FANTASTIC FOUR Director Josh Trank Explains He Was Bitter Towards James Gunn and Other Filmmakers That Made Great Comic Book Films

Director Josh Trank has been in the spotlight again recently because of his upcoming film Capone. It seems like one of the things he has talked about a lot is his failed Fantastic Four movie. As you all know, the film was plagued by issues that a lot of people from the production said were caused by Trank. He disputes many of these claims.

He talked about how the reshoots for the film felt like he was being castrated and what happened between him and actor Miles Teller. Then writer Jeremy Slater talked about his experience working with Trank, and it was not a pleasant one.

Trank was not prepared to take on a film like Fantastic Four, especially since he never read the comics and only watched a few episodes of the cartoon series before shooting. He also didn’t take the sound advice that Slater gave him. His Fantastic Four movie could have been ok, if he would have listened to the people who knew what they were doing and talking about.

After the movie bombed, Trank felt resentment and bitterness towards filmmakers like James Gunn and other directors who actually were familiar with the comic book source material and went out and made great comic book movies. But, Trank didn’t want to Fantastic Four to be a superhero movie, and that was his problem. While talking to THR, he explained that he can enjoy those films now:

"Now, I'm able to enjoy them. I definitely felt bitter right when Fantastic Four came out, and it was a bitterness toward that genre. I felt very bitter, and I felt outcasted from a group of cool filmmakers that are making those movies in a successful way. I probably felt bitter toward people who I have enormous respect for like James Gunn, who was miraculously able to make Guardians of the Galaxy both a massive four-quadrant crowd pleaser but at the same time, a very personal, auteur-istic, idiosyncratic and crazy film. I just felt bitter toward all of that.

"At the same time, I started to realize that those movies are what James Gunn is destined to make. That's his home; that's his world and he owns that. I have so much respect for it, and people like James Gunn have taken a genre that is otherwise very much easily produced in the hands of non-filmmakers to successful levels … He's taken that genre and shown us that with the right, capable, confident mind that it can be turned into something that is unpredictable, interesting and so cinematic on every level."

He then went on to praise Peyton Reed and the work he did on Marvel’s Ant-Man, calling it a "fun, wild, crazy and undeniably well made on every level." He then actually admits that he wasn’t ready to take on a movie like Fantastic Four and that he hadn’t earned the right to take on something like that after only making one film:

"I just started to realize that what I was trying to do as this young filmmaker who hadn't earned the right yet after making only one movie … It's something that I can easily say now, but back then, I wouldn't be able to comprehend this thought. I hadn't earned the right as a filmmaker yet to say that I could change the game with superhero films. What I tried to do with Fantastic Four was so arrogant for somebody who hadn't really gotten the handle of his own skill set as a filmmaker to do that kind of stuff with it. I obviously loved what I was doing at the time and thought I was onto something, but when I take a look back, I'm able to, as a film man, remove myself and enjoy the works of James Gunn and Zack Snyder."

He went on to call Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice a "visual genius" and went on to say:

"Clearly he has a very passionate fan base, so it's not like it's not spoken of enough, but I think he's incredible. These are filmmakers who I just am really inspired by, such as Ryan Coogler and what he did with Black Panther. I can definitely watch those movies now, enjoy them and be separated from them."

On the film’s opening night, Trank famously tweeted of his movie, "A year ago I had a fantastic version of this. And it would’ve received [sic] great reviews. You’ll probably never see it. That’s reality though." Trank continued to touch on the bitterness he felt after Fantastic Four was released, saying:

"I think it's important to be honest with yourself and admit that. I know a lot of people who you can see it in their eyes that that's how they feel — the way that I was feeling — but they would never say it. I think it's important to say it because it allows you to advance and grow on your own personal path. Why I bring up James Gunn as an example of somebody I find to be very inspiring while he's doing things that are totally different than where I'm going is that I aspire to someday end up in a place where I've found my own type of James Gunn home like he found and now has.”

He actually could have been at that place now had he not, in his own words, been so arrogant. Chronicle was a great film for a first-time director, and he showed promise. Had he actually listened to the creative minds on his team and worked with them instead of shut them out, his story and career might have been very different.