"Fantastic Four" director Josh Trank recently sat down for an interview with Entertainment Weekly and he gave a little bit of insight on what the film's tone and theme will be. He also promised fans that the movie will be a spectacle with a lot of action and special effects.
The "Fantastic Four" reboot is reportedly fighting an uphill battle — the previous two films did not fare well with critics or at the box office — and the director has taken a lot of flak lately with rumors of behind-the-scenes issues and re-shoots. There has also been some controversy regarding the casting of Michael B. Jordan as the Human Torch.
However, the trailers have shown a lot of promise by stepping away from the campy atmosphere of the older films, and it appears to blend science fiction and horror themes into the comic book genre.
According to the interview, Trank considered this as a kind of spiritual sequel to his breakthrough film "Chronicle," which also took the superhero genre and meshed it with other concepts such as found-footage filming and a very dark, somber tone.
"'Chronicle' was all about the discovery and evolution of those powers. This is like, 'what if it's a couple of years later and it sucks'?" Trank then added that "the audience should expect an epic, massive, huge, multipower slugfest. This movie is big. A lot of stakes."
This would be a very different take from the superhero films produced by Marvel wherein the heroes embrace their powers. As with Fox's other property, the "X-Men," the heroes in "Fantastic Four" appear to dislike their new abilities and see them as a burden as much as they are gifts.
The film's official synopsis states:
'Fantastic Four' sees a group of four young adults gain super powers after an experiment to travel to other dimensions goes horribly wrong. Their lives are forever changed and they must learn to master their new abilities to save the Earth from a former friend turned supervillain."
"Fantastic Four" opens in theaters nationwide on Aug. 7.
