David Gorder, an associate producer on the Fantastic Four movie, addressed a lightning rod issue for fans worried that the film, directed by comedy helmer Tim Story, will be a farce (ala the Roger Corman fiasco of the early 1990s).
"This is a difficult comic to bring to the screen," Gorder told Comics Continuum. "If you do the story wrong, it could end up being campy." The film will have humor, he said, but won't be silly.
"We wanted to focus in bringing out the humor and the pathos and the bittersweet moments that we all can relate to as human beings," Gorder said.
"Ben's sort of the big brother character, maybe the guy that's not so good looking, but he's the protector. Johnny being the good-looking hot-shot who's annoying. So we want to bring those elements out in the characters so that with the demographic we hit the movie, everybody will be able to identify with somebody on the screen," he said.
"We bring out Sue's smarts and her matronly qualities. Reed's like the professor and he's got all the advice. He feels very guilty that Ben has transformed and is disfigured."
Fans can be reminded that much of the Stan Lee-Jack Kirby charm of the early FF series was the humorous interplay between the Thing and the Human Torch, for example.