Fox’s Fantastic Four reboot is on our list of 2015 box office risks because it seems to be the one major superhero tentpole movie that has little fan love, and even less studio PR support behind it. With some eight months to go until release, we’ve seen zero footage from Chronicle director Josh Trank’s new take on Marvel’s first family; no promo images of the cast in costume, not even official concept art revealing what the finished product is supposed to be. In the meantime, no news has given rise to bad rumors about the state of production, or the studio’s opinion of the finished product.
Well, one person is stepping out in support of Fantastic Four, and it is none other than Kick-Ass and X-Men: First Class director Matthew Vaughn, whose new movie Kingsman: The Secret Service hits theaters soon, and has already gotten good early reviews. According to Vaughn, if you liked Chronicle you’ll like the new Fantastic Four. But is Vaughn saying more than he meant to in that statement?
Here’s the exact quote from Vaughn (via Flickering Myth)
“I’ve seen the movie, it’s good… I thought Chronicle was a fantastic movie and [Josh] Trank has gone off and done his version of Fantastic Four. If you like Chronicle, then you’ll like this… We’re all backing Josh Trank’s vision… And hopefully the world will like Josh Trank’s vision.”
Here’s the official synopsis for Fantastic Four:
THE FANTASTIC FOUR, a contemporary re-imagining of Marvel’s original and longest-running superhero team, centers on four young outsiders who teleport to an alternate and dangerous universe, which alters their physical form in shocking ways. Their lives irrevocably upended, the team must learn to harness their daunting new abilities and work together to save Earth from a former friend turned enemy.
It’s not hard to see the correlation: Chronicle was about three teens discovering a power source that gave them superhuman abilities, and forced them to cope with that reality in the context of teen angst; Fantastic Four will basically tell that same tale. It’s actually a story closer to the Ultimate Fantastic Four comics of the 2000s, but it’s definitely in the same wheelhouse as Chronicle – but does that mean the format of Josh Trank’s storytelling will largely be the same?
There have always been rumors of found-footage format being at least part of the movie (say, when the Four are first training with their powers) – and again, it’s easy to see how Trank would use that to service the film. After all, that same video journal format helped ground the more fantastical parts of the first Iron Man film, and still made it an entertaining showcase for the charisma of star Robert Downey Jr.
Fantastic Four‘s cast – Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Bell – all have charisma in their own right and solid banter skills, so a Vlog of their strange shared origin could oddly turn out to be one of the better aspects of the movie. Even actor Toby Kebbell (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) is charismatic, so his version of Doctor Doom (whether an evil computer nerd and/or megalomaniacal dictator) could also be more entertaining for his personality than any super villain action.
It’s best to remember that this validation of Fantastic Four is also coming from Vaughn, whose own superhero films have all been distinguished by interesting cinematic techniques and sequences; snappy scripts and dialogue; and some impressive action. So if HE is impressed, maybe Trank’s movie does indeed hit all those marks and delivers something special. Maybe?
NEXT: Possible Doctor Doom Costume Image
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We won’t know anything for sure until Fantastic Four releases some official marketing material – hopefully sometime before its August 7th release date.
