AICN Interview w/ Ioan Gruffudd ("Galactus: A No-Show?")

[zer00]

Which is bad, because it hints at FOX's preparation for finality in case the film bombs...

A studio has to do what a studio has to do. Since the likely hood of FF2 bombing are still quite high even after all the trailers etc. So to leave the film less open ended than the first one would be a bit better of an idea. No where was it stated that Galactus wouldn't appear in an eventual sequel(which I'm sure there will be one, FF1 made enough to warrant a sequel and more obviously) they're just not going to go right into him at the end. Hence why his presence will be felt throughout. in exchange of his appearance.

I'm still a bit confused. We've gotten a "Galactus will appear" from Rothman and Payne. It's like this is something the cast doesn't know about or something. Meh who knows.

and I have no problem if Doom has to steal Surfer's board to steal his powers. Bit less complicated that way. And normies would be able to understand it

 

[invisibeav]

Thank you for posting the article. I love what Ioan said about the first film, its reception, the tone of this film, and Doug Jones's interpretation of the Silver Surfer. I am a bit surprised by the whole "Reed Richards got distracted by fame" angle and hope that whatever the writers have planned won't contradict Reed's character and integrity as established in the books and in FF1. Anyway, the interview is amazing (as is Ioan) and offers great insight into the second film.

 

[GoblinScrier]

Was Galactus in the animated treatment of this saga? I don't think he was; I think Doom stole Norrin's power and the story basically revolved around that.

But my question is: If Victor has been unconcious for the entirety of the 2 years (between films) what resources would he possibly have to steal Norrin's power? If he's just "waking up" in this film, he'll have no lab, castle or henchmen at his disposal already, will he? The only thing he could possibly do is very lame: Use his "Marco-Polo" powers to suck the electricity out of the air and Norrin (who'd be in the air) and again...that'd be mighty lame.

There are a lot of questions to be answered here. I'm not writing off anything just yet...I must wait and see for as long as I can.

Well you make a good point, but at the same time, he could wake up in Latveria with all kinds of minions who were loyal to his parents perhaps, including Leonard and Boris (hopefully), with technology surrounding him. It may not be his castle, but it could be some underground bunker or something. There was an F4 annual (#15) were Zorba was in charge of Latveria (heir to the Latverian throne) and the body of Doom was insane at the time and put into a stasis of sorts, well his minions took his body to a Latverian cave with technology and such, they revived him there.

Maybe something similar happens...Doom once revived, can kill the parties in charge of Latveria and take full command..

By the way, LS...I loved that comment "use his marco polo powers" LOL...I about died when I heard that...

 

[Carp Man]

Galactus To Be A No Show On Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer?

Written by Robert Sanchez Tuesday, 13 February 2007 There has been speculation about it for some time and now Reed Richards himself, Ioan Gruffudd, spills the beans. Galactus will be a no show in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver.
Capone over at AICN was able to speak to Ioan about his upcoming film Amazing Grace and of course Fan Four was sure to come up.

C: Okay, I'm going to carefully broach the subject of the next FANTASTIC FOUR movie. I spoke to Doug Jones recently and he was very generous with some of the details, or at least what he was allowed to talk about. Obviously, we're tracking the film very closely. There's definitely a growing enthusiasm about the film, due in no small part to the Silver Surfer storyline. The trailer is out there now. What do you think of it?

IG: I think it's fantastic. I'm very excited about it because it takes our movie and our franchise to a whole new level. It's up there now where they're comparing the effects to those of the SPIDER-MAN movies, which is a film that is $100 million more expensive than our movie, and rightfully so, it's an awesome franchise. I think the fans will not be disappointed. It is as he arrived in the comic books. He's an ambiguous character. Is he the protagonist or evil, or just the messenger of evil? We're not quite sure.

C: I'm just going to ask: does Galactus play a role in this film?

IG: Um...his presence is felt in the movie. He doesn't physically appear, no. Galactus does have a form, doesn't he, in the comic books?

C: Actually he has a really beautifully designed costume that Jack Kirby created. It's a fairly elaborate costume actually with all sorts of machinations. When I first heard that the Silver Surfer would be in this second film and people were being a bit evasive about whether Galactus appeared, I'd assumed that the second film would set up the coming of Galactus, and that the actual confrontation with him would occur in the third film.

IG: It's more of a finite movie than the first one. It's not open-ended in that sense. But Galactus doesn't actually appear, so it does leave room for that possibility.

Note : As I thought. No show here. Battle 3rd film, which would please me no end. Way it should be. t:

http://iesb.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1879&Itemid=99

 

[The Ones]

Oh that sucks, thanks for the article though

 

[Kelly]

Yeah, its being discussed on this thread...
http://www.superherohype.com/forums/showthread.php?t=265414

BTW, who is Galacuts????? lol

 

[Carp Man]

IS GALACTUS, DEVOURER OF WORLDS, OUT TO LUNCH?
02.13.07
By Devin Faraci
Contributing sources: Aint It Cool
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Ioan Gruffud, best known to you as Mr. Fantastic in the Fantastic Four movies, is also starring in Amazing Grace, a movie about the English slavery abolition movement that features the single cheesiest trailer I have ever seen. Gruffud’s been doing a press tour in the States for that film, and while I was out of town when he hit New York City, Aint It Cool News’ Capone got him in Chicago. Buried deep inside lots of stuff about this anti-slavery* movie is some interesting info about Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and whether or not we’ll see Galactus in this film:

C: I'm just going to ask: does Galactus play a role in this film?

IG: Um...his presence is felt in the movie. He doesn't physically appear, no. Galactus does have a form, doesn't he, in the comic books?

Hmmm. We had been hearing that Galactus was in this movie, but Gruffud sounds pretty sure of himself. If this is the case, how the hell do they end this movie without being painfully anticlimactic? Further, Gruffud says that this film doesn’t end with a set up for battling Galactus in a third movie. So what the hell’s the deal?

We know that the Silver Surfer shows up very early in the movie- maybe even in the first couple of reels. We know that Dr. Doom is in the film, and we know that part of his plot is going to be trying to harness the Surfer’s Power Cosmic for himself. Is that the whole film? This is sounding more and more like a film that will fizzle out in the end. Let’s hope that Gruffud is part of a disinformation campaign… If so, that bodes ill for his promises that fans will hate the sequel less than the first one. He really says that.
[/FONT]

http://www.chud.com/index.php?type=news&id=8862

 

[Carp Man]

Yeah, its being discussed on this thread...
http://www.superherohype.com/forums/showthread.php?t=265414

BTW, who is Galacuts????? lol

I think this is important enough info, that it deserves its own thread.

 

[Malus]

BTW, who is Galacuts????? lol

He's a cosmically powered dyslexic butcher.

 

[Mercurius]

Well that's a lotta difference. In BB, the "cliffhanger" wasn't a cliffhanger per se, it's more a set-up for movie 2. Movie 2 could take place months later. In the situation you describe, it's a lot more PotC2 cliffhanger- you HAVE to see the next one NOW as a direct continuation, etc.

On the one hand I'm sorry we don't see the Big G.

On the other, they can't screw him up and this means a fight with DOOOOOOOOM as the climax instead of Galactus.

Honestly? I would much rather have had 2 been them fighting someone else and in the background, build up Doom's return and have him take Latveria. Then have the Surfer come and Doom steal his power in 3. Much like they didn't make Harry the Goblin straight away in 2.

As it is, I'm worried that either 2 will be Doom's last appearance- in which case he certainly won't have been given his due... .or else that he'll be back with a similar cliché appearance in 3. This makes him too comical and cartoonish in my opinion- if he jsut KEEPS losing and KEEPS coming back. Yes, yes the comic version does it but there's a reason they don't have Spidey fight Norman Osborn in all 3 movies!

Yeah, you're right.

But even if it was a set up for the third one I would understand that Galactus, a very important character in Marvel universe (let alone his status as one of the most ambiguous and complex villains in comicdom), would be put to great use.

This way it seems he will be handled just like Doom was handled in the first flick.

And that's what eludes me, I say, why emblematic characters have such a heavy-handed treatment?

I hope Doom gets the goods this time around, to make me forget the botched version of FF1, but then again I was very frightened when the fake conceptual art appeared.

Fingers crossed, anyway.

 

[Iron Maiden]

I don't have any problem with Ioan's statement about the Silver Surfer's board having something to do with his powers. Remember at the end of FF #60 once Doom crashed into the barrier around the Earth set up by Galactus in order to confine the Surfer, the board came back on its own volition. So it does symbolize in some way a transference of power...

It is surprising to read Ioan being a bit vague about Galactus. I still think you can't completely count out his influence on the Surfer's actions.

By the way, the Surfer's mission on earth, placing some kind of power capacitors around the globe, is another case of them using one of Marvel's own "rewrites". In the year-long trade off with Image, where they retold the origins of the FF and other heroes in the Heroes Reborn titles, this is exactly what happens when all the heralds, Terrax, Plasma, and Nova start showing up on the planet, which we later learned was a doppleganger Earth created by Franklin and placed in a pocket universe.

 

[gerbstat]

He's a cosmically powered dyslexic butcher.

Or hairdresser to the stars...

 

[Kelly]

I think this is important enough info, that it deserves its own thread.

Thats cool, maybe it could be merged with AnotherIoanFan's thread and simply have a name change....she was the first with the info....

 

[Kelly]

He's a cosmically powered dyslexic butcher.

I'm dyslexic.....thats no excuse....lol

 

[Kelly]

The only problem I'm having with what Ioan said was that it sounds more like a true love triangle......but I'll wait....

 

[Spade]

I'm getting the ominous feeling this film is a little too inspired by Ultimate Extinction...

 

[GoblinScrier]

I'm getting the ominous feeling this film is a little too inspired by Ultimate Extinction...

How? Doom absorbing the cosmic power of the Surfer...KIRBY
The Wedding of Sue and Reed....KIRBY
Surfer's look....KIRBY

Please explain...

 

[Dark Phantom]

okay, i don't really think we should take Ioan Gruffud's word for this. After all, he hasn't read the comics and maybe he was mislead by Tim Story about who Galactus is. One can only hope this isn't true. I'd wait until Story confirms this because something tells me that either Ioan is keeping Galactus under wraps for a suprise, or he could be ignorant about the whole Galactus plot line.

 

[Spade]

Ian questioning if the comic books showed Galactus with a body and saying his presence is 'felt' makes me wonder if they've gone astray and brought the hive mind concept. It could easily be that he's not very knowledgeable about the comics and it came out wrong in the interview, but when his presence is simply 'felt' and Payne is talking about a sequel that may not even address him I begin to wonder.

 

[Dragon]

Was Galactus in the animated treatment of this saga? I don't think he was; I think Doom stole Norrin's power and the story basically revolved around that.

But my question is: If Victor has been unconcious for the entirety of the 2 years (between films) what resources would he possibly have to steal Norrin's power? If he's just "waking up" in this film, he'll have no lab, castle or henchmen at his disposal already, will he? The only thing he could possibly do is very lame: Use his "Marco-Polo" powers to suck the electricity out of the air and Norrin (who'd be in the air) and again...that'd be mighty lame.

There are a lot of questions to be answered here. I'm not writing off anything just yet...I must wait and see for as long as I can.

About Galactus being in the animated version- he was. both in the 60's serires and the 90's one. The 90's show also did the Frankie Raye story as well.

 

[Advanced Dark]

No surprise to me. It was basically explained by the producer this way already. It's better this way as a ominous dark presence that we know is there and we see the Surfer interacting with somehow...but never see the purple guy. I think Galactus is too difficult to bring to the big screen to a wide audience, and to do it right would cost another 100 million. Hopefully they'll figure something out as a way to actually show him in FF3 or 4 or whatever.

 

[Spider-Fan]

This makes me believe we won't see Galactus in an FF movie (unless he is just covering up or doesn't know his stuff). Payne kept talking about other concepts for FF3, so I think we will see Galactus done in an SS spin-off.

 

[Advanced Dark]

^ You're probably right on about the spin-off which is what should be the focus of the SS and Galactus. They're doing it right.

 

[Spider-Fan]

This film having finality and no physically shown Galactus tells me that we won't see him in this or FF3. I think Galactus will be covered in an SS spin-off (which I am happy about....there will be less discussion about whether the comic Galactus could be done in a series with more of a fantasy feel). I like that this film won't end on a cliffhanger.

 

[Spider-Fan]

^ You're probably right on about the spin-off which is what should be the focus of the SS and Galactus. They're doing it right.

I agree that they are doing it right. I was worried the SS and Galactus would steal this franchise from the guys who are supposed to be the stars of it. I think I can rest easier about that now.