Fox's "Fantastic Four" reboot was pummeled by critics and failed to put up a fight at the box office on its opening weekend. One reason may be that the movie's production was so troubled that it nearly became an Octagon for fist fights itself.
A lot has been said by all parties involved following the $120 million movie's laughable $26 million opening weekend. Director Josh Trank kicked things off with a Twitter call-out of the studio for meddling with his film. Now, it's rumored that Trank almost exchanged punches with star Miles Teller, who played Reed Richards in the doomed franchise resurrection.
"Trank and Teller did not get along on the set of the film," Jordan Zakarin of Yahoo! Movies wrote, following a report by Entertainment Weekly. "Trank was allegedly withdrawn during production, and Teller is frequently sarcastic, making for a bad combination. Things got so bad at one point, in fact, that Trank and Teller's disagreement brought them chest-to-chest, daring one another to throw the first punch."
The two did not actually come to blows, but the incident could not have helped the atmosphere for the remainder of the shoot. Trank's on-set behavior has been described as erratic by some and his treatment of the cast, especially Kate Mara who was awarded the role of Sue Storm despite his objections, and crew was rumored to be less-than-neighborly.
Trank also reportedly trashed the house he was renting in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with his dogs ripping up furniture and causing $100,000 worth of damage. The director then allegedly ruined the home owner's family photos when he was being evicted.
None of this has been expressly confirmed by those involved, so it could be mere exaggeration. But the sheer amount of negative rumors that have sprouted up around Trank over the last year certainly hints at something a bit more serious. It's likely why Trank "left" (read: was asked to leave) one of the planned "Star Wars Anthology" films.
Given all of this, it's a bit strange that Fox hasn't backed off the June 2017 date it set for a sequel. It's hard to see how they can follow up this bomb at this point.
