Showing posts with label Fantastic Four. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fantastic Four. Show all posts
Thursday, 1 August 2024
Friday, 11 December 2020
Thoughts on the Disney/Marvel announcements
Disney has just emptied a bucketload of new series and film announcements onto the internet to gear everyone up for the next phase of its media empire. Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a new wave of Star Wars properties and more, there's a lot to take on, but he's my thoughts on the MCU revelations. (I'll get to Star Wars eventually, but I'm not even up to date on The Mandalorian yet. However, really suspicious of the idea of bringing back Hayden Christiansen.)
MARVEL PHASE 4
Secret Invasion: Good news, but no surprise. The involvement of the Skrulls in Captain Marvel and Ben Mendelsohn as Talos pretending to be Nick Fury all pointed to the Secret Invasion storyline coming to fruition. Presumably this will have an impact on the films in time, but for now, this is another Disney+ series. Marvel have tried to tie together their TV and cinematic productions before to limited success, but this looks like a far more sophisticated effort. Mendelsohn and Sam Jackson both confirmed back for this.
Ironheart: The occasionally controversial (for small-minded people) new Iron Man comic treatement, Ironheart features Riri Williams as a young genius who creates her own biomechanical armour suit. The Disney+ series will star Dominique Thorne. Could be well worth watching.
Armor Wars: Less interested by this one. Do we need both? This has Don Cheadle back as Rhodey/War Machine dealing with the fallout from Stark's death when his technology falls into unscrupulous hands. Should be good, but just not sure these need to be separate series.
I am Groot: This sounds very silly: a series of Disney+ shorts revolving around Baby Groot, with "new and unusual characters." Could be a good chance to involve the more ridiculous and out-there ideas from the Marvel universe (Howard the Duck please!) No word on whether Vin Diesel will voice Groot.
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special: Now this is just fabulous. Prior to the third Guardians of the Galaxy film in 2023 (finally confirmed to have James Gunn onboard without a doubt), this is a wonderfully daft thing to do. A homage to the notorious Star Wars Holiday Special, this is bound to be all kinds of ridiculous. Lined up for 2022, presumably for Christmas unless they bring it forward for a Thanksgiving drop.
Ms. Marvel and Captain Marvel 2
Really looking forward to this one. I adored the first couple of runs of Ms. Marvel comics, and I'm stoked to see her on screen. Iman Vellani stars as Kamala Khan, and from the brief glimpse here, she seems perfect. She'll also appear with Ms. Marvel's idol in Captain Marvel 2, confirmed to star Brie Larson (so much for the stupid rumours that she was being recast), with Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau.
What If? and Loki
Not going to overload this post with videos, but here's the link to the dazzling trailer for What If? and a fun first look at the Loki series. Both are set for Disney+ next year, dealing with the MCU's expansion into the Multiverse. What If? looks particularly fun, with some of the best of the MCU cast involved (although clearly not everyone is voiced by their original actor). Hayley Atwell as Captain Britain? The inevitable introduction of Marvel Zombies? I'm in. Loki looks like it's going to embrace the alt-reality elements as well, with the introduction of the Time Variance Agency. A crime thriller with time travel and Tom Hiddleston? Can't go wrong.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
This is going to be fabulous, but the news today is the casting: Rachel McAdams is returning as Christine Palmer, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Baron Mordo and Benedict Wong as, well, Wong. We already knew that Elizabeth Olson was onboard as Wanda Maximoff, but the big news is the confirmation that dimension-jumping America Chavez is involved, played by newcomer Xochitl Gomez.
Ant-Man and the Wasp in Quantumania
I love how silly these titles are getting. We expected a third Ant-Man film, but it's good to get confirmation of the title, which implies some exploration of the Quantum Realm, aka the Microverse. It was revealed a little while ago, but I'm still excited for Kang the Conqueror to finally make his big screen debut played by Jonathan Majors.
Fantastic Four
The least surprising but most welcome revelation, the Fantastic Four property is now back with Marvel following Disney's acquisition of Fox. Jon Watts, set to direct the third MCU Spidey film, is on to helm this. No cast news yet, but we can expect some crossover elements, if not with this film, with a follow-up, given the close links in the comics between the FF and Spider-Man, Kang and the Secret Invasion.
Casting round-up!
Almost out of breath now, so a quick rundown of casting news. Hailee Steinfeld is Kate Bishop in the new Hawkeye series on Disney+ (I foresee next gen crossovers with Ironeheart and Ms. Marvel). Hilariously, Christian Bale's role in Thor: Love and Thunder is Gorr the God Butcher, an alien being committed to killing every god in the universe. They won't be recasting T'Challa for the second Black Panther film due in 2022, instead "honouring his legacy." I presume that means a new Black Panther, but I think we can rule out Shuri, since Letitis Wright's in trouble these days for stupid online behaviour.
Spider-Man 3 casting round-up!
Now this is ridiculous and wonderful. The third, as-yet-untitled Spidey film is clearly taking Tom Holland's requested route and piling straight into a live-action Spiderverse story. Presumably they got sick of him spoilering things in interviews so just went with his idea from the outset. Holland is confirmed, of course, along with Zendaya as MJ, Jacob Batalon and Marisa Tomei. But there's also official confirmation that Jamie Foxx is back as Electro (from The Amazing Spider-Man 2) and now Alfred Molina as Doc Ock (from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2). Emma Stone is in negotiations to return as Gwen Stacy, and rumour has it that Andrew Garfield, Tobye Maguire and Kirsten Dunst have been approached to reprise their version of Spider and MJ. Plus Benny Cumber as Dr. Strange, presumably handling the interdimensional stuff.
Sunday, 9 August 2015
REVIEW: Fantastic Four
I wanted to like this film, I
really did. I was highly suspicious of the idea of a dark, gritty,
realistic take on the Fantastic Four, the most colourful and
inoffensive of the Silver Age comic book heroes. Yes, they faced
monstrous threats, and yes, there were tragic elements – Ben
Grimm's self-loathing due to his transformation, most notably – but
it was essentially cosmic fun in primary colours. So getting Josh
Trank to make a dark sci-fi film based on the property did not appeal
to me. But then... I read about the production, Trank's vision for
the project, saw the trailer which promised a genuinely different
look at the franchise. I was ready to enjoy a completely different
Fantastic Four. Then the reviews started coming in, and I wanted to
enjoy it all the more, because everyone else said that I shouldn't.
Unfortunately...
Fantastic Four is a failure. A qualified failure, to be sure, but a failure nonetheless. It's a real pity, because there seems to be a decent film buried in there somewhere. Trank has taken to social media to defend himself, suggesting that the studio hacked the film to pieces, and I can readily believe that. There's clearly a massive chunk of the film missing; as other critics have pointed out, it seems to entirely lack a second act. Or perhaps the second act is there, but the third act was that incoherent last fifteen minutes. I don't know; the whole film is so lopsided it's hard to tell. Nonetheless, Trank cannot be without fault here. The film is grey, slow and uninteresting for far too much of its truncated runtime. The cast, all of whom are perfectly excellent actors, lack the material to show this, and are severely lacking in chemistry. At no point did Sue and Johnny come across as brother and sister, there was no spark between Sue and Reed, supposedly set to one day fall hopelessly in love, and nothing made me believe that Ben would risk his life at a moment's notice for his childhood friend.
The relationships of the Four are the foundation of the comics' appeal. They are a family, joined by blood, marriage, friendship and trust. It's a great idea to see the early days of these relationships, the foundation of this family, but there's really very little sense that this is what we're seeing here. Even the childhood meeting of Ben and Reed, both troubled in different ways and unappreciated by their families, sets this up well but is carried forward poorly. There's no substance to these relationships. The only character who really does anything to hold the dynamic together is Reg E. Cathey as Dr. Franklin Storm, who convinces as a father, or father figure, for Sue, Johnny and Reed, and to a lesser extent, Victor (of whom more later). If it wasn't for his classy performance, it'd be hard to buy into anything we saw these kids accomplish.
Some fans have taken exception to the choice to have much younger versions of the Four than in the original comics, based more closely on the Ultimate Fantastic Four series that retold the characters' origins in a more modern setting. Personally, I feel this works, or at least could work, particularly the updating of their roles as interdimensional explorers, rather than astronauts, which feels very much of its time. However, it's no surprise that the film came out so depressing and dreary. The Ultimate comics line started off as an updated take on a classic romp, and ended up as pretentiously grimdark as Watchmen fan fiction. Aside from a handful of genuinely funny asides, this film is an utterly joyless.
There are elements there that are clear steps in the right direction. Reed is an astonishingly advanced child, far more intelligent than anyone else in his school (admittedly not saying much, considering how breathtakingly stupid the staff there are). As an adult, he's enthusiastic but emotionally illiterate, yet compassionate. Johnny is intelligent and capable but at risk of letting his more anarchic, fun-loving tendencies take over his life. Those are the right traits for these characters. On the other hand, Ben displays very little character once he's grown up, until he is transformed into a CGI behemoth. What a waste of Jamie Bell. Sue is at least characterised as a scientist, contributing to the mission, which is a step up on previous portrayals, but she is also lacking in character, and for Pete's sake, they don't even take her on the mission. I'll say that again: Sue Storm is not included on the mission of discovery that creates the Fantastic Four. Apparently it's a boys only club, since Victor von Doom goes in her place. She gets zapped with powers anyway, but for crying out loud.
There are some very odd decisions in the script, as well. Making Sue a Kosovan orphan, giving Ben an abusive older brother (and forever sullying his catchphrase in the process), making Doom an aggressive emo IT guy. Just really bizarre story choices. At least the purported hacktivist backstory got dropped in production, but how can they get Doom so wrong again? He's really a very simple character. He wants three things: to rule the world and remake it as he sees fit, to prove he's better than Reed, and to win Sue's affections. Simple, easily explainable character traits. How can they get someone as good as Toby Kebbell and lumber him with such a waste of a character, eventually reducing to nothing more than an angry superbeing who wants the destroy the Earth for some ill-defined reason. Possibly revenge, possibly general lunacy, possibly something to do with his political beliefs that really doesn't make any sense. I'm not sure, the last battle was so rushed I lost the plot completely.
Trank intended to make this film a tribute of sorts to the work of David Cronenberg. As a big Cronenberg fan, I was entirely up for this; the Four's transformations are potentially horrifying and it would logically be a nightmarish experience before they got used to them. There's so much material for Ben, in particular, that would benefit from that approach. Apart from some visual nods to such Cronenberg classics as Scanners and The Fly, this approach is clearest in the mutations of the Four after their first catastrophic mission. Even this is woefully underexplored, though. There's clearly so much more material with the Four learning to accept and use their abilities that was excised to get this down to TV movie length. It's a shame, because a lot of what we do see is visually fantastic. Johnny truly is a Human Torch, the fire burning from within his body, while at last the Thing truly looks like a man of rock. Although, god, give him some pants. I have no desire to see the Thing's thing, but being confronted by its absence is almost worse. No wonder he's so angry at Reed. The mission to the other dimension is also visually interesting. Doom goes and pokes a river of what is seemingly some kind of living energy – having seemingly been trained by the Prometheus school of science – causing all the chaos in the first place, but this too is barely explored beyond the cool visuals. This strange otherplace is named Planet Zero, not the Negative Zone as in the comics. Perhaps it is so called because it is, in fact, the zero point between the positive universe as the Negative Zone? Or possibly it's called Zero because there's virtually nothing there. Where the hell's Annihilus when you need him?
After the overblown, chaotic ending, the Four appear to have bonded into a super-team, although there is no sense that they've earned this camaraderie or even really learned to work that well together. No one addresses that Ben has been killing people on behalf of the US military, that Johnny was keen to join him, or that several quite important characters have been killed off. Everyone seems to have forgotten the various betrayals of trust that led them to the situation they are now in. We cut to credits, after which there was a surprising lack of any extra scene or teaser. But then, they probably realised they weren't getting a sequel. Although not unwatchable, and featuring some interesting ideas, this is a grey, dreary take on what was once an exciting property. This should have felt like a rival to Guardians of the Galaxy, not The Dark Knight's embarrassing younger brother. The 2005 film wasn't great, but at least it was fun.
More grim than Grimm, this was a missed opportunity.
Fantastic Four is a failure. A qualified failure, to be sure, but a failure nonetheless. It's a real pity, because there seems to be a decent film buried in there somewhere. Trank has taken to social media to defend himself, suggesting that the studio hacked the film to pieces, and I can readily believe that. There's clearly a massive chunk of the film missing; as other critics have pointed out, it seems to entirely lack a second act. Or perhaps the second act is there, but the third act was that incoherent last fifteen minutes. I don't know; the whole film is so lopsided it's hard to tell. Nonetheless, Trank cannot be without fault here. The film is grey, slow and uninteresting for far too much of its truncated runtime. The cast, all of whom are perfectly excellent actors, lack the material to show this, and are severely lacking in chemistry. At no point did Sue and Johnny come across as brother and sister, there was no spark between Sue and Reed, supposedly set to one day fall hopelessly in love, and nothing made me believe that Ben would risk his life at a moment's notice for his childhood friend.
The relationships of the Four are the foundation of the comics' appeal. They are a family, joined by blood, marriage, friendship and trust. It's a great idea to see the early days of these relationships, the foundation of this family, but there's really very little sense that this is what we're seeing here. Even the childhood meeting of Ben and Reed, both troubled in different ways and unappreciated by their families, sets this up well but is carried forward poorly. There's no substance to these relationships. The only character who really does anything to hold the dynamic together is Reg E. Cathey as Dr. Franklin Storm, who convinces as a father, or father figure, for Sue, Johnny and Reed, and to a lesser extent, Victor (of whom more later). If it wasn't for his classy performance, it'd be hard to buy into anything we saw these kids accomplish.
Some fans have taken exception to the choice to have much younger versions of the Four than in the original comics, based more closely on the Ultimate Fantastic Four series that retold the characters' origins in a more modern setting. Personally, I feel this works, or at least could work, particularly the updating of their roles as interdimensional explorers, rather than astronauts, which feels very much of its time. However, it's no surprise that the film came out so depressing and dreary. The Ultimate comics line started off as an updated take on a classic romp, and ended up as pretentiously grimdark as Watchmen fan fiction. Aside from a handful of genuinely funny asides, this film is an utterly joyless.
There are elements there that are clear steps in the right direction. Reed is an astonishingly advanced child, far more intelligent than anyone else in his school (admittedly not saying much, considering how breathtakingly stupid the staff there are). As an adult, he's enthusiastic but emotionally illiterate, yet compassionate. Johnny is intelligent and capable but at risk of letting his more anarchic, fun-loving tendencies take over his life. Those are the right traits for these characters. On the other hand, Ben displays very little character once he's grown up, until he is transformed into a CGI behemoth. What a waste of Jamie Bell. Sue is at least characterised as a scientist, contributing to the mission, which is a step up on previous portrayals, but she is also lacking in character, and for Pete's sake, they don't even take her on the mission. I'll say that again: Sue Storm is not included on the mission of discovery that creates the Fantastic Four. Apparently it's a boys only club, since Victor von Doom goes in her place. She gets zapped with powers anyway, but for crying out loud.
There are some very odd decisions in the script, as well. Making Sue a Kosovan orphan, giving Ben an abusive older brother (and forever sullying his catchphrase in the process), making Doom an aggressive emo IT guy. Just really bizarre story choices. At least the purported hacktivist backstory got dropped in production, but how can they get Doom so wrong again? He's really a very simple character. He wants three things: to rule the world and remake it as he sees fit, to prove he's better than Reed, and to win Sue's affections. Simple, easily explainable character traits. How can they get someone as good as Toby Kebbell and lumber him with such a waste of a character, eventually reducing to nothing more than an angry superbeing who wants the destroy the Earth for some ill-defined reason. Possibly revenge, possibly general lunacy, possibly something to do with his political beliefs that really doesn't make any sense. I'm not sure, the last battle was so rushed I lost the plot completely.
Trank intended to make this film a tribute of sorts to the work of David Cronenberg. As a big Cronenberg fan, I was entirely up for this; the Four's transformations are potentially horrifying and it would logically be a nightmarish experience before they got used to them. There's so much material for Ben, in particular, that would benefit from that approach. Apart from some visual nods to such Cronenberg classics as Scanners and The Fly, this approach is clearest in the mutations of the Four after their first catastrophic mission. Even this is woefully underexplored, though. There's clearly so much more material with the Four learning to accept and use their abilities that was excised to get this down to TV movie length. It's a shame, because a lot of what we do see is visually fantastic. Johnny truly is a Human Torch, the fire burning from within his body, while at last the Thing truly looks like a man of rock. Although, god, give him some pants. I have no desire to see the Thing's thing, but being confronted by its absence is almost worse. No wonder he's so angry at Reed. The mission to the other dimension is also visually interesting. Doom goes and pokes a river of what is seemingly some kind of living energy – having seemingly been trained by the Prometheus school of science – causing all the chaos in the first place, but this too is barely explored beyond the cool visuals. This strange otherplace is named Planet Zero, not the Negative Zone as in the comics. Perhaps it is so called because it is, in fact, the zero point between the positive universe as the Negative Zone? Or possibly it's called Zero because there's virtually nothing there. Where the hell's Annihilus when you need him?
After the overblown, chaotic ending, the Four appear to have bonded into a super-team, although there is no sense that they've earned this camaraderie or even really learned to work that well together. No one addresses that Ben has been killing people on behalf of the US military, that Johnny was keen to join him, or that several quite important characters have been killed off. Everyone seems to have forgotten the various betrayals of trust that led them to the situation they are now in. We cut to credits, after which there was a surprising lack of any extra scene or teaser. But then, they probably realised they weren't getting a sequel. Although not unwatchable, and featuring some interesting ideas, this is a grey, dreary take on what was once an exciting property. This should have felt like a rival to Guardians of the Galaxy, not The Dark Knight's embarrassing younger brother. The 2005 film wasn't great, but at least it was fun.
More grim than Grimm, this was a missed opportunity.
Monday, 16 February 2015
Casting Call: Fox-verse - X-Men and Fantastic Four
Miles Teller
Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic
The Fantastic Four (August 2015); Fantastic Four 2 (July 2017)
Josh Trank's FF reboot is rapidly approaching, and we've still seen very little promotional material for it. At least a teaser trailer has been released, which seems to suggest a harder science-fictional take on the source material, although the shaky, handheld-style footage expected from Trank is noticeably absent. It appears that this version will be based heavily on the Ultimate Fantastic Four series, with teenaged character who gain their powers when traversing another dimension in a scientific experiment, rather than travelling into space. Miles Teller is 28, perhaps a little old for such a role, but this isn't unusual for Hollywood. Teller has an awkward charm, which is just right for the ingenious but often unconfident Reed Richards. Richards was played in the 2005 and 2007 Fantastic Four movies by Ioan Gruffudd.
Kate Mara
Sue Storm/Invisible Girl
The Fantastic Four; Fantastic Four 2
The oldest of the four leads, Kate Mara is 31, so they're really stretching that young hero angle. Best known for House of Cards and American Horror Story but with a string of film credits to her name, she's also been the most outspoken in regards to the new movie, stating that she was advised not to read the comics to cloud her interpretation of the script, and that she and all the cast are focusing on making their characters "real." Bizarrely, some internet madmen are attacking her appearance in the trailer with her natural brunette hair. Far better than casting a Hispanic actor like Jessica Alba and altering her to look Aryan, surely. Seriously, some lunatics are suggesting that the casting of Jason Momoa as Aquaman and Melissa Benoist as Supergirl as evidence of discrimination against blondes.
Michael B. Jordan
Johnny Storm/Human Torch
The Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 2
Easily the most controversial casting decision on this list, I'd say this is also the best. Having worked with Trank already on Chronicle, and Teller on That Awkward Moment, there's already a good working relationship in place, and Jordan is easily capable of playing a charismatic yet vulnerable young man. At 28, he's perhaps getting a little old to play a teenaged character. If anything, it puts me in mind of Donald Glover's campaigning to play Spider-Man - another black American actor keen to play an iconic but caucasian character, who is fast getting too old to do so. Inevitably, some people are up in arms about this casting. Frankly, any logistical arguments are farcical. There's nothing in Johnny Storm's character that suggests he has to be white, and the only problem is that he is the brother of Sue Storm, who remains white. Even this is easily dealt with with a simple rewrite; they could be half-siblings or stepsiblings, or Johnny could be adopted. Hardly an insurmountable narrative problem. Johnny Storm was previously played by Chris Evans, who was the best thing about the 2005 Fantastic Four, but is now, of course, Captain America.
Jamie Bell
Ben Grimm/The Thing
The Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 2
English actor Jamie Bell is best known for Billy Elliot, but has action movie background in Jumper and King Kong. He's an unusual choice for the normally beefy Ben Grimm, who was previously played by Michael Chiklis. The look of the post-transformation, rock-like Thing has been a closely guarded secret, with an early leaked image being retracted and only the briefest glimpse in the trailer. Incidentally, all four leads are contracted to appear in Fantastic Four 2 in July 2017, but the production of that film will hinge on the success of the first, so I don't think we can consider it confirmed.
Reg Cathey
Dr. Franklin Storm
The Fantastic Four
Also known best for House of Cards, Cathey plays the father of Sue and Johnny Storm. The mainstream comics version of Franklin was a surgeon, estranged from his children, but the Ultimate Universe version was a regular character who worked on the supersoldier programme with Dr. Molhevic (the Mole Man). Expect some elements of this to be worked into the script, but not the supersoldier elements, which belong to Marvel.
Toby Kebbell
Victor Domashev/Doom
The Fantastic Four
First things first: Toby Kebbell is amazing. Another English actor, Kebbell played Kobo, the damaged and eventually villainous bonobo character in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. It's probably safe to call him the next Andy Serkis, and his motion capture and voice skills should come into good use as the masked Dr. Doom. He was also excellent as a disturbed character in Black Mirror. However, news of the rebooted version so encouraging. The original version is one of the big bads of the Marvel universe, of course, a despotic ruler whose real name is Victor von Doom. The Ultimate version was changed to something slightly more sensible, Victor van Damme. So Victor Domashev is fine. It's just... he's being described as an angry blogger. "Doom" is his online handle. That's just so appallingly naff I can hardly compute it.
Tim Blake Nelson
Harvey Elder/Mole Man
The Fantastic Four
Tim Blake Nelson previously appeared in the MCU as Samuel Sterns. His appearance in The Incredible Hulk ended with him beginning his transformation into super-brained mutate The Leader. Clearly he was set to appear in the next Hulk film... which never happened. Now he's hopped over to Fox's franchise to play Harvey Elder, who, in the comics, is the freakish supervillain Mole Man, ruler of the Moloids and creator of numerous monsters. The Ultimate Universe version goes by the name Arthur Molekevic, a scientist employed at the Baxter Building where the FF are based. It's likely that, despite the name change, the movie version will be more like the Ultimate version, but as both are monster-breeding biochemists, it's clear Nelson's character is being set up as a future villain for the franchise. Expect him to have a major role in the sequel should it come to pass.
Ryan Reynolds
Wade Wilson/Deadpool
Deadpool (2016), X-Force (unknown)
Hurrah! Deadpool is finally getting an actual movie, thanks to some clever sorts who leaked that test film that got huge acclaim. Reynolds, of course, played Wade Wilson in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which completely destroyed the character by turning him into a sort of conglomerate of all the cool bits of other mutants with none of the actual appeal. Or a mouth. However, Reynolds is now back in the role, which should actually have proper Deadpool stuff, like breaking the fourth wall and being funny. I really hope Deadpool turns to the camera and apologises for Origins: Wolverine. Everyone's second favourite Canadian mutant with a healing factor is set to get his own film next year, so they'd better get a wriggle on, before hopefully appearing in an X-Force movie further down the line with other popular characters such as Cable.
Gina Camaro
Angel Dust
Deadpool
Actress/MMA fighter Gina Camaro is set to play Angel Dust, a reasonably obscure character who is one of the Morlocks, a group of underground mutants with generally useless powers such as the ability to alter adrenaline levels, which is was Angel Dust can do. Still, with Camaro playing her, she should be good at fighting. She's also supposedly going to be starring in a movie adaptation of Rob Liefield's shit comic, Avengelyne.
Channing Tatum
Remy LeBeau/Gambit
X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), Gambit (2016?)
Cajun charmer Remy LeBeau was the sexiest male cartoon character of the nineties in X-Men: The Animated Series, voiced by Chris Potter, before finally making it to the big screen played by the generally awful Taylor Kitsch in Origins: Wolverine. After rumours that he would be back for Deadpool, it was confirmed that Gambit would in fact be returning to our screens in 2016 in Apocalypse, before spinning off into his own movie. Both of which are supposedly going to be filmed in time for this extremely X-Men heavy year, which seems unlikely. Channing Tatum is set to take the role, after years of saying how much he'd love to play him. General consensus is that he should be pretty much perfect for the role. We might also expect him to appear in the proposed X-Force movie if Gambit is successful.
Sophie Turner
Jean Grey
X-Men: Apocalypse
The Game of Thrones star is set to play the young Jean Grey in the 1980s set X-Men: Apocalypse, as one of the mutants tutored/recruited by Professor Xavier. Famke Jansen previously played the older Jean in the 2000s X-Men trilogy (with dreamscape appearances in The Wolverine and a cameo in Days of Future Past). Jean was one of the original 'first class' of X-Men in the comics, in which she initially used the codename Marvel Girl. Sophie Turner is a truly excellent choice for the role.
Tye Sheridan
Scott Summers/Cyclops
X-Men: Apocalypse
Another first class recruit and eventual leader of the X-Men, Cyclops was played in the X-Men trilogy by James Marsden (also with a cameo in Days of Future Past). A teenaged version appeared briefly in Origins: Wolverine, played by Tim Pocock. Tye Sheridan is not an actor I'm familiar with, but a brief tells me her is well-regarded for his performances in The Tree of Life, Joe and Mud.
Of the other original class of X-Men, Hank McCoy/Beast is already part of the team, played by the excellent Nicholas Hoult. Warren Worthington/Angel and Bobby Drake/Iceman both featured in the initial 2000s trilogy as young characters, precluding their inclusion in these retro-set films.
Alexandra Shipp
Ororo Munroe/Storm
X-Men: Apocalypse
Sometimes leader of the X-Men, Storm doesn't date back quite as far as Cyclops and Jean Grey, but she's still a longtime member of the team, first appearing in Giant Size X-Men #1 in 1975, the first major black female hero in mainstream comics. Having been played by the dreadfully miscast Halle Berry in the X-Men trilogy and Days of Future Past, the younger Storm is now to be played by Alexandra Shipp, who is best known for playing the popstar Aaliyah. She's probably very good, but I note this another mixed race American actress. It's not like there aren't plenty of black African actresses who could play the character.
Oscar Isaac
En Sabah Nur/Apocalypse
X-Men: Apocalypse
Apocalypse is an ancient mutant in the Marvel universe, possibly even the first mutant, born over 5000 years ago. With complete psionic control over the matter of his own body, he is almost unstoppable, a monstrous monomaniac determined to rule the Earth (which he does in the timeline of the Age of Apocalypse). He was briefly played by Brendan Fredder in the post-credits scene at the end of Days of Future Past, building a pyramid psychokinetically while his four Horsemen looked on. Lauded Hispanic actor Oscar Isaac is set to play the mighty mutant in his eponymous film. Why Apocalypse did not figure in the initial timeline of the X-Men films is uncertain; perhaps the changes to history in Days of Future Past may have had more extensive repurcussions than we've seen. Maybe the slumbering Apocalypse was destroyed by Sentinels before he awoke in the initial timeline, whereas in the new timeline he is free to awaken and threaten the world.
Who the Horsemen of Apocalypse will be is as yet unknown. In the comics various mutants and mutates have taken up their roles over the years, with both Wolverine and Gambit taking on the role of Death. Seeing that they're both set to appear in Apocalypse (Gambit a definite, Wolverine a very likely), could we be seeing one of them being corrupted?
UPDATE
Cody Smit-McFee
Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler
X-Men: Apocalypse
Long-rumoured to be appearing in this film, Nightcrawler was previously played rather brilliantly by Alan Cumming in X2. Now the sequel/prequel/whateverquel has its Nightcrawler, to be played by 18-year-old Smit-McFee, best known for voice work including Paranorman, but with live action credits for Let Me In and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Good to see they're casting young with this; Nightcrawler's age was inderterminate in X2, but he's have to very young in the eighties. Looking forward to see what the guy looks like in blue.
Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic
The Fantastic Four (August 2015); Fantastic Four 2 (July 2017)
Josh Trank's FF reboot is rapidly approaching, and we've still seen very little promotional material for it. At least a teaser trailer has been released, which seems to suggest a harder science-fictional take on the source material, although the shaky, handheld-style footage expected from Trank is noticeably absent. It appears that this version will be based heavily on the Ultimate Fantastic Four series, with teenaged character who gain their powers when traversing another dimension in a scientific experiment, rather than travelling into space. Miles Teller is 28, perhaps a little old for such a role, but this isn't unusual for Hollywood. Teller has an awkward charm, which is just right for the ingenious but often unconfident Reed Richards. Richards was played in the 2005 and 2007 Fantastic Four movies by Ioan Gruffudd.
Kate Mara
Sue Storm/Invisible Girl
The Fantastic Four; Fantastic Four 2
The oldest of the four leads, Kate Mara is 31, so they're really stretching that young hero angle. Best known for House of Cards and American Horror Story but with a string of film credits to her name, she's also been the most outspoken in regards to the new movie, stating that she was advised not to read the comics to cloud her interpretation of the script, and that she and all the cast are focusing on making their characters "real." Bizarrely, some internet madmen are attacking her appearance in the trailer with her natural brunette hair. Far better than casting a Hispanic actor like Jessica Alba and altering her to look Aryan, surely. Seriously, some lunatics are suggesting that the casting of Jason Momoa as Aquaman and Melissa Benoist as Supergirl as evidence of discrimination against blondes.
Michael B. Jordan
Johnny Storm/Human Torch
Easily the most controversial casting decision on this list, I'd say this is also the best. Having worked with Trank already on Chronicle, and Teller on That Awkward Moment, there's already a good working relationship in place, and Jordan is easily capable of playing a charismatic yet vulnerable young man. At 28, he's perhaps getting a little old to play a teenaged character. If anything, it puts me in mind of Donald Glover's campaigning to play Spider-Man - another black American actor keen to play an iconic but caucasian character, who is fast getting too old to do so. Inevitably, some people are up in arms about this casting. Frankly, any logistical arguments are farcical. There's nothing in Johnny Storm's character that suggests he has to be white, and the only problem is that he is the brother of Sue Storm, who remains white. Even this is easily dealt with with a simple rewrite; they could be half-siblings or stepsiblings, or Johnny could be adopted. Hardly an insurmountable narrative problem. Johnny Storm was previously played by Chris Evans, who was the best thing about the 2005 Fantastic Four, but is now, of course, Captain America.
Jamie Bell
Ben Grimm/The Thing
The Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 2
English actor Jamie Bell is best known for Billy Elliot, but has action movie background in Jumper and King Kong. He's an unusual choice for the normally beefy Ben Grimm, who was previously played by Michael Chiklis. The look of the post-transformation, rock-like Thing has been a closely guarded secret, with an early leaked image being retracted and only the briefest glimpse in the trailer. Incidentally, all four leads are contracted to appear in Fantastic Four 2 in July 2017, but the production of that film will hinge on the success of the first, so I don't think we can consider it confirmed.Reg Cathey
Dr. Franklin Storm
The Fantastic Four
Also known best for House of Cards, Cathey plays the father of Sue and Johnny Storm. The mainstream comics version of Franklin was a surgeon, estranged from his children, but the Ultimate Universe version was a regular character who worked on the supersoldier programme with Dr. Molhevic (the Mole Man). Expect some elements of this to be worked into the script, but not the supersoldier elements, which belong to Marvel.
Toby Kebbell
Victor Domashev/Doom
The Fantastic Four
First things first: Toby Kebbell is amazing. Another English actor, Kebbell played Kobo, the damaged and eventually villainous bonobo character in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. It's probably safe to call him the next Andy Serkis, and his motion capture and voice skills should come into good use as the masked Dr. Doom. He was also excellent as a disturbed character in Black Mirror. However, news of the rebooted version so encouraging. The original version is one of the big bads of the Marvel universe, of course, a despotic ruler whose real name is Victor von Doom. The Ultimate version was changed to something slightly more sensible, Victor van Damme. So Victor Domashev is fine. It's just... he's being described as an angry blogger. "Doom" is his online handle. That's just so appallingly naff I can hardly compute it.
Tim Blake Nelson
Harvey Elder/Mole Man
The Fantastic Four
Tim Blake Nelson previously appeared in the MCU as Samuel Sterns. His appearance in The Incredible Hulk ended with him beginning his transformation into super-brained mutate The Leader. Clearly he was set to appear in the next Hulk film... which never happened. Now he's hopped over to Fox's franchise to play Harvey Elder, who, in the comics, is the freakish supervillain Mole Man, ruler of the Moloids and creator of numerous monsters. The Ultimate Universe version goes by the name Arthur Molekevic, a scientist employed at the Baxter Building where the FF are based. It's likely that, despite the name change, the movie version will be more like the Ultimate version, but as both are monster-breeding biochemists, it's clear Nelson's character is being set up as a future villain for the franchise. Expect him to have a major role in the sequel should it come to pass.
Ryan Reynolds
Wade Wilson/Deadpool
Deadpool (2016), X-Force (unknown)
Hurrah! Deadpool is finally getting an actual movie, thanks to some clever sorts who leaked that test film that got huge acclaim. Reynolds, of course, played Wade Wilson in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which completely destroyed the character by turning him into a sort of conglomerate of all the cool bits of other mutants with none of the actual appeal. Or a mouth. However, Reynolds is now back in the role, which should actually have proper Deadpool stuff, like breaking the fourth wall and being funny. I really hope Deadpool turns to the camera and apologises for Origins: Wolverine. Everyone's second favourite Canadian mutant with a healing factor is set to get his own film next year, so they'd better get a wriggle on, before hopefully appearing in an X-Force movie further down the line with other popular characters such as Cable.
Gina Camaro
Angel Dust
Deadpool
Actress/MMA fighter Gina Camaro is set to play Angel Dust, a reasonably obscure character who is one of the Morlocks, a group of underground mutants with generally useless powers such as the ability to alter adrenaline levels, which is was Angel Dust can do. Still, with Camaro playing her, she should be good at fighting. She's also supposedly going to be starring in a movie adaptation of Rob Liefield's shit comic, Avengelyne.
Channing Tatum
Remy LeBeau/Gambit
X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), Gambit (2016?)
Cajun charmer Remy LeBeau was the sexiest male cartoon character of the nineties in X-Men: The Animated Series, voiced by Chris Potter, before finally making it to the big screen played by the generally awful Taylor Kitsch in Origins: Wolverine. After rumours that he would be back for Deadpool, it was confirmed that Gambit would in fact be returning to our screens in 2016 in Apocalypse, before spinning off into his own movie. Both of which are supposedly going to be filmed in time for this extremely X-Men heavy year, which seems unlikely. Channing Tatum is set to take the role, after years of saying how much he'd love to play him. General consensus is that he should be pretty much perfect for the role. We might also expect him to appear in the proposed X-Force movie if Gambit is successful.
Sophie Turner
Jean Grey
X-Men: Apocalypse
The Game of Thrones star is set to play the young Jean Grey in the 1980s set X-Men: Apocalypse, as one of the mutants tutored/recruited by Professor Xavier. Famke Jansen previously played the older Jean in the 2000s X-Men trilogy (with dreamscape appearances in The Wolverine and a cameo in Days of Future Past). Jean was one of the original 'first class' of X-Men in the comics, in which she initially used the codename Marvel Girl. Sophie Turner is a truly excellent choice for the role.
Tye Sheridan
Scott Summers/Cyclops
X-Men: Apocalypse
Another first class recruit and eventual leader of the X-Men, Cyclops was played in the X-Men trilogy by James Marsden (also with a cameo in Days of Future Past). A teenaged version appeared briefly in Origins: Wolverine, played by Tim Pocock. Tye Sheridan is not an actor I'm familiar with, but a brief tells me her is well-regarded for his performances in The Tree of Life, Joe and Mud.
Of the other original class of X-Men, Hank McCoy/Beast is already part of the team, played by the excellent Nicholas Hoult. Warren Worthington/Angel and Bobby Drake/Iceman both featured in the initial 2000s trilogy as young characters, precluding their inclusion in these retro-set films.
Alexandra Shipp
Ororo Munroe/Storm
X-Men: Apocalypse
Sometimes leader of the X-Men, Storm doesn't date back quite as far as Cyclops and Jean Grey, but she's still a longtime member of the team, first appearing in Giant Size X-Men #1 in 1975, the first major black female hero in mainstream comics. Having been played by the dreadfully miscast Halle Berry in the X-Men trilogy and Days of Future Past, the younger Storm is now to be played by Alexandra Shipp, who is best known for playing the popstar Aaliyah. She's probably very good, but I note this another mixed race American actress. It's not like there aren't plenty of black African actresses who could play the character.
Oscar Isaac
En Sabah Nur/Apocalypse
X-Men: Apocalypse
Apocalypse is an ancient mutant in the Marvel universe, possibly even the first mutant, born over 5000 years ago. With complete psionic control over the matter of his own body, he is almost unstoppable, a monstrous monomaniac determined to rule the Earth (which he does in the timeline of the Age of Apocalypse). He was briefly played by Brendan Fredder in the post-credits scene at the end of Days of Future Past, building a pyramid psychokinetically while his four Horsemen looked on. Lauded Hispanic actor Oscar Isaac is set to play the mighty mutant in his eponymous film. Why Apocalypse did not figure in the initial timeline of the X-Men films is uncertain; perhaps the changes to history in Days of Future Past may have had more extensive repurcussions than we've seen. Maybe the slumbering Apocalypse was destroyed by Sentinels before he awoke in the initial timeline, whereas in the new timeline he is free to awaken and threaten the world.
Who the Horsemen of Apocalypse will be is as yet unknown. In the comics various mutants and mutates have taken up their roles over the years, with both Wolverine and Gambit taking on the role of Death. Seeing that they're both set to appear in Apocalypse (Gambit a definite, Wolverine a very likely), could we be seeing one of them being corrupted?
UPDATE
Cody Smit-McFee
Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler
X-Men: Apocalypse
Long-rumoured to be appearing in this film, Nightcrawler was previously played rather brilliantly by Alan Cumming in X2. Now the sequel/prequel/whateverquel has its Nightcrawler, to be played by 18-year-old Smit-McFee, best known for voice work including Paranorman, but with live action credits for Let Me In and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Good to see they're casting young with this; Nightcrawler's age was inderterminate in X2, but he's have to very young in the eighties. Looking forward to see what the guy looks like in blue.
Tuesday, 25 February 2014
In other news, Fox have announced their cast for the Fantastic Four reboot, and my previous speculation was miles out (and so it should be). The Hollywood Reporter broke the news a few days ago, but I've been busy.
This is a link.
The least surprising news, in that rumours were surfacing some time ago regarding his involvement, is Michael Jordan as the Human Torch. Naturally, this has caused a huge backlash - well, about half a dozen upset internetters - because Jordan is black. So what? I love colour-blind casting. It can't work for every role, of course, but there is absolutely nothing in the story which precludes the Human Torch being a man of colour. For his part, Jordan has handled the naysayers well, saying that while they might not want a black Torch, "They'll see it anyway." I think it's a great step forward, casting someone for their talent and suitability for a role regardless of their colour.
Back in my previous article, I mentioned how disappointing it was that Fox initially cast Jessica Alba, a Hispanic actress, as Sue Storm, but then made her up with blonde hair and blue contacts. So close. The new Invisible Girl will be played by Kate Mara. I'm not familiar with her work, but she's been lauded for her roles in House of Cards and American Horror Story, two series I am under orders to watch.
Miles Teller is another new one on me, but a quick scout round reveals that he is clearly an actor to watch. It's a good sign, I feel, that fox are more interested in getting up-coming talent than big-name stars. He's got a rather boyish, but intelligent look to him, and I can see him as a young Reed Richards.
The surprising one is Jamie Bell as Ben Grimm/The Thing. He's still best known as Billy Elliott, but he's come a long way since his admittedly fine performance back then. He's quite an intense young actor, and could bring something very interesting to the role. Not who I'd have thought of for the Thing at all, but an interesting choice.
Apparently, Teller is not yet secured, due to his busy schedule and being in such high demand, and with Fox fast-tracking the development of the movie for release next summer, this may necessitate a re-cast. Still, it's an interesting cast, not what anyone would have predicted for the film. Along with the choice of Chronicle's Josh Trank as director, this indicates an interesting, more contemporary direction for the reboot. There has been some discussion regarding the ages of the cast, but they're not especially young. They're all in their late twenties, except for Mara, who is soon to turn thirty-one. Of course, young actors often play even younger characters, so we might see a late teens/early twenties version of the Four. Given that many of the Marvel movies have taken hints from the Ultimate universe storylines, I wouldn't be surprised at Fox going in this direction and having younger versions of the characters as in Ultimate Fantastic Four.
There's still a lot we don't know, of course. Is there to be a Doctor Doom casting announcement coming up, or will Fox pick a new villain for their third FF movie? What is the relationship between Mara's and Jordan's characters going to be, since it's not feasible that they could be playing full-blooded siblings? How will the Thing be realised on screen? How will they receive their powers - in a spaceship bathed in cosmic rays, in a UFF inspired teleporter accident, or in something else entirely? There could be some interesting developments in this movie.
This is a link.
The least surprising news, in that rumours were surfacing some time ago regarding his involvement, is Michael Jordan as the Human Torch. Naturally, this has caused a huge backlash - well, about half a dozen upset internetters - because Jordan is black. So what? I love colour-blind casting. It can't work for every role, of course, but there is absolutely nothing in the story which precludes the Human Torch being a man of colour. For his part, Jordan has handled the naysayers well, saying that while they might not want a black Torch, "They'll see it anyway." I think it's a great step forward, casting someone for their talent and suitability for a role regardless of their colour.
Back in my previous article, I mentioned how disappointing it was that Fox initially cast Jessica Alba, a Hispanic actress, as Sue Storm, but then made her up with blonde hair and blue contacts. So close. The new Invisible Girl will be played by Kate Mara. I'm not familiar with her work, but she's been lauded for her roles in House of Cards and American Horror Story, two series I am under orders to watch.
Miles Teller is another new one on me, but a quick scout round reveals that he is clearly an actor to watch. It's a good sign, I feel, that fox are more interested in getting up-coming talent than big-name stars. He's got a rather boyish, but intelligent look to him, and I can see him as a young Reed Richards.
The surprising one is Jamie Bell as Ben Grimm/The Thing. He's still best known as Billy Elliott, but he's come a long way since his admittedly fine performance back then. He's quite an intense young actor, and could bring something very interesting to the role. Not who I'd have thought of for the Thing at all, but an interesting choice.
Apparently, Teller is not yet secured, due to his busy schedule and being in such high demand, and with Fox fast-tracking the development of the movie for release next summer, this may necessitate a re-cast. Still, it's an interesting cast, not what anyone would have predicted for the film. Along with the choice of Chronicle's Josh Trank as director, this indicates an interesting, more contemporary direction for the reboot. There has been some discussion regarding the ages of the cast, but they're not especially young. They're all in their late twenties, except for Mara, who is soon to turn thirty-one. Of course, young actors often play even younger characters, so we might see a late teens/early twenties version of the Four. Given that many of the Marvel movies have taken hints from the Ultimate universe storylines, I wouldn't be surprised at Fox going in this direction and having younger versions of the characters as in Ultimate Fantastic Four.
There's still a lot we don't know, of course. Is there to be a Doctor Doom casting announcement coming up, or will Fox pick a new villain for their third FF movie? What is the relationship between Mara's and Jordan's characters going to be, since it's not feasible that they could be playing full-blooded siblings? How will the Thing be realised on screen? How will they receive their powers - in a spaceship bathed in cosmic rays, in a UFF inspired teleporter accident, or in something else entirely? There could be some interesting developments in this movie.
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