‘Fantastic Four’ Producer Says Fans Have a ‘Chip on Their Shoulder,’ Plus Check Out New Images

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.

Along with the LA Times interview, several new images and posters have dropped for the upcoming film, which you can check out above. Several outlets and online message boards have given in to rumors about Trank’s alleged unfortunate behavior on set, and the director says he was aware of the difficulties he would face on the film:

I knew it was going to get ugly. But I think maybe there’s a part of me that needs adversity from the rest of the world in order to feel motivated to want to prove people wrong.

Producer Simon Kinberg talks up Trank’s vision, which was presented to him with an element of body horror, reminiscent of the works of David Cronenberg:

What hooked me was Josh’s idea of what the honest reaction would be if you suddenly didn’t have control over your body anymore — if you were uncontrollably on fire or invisible or you were a rock creature. That just seemed so original in a genre that it’s hard to be original in.

The way Kinberg describes it, Fantastic Four suddenly seems far more interesting than the trailers have let on — then again, it’s an incredibly difficult sell to a fan base that feels jaded by the previous two installments. Even with Kinberg — the producer and writer behind the new X-Men films — on board, it’s been hard, but the producer acknowledges that fans have “a bit of a chip on their shoulders about the franchise”:

People are religious about comics the way people are religious about the Bible. But I think it’s true for a lot of movies that you can take license with adapting the underlying material and you will be forgiven for it if it’s good—and you will not be if it’s bad.

Both Trank and Kinberg have much more to say in the interview (which is a great read), and both seem to be approaching the backlash realistically and empathetically.

Fantastic Four stars Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Bell and Toby Kebbell, and hits theaters on August 7.