FANTASTIC FOUR (2015): Director Josh Trank Shares His Take On The Franchise

Trank Shares Fantastic Four Reboot Details. Chronicle director, Josh Trank, recently took some time to speak to Empire about his upcoming Fantastic Four reboot. Trank’s unique spin on his Fantastic Four movie is as divisive of a film topic as you are likely to come across (a difficult achievement considering the highly opinionated nature of comic book movie fans). With the August 7^th release date still a ways off, this interview came across like Trank was attempting to get out ahead of the negative publicity with a little positive PR. With so much negative fan reaction towards his film already, it is hard to shake the notion that his statements about the film felt more like justifications than explanations. Here’s what he had to say.

On his film versus the previous two Fantastic Four films

The original two films to me are very similar to a lot of recent movies that have come out, in terms of that kind of cartoonish. It’s just not something that me and Simon are interested in as storytellers. There’s the opportunity to make something that is challenging and tragic and dramatic. The opportunity is right there in the material. We’d rather steer it in that direction as opposed to just embracing a tone that comes right off the page.

On the highly controversial change to Johnny Storm,

I had just come off working with Michael B. Jordan and his character, Steve, in Chronicle had a lot of similar characteristics to Johnny Storm. And I thought it would be interesting to take the family dynamic of the Storms, which is brother and sister, and bring that more into the 21st century in terms of what we consider the norm. I have mixed family in my own family and it’s something that isn’t out of the ordinary anymore but we don’t really see it portrayed in the casual reality of the movies. That’s something I felt that would be interesting and challenging, to have mixed siblings.

On his take regarding Johnny’s sister Sue,

There have always been two categories of Sue – the slutty secretary version, and this brilliant scientist version. This is a really, really smart Sue, and one that is dignified and has integrity.

History has shown us that comic book movie fans are a difficult group to satisfy. Comic book lore is so rich and diverse that comic book properties can not be adapted to the big screen without leaving out someone’s favorite element or including something many fans deem inconsequential. In 2015, movie studios have to walk a very fine line between appeasing fans and staying true to their vision. While it is ultimately a solid film that will silence critics, a negative social media frenzy can also contribute to derailing a film’s momentum before it even launches.

Leave your thoughts on the upcoming Fantastic Four film in the comments section below. For more Fantastic Four photos, videos, and news, visit our Fantastic Four Page, subscribe to us by Email, “follow” us on Twitter, Tumblr, Google+ or “like” us on Facebook. The film is scheduled for release on August 7th, 2015.

Source: Joblo via Empire