Several months before 20th Century Fox’sFantastic Fourhit theaters, the studio announced plans forThe Fantastic Four 2, setting a 2017 release date for the sequel. Unfortunately for the studio,Fantastic Fourwas a colossalbomb, taking in just $11.3 million in its opening weekend last August, en route to a disappointing $56.1 million domestic gross. The movie fared a bit better internationally, with a worldwide total of $167.9 million, but it still wasn’t the big hit that the studio envisioned. Shortly after the release, rumors swirled that the sequel wascanceled, and in November, the studio pulled the movie from its 2017 release schedule. As it turns out, though, the sequel may still happen.
There were other reports last year that the studio was pullingFantastic Four 2in favor ofDeadpool 2, which is now certainly happening, afterDeadpooltook in $762.1 million worldwide. The last we heard aboutFantastic Four 2was in January, when starMichael B. Jordanrevealed that he still wants to come back and play Johnny Storm, a.k.a. The Human Torch. During an interview withDen Of Geek, producerSimon Kinbergadmitted that theFantastic Four rebootwasn’t as good as it should have been, but that he still wants to bring the cast back together for a sequel.
“We didn’t make a good movie, and the world voted, and I think they probably voted correctly. And you can’t make a good movie every time out - not everybody does. We actually have a pretty good batting average, all things considered. But I think we made many mistakes when we made that movie - mistakes that we learned from and we wouldn’t repeat. We want to make anotherFantastic Four movie. We love that cast. We’ll attempt to be truer to the essence of the tone ofFantastic Four, which is completely - well, not completely, but largely - distinct from theX-Men, which is brighter, funner, more optimistic tone. I think we tried to make a darkerFantastic Fourmovie, which seemed like a radical idea but we were kind of messing with the DNA of the actual comic instead of trusting the DNA of the comic.”
Fantastic FourstarredMiles Telleras Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic,Michael B. Jordanas Johnny Storm/The Human Torch,Kate Maraas Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman andJamie Bellas Ben Grimm/The Thing.Toby Kebbellalso starred as Victor Von Doom, along withReg E. Catheyas Dr. Franklin Storm andTim Blake Nelsonas Dr. Allen. It isn’t known if the rest of these cast members, aside fromMichael B. Jordan, are interested in reprising their roles for the sequel, or if a script is being put into development. TheFantastic Fourscript was written bySimon Kinberg,Jeremy Slaterand directorJosh Trank.
If the sequel does move forward, it seems unlikely that directorJosh Trankwill be involved. Rumors had spread aboutJosh Trank’s unprofessional behavior on and off the set, including how he almost came to blows with starMichael B. Jordan. It is unclear at this time ifFantastic Four 2will get a new release date. There was much talk about aFantastic FourandX-Mencrossover movie before the release of the reboot. There’s no telling if that will ever see the light of day.
