Avengers: Doomsday is upon us, but it will still be a while before we find out. We still have to welcome Fantastic Four: First Steps, which arrives on July 23 and has many surprises in store for us. One of them is that Johnny and Sue Storm will be radically different from their comic book counterparts.
Fantastic Four: A Unique Marvel Project
While spring has barely begun, everyone's eyes are already on summer and that famous Fantastic Four. It's a little unfair to Thunderbolts*, but this team-up isn't the most anticipated of the year. The film directed by Matt Shakman aims to atone for the affront of the previous adaptations while preparing the ground for the continuation of the MCU. However, he intends to do it his own way.
Fantastic Four is a project that risks breaking the codes of Marvel films. The filmmaker does not want to be constrained by the rules of the MCU and intends to offer an independent work. Given the unique setting of his film, we want to believe it. "(Jack) Kirby meets (Stanley) Kubrick," is how Shakman sees these retrofuturistic 1960s in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. Despite this connection to the first comic and the influence of 2001: A Space Odyssey on the aesthetic of the feature film, the director aims to give his characters a fresh look.
Johnny and Sue Storm will be modernized in Fantastic Four
The first issue of Fantastic Four dates back to 1961, and even if Shakman's film is inspired by it, the director could not afford to adapt the characters as they were at the time. This is what Joseph Quinn and Vanessa Kirby explained to Entertainment Weekly, announcing that Johnny and Sue Storm will be very different. The Human Torch will be less fiery than in his previous iterations, especially with women. He will no longer be a Casanova, and will be more sensitive to the emotions of others. Regarding the Invisible Woman, who is pregnant in the film, she will not be reduced to the role of mother. Kirby particularly wants to bring some of the character's dark side, Malice, into his performance to give Sue more confidence.
Joseph Quinn: Me and Kevin [Feige] were talking about previous versions of him and where we are culturally. He's been portrayed as this womanizer, but is that attractive these days? I don't think so. This version of Johnny is less insensitive to other people's feelings, and there's some introspection about what motivates this attention-seeking.
Vanessa Kirby: One of the things I love most about Sue's story is when she becomes Malice and her whole dark side comes out. I was obsessed with that chapter of her life. So, I wanted to make sure there were tones of Malice with her, that she wasn't just the stereotype of a kind, sweet mother. I've always been interested in the messiness of womanhood, and how can you be both? How can you be all of those things? Not just the strong, invincible, powerful woman, but also a mother who gives birth, which is in itself a superheroic act. I like that these characters are real humans in a messy family who bicker, try to fix things, and make mistakes.
In the early comics, Johnny is an impulsive, arrogant hothead. Conversely, Sue is more withdrawn, so much so that even Reed doesn't always give her the credit she deserves. The next film aims to change that, but don't think it's going to reinvent the wheel. Since 1961, they've come a long way. In Dan Slott's 2018 run, Johnny is more mature, facing the consequences of his libertine lifestyle. As for Sue, this run offers a representation close to what Kirby wants for the character, with a leader juggling her superheroic life and her role as a mother.
Whether there is a lack of knowledge of the comics or not, Shakman's film will mix two worlds and we're curious to see that. Is this the case for you? Tell us in the comments section.
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