In what became one of the more intriguing stories of the summer blockbuster season, 20th Century Fox’s much-hyped Fantastic Four launched headfirst into a media circus, one that largely revolved around scenes that were inexplicably removed from the final cut, reports of internal struggles, and those relentless reviews that pigeonholed Josh Trank’s superhero feature beyond recognition.
For writer and producer Simon Kinberg, though, there remains a glimmer of hope for a truly great take on Marvel’s First Family, and it’s just a matter of assembling a cohesive vision before the cameras begin rolling in order to nail that treatment. During a recent interview with MTV, Kinberg touched upon his hopes for a sequel, the hurdles of reuniting the lead cast, and the main reason why he was so disappointed when Trank’s film failed to perform.
It all came down to the fans, according to Kinberg, with the writer-producer noting that Fantastic Four‘s shortcomings was felt most among the core fanbase.
“I was obviously disappointed. I was most disappointed that fans didn’t like it. I care more about them than I do anyone else. But I haven’t done a full deep dive on it. Do I think it was unfairly treated? I don’t know. I’ve been on plenty of happy movies that don’t turn out to be very good movies, I’ve been on a lot of unhappy, difficult sets that turn out to be great movies,” he said. “There was a lot of attention on the process of making that movie. It’s hard, when you’re making a movie, movies are hard to make. It’s just the reality.”
Development qualms and reports of internal fallouts aside, the failings of Fantastic Four haven’t curbed Kinberg’s enthusiasm for the sequel, which Fox still claims is on the cards. Now, it becomes a matter of reuniting the original cast.
“I’m really focused on the next one …We’re figuring out what that movie would be. I do believe there is a great ’Fantastic Four’ movie that we’ve made with that cast. So I’m gonna figure out what that is … I’d like that to happen.”
Truth be told, the Fantastic Four brand has been tarnished enough in the last decade that unless Kinberg’s idea for a sequel is nigh on perfect, it will take an awful lot to win over the legions of fans that were left burned after Trank’s rendition.
