20th Century Fox's "Fantastic Four" reboot is generally getting pummeled by critics as it opens worldwide. Although that wasn't entirely unexpected, it's certainly not good news for director Josh Trank ("Chronicle") who was at the center of countless rumors suggesting erratic behavior and poor decision making during production. In fact, it was these rumors that likely got him booted from a planned "Star Wars Anthology" film.
But, as is customary in these situations, Trank appears to blaming someone else, albeit in a veiled fashion.
"A year ago I had a fantastic version of this. And it would've received great reviews. You'll probably never see it. That's reality though," Trank tweeted yesterday. Although the tweet was quickly deleted, Twitter users got their screenshots just in time.
Countdown til Fox demands Josh Trank remove this Fantastic Four tweet. pic.twitter.com/MoYl2x3vYg
— Andrew Todd (@mistertodd) August 7, 2015
The implication from Trank seems pretty clear: the studio became overly involved in production. Fans can view this one of two ways. First, we know that "Fantastic Four" underwent significant reshoots (which is never a good sign, by the way). This could have been meddling on the studio's part in an attempt to better set up a sequel and ongoing franchise, which would have damaged the film's ability to stand on its own as a piece of quality moviemaking. The second viewpoint is that the studio knew they had a clunker on their hands and demanded reshoots to try and "fix" the movie for lack of a better word.
The truth probably lies somewhere in between, though Scott Mendelson of Forbes did note in his review that the first third of "Fantastic Four" was enjoyable. Whether or not that was Trank's doing or the studio's remains to be seen. One thing that does seem clear is that Trank and Fox will not be working together in the near future.
