away, then cutting to to Tim Blake Nelson’s character, Dr. Allen, talking to the military.
Whether or not we ever see the scene in full, or even if it would have made any difference to the film’s final quality, remains to be seen. What the report does do is further enhance the rumours of on-set problems and different edits on the final film.
What do you think about the deleted scene? Could it have helped to change your opinion on the movie? Let us know in the comments below…
Fantastic Four sees 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.
Originally published August 18, 2015. Updated June 24, 2023.
