5 Things To Know About Fantastic Four
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In just about a month’s time on Aug. 7, the Fantastic Four reboot will finally reach theaters. While the average moviegoer might not be particularly excited to hear this, given that the previous attempt at adapting this particular superhero squad to the cinema more or less flopped (at least critically speaking), the new version looks decidedly more interesting. If you’re curious as to why, here are five things to know about the forthcoming project.
1 – The New Cast Is Young But Incredibly Accomplished
The cast of the new Fantastic Four is noticeably a great deal younger than that of the previous films, which could in itself give some fresh life to the series. But somewhat peculiarly, the new cast is also, debatably, more accomplished.
Miles Teller is taking on the role of Mr. Fantastic after a jaw-dropping breakout performance in the Oscar-nominated Whiplash. Kate Mara, a veteran of numerous films but also something of a breakout star on Netflix’s House Of Cards, will be the new Invisible Woman. Jamie Bell, who’s done well in a few indie films and is currently starring in TV’s Turn, will play the Thing. And perhaps most intriguing of all, Michael B. Jordan, who’s also in line to star in a new Rocky sequel, will be the Human Torch. Those are all pretty exciting young names, with Jordan and Teller tabbed by many as budding superstars.
2 – It Was Written By The Guy Who Made X-Men Cool
Or at least, that’s one way of phrasing it. Specifically, the lead screenwriter for Fantastic Four (and also a producer) is Simon Kinberg, who incidentally had a lot to do with the X-Men film franchise turning around. While the early films were more or less well received, the two latest entries in the series—X-Men: First Class and X-Men: Days Of Future Past—are just about universally regarded as the best two. Kinberg was a producer for both films and penned the script for the latter. He’s also in line to head up the writing for the coming X-Men: Apocalypse.
As if that wasn’t promising enough, consider this: one of the things that helped jumpstart the X-Men films under Kinberg’s watch was the transition to a newer, younger cast playing the heroes in their younger days. Sound familiar?
3 – There’s Yet Another Take On The Uniforms
If you take the time to look back at various comic book editions, the Fantastic Four characters have gone through a lot of costume changes over the years, some minor and some more drastic. But the most traditional look tends to feature some combination of a black and blue color scheme, with the emblematic “4” patched on somewhere or other.
This is more or less the look that we saw in the earlier film adaptations, and it has become recognizable as the primary image for the characters. Even in the Fantastic Four video game hosted at Betfair’s casino slots, images of the characters in these uniforms are used to attract fans of the comics to play the game. The slot wheels spin and turn up drawings of Mr. Fantastic and Co. in a sort of black and blue ensemble, with the same old “4” sticking out prominently from the left breast. Similarly, a Fantastic Four console game released around the same time as Betfair’s showcases the easily recognizable outfits, as can be seen in a Games Radar article.
But despite that image having become prominent in everything from films and comics to video games, the new take on the characters appears to involve brand-new, more serious uniforms. As was revealed by Collider earlier this year, we’re pretty much looking at all-black badass jumpsuits vaguely reminiscent of Batman’s first kevlar ensemble in Batman Begins. It’s a pretty cool look.
4 – The Characters Are Already Deeper Than Last Time
This might seem like a strange assertion before the film ever comes out, and it’s based in part upon the aforementioned pedigree of some of the young actors who will appear in Fantastic Four. However, it’s also based on recently released character videos hosted at Coming Soon, which intersperse clips from the film with actor interviews. Watching the videos, which are brief but informative, gives you the feeling that more thought and care went into the construction of the superhero team this time around.
5 – It Just Looks Awesome
This statement is backed up by the trailer, which has gotten a lot of attention for its distinctly darker vibe. Granted, the idea of superhero films needing to be dark and serious has grown a bit tired. In some ways, it’s almost nostalgic at this point to think back to the raw cheesiness of early modern superhero films, like Spider-Man. After the first attempt at a Fantastic Four franchise came across as somewhat less than serious, though, dark and gritty feels like an appropriate turn. Additionally, there’s quite a bit of imagery that’s reminiscent of the aforementioned X-Men films that Kinberg did so well with, so it’s hard to argue against it.
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