Seven years after its release, Josh Trank’s Fantastic Four reboot is regarded as one of the worst superhero films; even Trank himself has continued to disparage it. Some Marvel fans may not know that Moon Knight creator Jeremy Slater penned the script for the ill-fated movie. Fortunately, the film didn’t stop Slater from securing his dream job of working with Marvel. Now, with the reboot in his rearview mirror, the Moon Knight creator threw some serious shade in comparing his Disney+ experience to writing the poorly received revival.
The Fantastic Four writer has always been apologetic for messing up the team's cinematic future. Years after the box office and critical disappointment, Jeremy Slater finally got his chance to work with Marvel as the creator of the Disney+ series. The 2015 reboot came up again when a Twitter user asked him what lessons carried over from it to his new project. The writer couldn’t help but give a certain director some smoke in his Twitter response.
Well, most of my problems with FANTASTIC FOUR stemmed from the fact that I was trying to write it like an MCU movie, which wasn't what the director wanted. I didn't have that problem here. https://t.co/TQ3oFYiMyNMarch 29, 2022
Shots fired! While he didn’t necessarily name the Fantastic Four director, it was obvious about whom he was talking. Josh Trank has placed most of the blame on then-20th Century Fox, but Slater allegedly pointed the finger at the Capone director for the story problems. According to the writer, his vision and the filmmaker’s vision didn’t effectively come together making the reboot. So there appears to be no love lost on the Death Note writer’s part.
Josh Trank had a unique perspective on the situation. He thought receiving the brunt of the Fantastic Four backlash was unfair, as he felt some of the blame should be shared with the studio and everyone else involved as well. He mentioned his ideas didn’t mesh well with others. The filmmaker also didn’t like his portrayal of being “uncommunicative” and “a rule breaker.” Trank even went as far as reviewing the Fantastic Four reboot, referring to it as “alight” and “two different movies” in one. So the revival gets no love from anyone involved.
Meanwhile, Jeremy Slater has rebounded from the Fantastic Four reboot’s disappointing reception. Along with the Disney+ and Netflix's The Umbrella Academy, the film and TV writer has continued to excel in his writing career. He was tapped to write upcoming two Warner Bros movies - Coyote vs. Acme and the Mortal Kombat sequel. He will make his directorial debut with the upcoming film Thread, which he will write also.
It's also worth mentioning that there’s another Fantastic Four reboot in the works, and this time, it's MCU-affiliated. Maybe if Moon Knight is a success, Jeremy Slater can join Jon Watts in crafting a new take on Marvel’s first family. Until that happens, Marvel fans can occupy themselves with the Disney+ series, which is currently streaming. More upcoming Marvel movies and television projects are premiering in 2022. In the meantime, you can watch Fantastic Four by subscribing to Disney+.
