Fantastic Four Reboot

We’re starting to see an increasing flow of news regarding the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot, which is expected to reach the cinema in 2015. The film’s page on IMDB shows an intriguing new cast (including Kate Mara and Michael B. Jordan) and a relative newcomer director (Josh Trank). Yet, the synopsis is very limited at this point and there are no trailers or images from the film. Of course, that means it’s all still open to speculation and hope, especially for these five things we’d like to see from the Fantastic Four reboot.

1. Conviction From The Cast

Reviewing the 2005 Fantastic Four film, Richard Roeper criticized “bland performances throughout” on the part of the cast. With no disrespect to the actors involved, the criticism was accurate. The biggest way in which the reboot can differentiate itself would probably be for the cast to show a little bit more conviction this time around. One reason that the Marvel films have been so wildly successful is that their leads have done an admirable job of embracing super characters, often with rather ridiculous lines and plot situations to deal with. If the new cast can follow the footsteps of Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Hemsworth and Co. in this regard, the reboot will do just fine.

2. Better Writing

As mentioned, superhero films sometimes have ridiculous dialogue. These are supernatural films dealing with entirely made up concepts, and in part it’s the job of the actors to convey these lines and concepts with the right balance of seriousness and levity. However, it’s difficult to deny that the 2005 Fantastic Four gave its cast very little to work with. The dialogue was clunky and the script was borderline amateurish. Simon Kinberg wrote the screenplay, and that should be a serious improvement. He recently wrote X-Men: First Class and X-Men: Days Of Future Past.

3. A Michael B. Jordan Breakout

Due respect to the rest of the cast, but Michael B. Jordan is the actor we’ll all be watching when the new Fantastic Four is released. Jordan essentially announced himself as a major young actor when he helped to save the last two seasons of Friday Night Lights despite risky plot changes. But his biggest role to date was in the under-appreciated Fruitvale Station, which led a number of people in the industry to proclaim him as the next big thing. If it’s successful, Fantastic Four may expose Jordan to his biggest audience yet, which means it could serve as his true breakout role as a Hollywood star. The Daily Beast has a wonderful interview with Jordan on this subject, as well as the responsibility of playing a black superhero and his upcoming turn as Apollo Creed’s grandson in a new Rocky film.

4. A Great Game

As great as the Marvel films have been, most of them have failed to produce great video game, including the Fantastic Four and its horrible Rise Of The Silver Surfer sequel. Both films produced console games, but they were both boring, poorly reviewed affairs. The betfair casino online offers another, less traditional take on a Fantastic Four game as well. Basically, it uses thematic backdrops and characters from the Fantastic Four in the design of a slot machine, and the game is actually more interesting because of it. But that game, in addition to being more of a casino experience than an action video game, deals with the comic concepts and characters rather than a specific film. If the Fantastic Four reboot is successful, we’d love to see a bona fide console adventure game come out of it. There’s a lot of potential in a playable team of heroes with differing abilities.

5. A Fun Take On Dr. Doom

Dr. Doom is the signature villain for the Fantastic Four, and in the comics he’s a relentless, terrifying blend of mad scientist and mystic sorcerer. He’s actually one of the more intriguing villains in Marvel lore. While the 2005 film didn’t do him justice, there’s early word that the reboot will change the character quite a bit. Screenrant reveals that Doom’s name and origin will be tweaked as he’s turned into what sounds like a programming/computer hacking genius. That’s probably not going to sit well with comic fanatics, but all we’re hoping for is that the new take is as much fun as the character should be.