20th Century Fox’s reboot of the Fantastic Four film franchise has long been in development.
Still, it needs to happen soon, or rights to use the characters on film will revert back to Marvel. Honestly, I wish that would happen because Marvel has been making some excellent movies lately, and I’d rather see the Fantastic Four in the Marvel Universe rather than back again in yet another 20th Century Fox production.
Unfortunately, since super hero films are quite popular right now, this reversion is quite unlikely to happen.
A director will probably be quickly selected for the new project, which depicts the tale of four space explorers who gain extraordinary powers after being exposed to alien radiation.
The current frontrunner for the job, according to insiders who provided information to Variety, is Josh Trank, director of the much anticipated Chronicle, a low budget super hero flick which has garnered a lot of attention in the months since the first trailer was released. It’s also Trank’s only major release film to date.
This means the execs at Fox see a lot of potential in the new film, and through it, the film’s young, now up-and-coming director. Then again, he doesn’t have the position yet, as Fox execs are likely waiting to see how well Chronicle does on its opening weekend before they commit.
Still, judging from the commotion and anticipation the film has caused already, I think it’s a pretty good bet Chronicle will see good numbers, especially for a low-budget initiative.
The synopsis for Chronicle is thus:
Three high school students make an incredible discovery, leading to their developing uncanny powers beyond their understanding. As they learn to control their abilities and use them to their advantage, their lives start to spin out of control, and their darker sides begin to take over.
There is no official synopsis for Fantastic Four Reborn as of yet, nor are there any production or release dates.
Chronicle will hit theaters February 3, 2012.
