The Fantastic Four (2015) is set to star Kate Mara as The Invisible Girl, Miles Teller as Mr. Fantastic, Michael B. Jordon as The Human Torch, and Jamie Bell as The Thing. The film will more than likely take place in Earth-10005 (X-Men Movies) of the Marvel Multi-Verse. The film was reported to be an adaptation of Ultimate Fantastic Four, but I imagine it being more like The Amazing Spiderman (2012). The Amazing Spiderman (2012) took inspiration from both the 616 and Ultimate universes, but leaned more toward the Ultimate route.
Side note: I'm surprised Marvel Studios answer to this isn't a Future Foundation movie since they don't own Fantastic Four. They own the rights to Ant-Man, Madusa, and She-Hulk. While Ms. Thing most likely belongs to Fox, they could always just use Ms. Marvel instead. One of the Ms. Marvel's eventually became a creature similar to Ms. Thing called She-Thing (who also probably belongs to Fox), so why not? Just use Carol Danvers.
OK, the following is a list of what I think should and should not be in the upcoming FF movie. Let's begin.
1. ILLEGAL MUTANTS
In the Ultimate comics, there are two types of mutants. Legal mutants (those who are born a mutant) and illegal mutants (those who deliberately alter their genetic code). This would be perfect for the film if it is set in the X-Men movie universe. Of course, this would mean that the FF would be mutants, but not X-Men. Their genetic code would be altered, but most likely not deliberately. With some people like AMC's Jon Schnepp claiming to know for a fact that Annihilus is the villain and reports of the film going Ultimate, I predict the FF will probably be part of the government Baxter Building think tank from the comic and will get their abilities from an accident while attempting to study the Negative Zone (also from the comic). If this is the case, then it would make sense why the government would think they own the FF, especially if they're labeled Mutants. In the comic, the government even tried to keep the team a secret but the public discovered them when they returned from the Negative Zone.
2. DR. DOOM
First off, I think Doom should be set up in this film, but they should save him as the villain for the sequel (and, from all we've been hearing about the film, Annihilus sounds like the most plausable villain for the film, anyway). With that being said, I don't think this universes version of Doom should be based on the Ultimate version. Especially after the 2005 film did a half-a**ed job of the Ultimate Dr. Doom, I think it's time we got to see the 616 version on the big screen. But that doesn't mean the film can't used elements of the Ultimate incarnation. For example, in the Ultimate Universe his real name is Victor Van Damme. I think this would work a lot better as his real name in a live action film than Victor Von Doom, because that's a pretty convenient name if you start to think about it. Especially for someone going by "Dr. Doom." Unlike comics, live action films demand a degree of realism to be taken seriously.
In the Ultimate comics, Doom got superpowers from the same accident as the FF. I don't think Doom should just get super powers from an accident but it would make sense if they made this the cause of his disfigurement and partially why he not only hates the FF, but has to wear a metal suit.
One of the coolest elements of the Ultimate version was the mind control tattoos. Even if the film's version of Doom is mostly based on the 616 Doom like I'm hoping, it would be cool if he still used the mind control tattoos. It would also add a degree of suspense. Are there certain people the FF may know who's being controlled by Doom? Who can't they trust?
3. THE IDENTITY OF THE MOLE MAN
In the Ultimate Universe, the Mole Man is a scientist who's part of the same government think tank as the FF. If the film is going to use the Baxter Building think tank as part of the FF origin than they should go with Ultimate Mole Man in this series but don't call him Arthur Molekevic. Very convenient name for a live action film. It would be better to refer to him by his 616 name which is Harvey Rupert Elder.
4. THE HUMAN TORCH
While I don't necessarily have a problem with Fox casting an African American actor as the Human Torch as long as the actor fits the role, I would expect the Invisible Girl to be the same race. Torch and IG are supposed to be brother and sister and the FF is supposed to be a super powered family. Changing the Storms to non-siblings takes away from this dynamic. Hopefully they at least have a brother-sister bond.
Also, the film should take inspiration from the Human Torch comic from Marvel's Tsunami imprint. In the comic, Torch uses his powers in very interesting ways. In one issue, he even uses his powers to absorb a fire (which he can only hold for a limited amount of time) and flew to a safe distance to let the fire explode out of his body. It may not sound cool reading a description of this, but it's a lot better when you see it.
5. THE FOUR COSMIC ELEMENTS
In the 616 comics, the Fantastic Four each get their abilities from one of the four cosmic elements. The Super Skrulls are trained to use all four of the cosmic elements at once. If the film goes the 616 route (which I'm positive it won't from what we've been hearing) the Skrulls would be the perfect choice for the first films villain. If they go the Ultimate route (which I'm positive it will), the perfect villain is Annihilus (who Schnepp coincidentally says it will be). But if they go the Ultimate route, the film should establish that the Negative Zone gave the FF the abilities of the cosmic elements. This could set the stage for the Skrulls later on.
6. IF THERE IS AN X4 MOVIE, MAKE SURE THEIRS A REASON BEHIND IT
If a crossover between the FF and the X-Men is going to happen, there needs to be a reason behind it and a solid story. Why are they coming together? Why are they fighting? Are they going to start the X4 team from the Ultimate Universe? Competing with Marvel doesn't count as a solid reason for doing this film, by the way. And for all of you who say that an X-Men/Fantastic Four crossover film would never work: if they can crossover in the comic and no one complains, what's the difference if it happens on the big screen?
7. COSTUMES
I really think they should do something besides the blue and black we've been getting. If they go with the blue costumes, I think they should add some white into them in place of black. Despite this, the costumes I want to see the most on the big screen are not the white and blue, but the black and white Marvel NOW! costumes (my personal favorites):
I'm also a fan of their latest black and red All New Marvel NOW! costumes and I think they would work great on film. My only concern is that they may appear a little too similar to the Incredibles.
Thoughts?