Fantastic Four Star Has Advice for the Marvel Cinematic Universe for Characters’ Debut

There have been multiple big-budget attempts at bringing the Fantastic Four to life for the big screen, though with Marvel Studios having regained the rights to the characters to bring them into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, former Thing actor Michael Chiklis has some advice for the best way to capture the beloved family. The actor’s main advice is that, while the 2015 Fantastic Four attempted more of a grounded approach to the concept, the best way to honor the spirit of the source material is to keep things lighthearted and to not lose the most charming components of the superhero team.

“Just understand, the real tone and tenor of the Fantastic Four is as we did it. It’s not meant to be dark and brooding,” Chiklis recently shared with Screen Rant. “It’s never going to be The Dark Knight. Don’t try to make it that. Don’t expect it to be that. The Ever-Lovin’ Blue-Eyed Thing was from Brooklyn and he was a Dodgers fan. They were a sweet family and that’s the way it’s meant to be. It wasn’t meant to be hardcore and dark and brooding. Try to make it that, you will fail.”

Luckily, Chiklis’s comments likely won’t be entirely necessary, as the tone of virtually all MCU films has been to ensure the heart of the source material and, while dealing with some dark topics, doesn’t dive into the more morose tones witnessed in other superhero outings. The MCU TV series on Disney+, however, have been known to go a bit darker, but with the plans for the characters being kept under wraps from fans, it’s anyone’s guess what the future holds for the characters.

Thanks to the success of films like X-Men and Spider-Man in the early 2000s, there was a deluge of comic book movies in the wake of those adventures, which included Chiklis starring in two Fantastic Four films. At the time, however, filmmakers hadn’t entirely figured out the best approach to bringing these characters to life, which includes costumes and visual effects. Chiklis’s Thing, for example, was a practical costume, with the actor suggesting the MCU also taking a different approach to the look of the character.

“Go CGI if you can,” Chiklis joked about putting the character on screen. “Wardrobe was something else, but it was still a pretty amazing experience.”

Stay tuned for details on the future of the Fantastic Four in the MCU.

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