fantastic four

We’re just a few weeks out from the release of Fantastic Four, one of our last blockbusters of the summer movie season, and our last superhero film of the year. Although general response to Josh Trank’s reboot has been tepid so far, there’s plenty of appeal in some of these TV spots and trailers, like the latest, which is made up of almost entirely new footage and gives us another look at Dr. Doom.

“What do you do when you wake up in the hospital bed and you’re made of rocks?” Jamie Bell gives us just one of the questions that will be answered in Josh Trank’s Fantastic Four reboot. The new featurette for the upcoming film explores the origins of our four superheroes and hits on their humanity and relatable qualities, which is something 20th Century Fox has been pushing a lot.

Last month, Denny’s unveiled a special menu of six new items tied to Josh Trank’s upcoming reboot of Fantastic Four. At the time, I was having issues with my press pass for Comic-Con; in a moment of extreme stupidity, I jokingly messaged ScreenCrush editor-in-chief Mike Sampson: “If I don’t get into Comic-Con, I’ll go to Denny’s and eat all of these meals and write about it.” His response: “Uh, now you’re doing that anyway.”

After a few days of big surprises at Comic-Con 2015, things are starting to wind down, but we're not quite done yet. 20th Century Fox arrived in Hall H, bringing X-Men: Apocalypse, Deadpool and Fantastic Four. Although Star Wars and Batman v Superman were major draws this year, we've been really excited to hear more about X-Men: Apocalypse and Deadpool, as Fox continues to build its impressive franchise universe.

The new Fantastic Four reboot comes with a lot of built-in baggage — fans were so disappointed in the 2005 film and the subsequent sequel in 2007 (perhaps more so with the latter), that they’re naturally skeptical of another go-round with the super-powered quartet. Producer Simon Kinberg is aware of this and acknowledges it in a new interview, while remaining in director Josh Trank’s corner regardless of the rumors that continue to swirl about his behavior on set.

This is probably the best Fantastic Four preview we’ve gotten yet, thanks to the use of Kanye West’s “Power,” thus proving that adding Kanye West to things automatically makes them better. The “Power” theme is obvious in the new spot, which showcases plenty of new footage in its short, 30-second runtime.

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard rumors about a possible crossover between Fox’s new Fantastic Four and the well-established X-Men franchises. Producer and writer Simon Kinberg himself has hinted at the possibility, and given his lengthy contract with Fox, it seems plausible. A new report makes that possibility seem more like a reality, and rumor has it the crossover may hit the big screen as soon as 2018.

Mike Wieringo was born on this day in 1963. Known for his work as artist on such titles as Fantastic Four, Sensational Spider-Man, Flash, and Robin, as well as being the co-creator of Tellos, Wieringo was equally renowned for his generosity and warmth of spirit.

“Shall I alert the fire department?” The latest TV spot for Fantastic Four has arrived, and it’s brought along a sense of humor, finally. So far, the trailers we’ve seen for Josh Trank’s reboot have been a bit gloomy and severe, with only tiny hints of a lighter tone in the chemistry between the four leading stars. To be fair, Ben Grimm still looks a bit, well, grim.

Marvel said it wouldn't be flooding fans with teaser images before it unveils its new line in Marvel Previews next month, but we all know those folks can't resist the drip-drip-drip of a good teaser campaign, so here we are! Less than 24 hours after the first teaser, a second image from artist David Marquez has been released that drops a whole bunch of hints about the future of the Marvel Universe, with characters from the X-Men, the Guardians of the Galaxy, the Inhumans and even the Thunderbolts. If the first image was A-list, this one's a little less starry, but it may be a better indicator of some of the unexpected surprises that Marvel has in store.