Ten Years Later, Fantastic Four Star Says Reboot Failed Because One Person “Kind of F-ed It Up”

Before this summer’s successful The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Marvel’s First Family was notoriously difficult to get right on the big screen. Following a film series in the mid-2000s that only lasted two installments, the reboot Fantastic Four premiered in 2015. Unfortunately, that iteration of the Fantastic Four fared even worse. Fantastic Four was widely panned and grossed just $167.8 million at the worldwide box office, killing the franchise before it really had a chance to take off. Headlined by a talented cast, Fant4stic had a lot of potential, but star Miles Teller believes there was one person who held the project back.

During an appearance on Andy Cohen’s radio show for Sirius XM, Teller reflected on his Fantastic Four experience. “It’s unfortunate for that, because so many people worked so hard on that movie,” he said. “And honestly, maybe there was one really important person who kind of f—ed it all up.” Teller also recalled telling a studio head “I think we’re in trouble” after he got a chance to watch the film.

Fantastic Four Was Plagued By Behind-the-Scenes Problems

When the Fantastic Four reboot first came together, fans had every reason to be excited about the project. Director Josh Trank had established himself as a filmmaker to watch with Chronicle. In addition to Teller, the cast consisted of rising talent such as Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara, Jamie Bell, and Toby Kebbell. Unfortunately, Fantastic Four was seemingly doomed from the start. Earlier this year, screenwriter Jeremy Slater detailed the “disconnect” between him and Trank with regard to the film’s tone. Whereas Slater was interested in an Avengers-style superhero romp, Trank was keen on making something darker and serious. There was also a “constantly shrinking” production budget that didn’t do the creative team any favors as they attempted to iron things out.

Teller smartly avoids naming names in his comments, but fans will surely have their guesses about who the actor was referring to. In the aftermath of Fantastic Four‘s negative reception, reports emerged concerning Trank’s “withdrawn” behavior on set, stating that he was “neutralized by a committee” as the troubled production came to a close. Trank has been open about his Fantastic Four experience in the years since the film came out, but based on the reporting, it sounds like he didn’t have the steadiest hand on the project — which contributed to it falling off the rails. The director is obviously a “really important person” on a set, and another filmmaker might have been able to guide Fantastic Four across the finish line. Kebbell blamed “bad leadership” on the part of the studio for why the film fell short.

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The same report that detailed alleged issues with Trank also mentioned a crew member who thought Fantastic Four was “ill-conceived” and only got the green light so 20th Century Fox could retain the film rights to the property. Studio executives are also “really important” in the scope of a blockbuster film production, so Teller could just as easily be referring to one of those higher-ups. Fantastic Four turned out to be such a mess that it’s difficult to pin all of its shortcomings on just one person.

It’s unfortunate that 2015’s Fantastic Four went so poorly. Arriving at the height of the superhero movie boom of the 2010s (when C-list characters like the Guardians of the Galaxy were being transformed into household names), a high-quality take on the classic Marvel characters could have been one of the biggest films of its era — especially considering the actors who were attached. Thankfully, Marvel’s First Family eventually received the great film they deserved, but it would have been fun to see what Teller and Co. could have done with the team if they had an opportunity to flesh out their interpretations.

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