Stranger Things Joseph Quinn star has voiced his thoughts about Matt Shakman’s soon-to-shoot Fantastic Four, which will bring Marvel’s First Family into the MCU.
Given that things have taken a dip for Marvel Studios in the last couple of years, there’s a fair amount of pressure on the soon-to-shoot Fantastic Four. Along with the oft-mentioned ‘superhero fatigue’ argument, another reason often put forth for the declining interest in Marvel’s output has been that the studio has increasingly focused on less celebrated characters.
That’s all set to change though, and you’d have to be pretty brave to bet against Marvel coming up short when it debuts The X-Men and The Fantastic Four in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Both superhero ensembles rank among Marvel’s most popular characters and as such, there’s a general feeling that if any project can begin to right the Good Ship Marvel, it will be one of these two.
The Fantastic Four is coming first, with the film set to enter production shortly and arrive in cinemas in the middle of next year. Matt Shakman,the mind behind the rather fantastic WandaVision is directing, while we have we have Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm. Oh, and the talented Julia Garner is set to play The Silver Surfer.
Joseph Quinn has been speaking about the project, and if you look past the usual expressions of excitement (and who could blame him for that?), his thoughts about the project do offer a ray of hope that Shakman’s film might once again set Marvel on the right path.
“I think that with the story of the Fantastic Four, it feels like we want to get this right,” Quinn told Variety. “There are aspects of it that are very different to other Marvel films. That felt very compelling to me. Again, going back to who’s involved, Matt, of course, the director, I think is brilliant, and the cast, and I’ve read it and the script is brilliant. It’s really brilliant. I’m delighted to have this opportunity.
“Superhero movies are movies about people, and if we’re invested in the people and the characters and the peril and the spectacle, then that’s why people go to the theatres to watch films. We’re not just in a penny; we’re in for a pound with this one. We’re going to go for it.”
We’re certainly all in agreement that the film needs to feel different to other MCU movies: Marvel desperately needs to move away from its stale formula and give these films some much-needed individuality. The next Deadpool film should help in that regard while the reports suggesting the oft-delayed Blade film might get an R-rating are also welcome. The rumours suggesting that The Fantastic Four might use a period 1960s setting would definitely push the film into a different territory too.
Shakman proved with WandaVision that he was the man to take Marvel on a new path (that being long-form, small screen storytelling), only for the studio then to squander that strong start with a series of misfires. Perhaps he can do the same again as the MCU looks to enter a new era. Joseph Quinn certainly seems to think so. We’ll bring you more on The Fantastic Four as we hear it.
