It’s clear that the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot is aiming for a darker tone fueled by science-fiction drama than the previous family-friendly franchise, and the latest trailer for Fantastic Four hammers that point home while also providing a few notable first looks at several key elements.
The trailer clocks in at just under three minutes, with quite a bit of fresh footage packed into its running time. Along with providing fans the first good peek at Toby Kebbell as Victor Domashev, a.k.a. the team’s longstanding nemesis Doctor Doom (at the 2:03 mark), the preview also offers a few shots of Reed Richards (Miles Teller) using his super-stretching ability — first around the 1:30 mark and then again at 2:11.
The trailer also draws heavily from footage of the team’s stone-skinned powerhouse, Ben Grimm (Jamie Bell), who’s seen emerging from a rocky cocoon early in the preview, and is later shown dropping out of a plane to lay siege to (what appears to be) a military installation. Given how much we see of his character in the trailer, it seems safe to assume fans will get an ample amount of “clobbering time” (Ben’s catchphrase from the comics, for anyone who might not be familiar with him) in the upcoming film.
Directed by Chronicle filmmaker Josh Trank, Fantastic Four casts Teller, Bell, Kate Mara (House of Cards), and Michael B. Jordan (Chronicle) as Marvel Comics’ “first family of superheroes,” who find their bodies altered in amazing (and tragic) ways when a scientific experiment goes awry. Granted superhuman abilities, they unite to use their powers as a team of superheroes.
The film’s cast also includes Reg E. Cathey (The Wire) as Dr. Franklin Storm and Tim Blake Nelson (The Incredible Hulk) as Harvey Elder, the man who becomes the villain known as “Mole Man.”
Fantastic Four is scheduled to hit theaters August 7.
