Rumors and speculation have surrounded director Josh Trank’s upcoming Fantastic Four reboot due to the secrecy surrounding the project, but now some questions have been answered with the debut of the first footage from the film.
The trailer, which clocks in at just under two minutes, takes a decidedly more somber tone than the lighthearted 2005 film. The focus of the first preview of the film seems to be on the tragic accident that gives the Marvel Comics superhero team their powers — abilities that end up being both a blessing and a curse.
Along with introducing the characters pre-accident, the footage teases some of the abilities they gain from the experiment gone wrong, with particular attention to Chronicle actor Michael B. Jordan’s version of Johnny Storm, a.k.a. The Human Torch.
There’s also a brief shot of Jamie Bell as Ben Grimm, the rock-covered behemoth known as The Thing, and a blink-and-you-miss-it scene featuring Kate Mara’s Sue Storm wielding one of her character’s force fields. conspicuously absent, however, is a definitive shot of Whiplash actor Miles Teller making use of Reed Richards’ stretching and bending body, which is hinted at in one brief sequence but not shown.
It’s also worth noting that the team seems to be going with black jumpsuits rather than anything resembling the traditional, blue uniforms the heroes have sported in various iterations of the comic-book series over the years.
In a recent interview with Collider, Trank cited The Fly director David Cronenberg’s work as a major influence on his vision for the film, as well as the more contemporary, “Ultimate” version of the team published by Marvel Comics.
Written by X-Men: Days of Future Past screenwriter Simon Kinberg, Fantastic Four also stars Dawn of the Planet of the Apes actor Toby Kebbell as Doctor Doom, Reg E. Cathey (The Wire) as Dr. Franklin Storm, and Tim Blake Nelson (The Incredible Hulk) as Harvey Elder, the team’s recurring foe in the comics known as “Mole Man.”
Fantastic Four hits theaters August 7.
