This morning we brought you four new images from 20th Century Fox’s upcoming reboot The Fantastic Four [check them out here], and now CBM has posted some quotes from director Josh Trank in the latest issue of Empire Magazine, where he offers up his thoughts on the difference between the new film and the studio’s first two FF movies.
“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.”
Trank went on to discuss Michael B. Jordan’s casting as Johnny Storm – a decision which kicked off a whole host of controversy over the character’s race change for the reboot:
“I had just come off working with Michael B. Jordan and his character, Steve, in Chronicle had a lot of similar characteristics to Johnny Storm. And I thought it would be interesting to take the family dynamic of the Storms, which is brother and sister, and bring that more into the 21st century in terms of what we consider the norm. I have mixed family in my own family and it’s something that isn’t out of the ordinary anymore but we don’t really see it portrayed in the casual reality of the movies. That’s something I felt that would be interesting and challenging, to have mixed siblings.”
As for Johnny’s sister Sue, Trank statred that: “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.”
And finally, the director was asked whether the movie will incorporate elements of the comic book such as Reed’s grey temples, responding that: “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.”
The Fantastic Four is set for release on August 7th with Josh Trank directing a cast that includes Miles Teller (Whiplash) as Mr. Fantastic, Kate Mara (American Horror Story) as the Invisible Woman, Michael B. Jordan (Fruitvale Station) 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 February 26, 2015. Updated January 18, 2020.
