Furious at all the attention the Disney/Marvel deal got today, Tom Rothman fought back by announcing that he was prepared to piss all over the Fantastic Four yet again, and this time he’s bringing the big guns:
Akiva Goldsman.
Yes, one of the masterminds behind Batman & Robin and many of the shittiest Oscar-bait movies of the last decade, Akiva Goldsman is producing the a reboot of Fantastic Four. Michael Green, a writer on Heroes and the guy who wrote Green Lantern, is scripting.
At this point it’s unclear whether this is a real reboot or a reimagining of the existing film franchise; ie, will the original actors be back? All signs point to no, and Chris Evans has said just about as much in interviews.
Why is Fox doing this? For the same reason they’re rebooting Daredevil: sheer hate and spite. From the Variety article on the reboot:
Though Marvel Entertainment owns and finances properties like “Iron Man” and “Thor,” Fox controls “Fantastic Four” in perpetuity — as long as it continues making the films. Fox has the same arrangement on Marvel Comics properties “X-Men,” “Daredevil” and “Silver Surfer.”
Bold is mine. While Fox seems to have no real interest in making a decent movie out of these properties (and mind you, I liked the first Fantastic Four), they just don’t want them to revert back to Marvel who can make decent movies out of them. It’s a pride thing – if Marvel turns Fantastic Four into an Iron Man-level franchise, it makes Fox look bad.