Well, despite the best intentions, the new Fantastic Four was a complete bust. I always try to look for the good things in a film. This particular one was off to a great start but it fell flat in the second half. There are reports of a tense relationship between Fox and director Josh Trank. Other reports say that Trank ran a weird set. Some even state that he was fired before the film finished production. Regardless of what may or may not have happened one thing is certain - Fantastic Four has bombed critically and financially. So what's next?
For some reason, Marvel has discontinued the Fantastic Four comic book. Rumor has it that because Marvel Studios does not own the rights to the characters, so they've actively pushed them out of merchandising and publishing. I think there is some truth to that, but it does confuse me. I mean, Marvel is credited with the Fantastic Four film. Do they not get any say in the final product? That's weird, right?
Either way, Fox has a problem. They can't seem to get the Fantastic Four right on film. Granted, I liked the first film and even parts of this film. The Fantastic Four are great characters and a movie done well would be really exciting and a lot of fun. Unfortunately, we'll probably never get to see the X-Men films crossover with them now. We'll probably also not get the sequel that was planned for Summer 2017. So what now? Should Fox sell the rights back to Marvel? I'm sure most fans would want that to happen. The truth is that IF Fox were to sell the rights back to Marvel that doesn't mean we'll be seeing the Fantastic Four on film anytime soon. Perhaps they'll pop up in Avengers: Infinity War or Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or something like that.
I have another idea. What if, instead of the Four themselves, we get their supporting characters thrown into the Marvel Cinematic Universe? The Four could pop up in Marvel's later films at some point but let's say we just get some supporting characters. Here's who I think, from the Fantastic Four comics, should appear in future Marvel movies.
GALACTUS AND THE SILVER SURFER
Now here are two characters that would fit very well into either a Guardians of the Galaxy or Thor sequel. Galactus is actually one of my favorite characters. He's so cool looking! And the Silver Surfer is freaking awesome! They are both ridiculous concepts but they're so much fun. Galactus eats planets and the Surfer is his herald. The Surfer serves Galactus to spare his homeworld. Eventually, the Surfer turns on Galactus and they are mortal enemies. These characters would fit perfectly into the MCU. I would love to see them on the big screen again. And this time, I'd like to see Galactus in all his glory instead of as a strange space cloud.
DR. DOOM
Ok, ok. He's been done twice. Both times were kind of disappointing. At first they tried to make him a Lex Luthor type billionaire. Then they tried to make him a super-smart blogger that goes crazy on Planet Zero. I think we can all agree that we really haven't seen the real DR. DOOM on screen. Not yet anyway. So, if Fox were to give the Fantastic Four characters back to Marvel, I think they should let Dr. Doom appear as the villain in another Marvel movie. He's just ripe for an Iron Man 4 or some type of Avengers film. He's an evil dictator that's dabbled in the black arts, time travel, and space exploration. He would fit perfectly into what Marvel is planning for their future films. He's longed for things like the Infinity Gauntlet in the past. Why not give him the chance to try and claim it? Doom would be an amazing villain to see on screen. He's brilliant, manipulative, and has an ego to rival Robert Downey, Jr.
He'd call it charming. And it would be hard to argue with him.
Ok, Fox. Let's at least give Doom back to Marvel. Because we all want to see him take on the Avengers. But then again, it's not like Marvel has the best track record with villains . . .
What was your name again?
THE SKRULLS AND THE SUPER SKRULL
I could be mistaken, but I'm pretty sure that Fox owns the rights to the Skrulls. It's a real shame because the Skrulls are awesome villains. One of my all time favorite comic book stories is Secret Invasion. That story had the Skrulls infiltrating Earth and systematically taking the place of different heroes AND villains on Earth. When the Skrulls finally revealed themselves, they had almost beaten the Avengers and X-Men and were doing a good job of convincing the people of Earth that their way was the best way. It's a great alien invasion story and one of the scariest when you think about it. The Skrulls are shape-shifters. You can't trust the person next to you for fear that they're one of them. I'd love to see Secret Invasion adapted into a live action film. You wouldn't necessarily need the Fantastic Four in the story, but it would be cool to see a Super Skrull with all of their powers fighting the Avengers. Plus, it would lead into this:
With Sony and Marvel now sharing the Spider-Man characers we could also get another shot at Norman Osborn. Plus he could start a Cabal like he did after the Secret Invasion story. Damn that would be awesome. True story - the Dark Reign stories, especially Dark Avengers got me back into Marvel Comics when they were being released. It was great. And it started with those damn, pesky Skrulls.
I'm sure these characters are on everyone's wish list to see in a Marvel movie. With the Fantastic Four failing at the box office, it's high time that Fox and Marvel renegotiate their deal with these characters. I would be willing to give a Marvel Studios produced Fantastic Four film a chance, especially with any of these characters present. But as I said, maybe it's best we see these characters first and then bring the Four in a later time. Give everyone some time to heal . . .
Till Next Time!
JJ - The Comic Junkie
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