At a time where any film with the “Marvel” in the opening credits is almost guaranteed to make money and get decent reviews, the abject failure of Fantastic Four is especially shocking. The film landed with a resounding thud when it was released in theaters in August, getting pretty much lambasted by the critics and dying a quick death at the box office. Any chance that we’d get to see a sequel, which was announced before the first film even hit theaters, was slim at best, even though producers were saying that it would still happen.
Well, if a sequel does arrive, it’s not going to be on its original June 9, 2017 release date. ComicBook.com is reporting that Fox has removed Fantastic Four 2 from that date on its release schedule.
Of course, this does not mean that Fox will not issue a sequel to the film (they still could) or that the rights are reverting back to Marvel Studios (a rumor that was shot down as recently as last month). It just means that plans have changed and their pre-reboot bravado was unwarranted.
If I were to wager a guess about what will happen next, I’d say that Fox was gearing up for yet another reboot. Yes, I do realize that this will be the third reboot in 15 years, but A) that’s not unheard of (*koff, koff* Spider-Man *koff, koff*), and B) this year’s model left very little desire in fans’ hearts to have their adventures continued. It would be easier just to start from square one than trying to fix what needs to be fixed.
Tom Stroud liked this on Facebook.