THE FANTASTIC FOUR Will Give Team The Ultimate Origin


The Fantastic Four may be hitting theaters next year, but unlike most of the other 2015 blockbusters, we hardly know anything about this reboot aside from casting announcements, its tone and delayed release date. Well, there were those leaked set pics of The Thing and Doctor Doom, but that hardly satisfied out hunger for Fantastic Four details…however small that appetite might be. Well, after a long dry spell of juicy info, we have some rumored details on how our intrepid heroes become their fantastic selves.

According to Schmoes Knows, The Fantastic Four will forgo the traditional origin tale of the foursome heading out into space and gaining their powers after being bombarded by cosmic rays. Instead, the reboot will take its cue from the Ultimate comics continuity.

In the film, the team will gain their powers through a lab experiment gone wrong in a way, where they create a portal to another world or dimension (its not clear) and they get their powers after the exposure to this other dimension/planet. Much like how the group gets their powers in the Ultimate Fantastic Four comics, after they are engulfed in a failed teleporter experiment.

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So instead of the team rocketing into space, they’ll obtain their powers through another “run-of-the-mill” lab accident. While this makes more sense for the “realistic” world they’re creating, as well as falling in line with the film being inspired by Ultimate Fantastic Four, it’s somewhat disappointing. I’m not the biggest Fantastic Four fan, but there’s something novel about people getting their powers up in space. Lab mishaps in comic books are a dime-a-dozen. So what if the previous Fantastic Four film showed them up in space. Other comic books films haven’t shied away from redoing an origin. Peter Parker’s been bitten by a spider twice on the big screen, and don’t get me started on how many times Bruce Wayne’s parents have been shot. Still, at least they’re keeping the extraterrestrial aspects of the origin intact.

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The article also reiterates a previously rumored plot point that Sue Storm, played by Kate Mara, will be the adopted sister of Johnny Storm. Since Michael B. Jordan was cast as Johnny Storm, many fans assumed that there would be adjustments made to the Johnny/Sue familial connection, and since Reg E. Cathey has been cast as their father, it makes sense that Sue would be the adopted sibling. That being said, if they felt so strongly about casting a black actor as Johnny, why not do the same for Sue? It maintains the genetic connection, and I’m sure there are plenty of talented black actresses who could play Sue just fine.

Finally, the film will apparently be very character-driven. That’s not to say that the production isn’t devoting as much attention to action scenes, but the first film will be “focused on setting up the characters and their relationships with each other and their nemesis Victor von Doom (Toby Kebbell) than it is about making things blow up in big action set pieces.” It’s all about the balance, Fox. Yes, the film lovers in us want to see good character interaction and development, but the superhero lovers in us want to see bombastic fights and gigantic explosions.

SOURCE: Schmoes Knows