In a recent interview with the Hero Complex Magazine for the LA Times, Josh Trank revealed that he "knew it was going to get ugly" when the decision was made to make some major changes to the source material for his upcoming reboot of the Fantastic Four. However, it sounds like the Chronicle director actually sympathises with fans! "I get it. I have a lot of friends who are older than me who are comic fans and it's really hard for them to be on board with a change like that. 'Fantastic Four' has been theirs for longer than I've been alive. It hasn't been mine." That's a valid point, but it's not really just older fans who aren't happy with the changes being made! Regardless, Trank hopes that they will at least approach the movie with an open mind this August. "It only speaks to the greatness of any story that has been told for decades or centuries that people still want to tell that story. But you can’t just keep telling it the same way over and over again. And I think it only helps the world to be more honest with young kids, to show them the world that they go walk outside and see." To be fair, it's easy to see where Trank is coming from.
That's what Trank had to say about changing The Human Torch's race, but producer and writer Simon Kinberg also weighed in on some of the controversy surrounding their casting choices, specifically Jamie Bell as Ben Grimm/The Thing. "The change of Jamie as Ben being a smaller guy instead of a bigger guy, for example, was for a purpose. It's more dramatic when that character becomes a huge rock creature – that's a bigger transformation. The notion of a working-class tough guy who's been pushed around by his bigger brothers his whole life seemed like a more interesting character than the guy who started as a football player and just ended up being 4 inches taller." Finally, Trank acknowledged that he's been "turned into a punching bag" by the internet, but is open to hearing from fans. "I want to hear opinions – it’s good to know what people are questioning. I think maybe there’s a part of me that needs adversity from the rest of the world in order to feel motivated to want to prove people wrong. I need people to be like, 'What is this weirdo doing?'" What do you guys think? As always, share your thoughts below!
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