Former Fantastic Four Star Addresses Upcoming First Steps Reboot After Their “Bomb”

Miles Teller, who starred in 2015’s Fantastic Four, has shared his thoughts on the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe reboot, The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The actor spoke with The Hollywood Reporter while at the premiere of his new film The Gorge and discussed First Steps. Taking the high road, Teller said he hopes the movie turns out the best it can for everyone involved. He also shared that he watched the recently released teaser for The Fantastic Four: First Steps and was impressed by what he saw. Teller is excited to see the characters become a part of the MCU.

“I’ve known Pedro [Pascal] for a couple of years, man I’m wishing them all the best,” Teller said, detailing his relationship with the new Reed Richards actor. “I don’t wish anybody to be a part of a bomb, it’s just a marker on your career that for some people takes longer to get over than others. I just wish them the best. I saw the little trailer and I thought it looked fantastic, I’m very excited for them.”

Teller starred as Reed Richards in Josh Trank’s ill-fated Fantastic Four, which was critically panned and flopped at the box office ($167.8 million worldwide gross against a $120 million production budget). Despite being conceived as the launch of a new series, that film never received any follow-ups. Once Disney acquired 21st Century Fox and gained the Fantastic Four film rights, Marvel Studios began developing a reboot set in the MCU.

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That reboot, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, is set to premiere in theaters this summer. Earlier this month, Disney revved up the film’s marketing campaign by debuting the highly anticipated teaser trailer, which established the movie’s 1960s-inspired retro-futuristic aesthetic and family dynamics. Pascal and his co-stars Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach are set to play integral roles in the MCU moving forward, reprising their roles in Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars.

It’s nice to see Teller express enthusiasm for First Steps. The fate of his Fantastic Four couldn’t have been an easy pill to swallow; if things turned out differently, he could have been one of the faces of a popular superhero franchise, but now he’s looking forward to see what the next cast can do. Fortunately for Teller, Fantastic Four‘s performance didn’t impact his career too much. He’s continued to find steady work in the decade since, notably starring as Rooster in the massively successful Top Gun: Maverick. A third Top Gun is reportedly in the works, with Teller planning to reprise his role.

Trank’s Fantastic Four was Fox’s second failed attempt at a Fantastic Four series, coming on the heels of the mid-2000s films directed by Tim Story. That track record would seemingly indicate the general moviegoing public doesn’t have much interest in these characters, but hopes are high for The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The teaser trailer racked up over 200 million views in its first 24 hours, becoming one of Marvel’s most successful trailer launches ever. Fans have wanted to see the Fantastic Four in the MCU for a long time, so it looks like First Steps will be much more fruitful than the earlier Fantastic Four movies. With everything Marvel has riding on it, it can’t afford the film to be another bomb.