It’s not hard to read between the lines when it comes to Miles Teller’s recent comments about who’s to blame for 2015’s “Fantastic Four” reboot.
The general consensus that has emerged over the past ten years is that director Josh Trank was in over his head on “Fantastic Four.” He began his career with “Chronicle” (2012), a low-budget, found-footage superhero film that became both a critical and commercial success.
The promise Trank showed in his debut earned him the chance to direct “Fantastic Four,” but the production turned into a nightmare, plagued by extensive reshoots and reports of “erratic behavior” from Trank himself.
Teller reflected on Fantastic Four’s failure during a recent interview with SiriusXM. When asked if he and others involved with the film knew that it “wasn’t great,” Teller replied, “I think it’s unfortunate, because so many people worked so hard on that movie.” He then added, “Honestly, maybe there was one really important person who kind of f—– it all up. Yeah.”
Teller further shared, “When I first saw the movie, I remember talking to one of the studio heads, and I was like, ‘I think we’re in trouble,'” he recalled.
Teller doesn’t explicitly name Trank, but it’s clear he’s referring to him. A few weeks after the release of “Fantastic Four,” reports surfaced about Trank’s erratic on-set behavior, with claims that he was abusive and insulting toward the cast and crew. At one point, tensions reportedly escalated to the brink of violence, with Trank and Teller standing chest to chest, daring each other to throw the first punch.
It wasn’t a one-off incident, either. Trank also clashed with other actors, including Kate Mara, whom he reportedly never wanted cast in the film — a decision 20th Century ultimately overrode. The Hollywood Reporter noted that Trank was “very isolated” on set and often refused studio oversight. The studio eventually took control of post-production, ordering extensive reshoots without Trank’s involvement. He was later barred from promoting the film, and his planned Star Wars spinoff was canceled shortly afterward.
“Fantastic Four” bombed at the box-office and earned a tepid 9% on Rotten Tomatoes. That, somehow, didn’t stop Trank from deciding to add his own negative review of the film on Letterboxd.
“The movie is ALRIGHT,” Trank wrote in his two-star review of “Fantastic Four,” adding, “I was expecting it to be much worse than it was. I literally haven’t seen it since like two weeks before it came out, and I was in a heavily fucking traumatized state of mind. Why? Eh, save that for another time.”
What I can tell is there are TWO different movies in one movie competing to be that movie. Is there a #releasethetrankcut? Doesn’t matter. I’m not Zack Snyder. Zack Snyder is a storied, iconic, legendary filmmaker who has been knocking it out of the fucking park since I was in high school. Me? Then? I was 29 years old, making my 2nd film, in a situation more complicated than anything a 2nd time filmmaker should’ve walked into. That said… I don’t regret any of it. It’s a part of me.
Since then, Trank has only released one film, 2020’s “Capone” starring Tom Hardy, which went straight to VOD during the pandemic, earning harshly negative reviews from critics. Five years later, he’s shot another film, an indie genre cheapie, “Send A Scare,” starring Victoria Justice (“Suits”) and Robbie Amell (“Upload”).
Still no distributor for "Bucking Fastard," "Alpha Gang," "The Last Photograph," "Closing Night," and "The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd." The issue seems to be quality more than a lack of willingness to buy.