The night before his Fantastic Four reboot opened in 2015, Josh Trank issued a surprising statement on Twitter. Responding to the cavalcade of negative reviews that began making their way online, Trank distanced himself from the finished film. He even insisted that he had a “fantastic version” of the movie before the studio interfered with his plans. In recent years, Trank has been able to joke about the reboot’s shortcomings. But now, the director has decided to formally revisit the last big-screen take on Marvel’s first family.
Earlier today, Trank announced that he was watching Fantastic Four (jokingly referring to it as “Fan4stic”) for the first time in over four years. He also said that he’d review the film on his Letterboxd account. Thankfully, he made good on that promise. Trank rated the film two stars out of five, and shared some fresh thoughts on what worked and what didn’t.
“The movie is ALRIGHT,” wrote Trank. “I was expecting it to be much worse than it was. I literally haven’t seen it since like two weeks before it came out, and I was in a heavily f***ing traumatized state of mind. Why? Eh, save that for another time.”
Trank went on to praise the reboot’s cast. Fantastic Four starred Miles Teller as Reed Richards, Michael B. Jordan as Johnny Storm, Kate Mara as Sue Storm, Jamie Bell as Ben Grimm, and Toby Kebbell as Victor von Doom. Trank previously revealed that his decision to hire younger actors was influenced by Marvel’s Ultimate Fantastic Four comics.
RELATED: Tim Miller Wanted The Thing to Fight Juggernaut in Deadpool 2
“Everyone in the film is a great actor, and overall there is a movie in there, somewhere,” Trank added. “And that cast deserves to be in THAT movie. Everyone who worked on Fant4stic clearly wanted to be making THAT movie. But…. ultimately… It wasn’t. Did I make that movie they deserved to be in? To be honest? I can’t tell. What I can tell: is there are TWO different movies in one movie competing to be that movie.”
Unfortunately, fans shouldn’t get their hopes up for a director’s cut of any kind.
“Is there a #releasethetrankcut?” Trank mused. “Doesn’t matter. I’m not Zack Snyder. Zack Snyder is a storied, iconic, legendary filmmaker who has been knocking it out of the f***ing park since I was in high school. Me? Then? I was 29 years old, making my 2nd film, in a situation more complicated than anything a 2nd time filmmaker should’ve walked into. That said… I don’t regret any of it. It’s a part of me.”
Still, it doesn’t sound like Trank has put Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman, the Human Torch, and the Thing completely behind him. In fact, he actually has a good idea of who should direct their next cinematic outing.
“I just hope Peyton Reed makes the next Fantastic Four and crushes it,” Trank said. “And that I get a cameo.”
You can read Trank’s full review here. What do you make of the director’s new thoughts on his Fantastic Four movie? Let us know in the comment section below!
Recommended Reading: Fantastic Four by Matt Fraction Omnibus
