Many people don’t realize this, but the “Fantastic Four” comic books predate almost everything in Marvel’s history. The superhero team is basically the foundation of all modern Marvel superheroes. Yet, “Fantastic Four,” as a film franchise, is one of the most troubled, with multiple failed attempts, with the most recent example being 2015’s oft-maligned iteration directed by Josh Trank.
Speaking to Forbes, one of the actors who starred in that version, Toby Kebbell, who played Doctor Doom, talked openly and honestly about what he perceives were the issues with Trank’s “Fantastic Four.” And he’s not afraid to point the finger at those folks steering the ship.
“You know, I’ll be entirely honest… I don’t think we were a victim of timing, I think we were a victim of bad leadership and organization,” Kebbell said. “I actually thought people in charge — I mean in charge, in charge, not people creating and working on set — I think there were opportunities, there were conversations had, there were script differences, there was like, ‘Hey, you know, Simon [Kinberg, “Fantastic Four” producer and writer], this is actually factually true, this is important information…’ He’s like, ‘No, no, no. That’s not what this is.’”
He continued, “So there were unfortunate things. In Hollywood, you can’t ever speak ill and I’m not doing that, I’m just saying while I was there, there was a lot more that could have been done to make that a better thing. There’s fans for it. I truly believe it…So I truly believe Doom is an awesome villain, he’s an excellent villain and they kind of always just do something goofy with it. It’s a shame, it’s a shame. I honestly feel that way. I wouldn’t have gone into it thinking, ‘Ah, this is going to be another terrible movie.’ I thought they had that.”
Even after saying the 2015 “Fantastic Four” and his version of Doctor Doom were victims of “bad leadership,” he still isn’t totally sure how everything fell apart. One thing he knows, it wasn’t as if other Marvel films weren’t already good.
“At that time Marvel was already the Apex predator, it was already the one to beat, they were already the people to try to do the thing with. Why that effort wasn’t put in, I don’t know,” Kebbell added. “But, yeah I know none of those people will call me back to work with them, so the truth as I see it is that more could have been done by the powers that be. So I hope, I truly hope, that someone does create a great version because I truly believe… I’m a big fan of Doom as a character. He’s awesome. So, yeah. I hope they do it just right.”
Even seven years later, there’s still a fascination with Josh Trank’s “Fantastic Four.” The director has basically disavowed himself from the film, citing massive reshoots and studio interference. And unlike The Snyder Cut of “Justice League” or David Ayer’s unseen version of “Suicide Squad,” there isn’t a huge groundswell of folks trying to get a new cut of “Fantastic Four.” It’s an oddity in the Golden Age of superhero films.
And while we don’t have an official release date, it appears Marvel Studios is ready to take a new stab at the franchise with a new “Fantastic Four” with ‘Spider-Man’ filmmaker Jon Watts at the helm. Maybe, just maybe, we’ll get a definitive live-action version of Marvels’ First Family? Let’s hope.