Ok so I had to redo this intro because as I was writing this MTV Splash Page happened to post (a day earlier than usual) their weekly fantasy casting column about…the Fantastic Four. My goal was to get this up today and scoop the usual Friday, blogosphere speculation fest… but C’est la vie.
Thankfully for me, Splash Page cast their Fantastic Four flick using a mostly older set of actors; I myself have been envisioning a more youthful (not too young, though) version of Fantastic Four. Check out what my vision for this upcoming reboot is, and who I picked to take on the roles of Marvel’s favorite superhero family.
|
|
Ok, so before we start I thought I’d talk a little bit about the Fantastic Four, as I have come to understand the characters over the years. The thing that has always stuck with me about the FF is the way that – beyond all the superpowered adventures and exploration that made for pretty thrilling sci-fi – the characters and their powers worked on a whole other level as a clever metaphor for the family dynamic and some all-too familiar roles within that dynamic.
Think about it: Reed Richards’ “rubber man” power is also a great metaphor for his brilliant mind, which is limitless in its creative possibilities (just like his body), but limited by its tendency to forget the basic shape of everyday life (such as family and friends); Sue Richards often feels like an invisible woman to the one person she should matter most to (Reed); Johnny Storm thinks he’s hot you-know-what; and Ben Grimm is that hard-ass “uncle” who has a big heart he hides behind a rocky shell.
What I believe the last two Fantastic Four films failed to nail down was that underlying (and very relatable) family drama – lost somewhere in all the flashy f/x, bad dialogue and gratuitous exploits such as having Jessica Alba run around without clothes for no reason (which they SOMEHOW turned into a bad thing). This reboot cannot make that same mistake: family must come first if you want the story of the Fantastic Four to resonate beyond the halls of geekdom. The dynamic between the actors selected to play these roles is going to be CRUCIAL; they need to spark such good chemistry that they can improv their dialogue and still have it sound as real and natural as the arguments around YOUR family’s Sunday dinner table – while still managing to save the world.
That said, I’m making my choices based not only on the usual “he/she looks like a good fit” criteria, but also based on proven history of good chemistry with their fellow actors. I’ve also shied away from any really A-list stars – because let’s face it, with an ensemble of leading roles like this, no egos (or massive paychecks) can be allowed to rock the boat. Also, as I stated, I’ve gone with a more youthful incarnation of the Four: I would prefer to see a newly married Reed and Sue Richards, trying to figure out what shape the next phase of their adult lives should take, while having to deal with the baggage of in-laws (Johnny Storm) and close friends (Ben Grimm).
Without further ado, here is my new Fantastic Four:
(Continue to pg. 2 for the Fantastic Four casting picks)
Loading ...
51 Comments
I really don’t care if Jessica Alba can act!! I would pay 10 bucks to watch 90 minutes of her drooling!! She is FANTASTIC!!!
This thread is genuinely concerning me. I want a good F4 film – not a freaking MTV flick with Kristen Bell whining at Reed Richards, or some T&A show with eye candy who doesn’t even come CLOSE to nailing the role of Invisible Woman down.
I WANT A GOOD F4 FILM.
Jessica Alba, wasn’t the reason the films didn’t resonate with the fans. She was actually pretty good,,!!!
It was the crap pacing and limp action of the second film that killed the franchise. The first film was adequate and enjoyable as a origin flick,,,
But the sequel missed the point on two marks. Silver Surfer was a bitch, and Galactus was a cloud,,,
With the CGI of today we could have had a believable Galactus but they wimped out and gave us a cloud and then a retarded ended to boot!!!
Now they want us to support a reboot I say f you!!!!
Sir, wit all due respect. When you say Jessica Alba was pretty good. you lose all credibility. She was TERRIBLE. I dont know why so many people are afraid to say she cant act. Shes a beautiful woman. So What. Now she gets a free pass and people want to call her a good actress?? No no no. Abysmal is the word as far as what she brought to the CHARACTER of the invisible woman. And to say otherwise is just being in denial.
Great picks, especially Matthew Morrison as Reed, and if you chop off her hair and color it blonde Jesselyn Gilsig would be a great Sue. Chris Bauer would play the part of Ben well and id say Johnny Lewis for Johnny would be great. But now to tackle the real problem…writing and directing.
Come on Justin, what’s the problem you had with Alba,,, she’s only reading a script written by dorks, I loved the way she emoted the force power against the copter at the wedding, where’s the beef???
About the Jonas Brother and Miley Cirus ?
@ Kofi
the first film wasn’t bad, it was just fine on it’s own merits and yes, I thought Alba did a credible job in it. I thought the entire cast did well based on how the origin story was handled, just the proper amount of angst and action. The second film was stinky turd awful. So the same set of actors who did a credible job in the first movie suddenly can’t cut the mustard? I guess that supposes some agreement that the first film was decent. I have a hard time getting excited about a “franchise” that the studio screwed the pooch on. It’s not the fault of the actors if they got the wrong guy behind the camera and a set of drugged monkeys pounding the word processors. Wasn’t that the same problem about The Hulk? Oh geez we screwed it up so let us try again, oops that wasn’t exactly it either so one more time please?
Speaking as a person who grew up on the comics in the 60’s and 70’s, I think this trend is gonna come crashing down pretty soon, there’s only so many hero stories out there with evil supervillians and tortured souls who have secret abilities that you can make films about that don’t all look the same after a while, y’know?
For all of you who think F4 (the first film) was good:
Go back and watch the scene on the bridge where Alba strips down and saves the day. See if you can spot the total screw up in how they cut that scene together. While you do that notice: the terrible stretching f/x; how hollow and stiff Ioan G and Jessica Alba are together onscreen; how bad Mr. Nip/Tuck was as Doom…
…Dude, hopefully a reboot can show you guys what the F4 are SUPPOSED to be like. You guys really do settle for some crap.
I but the F4 films in the same box as Daredevil, Elektra, Ghost Rider, and X3. Now that I think about it, the fact that so many people who are saying F4 was OK but X3 was TERRIBLE… You baffle me.
Thing and The Human Torch were cast perfectly,but Reed and Sue weren’t.
Even though it would never happen,Nicole Kidman would probably be the best choice for Sue,followed by Naomi Watts.Sue needs to look like a total WASP and be non ethnic looking.If you want a little younger actress with a cheaper price tag,maybe Ali Larter will do,but then you would have to get someone that is noticeably younger looking than her to play Johnny.I’m thinking maybe someone like Sean Faris.
As for Reed,here’s an interesting choice that I just thought of,Ron Livingston.
So here’s my cast
Reed-Ron Livingston
Sue-Ali Larter
Johnny-Sean Faris
Ben-Micheal Chiklis(there really isn’t anyone else that could do it better)
I don’t know,it could work,if only they wrote a GOOD script.
@ Kofi
tyvm for the enlightenment, after reading this thread now, I feel the same way about the article as you do about the original F4 film, I feel like I’m settling for crap about some dream casting call for a comic book film that didn’t trip your trigger on the first pass. What is much more likely is that this discussion is most likely apropos of nothing considering all of the Marvel and DC options that are suddenly going to be more viable in the new environment based on the most recent financial deals.
While F4 wasn’t exactly the best thing since sliced bread, and I do not believe that anyone else here is saying that, it’s that comparitively, based on all of the other attempts to bring comic books to life, it was certainly less dreadful than many others. I think it’s easy to see where I am coming from, after having a serious line of stinkers that were X3, Hulk, Elektra, Ghost Rider and Daredevil is that our collective expectations have been lowered somewhat. Yeah I can demand that Hollywood make better movies, but they aren’t exactly returning my calls, y’know?
I like Ron Livingston for Reed, if for nothing else, its original. Ali Larter? Not so much. Only superhero I could see her as is Ms. Marvel. Tricia Helfer would be my dream Sue Storm. Its all about the chemistry of the cast though. And, as I’ve seen excellent chemistry between the two, and a “fantastic” range from the latter, I’d say Tricia Helfer and Jeffrey Donovan as Sue and Reed. That would be pretty awesome. Ideally, I’d want to keep both Evans and Chiklis, but if it has to be recast, Chris Pine for the Torch, and Vincent D’Onofrio as the Thing. Think about it people. The man is a Chameleon, can be very physical, and is certainly talented enough. I don’t know that he exudes the tough guy attitude that the Thing is known for, but nothing is outside of this man’s range. For Doom- Karl Roden. He has the physical presence, acting range, and, most importantly lacking from Macmahon’s portrayal, the Eastern European heritage that would make him excellent as the Latverian Supreme Monarch.
Enough already. i want all of you to call in next week and give your two cents. Time to put this to bed for good!
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/TheChosen1/2009/09/27/Fantastic-Four-Reboot-Plans
HONESTLLY, LOOKING AT FF AS A FAN, BEING BLUNT..SUE RICHARDS SHOULD BE A NATURAL BLONDE WITH REAL BLUE EYES…CHRIS EVANS DID A GOOD JOB,HONESTLLY HE WAS VERY AMUSING …REED RICHARDS WAS OK BUT THEY COULD DO MORE FANTASTICAL THINGS WITH HIS ABILITIES WE HAVENT SEEN YET, THE THING, SHOULD BE CGI, EVEN THOUGH THE PRACTICAL SUIT IS AMAZING,HE JUST SEEMS MORE LARGER THAN NORMAL IN THE COMICS,YOU CAN STILL GET AN ACTORS PERFORMANCE IN A CG CHARACTER…GOLLUM PROVED THAT.THE APPEAL IS THE FAMILY SQUABBLING AND HOW THEY GET IT TOGETHER IN THE END TO SAVE THE DAY.
Wow, great job, Kofi! I love your cast!
I think the Thing should be bigger and CGI this time tho.
You guys bring up some good points. Be sure to call in to the radio show this Saturday 12PM eastern and give your two cents.
I thnk u choosen a great case on the f4 characters, but i thnk that lombardozzi would be the better “thing” and Kwanten would play the “human torch” better than that lewis dude(who is that by the way) but i thnk that he mite have to hit that wieght room a little harder
P.S. great job in True Blood cant wait for season 3!
What's your opinion? Leave a Reply!
Go to Gravatar.com and upload your own (we'll wait)!