What tone should this new franchise go for?

[Kevin Smith]

They should just go for broke and make it a full on spoof now.

Yes. Bring it on, I agree.

 

[Kevin Smith]

Acting as if the Kirby run was broken is the big problem in their mindset

Amen and amen-ah!

 

[Human Torch]

Bring on Jack Black as Dr Doom!

"Greeeeeeetings,RRRRRRRichards!"

 

[Kevin Smith]

Bring on Jack Black as Dr Doom!

"Greeeeeeetings,RRRRRRRichards!"

Brilliant. You missed your calling at FOX.

Who can we get that's the female equivalent of Jack Black though....

 

[Red Mask]

This casting made me think some junior form of the X-Files. But now I think this group could just be a form of the Thunderbirds. So far Fox has not said anything about the plot. I can't imagine this group handling mysteries like the Inhumans, Monster Island, or the subterranean cities.

Also they might change the team dynamics. With Jamie Bell as the Thing there might be love triangle between involving Sue and Reed. Beauty and the Brain or Beauty and the Beast?

 

[Incrediblejeff]

I really would like the Fantastic Four to be more super serious sci-fi film.I'm thinking like Star Trek,2001,Primer type of deal that's grounded in reality with some of the fantastical elements of the Fantastic Four .Similar to the 1960's Planet of The Apes series,but I'm probably alone in all of this.

 

[EssayM]

Given Fox's recent history and the fact that they're supposedly going with the Ultimates version, I think the tone will be similar to TASM or the last few X-Men movies, where it's sort of aimed at teenagers, but at the same time there's enough maturity and wit that older fans can still enjoy it.

 

[Browncoat Alex]

Given that this movie is supposed to be in the same universe as the X-Men movies I'm guessing the tone will be similar, but looking at the cast it's hard to imagine it as anything other than a teen comedy.

 

[Paradox1]

If they wanted to be funny they would of hired Nick Cannon

 

[<(o_o)>]

Brilliant. You missed your calling at FOX.

Who can we get that's the female equivalent of Jack Black though....

Rosie O'Donell.

 

[EssayM]

So because they wanted a teen comedy, they got the guy from Fruitvale Station? I guess you could say both Teller and MBJ were in that Awkward Moment movie, but then why did they get the director of Chronicle and the writer of DOFP?

 

[Paradox1]

I really would like the Fantastic Four to be more super serious sci-fi film.I'm thinking like Star Trek,2001,Primer type of deal that's grounded in reality with some of the fantastical elements of the Fantastic Four .Similar to the 1960's Planet of The Apes series,but I'm probably alone in all of this.

Your not alone in this I would be first in line for a movie like that.

 

[Red Mask]

I really would like the Fantastic Four to be more super serious sci-fi film.I'm thinking like Star Trek,2001,Primer type of deal that's grounded in reality with some of the fantastical elements of the Fantastic Four .Similar to the 1960's Planet of The Apes series,but I'm probably alone in all of this.

If they were to approach it more seriously then would have to forego story ideas like the Blue Area on the Moon and Monster Island. There is no way humanity has not discovered those yet with today's technology. Cloaking fields be damned, it's simply improbable to have missed them.

Also members would have to be replaced constantly because death is a real factor in exploration. They could introduce new members like Crystal of the Inhumans, Black Panther, Medusa, and H.E.R.B.I.E.

 

[Lord]

One or two unadaptable elements doesn't make the whole story impossible to adapt, though a 60s setting would correct plenty of those problems.

 

[Gabe99]

NEWSARAMA:
After the Casting: 10 Things THE FANTASTIC FOUR Reboot Needs To Work

No Costumes
I know, I know -- people want to see the blue jumpsuits with the "4" icon on them. Something that should be remembered about the FF, however, is that they're not really super heroes -- they're adventurers whose adventures sometimes include saving the world or dealing with super villains. Bearing that in mind, why not do away with the increasingly convoluted explanations necessary to get cinematic heroes in outfits similar to their comic counterparts and just allow the FF to wear whatever they want? As the latest Fantastic Four relaunch demonstrates, it's not even as if the comic book version of the characters have stayed faithful to the blue and black look themselves.

Not So Into Darkness
Another trend that Fantastic Four would be well-placed to avoid is towards poe-faced "realism" in superhero movies. The Fantastic Four has never been a convincingly grim nor gritty comic book, and trying to treat this movie even as seriously as Marvel has taken the Iron Man or Captain America movie franchises could weigh down the series a little bit too much. This summer's Guardians of the Galaxy teases a brighter, more fun superhero movie. Let's see Fantastic Four follow in those space-age footsteps.

Mad Science
At its heart, Fantastic Four is a science-fiction series. Not only is the team's origin is a spin on the then-popular "science goes wrong" idea, almost all of the best stories from the series can be reduced down to SF tropes more easily that superhero ones: An experiment goes awry, an alien invades, and so on. I'm not suggesting that the movie Fantastic Four divorces itself entirely from the superhero genre -- it is the most successful genre in movies right now, after all -- but it would do to remember that Fantastic Four has never really been a series about people who fight crime. It's about something bigger than that.

Something New
For its first 100+ issues -- the Stan Lee/Jack Kirby issues that set the tone for the series, and remain its high-water mark -- the Fantastic Four was all about the shock of the new. Lee and Kirby were astonishingly inventive, tossing off new characters and concepts seemingly without effort. As an adaptation, the movie won't necessarily have the same ability to amaze with new ideas and new concepts, but nevertheless, that doesn't stop us hoping that there will be something unexpected and unseen on offer when the movie eventually materializes.

A Jack Kirby Cameo
Admittedly, this might be slightly more difficult than the traditional Marvel creator cameo method of "sticking Stan Lee in the background of a scene somewhere with one line of dialogue." However, Fantastic Four was Kirby's book in as many ways -- more ways, perhaps -- as it was Lee's, and it would be fitting to see that recognized somewhere in the movie itself. Jack gave everything to the series, and re-energized an entire genre (an entire medium) in the process. Let's see the movie take note of that (and, yes, Stan should be in this one, too).

Never-Ending
More than any other ongoing superhero series, Fantastic Four should be about what's next, what's around the corner and in the future. It's not simply that Reed Richards is a futurist -- Tony Stark's Iron Man has that excuse as well, after all -- but that the characters have been shown to be continually excited about the possibilities of what lies ahead, racing to meet it. Wouldn't it be great to have a movie that ended not with a post-credit sequence teasing another film in the franchise, but the characters simply heading off to continue a career of endless adventures…?

 

[Donut]

Since they want this 2 match with X-Men Im sure whatever time period thats in

 

[Lord]

I think it's kind of ironic, that the Fantastic Four comics, which gained popularity by being more realistic comics from the rest, is now considered to cheesy for the big screen.

 

[3dman27]

I think it's kind of ironic, that the Fantastic Four comics, which gained popularity by being more realistic comics from the rest, is now considered to cheesy for the big screen.

ironic indeed sir

 

[Casius--J]

Should just be a parody as that what it looks like so far

 

[3dman27]

oh for it's bad enough classic tv shows are turned into farces fo remake movies mus theFF suffer the same fate
as the thing would say what a revoltin deveopement this is

 

[Six]

What tone should it go for?

Campy, dark and gritty, mockumentary style, just all around inconsistent.

 

[Gabe99]

5 Paths the "Fantastic Four" Reboot Should Explore'

2. Find the Right Tone

The "Fantastic Four" has always been a book more steeped in science fiction than superhero tropes -- which is ironic, because it was "FF" that kicked off the Marvel Universe. As such, the new film, while maintaining its superhero roots, should embrace the science in its fiction to help differentiate itself from the rest of the superhero pack; more "Doctor Who" than "The Avengers," more "Flash Gordon" than "The Dark Knight." The movie needs to embrace its inherent wackiness, to proudly portray the insane elements and characters from the FF's history. A major element of the "FF" comic has always been its freewheeling sense of humor. Between Reed's cluelessness to anything but advanced science, Ben and Johnny's constant banter and supporting characters like Willie Lumpkin and H.E.R.B.I.E. the robot, "FF" has never shied away from the whimsical. Let DC and Warner Bros. do bleak and somber. Any "Fantastic Four" film, any real "Fantastic Four" film, must know how to balance the wacky with the intense, the power of family in the face of Armageddon. Whether it was during the Lee and Kirby era, the John Byrne years, Walt Simonson run or the time of Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo, "Fantastic Four" has always tonally stood out from the rest of the Marvel Universe, and any successful "FF" film will reflect this same approach.


1. Go Big or Go Home

At numerous points in its history, "Fantastic Four" has been Marvel's grandest title. In the original Stan Lee and Jack Kirby run, every issue not only explored the character dynamics of Reed, Sue, Johnny and Ben, but also had the stalwart four encounter some of the most mind-blowing concepts of the day. They were not just superheroes, the Fantastic Four were -- and are -- explorers, every issue introducing new worlds and concepts to readers. The FF didn't stop bank robberies; they stopped alien excursions from other dimensions. They did not just encounter villains; they encountered other dimensional warlords bent on conquest.

In the previous "FF" films, Reed's lab looked entirely mundane, outfitted with standard issue beakers and desktop computers with beakers, not the kind of place that would allow and encourage the impossible to happen on a daily basis. Reed shouldn't have microscopes in his lab, he should have portals to the Negative Zone and other gizmos and engines that crackle with otherworldly Kirby-esque energy. Everything the FF does is epic; every story they are involved in should be an exercise in world building. During the Silver Age, mind altering concepts that became major parts of the tapestry of the Marvel Universe were introduced in the pages of "Fantastic Four" on a monthly basis.

A film worthy of the name "Fantastic Four" should match the scope of the comics, the stories breaking the boundaries of reality, unafraid to take chances. A new "FF" film needs to embrace the insanity and grandiosity of "FF," or will it fall short of both the team's moniker and the book's legacy. The characters that comprise the Fantastic Four are human, but the situations they find themselves need to go far beyond the standard conception of our daily reality. A "Fantastic Four" movie should be filled with energy and huge moments, fevered set pieces that fans will never forget and inspire filmmakers the way the comics have so many of the writers and artists who followed Lee and Kirby. After all, these aren't voyagers of the kinda cool: They're the voyagers of the fantastic.

 

[Red Mask]

Those cool biohazard suits in the upcoming Godzilla would be a better direction for those not in favour of a superhero-type costume.

 

[Six]

They should just be naked. Its not like anyones going to take them seriously anyways.

 

[Saitou Hajime]

Based on Vaughn's "not a comedy" crack, I guess we're getting a "serious" movie.