Fantastic Four is the wildcard of the current superhero movie world. It's a super-gritty, realistic reboot of four wacky and adventurous (dare we say... "fantastic?") comic book characters. And what makes it even more unique is that it's not tied to any kind of cinematic universe, unlike the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Fox's X-Men Universe, or DC/Warner Bros' current Justice League plans.
So what's Fox going to do with Fantastic Four once it's been released? The studio already has one sequel plans, but in the age of superhero expanded universe, the Fantastic Four seem extremely slim. Shawn Ashmore, who plays Iceman in the X-Men series, has already admitted that he'd love to see Fantastic Four crossover with the X-Men, and maybe even combine the franchises into one total Fox expanded universe:
"I'm excited to see the new Fantastic Four. That's what I really want to see, that's what I'm really curious about.I want to see that take on it. I think it would be dope to see a little crossover between the X-Men, maybe some Fantastic Four, maybe Bobby flying around with The Fantastic Four one of these days. That would be cool, wouldn't it?"
However, as noted by MoviePilot, the two franchises are drastically different in tone. Fantastic Four will likely be extremely dark and gritty, while the X-Men films aren't quite the same. Those films are certainly dark, but they've still got a splash of colorful comic book-ness to them, which Fantastic Four may not have. That may prove it too difficult to unite the franchises.
Josh Trank has also confirmed this darker tone, saying: "The original two films to me are very similar to a lot of recent movies that have come out, in terms of that kind of cartoonish. It's just not something that me and Simon are interested in as storytellers. There's the opportunity to make something that is challenging and tragic and dramatic. The opportunity is right there in the material. We'd rather steer it in that direction as opposed to just embracing a tone that comes right off the page."
In that case, Fox's only option may be to create an all-new expanded universe around the Fantastic Four.
Fantastic Four will hit theaters on August 7, 2015, and stars Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara and Jamie Bell.
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