No superhero blockbuster movie in recent memory has been in need of good publicity more than Fantastic Four. Going on little more than rumor, speculation and likely outright fabrication, Fox’s reboot of the Marvel Comics property (which was made into 2005 and 2007 movies) has been seemingly drowning underneath a wave of negative press. We’ll recap that later.
It’s often impressive to see a movie studio’s PR machinery begin to turn. And now, we’re seeing Fox attempt to take control of the story being told about Fantastic Four leading up to its Aug. 7 release. Monday night (Jan. 27), Collider’s Steve Weintraub posted an exclusive interview with director Josh Trank (Chronicle) and producer Simon Kinberg (X-Men: Days of Future Past) in which the filmmakers acknowledged that they have been intentionally withholding details and images from the film until there was something impressive to show. (Soon thereafter, Nerdist received descriptions of the character’s costumes.)
Speaking of non-Marvel Studios Marvel movies: I’ve been hearing some troubling stuff about FANTASTIC FOUR. I’m still hopeful but very wary.
— Devin Faraci (@devincf) December 10, 2014
However, I would argue taking that approach allowed internet speculation to run unchecked and letting negative buzz build can be fatal to the perception of a film.
Yes, if visual effects weren’t ready for a trailer and images weren’t sufficient to convey a good impression, that wouldn’t have worked. But fans and film bloggers just want crumbs and little snacks until the full meal is ready. These days, there are five-second teasers for 90-second trailers. We’ll accept anything. Maybe it’s ultimately for our own good that filmmakers such as Trank and J.J. Abrams try to maintain intrigue and keep their ventures a surprise. But our appetites are insatiable, yet easily satisfied.
So is the Fantastic Four teaser trailer a suitable appetizer? See for yourself.
Previously, all we’d heard from filmmakers and those with sources close to the production is that Trank wanted to create a modern. more real-world take on the superhero story. In the Collider interview, he said that his ambition was to make a “hard sci-fi” film owing more to the work of David Cronenberg (Scanners, The Fly) than Stan Lee or Jack Kirby. Based on the two minutes shown in this teaser, it looks like Trank achieved that goal.
The tone of Fantastic Four appears to be darker and more somber than what we’ve seen from Marvel films like The Avengers. That could be a bit of a jolt for fans expecting something brighter and more technicolor, which is what Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created in the original Fantastic Four comic books. Those stories were fun, with a sense of adventure and underlying theme of family.
Does the trailer convey that feeling? I’d argue no, but that hardly invalidates the movie or Trank’s vision. It’s simply a different, presumably more modern interpretation. Kinberg acknowledged to Collider that he and Trank were more influenced by the Ultimate Fantastic Four comics created by Mark Millar, Brian Michael Bendis and Adam Kubert beginning in 2004 than the original Lee-Kirby tales. The age of the actors and the foray into a different dimension, rather than into outer space, seem to confirm that.
Now that the teaser trailer has been released, and Trank and Kinberg are talking to the press, perhaps the production is finally taking control of the narrative that’s been presented to the public. But the PR battle seems like a steep uphill climb for Fantastic Four.
To recap the negative buzz that’s circulated, the unconventional casting of younger actors for characters that have been typically older in the comic books raised eyebrows. Miles Teller (Whiplash) would play team leader and genius scientist Reed Richards. Kate Mara (House of Cards) is portraying Susan Storm, who gains the power to become invisible. Jamie Bell (Snowpiercer) plays Ben Grimm, who’s transformed into the monstrous, rock-skinned Thing. And then Michael B. Jordan (Fruitvale Station) was cast as Johnny Storm, who’s always been a white character in the comics. That one caused some people to lose their damn minds on social media.
Skepticism was further stoked when Toby Kebbell (Black Mirror) revealed that arch-villain Victor Von Doom was not the megalomanical rule of an Eastern European country and an equally brilliant scientist as Richards, but a rogue computer programmer named Victor Domashev. Leaked photos of Doom’s costume from the movie’s set didn’t inspire much confidence either, since it looked quite different from the comic book incarnation.
Soon thereafter, a supposed summary of the Fantastic Four script circulated around the internet, showing a radical departure from the comic book mythology fans were familiar with. Instead of a wunderkind genius, Richards was a community college student working at a convenience store. Grimm had abusive parents. Doom (or Domashev) is a hacker. What? It wasn’t like this in my Marvel Comics! For what it’s worth, screenwriter Jeremy Slater took to Twitter to say that plot synopis was completely false.
And the cosmic storm of negative rumors didn’t stop there. Just before the holidays, a message board posting prompted rumors that Trank was constantly late to the set, often high when he did show up, treated the film crew terribly and trashed the house that the production had set him up with in Baton Rouge, La.
Meanwhile, today’s fanboy gossip? When filmmakers behave badly & trash their house. — Umberto Gonzalez (@elmayimbe) December 23, 2014
U.K. comic book and movie rumor website Bleeding Cool posted a report that said Fox studio executives called Fantastic Four “a mess” and significant reshoots were being done. (A year earlier, the site reported that the studio was considering trashing the whole project and hiring a new director, writers and actors. That obviously didn’t happen.) Kinberg soon dispelled that rumor, telling Latino Review that the reshoots were nothing to worry about and everyone involved was excited about the film and people would see what’s really happening when the teaser trailer was released.
So we’ll see if the view of Fantastic Four has shifted, now that there’s actual footage to see and dissect, instead of rumor and innuendo. Perception of the trailer seems to be largely positive, though there’s admittedly not much to go on. (The operative word is “teaser,” folks.) This movie certainly looks different from the comic books and Tim Story’s previous Fantastic Four movies. It’s worth remembering that Story tried to convey the brighter tone of the original comics and that didn’t work, so maybe Trank is on the right track here.
From now until Aug. 7, Fantastic Four could provide a master class in movie marketing — especially if it overcomes what has been pervasively negative perception. In the past, that sort of thing has killed movies like John Carter. But blockbusters like Titanic and Man of Steel (not to compare those two films in any way) largely broke through to worldwide success.
Fox already has a Fantastic Four sequel scheduled for June 2, 2017, so perhaps there’s little concern about bad buzz and confidence is apparently high. Trank has also been tabbed to direct one of the Star Wars spinoff films, so the view of him in the industry is obviously positive. Over the next six months, perhaps all the fanboy outrage and speculative criticism — which have been more menacing than Doctor Doom could ever be — will be forgotten. Accomplishing that could be as impressive as anything a superhero team does in the comic books or movies.
