Details on missing Fantastic Four scene
Warning: Potential spoilers for Fantastic Four.
One of the staples for the marketing of 20th Century Fox’s reboot was a Fantastic Four scene featuring Ben Grimm, AKA The Thing, falling from a jet and into a war zone. It was featured in countless TV spots and trailers, but when the final cut premiered in theaters, it was absent, along with a number of other moments that flooded the marketing.
Now, Entertainment Weekly has spoken with contacts that worked on the film to find out what was going on in this sequence, which would have been placed around the middle of the film. They describe the sequence as follows:
“A Chechen rebel camp in the wee hours of the night. There’s no explanation for where we are, but there are soldiers speaking a foreign language, and they are loading up some heavy-duty weaponry. Crews are filling truck beds with the gear, preparing to mobilize – then a siren goes off. Everyone freezes, and one by one they turn their faces to the sky. A stealth bomber whispers by overhead, and a large object falls from it, streaking through the air at great speed. The object collides with the earth in the center of the camp, sending debris is all directions. The soldiers take cover, then tentatively emerge and walk toward the crater, where there is a giant pile of orange boulders. Slowly, the rocks begin to move on their own, becoming arms, legs, a torso, a head…his rock-figure lumbers out of the smoke, and the soldiers level their weapons – then open fire.’
“As The Thing lurches into view, bullets spark and ping off his impenetrable exterior. Rather than some elegant, balletic action sequence, The Thing moves slowly and deliberately. He’s in no hurry. The storytelling goal was to show the futility of firepower against him as he casually demolishes the terrorists. It’s a blue-collar kind of heroism. When it becomes clear this rock-beast cannot be stopped, the surviving Chechen rebels make a run for it – and that’s when a hail of gunfire finishes them off. From the shadows of the surrounding forest, a team of Navy SEALS emerge with their guns drawn and smoking. The cavalry has arrived, but the enemy has already been subdued. The film would then have shifted to a bird’s-eye view of the camp, an aerial shot showing waves of American soldiers flooding in to secure the base. Just when it appears the American soldiers may be ready to clash with the rock monster, The Thing gives them a solemn nod, and they clear a path. He lumbers past them, almost sadly, a heartsick warrior. Then he boards a large helicopter and is lifted away.”
Currently playing in theaters, Fantastic Four has grossed just over $42 million at the domestic box office with a worldwide total of $102 million, making it among one of the lowest-grossing films based on a Marvel comic. The film stars Miles Teller as Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic), Kate Mara as Sue Storm (The Invisible Woman), Michael B. Jordan as Johnny Storm (The Human Torch), Jamie Bell as Ben Grimm (The Thing), Toby Kebbell as Victor Von Doom, Reg E. Cathey (“The Wire”) as Dr. Franklin Storm, and Tim Blake Nelson.
