Sunday, August 03, 2014

The "Fantastic Four" Reboot In Post Production

The upcoming "Fantastic Four" reboot is seemingly in the can.

The comic book series follows four individuals--Reed Richards--Mr. Fantastic (Miles Teller), Sue Storm --The Invisible Girl (Kate Mara), her brother Johnny Storm--The Human T/orch (Fruitvale Station star Michael B. Jordan), and Ben Grimm The Thing (Jamie Bell) who gained superpowers after exposure to cosmic rays during a scientific mission to outer space.

Mara tweeted a photo of herself with her fellow principal cohorts Teller. Jordan and Bell:


The film has been well guarded--no stills, no footage, no artwork, no logo, or a set photo...leaked or otherwise.

Mara caused in an new interview with Esquire Mexico (via CBM) last month in which she said that she was told not to bother reading the comics:

"I've never been a fan of comics, I've never actually read one. I was going to for this movie but the director said it wasn't necessary. Well, actually he told us that we shouldn't do it because the plot won't be based on any history of anything already published. So I chose to follow his instructions. The one fact is I am a fan of comic book movies, so it's very exciting to be part of a movie like this. I don't feel more responsibility with this role that I've felt with others. I understand that there are many fans of The Fantastic Four and I guess they expect a lot from me, but I prefer not to be pressured by that. We are also trying to create a new way of seeing these superheroes, I'm focusing on making her (Susan Storm) as real as possible. I was excited, but I only focused on doing the best I could. I think there are roles you get if that's what needs to happen. I kept everything in perspective although expected to stay with the paper, because the movie has great actors like Michael B. Jordan."

Those comments had to be quickly followed up by a response from publicist who claimed that Mara was misquoted and actually meant the film was "not based on one comic [storyline], but rather drawn from the entire canon."

 Jordan talked with MTV News about the film and says the secrecy over it is deliberate:

"We have been pretty much in our own world, that's really the only way we could get a project like this done. It is so massive, so many moving parts, so many moving pieces, things are changing every day. The script is evolving, [you make] on set decisions on the fly, things are always constantly changing. Me personally, I block out that extra noise and I focus on the job I have to do. It is an important film for all of us… We're taking it seriously, taking a lot of risks. I think it's going to pay off."

Jordan goes on to say that:

"It's not your typical superhero film, you know, we aren't looking at this as like, being superheroes. We're more or less a bunch of kids that had an accident and we have disabilities now that we have to cope with, and try to find a life afterwards – try to be as normal as we can. We're trying to make it relatable to people as much as we can [with these] larger than life, larger than this world themes. It's superheroes! You know, not just superheroes. It's fiction. You've got to ground it as much as you can to make [audience members] feel relatable to these characters, no matter what age they are or what time of their life."



Saoirse Ronan ("The Host")  Margot Robbie  "Girls" star Allison Williams were rumored to be circling Invisible Girl last year. Samira Wiley also denied Sue chatter. Mara and Emmy Rossum were said to have both tested for Sue Storm; Christian Cooke was eyed for Grimm. Actor Josh Gad was rumored as well but that talk was denied via Twitter

Reg E. Cathey will play Dr. Storm, the scientist father of Johnny and Sue. The film will be a reunion for Cathey and Jordan, as Jordan got his start on the cable series The Wire.

Toby Kebbell has won the role of bad guy  Doctor Doom He beat out Domhnall Gleeson, Eddie Redmayne, Sam Riley and Jack Huston for the part.

Doom is the son of a gypsy woman who ends up the ruler of a fictional country named Latveria. His character history includes attending university with Reed Richards, the man who will become the leader of the Fantastic Four Like Richards, he is a genius but with an unchecked ego.

The Nerdist reports that: "Doombots will definitely be in the film, in the form of drones that the good Doctor controls telekinetically."

First introduced in 1965, the DoomBots are robotic duplicates of Doctor Doom which he used to do battle. Over the years they've taken on various forms, which version we'll see in the film is uknown at present.

Julian McMahon played the character as Victor Von Doom in the previous big screen incarnations.

Tim Blake Nelson will play Harvey Elder, an eccentric and socially awkward scientist who is also the Mole Man, the leader of a subterranean group of monsters known as the Moloids. The Mole Man will NOT appear in this movie but his appearance does set up the character as a potential future villain.

This is not the first time Nelson has been in this position for a Marvel-related movie. In 2008's "The Incredible Hulk" he played Samuel Sterns, a reclusive scientist who is seen mutating in his final scenes which sets up the character's potential return as the villain The Leader.

Simon Kinberg ("Sherlock Holmes," "X-Men: Days of Future Past") recently finished scripting duties. Jeremy Slater was hired to pen the previous script draft.--that Seth Grahame-Smith polished. Michael Green ("Green Lantern") also wrote a draft as well.

"Chronicle" director Josh Trank called action on the pic.

"X-Men: First Class" and "Kick-Ass" director Matthew Vaughn signed on to produce the reset

The leads were previously portrayed by Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans and Michael Chiklis. The first Fantastic Four in 2005 and its sequel 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer in 2007--both helmed by Tim Story--grossed $620 million despite awful reviews (I liked em both!)

Fox wants to restore some credibility and quality to the property, that is currently targeting a June 19th 2015 release. Vancouver has lost out on the shoot for the upcoming reboot. The film's production took place in Louisiana due to tax incentives in place.

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