Marvel Studios is currently looking for a new director for their “Fantastic Four” reboot after Jon Watts has exited the project to give himself a break from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Watts directed three rather large and successful “Spider-Man” films and might want to focus on smaller/more original films instead. Hopefully, whoever lands the high-profile gig will take lessons from the Fox era of the franchise and more importantly the 2015 film that many consider the worst of the three pics.
Miles Teller, who played Mister Fantastic in the Josh Trank-directed reboot, is out promoting “Top Gun: Maverick” and sounded willing to give the superhero genre another crack during a recent chat with ComicBook. Citing the changing landscape around superhero films, Teller acknowledged that both film and television comic book adaptations “have really come a long way.”
“I think those characters in the movie adaptations, in the shows, have really come a long way,” Teller told ComicBook. “And I think they’ve really, you know, started diving into the complexity of these characters. And these characters have been written for so long and they evolved so much so I think at the end of the day, you’re just looking for a well-written character that hopefully you think touches on some things that you could do, and you could bring it to life. They’re some of the best fans in the world. Some of the most particular fans in the world, but if you can satisfy that crowd and you can have fun doing it then I mean, that’s great.”
READ MORE: ‘Fantastic Four’ Loses Its Director As ‘Spider-Man’ Filmmaker Jon Watts Exits Project
The Trank film was said to have been overhauled when then writer/producer Simon Kinberg oversaw reshoots as director and would go on to helm the equally messy “Dark Phoenix,” Kinberg’s second unsuccessful attempt at adapting “The Phoenix Saga” for the big screen after “X-Men: The Last Stand.”
Teller’s co-star Jamie Bell reflected on his own experience and simply warned people to avoid his “Fantastic Four” incarnation entirely while speaking on the SiriusXM radio show, Radio Andy, earlier this month (listen below).
“We made a film together, the ill-fated ‘Fantastic Four’ reboot, which was famously a disaster. I think it has about a 9% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. No, I don’t think [it deserves a second look.] Save your money, save your time,” Bell proclaimed to host Andy Cohen.
It’s not like previous “Fantastic Four” actors haven’t been given second chances in the MCU by Kevin Feige as both previous Johnny Storm actors Chris Evans (“Captain America: The First Avenger“) and Michael B. Jordan (“Black Panther“) ended up landing excellent characters and proved they could deliver the goods with the right material to work with. Interestingly enough, before the reboot, co-star Kate Mara played a U.S. Marshal in “Iron Man 2” only to never reprise that role again.
Perhaps, Teller might be considered for the “Nova” project that Marvel is putting together, which is essentially their own version of “Green Lantern” with the Nova Corps. acting as a cosmic police force. You could certainly picture Teller in the Richard Rider role if he is well received in “Top Gun: Maverick” as he plays the son of Maverick’s slain pilot pal Goose.
“Top Gun: Maverick” releases on May 27.