Comic fans everywhere were briefly freaked out this past week when comments from an Esquire Latin America interview Kate Mara conducted seemed to suggest that the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot film, in which she portrays Sue Storm, would not be based on any plot from the comic book universe, but instead concern a completely new storyline. Of course, this would be a huge deal considering that comic book films struggle sometimes to even get adaptions of specific comics right, let alone completely original plots. No need to worry, though: According to EW, the comments were simply lost in translation, and what it really meant was that Kate Mara said the Fantastic Four movie would be based on the entire comic book universe — not one single comic. In other words, it'll employ bits and pieces of plot from numerous storylines in the Fantastic Four world.
The original translated comments, as reported yesterday, are as follows: "I’ve never been a fan of comics, I’ve never actually read one. I was going to for this movie but the director [Josh Trank] said it wasn’t necessary. Well, actually he told us that we shouldn’t do it because the plot won’t be based on any history of anything already published. So I chose to follow his instructions. The one fact is I am a fan of comic book movies, so it’s very exciting to be part of a movie like this."
If that comment reads strangely, that's because it is: When EW reached out for comment, Mara's rep clarified.
The House of Cards vet says that she actually told Esquire Latin America‘s reporter that the film is not based on one comic, but rather drawn from the entire canon.
So, mystery solved. But, still, I have to wonder — does the fact that it's not going to follow one specific storyline, unlike other comic book film adaptations (see: X-Men: Days of Future Past, which followed a specific storyline also titled Days of Future Past ), still spell an early doom for the film? After all, Fantastic Four isn't exactly a series which has had much luck in film adaptions: The original 2005 Fantastic Four adaptation starring Jessica Alba and Chris Evans was ethered by critics, mostly because the film didn't seem to have any apparent direction. The last thing this new reboot Fantastic Four needs is comparison to that disaster.
Until we know more about how exactly the storyline will "draw from the entire canon" rather than just following a set storyline that already works, it seems fair to be skeptical. Hopefully, though, with Marvel's recent success in the world of comic book adaptations, they've learned a thing or two about how to make a solid comic book film — and a directionless plot won't be an issue.
After all, the movie's got way too awesome of a cast (Mara, Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Bell, and Miles Teller) to suck.
