Did Hollywood studio squabbling spill over into comics?
The story of Marvel Studios and Twentieth Century Fox’s public battles continues to be more convoluted than any comic book yarn. Still smarting over having signed over several of their most-popular characters to Fox and other studios before forming their own studio and becoming part of Disney, rumors have swirled that the comics powerhouse is actually working to undermine and hurt the rival studio’s Fantastic Four reboot.
Meanwhile, through Marvel’s doing or otherwise, Fox has found itself with a reboot that can’t stop generating bad news – whether in the form of delays, leaks, fan outrage over actor quotes and revisionist origins – and which it appears to be actively hiding from both audiences and the press.
Now, it looks like Marvel may have opted to kick their box-office rival while they’re down. In the most-recent issue of Punisher, a group of actors clearly modeled on the reboot cast’s Miles Teller (Mr. Fantastic), Kate Mara (Invisible Woman) and Jamie Bell (The Thing) are seen discussing a director named “Trang” and an actor named “Mike” (a clear reference to reboot director Josh Trank and Human Torch actor Michael B. Jordan) …before they’re all incinerated in a violent explosion!
Officially, both Marvel and Fox have said that the rumors of conflict have been exaggerated. But gags like this are unlikely to calm speculation down – especially as Fox continues to hold back from promoting the film.
Fantastic Four (and its still very much alive cast) is scheduled to hit theaters in August of 2015.
Source: Comic Book Movie
