Fantastic Four Reboot Movie Won't Be Based on Any Comics

[RJ 17]

huh....this reads like it was ment to incur fan rage EDIT: not specifically hwat she said but everything else pretty much

[quote/]"I've never been a fan of comics, I've never actually read one. I was going to for this movie but the director said it wasn't necessary. Well, actually he told us that we shouldn't do it because the plot won't be based on any history of anything already published."

*sigh*....she's gonna get a lot of disproportionate hate for this....[/quote]I don't see any reason to throw hate at her, all she said was that she had never really read any comics. If anything, it's the writer and director who might/should possibly get hate tossed at them. Mara said that she actually planned on reading some comics to help prepare for this role, that's admirable research for any actress undertaking such a role......then the director said "Nope, in fact I'd prefer if you didn't." No reason to beat up on the actress for this "betrayal" of the source material.

Spoiler: This does seem like a good place to leave this Letter to Hollywood:

 

[Vault101]

*sigh*....she's gonna get a lot of disproportionate hate for this....

I don't see any reason to throw hate at her, all she said was that she had never really read any comics. If anything, it's the writer and director who might/should possibly get hate tossed at them. Mara said that she actually planned on reading some comics to help prepare for this role, that's admirable research for any actress undertaking such a role......then the director said "Nope, in fact I'd prefer if you didn't." No reason to beat up on the actress for this "betrayal" of the source material.
[/quote]

I did say "disproportionate"

cause you know what people can be like

or mabye it wont be notable enough for people to care...

 

[Trishbot]

A comic book movie with almost zero connection to the actual comic? How did that work out last time...

Yeah... this is sounding more and more like a "just make something to keep the rights out of Marvel's hands... we don't care, just call it 'Fantastic Four' and give them the same names. It doesn't have to be faithful for us to hold on to the movie rights..."

Which reminds me of the last time they tried to do that as well...

I'm almost eager to see how badly this blows up.

 

[fight me in space]

Fantastic Four (or whatever they end up calling it) has been described by producer Simon Kinberg as "a much more grounded, gritty, realistic movie than the last couple,"

Please forgive this movie. We purposefully made it wrong, as a joke.

 

[Falterfire]

I have no problems with them writing a new story featuring the Fantastic Four characters - A lot of good comic book adaptations feature new stories featuring existing characters - but it seems really odd to specifically suggest the actress not read any comics just because they weren't basing it off an existing story.

As for her having never read a comic book: That puts her in with 99% of the population. For all Marvel & DC stuff is huge, neither has done a great job of effectively selling the actual comic books to anybody who wasn't already buying them.

 

[Baresark]

Gritty and realistic huh? I already hate the sound of it. One of the hallmarks of the series is how "Fantastic" it is. Fantastic in their context means imaginative or fanciful, remote from reality. I was fine with the cast choice and this makes it look even more fine since it will be nothing like Marvels first family in anything but name.

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

So its a FF movie with nothing to do with FF comics and wont be called FF? So just a movie with four heroes with minor links to the Ultimate FF? That sounds terrible. Also the grounded, gritty and realistic comment is even worst. I actually liked the original 2 FF movies - ok they had their problems but it was light hearted and fun. Why is it directors are going for gritty instead of being like the source material?

Actually if they arnt even calling it Fantastic Four, how are they going to advertise this as a Fantastic Four movie?

 

[Something Amyss]

*sigh*....she's gonna get a lot of disproportionate hate for this....

The sad thing is, what she actually said was totally reasonable.

I think I know the solution. This is only really going to become a huge thing because she's a woman who doesn't read comics, right?

We recast Sue Storm. She will now be played by a man.

Now, don't get me wrong. Sue will still be a woman. And we'll still do all the things that are typically done to women in comics. She'll develop from virtually useless sometimes damsel into the mama bear archetype, possibly pose in some skimpy outfits (or with Sue, end up "tastefully" naked) and still marry Reed Richards. For all intents and purposes, she will still be a woman. We'll just have a man playing her. My choice? Patrick Stewart. Because he's so damn manly, no nerd can object! And even if he never even thought about reading a comic, who would question him?

I don't see any reason to throw hate at her, all she said was that she had never really read any comics.

Then you're more reasonable than 97% of the fandom.

I don't mind a creator adapting a property to fit a new medium. Comic Book stories, by design, are difficult to fit into a 2 hour movie. They tend to go on and on to keep the reader coming back month after month. It's natural to make some changes when they move the prospective IP to a new venue, I'd even say it's expected to a degree. Obviously there is a desire to see the cool things the Four can do in the comics come to life on the big screen.

It really can be of great benefit. Iron Man took some fairly large liberties. I think all the good ones did. OF course, they key here is they took "liberties."

But if you're going to completely distance yourself from the source material, why not just make something new instead of half-assing a beloved property?

Licensing. Though I wouldn't say that this will be completely distanced from the source material just because they don't use the name in the movie or wear costumes. Or base it specifically upon any comics. Not that I'm particlarly convinced this will be good, or there will be any merit, just saying. Babies and bathwater.

Normally I think it's better that some of MARVEL's properties are under the care of other studios. In the comics world the publishers have a bad habit of leaning too heavily on the most popular characters.

I'm not sure this wouldn't have happened anyway. They're making a Guardians of the Galaxy movie. There's about 3,000 comics they could have adapted first which are better known to the general public (if only relatively).

 

[spwatkins]

Fantastic Four "grounded and realistic"? Somehow I believe this is a contradiction of terms. I mean, maybe a woman who turns invisible, a guy who stretches like rubber, a kid who bursts into flames without dying and a guy who's body is made of rock can totally be realistic, but . . .

No. No it can not. If you're going to try to lie to me, Hollywood, at least put some effort into making the lie believable.

You need to think metaphorically.
Invisible woman == symbol of the marginalization of women in society
Flaming teenager == symbol for youthful rebellion
Stretching man == symbol of male ego torn in different directions by traditional gender roles and new societal expectations
Ugly rock man == symbol of repressed rage and body shaming

 

[wswordsmen]

It's official this movie will suck. Not because it isn't based on a comic story, those by definition can be good otherwise the comics couldn't have been good the first time, or The Incredible Hulk TV show or most of the DCAU ext. but because the director told the cast not to read the comics. That means the characters on screen will be new characters going by the names of the comic book heroes we know. It might still be good but it will only be as good as an exact copy of the movie without the FF4 names.

And as for where the hate goes, it belongs squarely on the shoulders of the director who believes that the movie would be better if the script was so different that it won't help to actually know what has kept the comics going for over 50 years.

My opinion of Kate Mara has risen greatly for saying this, although the fact other people don't know to not shoot the messenger means it probably was a mistake for her to do the right thing.

 

[faefrost]

lol how disconnected does it have to be before it can be argued that they aren't even really using the IP anymore?

w.

I'm thinking Marvel's lawyers will be asking and researching that specific question. Probably this reveals a huge part of the reason behind Marvel's feud with Fox, and why Marvel is literally bury'ing these characters until the movie is well past.

I mean think about it. If Fox uses the movie title Fantastic Four, but uses none of the IP's iconography, the characters are not recognizable (race / sex swaps, etc) they are not named as their traditional characters or group, at what point does it not fulfill the needs of the IP licensing contract? In other words if they release an FF movie, without any recognizable FF content can't Marvel make the claim that it does not fulfill the contract, and therefore the license has expired?

 

[vid87]

I'd like to point out 2 things about the Marvel movies, including this one, that occurred to me:

-What, exactly, is Susan Storm's character at this point? The closest I can figure is "over-protective" of her idiot brother, but considering she's had to evolve out of her "token helpless female" role over the years it could really be anything, which I think may make it reasonable for Mara to not need much background info.

-Many of the Marvel movies, even the "in-house" Avengers canon ones, contain ridiculously dark themes and scenarios, even if they often appear light-hearted on the surface: the post-9/11 undertones of a ravaged and frightened New York; Tony, billionaire tech wizard, blasts away deranged war veterans turned suicide-bombers at the end of IM3; Winter Soldier biting down on a mouth bit before being electrocuted and mind-wiped; Banner talking about trying to blow his brains out but the Hulk wouldn't let him; a female scientist gets incinerated by Scorch in Agents of Shield. Yes it's not constant gloom and angst the way other "mature" hero movies strive for and I'm not looking forward to something intentionally tagged as "grim n gritty," but I think Marvel tends to get away with a lot of disturbing material that not many people point out.

 

[EyeReaper]

An adaption that doesn't stick to the source material? Oh Em Gee what a total shocker. I'll bet you that's never happened before...

Oh. Wait.

 

[Vivi22]

Well, actually he told us that we shouldn't do it because the plot won't be based on any history of anything already published.

It is literally impossible for this to be true and for it to be a Fantastic Four movie.

 

[Mr. Q]

This is the kind of douche-bag poser attitude towards comic books that makes me want to take a baseball bat to the heads of every scumbag in Hollywood. If you're so fucking ashamed of a comics source material, THEN DON'T MAKE A FUCKING COMIC BOOK MOVIE! Just because your first movie had comic book like elements does not make you qualified to make your next movie be an actual comic book movie. Mostly because you might not be the right person for the job and you may not have the right mindset for it. AND DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE TELL ME "DURR! THEY MAKE MONEY FOR STUDIOS AND PEOPLE DON'T CARE WHAT THEY WATCH SO LONG AS IT ENTERTAINS THEM!" You know who has that same kind of mentality... FUCKING METH DEALERS AND DRUG ADDICTS!

I'm sorry if I'm going off like this but, as a fan of comic books, this really gets under my skin. The Fantastic Four has always been a series of science fiction and grand adventures. It showcased the drama of these four individuals from different walks of life who eventually came together as a family (albeit a dysfunctional one at times). This was the comic book series that kick-started the Marvel Universe in the silver age - the first series to blaze the trail for many other iconic characters to come out of The House of Ideas. If you cannot stay true to that kind of legacy, you're the worst person to be hired for such a task.

Marvel/Disney, I implore you! Take the remaining Marvel properties back now! These characters and its fans have suffered enough due to the actions of wrong-headed douche-bags and over-hyped hacks who suck at their jobs and just plain suck in general.

*sigh* I'm gonna go watch the rest of Nostalgia Critic's review of BloodRayne with guest reviewers Spoony, Linkara, and a guest appearance of The Cinema Snob. Right now, I could use a good laugh.

 

[WhiteTigerShiro]

" Well, actually he told us that we shouldn't do it because the plot won't be based on any history of anything already published."

That's okay, the other two weren't, either. ;D

Fantastic Four (or whatever they end up calling it) has been described by producer Simon Kinberg as "a much more grounded, gritty, realistic movie than the last couple," is currently targeting a June 19, 2015 release date.

What!? That's a terrible idea! Hasn't this guy been paying attention to DC launch train wreck after train wreck using that exact same premise? Comics are silly and unrealistic, that's how we like them! That's what makes them good. That's what makes Marvel's movies work (thus far). By all means, change the origins and ages of the characters; X-Men Evolution did just that and worked spectacularly, after-all. You know what Evolution didn't do? Make a "grounded, gritty, realistic" TV series.

 

[Darth_Payn]

Nononononononononono NO! Just NO! The Fantastic Four are the exact opposite of "gritty and realistic" and are meant to be all about super-science and a wide range of mind-blowing concepts. And telling the cast to not read any comic stories to understand their characters? It's like they're trying to sabotage it!

 

[angel85]

so comic book movies only became popular when they started getting closer to the source material, but they're actively making a POINT of NOT making this movie like the source material...have they been hiding under a rock for the last 15 years or something?!

 

[crazygameguy4ever]

wow... this sounds like a really bad film.. telling the actors and actresses not to read any of the comics the film they're doing is based on.. not calling them selves the fantastic 4.. having the with no costumes and of course making the dumb decision to make the human torch a black guy (simply because it worked in once instance of changing Nick Fury to a black guy).. it really sounds like the people involved with this film no little if anything about the fantastic 4 characters.. this is going to be Batman & Robin the movie level of bad all over again.. enough with making white characters black simply because it worked once with Fury.. that only worked because of Samuel L.Jackson.. it hasn't worked any other time like with the untalented Jamie Fox as a black version of Electro.. enough with changing white characters to black.. or male character to female for no reason like they're doing with Thor

 

[JagermanXcell]

"a much more grounded, gritty, realistic movie than the last couple,"

Screw not sticking to source material, attempts at turning F4 into Batman is where the movie will die. Well... it already kinda died when the cast was revealed but you get the point.