Another day, another chapter in the burgeoning post-mortem for Josh Trank’s Fantastic Four reboot. Earlier this week, Doctor Doom himself Toby Kebbell weighed in with his own two cents about the botched superhero flick, claiming that the “fans aren’t wrong” when it comes to its shortcomings.
Now, it’s Ant-Man director Peyton Reed who has offered his own assessment of the failure. Speaking to Yahoo, the filmmaker – who is currently on the verge of penning a deal to helm Ant Man and the Wasp – recounted the reasons why he holds the Fantastic Four in high regard, though ultimately he was critical of Trank’s feature film.
Releasing so soon after Fox’s more light-hearted take on Marvel’s First Family didn’t exactly help matters either, and that’s a sentiment that Reed echoes in his statement.
“Fantastic Four in the comics was always the pinnacle of Marvel, the crown jewel–they were the first family of Marvel Comics,” he said. “The two existing [film] versions did massive pendulum swings from each other. One was very pitched toward younger kids and very broad, and the second was a much darker version of it. I just personally feel like they have not gotten the tone right. And man, it’s a bummer. I think the tone has got to be one of optimism, and you’ve got to take it seriously.”
Ending on a more positive note, the director went on to say that he doesn’t believe the brand has been tarnished beyond repair and that, deep beneath the tonal problems and underwhelming stories, is “a great Fantastic Four movie.”
“I think they haven’t really gotten Mr. Fantastic’s powers right visually on screen,” Reed continued. “I think there’s some really badass ways to make that [character] work. I just know there’s a great Fantastic Four movie to be had. I’m convinced that it can work.”
Fantastic Four released earlier in the year to underwhelming reviews. Should Peyton Reed commit to Ant Man and the Wasp, however, we can look forward to his rendition of the superhero sequel on July 6, 2018.