Jamie Bell Calls Fantastic Four Reboot A Disaster

Miles Teller played Mr. Fantastic alongside onscreen wife Kate Mara as the Invisible Woman. Michael B. Jordan took over the Human Torch role from fellow MCU star Chris Evans’ original turn, and Jamie Bell played The Thing. And while the all-star cast are all critically acclaimed actors now, Bell warns against revisiting the “ill-fated” film with rose-tinted glasses. Bell called “Fantastic Four” “famously a disaster” of a movie. The “Shining Girls” star told host Andy Cohen on his Sirius XM show Radio Andy that the film most definitely does not deserve a second look seven years later. “No, I don’t think so,” Bell said. “Save your money, save your time. I’m just trying to help your listeners here.”

“Fantastic Four” is certified rotten with a 9 percent critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes and an 18 percent audience score. The movie made $167 million worldwide, barely recovering its $120 million budget. Related Kevin Hart Jokes Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen Were ‘Hoodwinked’ By CNN Over ‘Bullsh*t’ Alcohol Ban on NYE How to Watch CNN’s New Year’s Eve Coverage with Anderson Cooper, Andy Cohen Related 24 Famously Queer and Homoerotic Horror Movies, from ‘Psycho’ to ‘Hellraiser’ The 225 Best Horror Movies of All Time
The 2015 set was famously rife with production problems. Director Josh Trank received complaints over his behavior and reportedly was removed from the project during studio-mandated reshoots. Trank later campaigned for a #ReleasetheTrankCut of his “fantastic” version of the film. Toby Kebbell, who played “Fantastic Four” villain Doctor Doom, noted that the film was a “victim of bad leadership.” Mara, who married co-star Bell, called the film a “horrible experience” due to a “horrendous” working environment with director Trank. “The thing that I always go back to on that one is that I think I should have followed my instincts more,” Mara told Collider in 2020. “Like when my gut was telling me, ‘You probably shouldn’t let that slide, what that person just said,’ or if you’re feeling a certain way about what an energy is like and how that is affecting your performance. You’re being paid to do a certain thing and if something is in the way of that, you have the right to speak up and say, ‘I’m actually not able to do what I am here to do because of X, Y and Z.’” She continued, “[I] regret not having stood up for myself. I regret that for sure. Because if my daughter ended up acting and was in a situation like that where she felt like she couldn’t speak up — meanwhile, I’m a pretty tough person and I really do advocate for myself. Granted, this was a few years ago and maybe this situation was different, but if I was in that situation today, it just wouldn’t have happened or it just would have been a different environment I think. So again, good learning experience, you know?” The “Fantastic Four” franchise is slated to be rebooted yet again, with “Spider-Man: No Way Home” director Jon Watts. However, on April 28, Watts announced he was parting ways with the project, proving that third time might not be the charm for “Fantastic Four.”