The Fantastic Four: First Steps has gotten a lot of praise for its depiction of The Thing, and it turns out that it wasn’t all CGI. On Friday, British pro wrestler and actor Richard Summers-Calvert revealed that he was a stand-in for Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm, a.k.a. The Thing during filming. He even posted some behind-the-scenes photos of himself in a life-sized Thing costume, including a couple of different outfits for the character. The revelation comes after a practical costume for Galactus was displayed at San Diego Comic-Con this weekend, alongside costumes for all four main heroes. It’s all intriguing for those who have gotten out to see First Steps in theaters so far.
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“Forever an honour to help portray The Thing in Fantastic 4,” wrote Summers-Calvert on X. “Insane experience, learnt tonnes and to embody The Thing and help bring him to life was and always will feel so badass… Was real hot in there though…” The post included one photo of Summers-Calvert in costume holding his mask by his side, and another of him with the mask on posing with child on set. The last photo showed him dramatically staring as his mask face to face.
Bringing Ben Grimm to the screen again was one of the main concerns for fans Marvel Studios announced that it would tackle the Fantastic Four. The character was played by Michael Chiklis in the 2005 and 2007 movies by 20th Century Studios, using only practical effects with no CGI at all. This was a bit too much for some fans, yet the CGI-heavy approach used in Fantastic Four in 2015 was also unpopular because it was so stylized and different from the comics.
On the other hand, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has a decent track record when it comes to putting CGI characters on screen with live-action actors. Moss-Bachrach previously said that he met with Mark Ruffalo to get some tips from his portrayal of The Hulk. Moss-Bachrach did most of his filming in a motion-capture suit, occasionally with body extensions attached to reference his size and reach in the final version. The scenes filmed with stand-ins were mostly for the sake of other actors, giving them a better sense of The Thing’s scale in any given scene.
Of course, this movie had plenty of other special effects to balance, including the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) and Galactus (Ralph Ineson). On top of that, the movie took place in an alternate reality from the rest of the MCU, with its own unique aesthetic. This retro-futuristic look presented its own hurdles, but also helped tie all the unfamiliar sights together.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is playing now in theaters.
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