Despite my snarky headline, I quite like the final trailer for Fantastic Four, which debuted in Hall H today as part of Fox's marathon panel. We saw a glimpse of young Reed Richards, a budding precocious genius, and young Ben Grimm, and as they look over one of young Reed's elaborate inventions, Ben says, "Reed, you're insane," and little Reed replies solemnly, "Thanks." It's cute, but moreover it gives a lovely sense of history to their friendship, and to the characters. We also get a great, much closer look at Doctor Doom, and a seriously exciting action piece with the Human Torch blazing with a quickness.
During the panel, we did hear the word "grounded" quite a bit, as well as "raw" and "darker," all of which might put off fans a bit...but we also heard the words "emotional" and "character-driven" and many references to "family," all of which I have a hard time disdaining when we're discussing superhero films. Other quotes:
Director Josh Trank said he wanted to "show a side of the characters that I had never seen before, the more tragic side of the story." So, yeah, darker.
Jamie Bell on The Thing/Ben Grimm: "He's an everykid, like any kid in America. He's an outsider. He has only one friend in the world, which happens to be the genius Reed Richards...He's the muscle of the group, and I also think he's the heart of the group."
Toby Kebbell on Doctor Doom: "He's the best villain of all time in any comic book ever...He's driven by ego. Reed Richards is maybe a little bit better than him, so he must destroy him."
The new trailer will surely debut online soon, so you guys can see for yourself. And we'll all know more when Fantastic Four debuts August 7!