The Rebooted "Keep Hope Alive" (that the rights can revert back to Marvel) Thread - Part 7

[Willie Lumpkin]

Yup. Marvel back then just wanted the movies made and gave Fox an extension which allowed them extra time for the FF. More on the winding road of the FF rights down the years can be seen here:

http://web.archive.org/web/20080117183822/http://www.comics2film.com/FantasticFourArch.shtml

The days of letting studios off the hook when deadlines are looming are long gone now though.

And reading through that history is sort of fun, isn't it? For me, it's been nearly 30 years of rumors and developments with four crappy films to show for it.

I'm so old, I remember when we used to discuss these things in comic-book stores before the internet existed.

 

[Willie Lumpkin]

... I'll bet kids who were born in the early '80s who used to hang out in comic book stores thought Michael Keaton's middle name was "f***ing" for a while.

 

[wobbly]

And reading through that history is sort of fun, isn't it? For me, it's been nearly 30 years of rumors and developments with four crappy films to show for it.

I'm so old, I remember when we used to discuss these things in comic-book stores before the internet existed.

Lol, yup. Any news or discussion on the movies was hard to come by in them days. I only had my older Brother and a couple of friends who were into the comics and we'd talk about this stuff occasionally. The closest comic book store to me (Was called 'The Fantastic Store' on Portobello Road) had some rather indifferent blokes running it so it wasn't worth trying to talk to them about anything.

These days though I'm the 'go to guy' for q&a's from friends & family on the films or books

Edit: This was the place. No longer there:

 

[wobbly]

Looking through that history this made me chuckle:

"If a recent script review posted on DRKH is any indication, things could be looking for the grim for the Fantastic Four movie. DH's reviewer expressed "major disappointment" over Sam Hamm's second draft of the FF screenplay. According to the script presents a "half-assed montage" of elements of the FF comic, interspersed with extravagant special effects. According to the reviewer, what the script lacks is a strong plot and a sense of logic (especially in regards to the actions and motivations of Doctor Doom)."

​

This could have been said for FFINO as things turned out, lol

 

[Willie Lumpkin]

Lol, yup. Any news or discussion on the movies was hard to come by in them days. I only had my older Brother and a couple of friends who were into the comics and we'd talk about this stuff occasionally. The closest comic book store to me (Was called 'The Fantastic Store' on Portobello Road) had some rather indifferent blokes running it so it wasn't worth trying to talk to them about anything.

These days though I'm the 'go to guy' for q&a's from friends & family on the films or books

Edit: This was the place. No longer there:

Trademark infringement.

I had several different places I used to go to. I never spent a lot of time in them, but there always seemed to be people just hanging out BSing with the people behind the counter and anybody who walked in.

Sadly, I would assume most, if not all, of those little shops have closed down now that people can buy their comic books and BS online. Though I do know of one little shop that's still open. They don't carry a lot of comic books, but they host card games (Magic?) and such.

I'm about an hour drive from Kevin Smith's store, and there have been times I've considered driving over just to check it out... but I never actually went through with it.

 

[Willie Lumpkin]

Looking through that history this made me chuckle:

"If a recent script review posted on DRKH is any indication, things could be looking for the grim for the Fantastic Four movie. DH's reviewer expressed "major disappointment" over Sam Hamm's second draft of the FF screenplay. According to the script presents a "half-assed montage" of elements of the FF comic, interspersed with extravagant special effects. According to the reviewer, what the script lacks is a strong plot and a sense of logic (especially in regards to the actions and motivations of Doctor Doom)."

​

This could have been said for FFINO as things turned out, lol

That exact statement could apply to all three Fox films, couldn't it?

 

[Dark Raven]

Trank should open a merchandise store called "Fantastic Bore".

If you go in to buy anything, there's nothing on sale. Instead, you find that they actually pay you to take the hundreds of copies of Fant4stic off their hands.

 

[Endeavor]

Looking through that history this made me chuckle:

"If a recent script review posted on DRKH ...

Wow
Dark Horizons. That takes me back.

 

[Willie Lumpkin]

Trank should open a merchandise store called "Fantastic Bore".

If you go in to buy anything, there's nothing on sale. Instead, you find that they actually pay you to take the hundreds of copies of Fant4stic off their hands.

My wife was watching HBO or some similar channel yesterday evening and a movie was starting that had Kevin Hart running around through a parking garage or something and it just seemed really poorly conceived and shot.

I said: "What is this? It looks awful." And just as I said that, I saw: "Directed by Tim Story" pop up on the screen.

 

[Joe Rockhead]

My wife was watching HBO or some similar channel yesterday evening and a movie was starting that had Kevin Hart running around through a parking garage or something and it just seemed really poorly conceived and shot.

I said: "What is this? It looks awful." And just as I said that, I saw: "Directed by Tim Story" pop up on the screen.

That must be Ride Along 2 -- Story directed the first and the sequel.
Since it features Ice Cube, there's the 'Barbershop' connection.

The director in those isn't the selling point, obviously.

 

[DyfeddRex]

The exact details of Alpha Flight aren't known, the most likely situation is that "its complicated". The MCU has made mention of Department H while Fox had a version of the Hudsons in X-Men Origin: Wolverine. So the most likely situation is that Marvel have Alpha Flight but Fox have the Mutant members of Alpha Flight (along with non-Mutant with strong ties to Wolverine). Puck for example is probably with Marvel, he is not a Mutant, and while he is friends with Logan he is not an important part of the Wolverine back story in the way the Hudsons are.

Thanks, Orba. A bit of sadness for me on that, but not unexpected, as I believe as most that Dinlage is Pip, but wish it was Puck (he's got that sense of humor that would fit Puck, for sure). AF would be cool, but just the CGI for the hair on Sasquatch would be horrid. Not to mention Narya.
So, one hope dashed, but there is an ember not quenched in my soul yet.

 

[Zarex]

And reading through that history is sort of fun, isn't it? For me, it's been nearly 30 years of rumors and developments with four crappy films to show for it.

I'm so old, I remember when we used to discuss these things in comic-book stores before the internet existed.

I love the Chris Columbus line from 2000 - "It's really daunting. Right now, the budget would be about $280 million. It's prohibitively expensive. We can't make that film. So we continue to tinker with the script to get this movie down to size."

FOX managed to crap out three FF films for the (price adjusted) cost of what Columbus budgeted for one (presumably) good one 17 years ago.

 

[NotNickFury]

Okay, I ask this as a non-Fantastic Four person.

Let's say, down the line, the F4 appear in the MCU. Okay. How do you, the folks here, prefer they be introduced?

I say that because consider: Spider-Man first appears in Civil War. Sure, he didn't need to there and if you took him out of the film, nothing would be lost, but it's a dynamic way to introduce him in this particular universe and by Homecoming, he'll have already been Spider-Man, so there's no need to do another origin, particularly after Amazing hit so many similar notes as Raimi's first Spider-Man, despite being touted as the 'Untold Story.'

So how do you do that for Fantastic Four, a property that is arguably not as well known to the general public as Spider-Man, in part probably due to popularity through films, video games, animated series, and so on. So do you go a similar route as Spider-Man (and apparently Carol Danvers in Infinity War) and introduce them mid-journey and save a potential origin for later? Not how do you get audiences invested in the film brand, like having Spider-Man be in the airport fight in Civil War even though he didn't add anything to the plot, just how do you go about introducing them.

Or do you do a full blown origin story within the MCU, despite the fact that it'd be the fourth origin story? But this being a different universe, it'd be a fresher and probably better received take.

 

[Willie Lumpkin]

Okay, I ask this as a non-Fantastic Four person.

Let's say, down the line, the F4 appear in the MCU. Okay. How do you, the folks here, prefer they be introduced?

I say that because consider: Spider-Man first appears in Civil War. Sure, he didn't need to there and if you took him out of the film, nothing would be lost, but it's a dynamic way to introduce him in this particular universe and by Homecoming, he'll have already been Spider-Man, so there's no need to do another origin, particularly after Amazing hit so many similar notes as Raimi's first Spider-Man, despite being touted as the 'Untold Story.'

So how do you do that for Fantastic Four, a property that is arguably not as well known to the general public as Spider-Man, in part probably due to popularity through films, video games, animated series, and so on. So do you go a similar route as Spider-Man (and apparently Carol Danvers in Infinity War) and introduce them mid-journey and save a potential origin for later? Not how do you get audiences invested in the film brand, like having Spider-Man be in the airport fight in Civil War even though he didn't add anything to the plot, just how do you go about introducing them.

Or do you do a full blown origin story within the MCU, despite the fact that it'd be the fourth origin story? But this being a different universe, it'd be a fresher and probably better received take.

I don't want more than 5 minutes spent on their origin under any circumstances. I'd be fine if they either are just 'there' as established characters with super-powers or if they introduced them pre-accident in some non-FF films and then the accident happens as something of a passing incident that is mentioned or flashed back to but without a lot of screen time.

Fox's problem has always been not recognizing what the comic-books did right, and one thing the comic books did right was to only spend a couple pages on the FF origin.

 

[Orba]

I don't want more than 5 minutes spent on their origin under any circumstances. I'd be fine if they either are just 'there' as established characters with super-powers or if they introduced them pre-accident in some non-FF films and then the accident happens as something of a passing incident that is mentioned or flashed back to but without a lot of screen time.

Fox's problem has always been not recognizing what the comic-books did right, and one thing the comic books did right was to only spend a couple pages on the FF origin.

With the fact that the Fantastic Four have always had a bigger public presence in the Marvel Universe (they don't hide their identities, they go out and about in NY etc) I've thought that they could just have the back story be something that the film could have a TV reporter explaining it. It would be quick and get to the point, they could even have the report showing publicity clips of the events that lead up to things. I also wouldn't mind if the events of the Infinity War were what resulted in their powers (an energy release from the stones hitting their ship), just to tie things together.

 

[Zarex]

I've always loved the idea of introducing the FF in the post credit scene for the 2019 Avengers film (the mid credit would be for the epilogue). Many of the heroes from the first three MCU Phases have hung up their togs due to age, injury and even death from the Infinity War. Who will protect a now vulnerable earth? We see empty space and an explosion. A craft crosses the screen and we see the name on the hull - Future Foundation.

 

[wobbly]

That exact statement could apply to all three Fox films, couldn't it?

Lol, it could indeed. A decade and half later and Fox still don't get it.

 

[Spiderine]

With the fact that the Fantastic Four have always had a bigger public presence in the Marvel Universe (they don't hide their identities, they go out and about in NY etc) I've thought that they could just have the back story be something that the film could have a TV reporter explaining it. It would be quick and get to the point, they could even have the report showing publicity clips of the events that lead up to things. I also wouldn't mind if the events of the Infinity War were what resulted in their powers (an energy release from the stones hitting their ship), just to tie things together.

I love the idea of them getting their powers as the result of the stones unleashed and Thanos manipulations during or after the events of infinity war. Reed should already be established as one of the world's most intelligent scientists. Tie it all together without a redundant origin story that we have seen twice already.

 

[Willie Lumpkin]

I love the idea of them getting their powers as the result of the stones unleashed and Thanos manipulations during or after the events of infinity war. Reed should already be established as one of the world's most intelligent scientists. Tie it all together without a redundant origin story that we have seen twice already.

Yeah, if they have the rights in time, I'd love to see them introduce Reed and Doom as two brilliant scientists who get involved because pf their brains.

 

[Dark Raven]

My wife was watching HBO or some similar channel yesterday evening and a movie was starting that had Kevin Hart running around through a parking garage or something and it just seemed really poorly conceived and shot.

I said: "What is this? It looks awful." And just as I said that, I saw: "Directed by Tim Story" pop up on the screen.

Tim Story and Josh Trank should work on a film together. They can call it the Story of the Trank Chronicle.

 

[NotNickFury]

Well, some good news came out of Fantastic Four...Kate Mara and Jamie Bell tied the knot.

The bad news is that Kate Mara is no longer available or free to do that Fantastic Four sequel where Sue and Doom tie the knot. Real tragedy.

 

[Dark Raven]

When do Sue and Doom ever tie the knot? Has she ever been known as Susan Doom?

 

[NotNickFury]

I wasn't being serious there.

 

[Willie Lumpkin]

Well, some good news came out of Fantastic Four...Kate Mara and Jamie Bell tied the knot.

I didn't even know they were an item, but I do remember this story breaking while Fant4stic was still filming:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbi...hel-Wood-loves-mother-married-Jamie-Bell.html

 

[TheVileOne]

When do Sue and Doom ever tie the knot? Has she ever been known as Susan Doom?

It happened in the late 90s.