Why Movies Keep Getting Fantastic Four Wrong (& How Marvel Can Fix It)

Why Movies Keep Getting Fantastic Four Wrong (& How Marvel Can Fix It)

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The Fantastic Four has yet to get a proper big-screen adaptation. Here’s why that is and how Marvel Studios can improve upon its predecessors.

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Why Movies Keep Getting Fantastic Four Wrong (& How Marvel Can Fix It)

There has yet to be a proper Fantastic Four movie that does the team justice, but Marvel Studios could fix that when the introduce the team into the MCU. Marvel’s First Family are no strangers to the big screen, with three officially released films to their name under 20th Century Fox. In this case, quantity does not equal quality, with each one presenting unique problems that held them back.

The Fantastic Four have become staples of Marvel Comics since their debut in November of 1961. Though new Fantastic Four members are regularly added and removed, the core lineup is “Mr. Fantastic” Reed Richards, “The Invisible Woman” Sue Storm, “The Human Torch” Johnny Storm, and “The Thing” Ben Grimm. Originally conceived as a response to the Justice League of America, they have grown into something much stronger than a knee-jerk reaction. They are a family first and heroes second, an approach that makes them stand out in a crowd among other superhero factions. It also made them one of the most popular and recognizable groups in all of comics – Marvel, DC, or otherwise.

In attempting to transfer this game-winning formula to live-action, Fox never quite got it right. They attempted to adapt them on three occasions over two decades with varying degrees of success, or lack thereof. Between the harsh critics, expectant fans, and delicate economics, the Fantastic Four does not have a great relationship with the cinema. Following their purchase of 20th Century Fox last year, Disney now has film rights to the family once again and will eventually add them to the MCU. In doing so, the studio should look at past attempts to fully understand how to present them correctly this time around.

There’s Never Been A Good Fantastic 4 Movie

Why Movies Keep Getting Fantastic Four Wrong (& How Marvel Can Fix It)

Under the Fox banner, Fantastic Four movies were not smash-hits, financially or critically. Three were released to theaters worldwide, but there is a fourth that never saw the light of day. 1994’s The Fantastic Four was created with the sole intent of keeping the IP under Fox’s ownership. Had it not been made, they would have lost the rights back to Marvel much sooner, so they made a dummy film and didn’t release it. The first official adaptation came in 2005, leaving the majority of fans and critics unimpressed by the end. On a $100 million budget, it raked in $333.5 million at the global box office, which wasn’t a disaster but not quite a resounding success either. Regardless, Fantastic Four did well enough in Fox’s eyes to warrant a sequel that hit theaters in 2 years later.

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Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer yielded similar results to the first film, once again receiving substandard reactions from general audiences and critics. It was made on $130 million and grossed $301.9 million, making substantially less on a bigger budget. From there, the property would lie dormant for almost a decade with Josh Trank’s disastrous reboot coming out in 2015. Fantastic Four, or Fan4stic, was universally panned and was reportedly a mess thanks to heavy reshoots and behind the scenes drama. Fox’s last run with the team cost them between $120-155 million to produce, only making $167.9 million by the end of its time in theaters. It was to be Fox’s last attempt to make the franchise work, and yet another example that, even with a different direction, they simply couldn’t achieve it.

Why Fantastic 4 Movies Keep Failing

Why Movies Keep Getting Fantastic Four Wrong (& How Marvel Can Fix It)

It is not merely bad luck that keeps the Fantastic Four from finding success at the movies. There are a handful of issues that previous incarnations couldn’t shake that kept Fox from hitting it big. The most glaring of all three is their inability to avoid being a product of their time. The first two were cartoony and relied too heavily on in-jokes and tropes of the early-2000s, which came at the expense of telling a true Fantastic Four story. Trank’s rendition came from the age of dark, gritty superhero movies, a tone that didn’t suit Marvel’s First Family. As a result, they lack staying power and don’t hold up as the years go by, but also pale in comparison to similar, better movies of the moment they’re released in.

Another big issue that pulled them down was their depictions of the titular team. The original two movies had the characterizations right to a point, but they appeared as caricatures. Reed was a brainiac, Johnny was a literal hothead, Sue wanted to live a normal life, and Ben was comic relief. Their conversations felt contrived, designed to feign a family dynamic with minimal effort. As for the 2015 film, it was a distracting departure from the source material that made the characters borderline unrecognizable. There is nothing wrong with taking such a tried and true team in a fresh direction, but the experimentation left the story with no heart.

Aside from the team, their rogues’ gallery has yet to be done any real justice as well. Both versions of Doctor Doom from 2004 and 2015 failed to encapsulate what makes him such a compelling character. His powers, origins, and motives were lazily thrown together in both cases, resulting in half-baked portrayals. Rise of the Silver Surfer also included Doom, but the main antagonist was Galactus, “The Devourer of Worlds”, who was reduced to a giant dust cloud that threatened to engulf Earth. His motives, while true to the comic character, were overshadowed by his bland redesign. The exposition was given by the underutilized Silver Surfer until Galactus arrived, whose appearance befuddled fans and casual viewers alike.

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How Marvel Can Fix The Fantastic 4

Keeping in mind where Fox went wrong in presenting the Fantastic Four, Marvel can give the group their dues. Before coming up with the film itself, they will need to hire directors and writers that are familiar with the source material. Unless the Fantastic Four already exists in the MCU, the team’s origins also require some reinvention to fit the framework and in-universe lore. Something Marvel Studios does well is meshing multiple genres into one cohesive series. Different movies from different directors can still belong to the same universe without conflict. Giving the Fantastic Four reboot a unique tone is the first step in getting it right this time around, which means finding someone whose style works.

To build off of that concept, the movie needs to balance out the many dynamics the Fantastic Four has. They are not a traditional superhero team, shifting the focus onto family drama in addition to heroism. It can’t be all action, all the time, but it can’t be simple dialogue sessions between the protagonists either. There has to be heart to the story and mutual love between the four heroes. On the opposite end, the villains will need some serious retooling if they are to work. They need conflicting motivations from the group and to derive their look from source material without going overboard. Making Doom or Galactus legitimate threats to the Fantastic Four will strengthen the narrative, getting the viewer invested. The team is the most important MCU acquisition from Fox and should be presented as such from the start.

The Fantastic Four were squandered on the big screen time and time again under Fox’s supervision. Each rendition failed in both similar and contrasting ways to recreate the magic the team had on the pages of Marvel comics. At the same time, among all of the missteps and poor choices, there were some good elements in each of them. The Fantastic Four will debut in the MCU in a matter of time, which is something audiences should be hopeful of. With proper care and attention, a story centered around Reed, Sue, Johnny, and Ben can be executed incredibly well on film. Marvel Studios can learn a lot from the successes and failures of their predecessors, making the next Fantastic Four outing one worth remembering.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/fantastic-4-marvel-movies-bad-mcu-fix-how/

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