Marvel’s Fantastic Four has seen plenty of turbulence over the years with multiple reboots, and now new behind-the-scenes drama is surfacing from the 2005 adaptation.
Oscar-nominated director Chris Columbus — best known for Home Alone and Mrs. Doubtfire — revealed that he actually wrote an early version of the script back in 1995, only to be abruptly axed from the project.
On a recent episode of the Fade to Black podcast, Columbus opened up about how it all unraveled, saying he was axed because he ‘had too much of an opinion.’
‘We were in a weird situation, I had worked on a script,’ he began. “There were a lot of writers involved. They were about to make a movie and I was producing it. I came in and met with the director and had some ideas.
‘I basically said, “Some of this conceptual art should feel more like Jack Kirby, who was the artist of the Fantastic Four, and feel more like the Silver Age of Marvel.”‘
That meeting cost him the job.
Marvel’s Fantastic Four has seen plenty of turbulence over the years with multiple reboots, and now new behind-the-scenes drama is surfacing from the 2005 adaptation
Oscar-nominated director Chris Columbus — best known for Home Alone and Mrs. Doubtfire — revealed that he actually wrote an early version of the script back in 1995, only to be abruptly axed from the project; (seen in August)
‘I left that meeting and on the way back to my house, I got a call from the head of 20th Century Fox saying, “You’re fired. You had too much of an opinion,”‘ Columbus claimed.
Although he still received an executive producer credit on the finished film, he admitted he ‘had nothing to do with it.’
Looking back, Columbus said, ‘I think getting fired on the Fantastic Four films probably soured me a little bit.’
Ultimately, the 2005 release was credited to writers Mark Frost and Michael France.
It starred Ioan Gruffudd as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Jessica Alba as Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman, Chris Evans as Johnny Storm/The Human Torch, and Michael Chiklis as Ben Grimm/The Thing.
The late Julian McMahon rounded out the cast as the villainous Doctor Doom.
That first film turned out to be a hit, pulling in $154.6 million at the box office — which would equal about $254.6 million today.
The 2007 sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, did slightly less business with $131.9 million domestically (around $204 million in today’s money), but it still outperformed what came next.
The 2015 reboot, marketed as a darker, modern retelling with a star-studded cast including Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Bell, and Toby Kebbell, ultimately crashed and burned amid studio meddling, a messy script, and brutal reviews that left audiences unimpressed
By contrast, the 2015 reboot crashed and burned.
Marketed as a darker, modern retelling, it was plagued by studio meddling, a messy script, and brutal reviews.
The film boasted an A-list cast — Miles Teller as Reed Richards, Kate Mara as Sue Storm, Michael B. Jordan as Johnny Storm, Jamie Bell as Ben Grimm, and Toby Kebbell as Doctor Doom — but audiences weren’t buying it.
With a $120 million budget, it scraped together just $167 million worldwide.
Critics called it joyless and incoherent, with action that fizzled out and a rushed, chaotic ending.
Behind the scenes, tensions reportedly exploded between director Josh Trank and the studio, cementing its reputation as one of Marvel’s most notorious flops and killing any chance of a sequel.
Fast forward to 2025, and the franchise has roared back to life in a major way.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps has already raked in an impressive $257.3 million in the U.S. alone, signaling a massive turnaround from the dark days of the 2015 flop.
Fast forward to 2025, and the franchise has roared back to life, with The Fantastic Four: First Steps already raking in an impressive $257.3 million in the U.S. alone, signaling a major turnaround from the dark days of the 2015 flop
The new cast is stacked with star power, with Pedro Pascal stepping into the role of Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby bringing poise and grit to Sue Storm, Joseph Quinn igniting as Johnny Storm, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach taking on the hulking mantle of Ben Grimm.
Adding even more intrigue, Julia Garner has stepped into the role of the Silver Surfer, playing the Shalla-Bal incarnation of the cosmic herald.
But her casting has ignited heated debate online.
Fans erupted after the trailer dropped, accusing Marvel of giving the Silver Surfer a “woke” makeover.
The character has traditionally been depicted as male in the comics and on screen, most famously with Doug Jones (voiced by Laurence Fishburne) in the 2007 film.
Garner’s female take has divided audiences — with some praising Marvel for exploring alternate storylines and others blasting it as unnecessary revisionism.
‘Call me the friend that isn’t woke enough but I hate that Silver Surfer is a woman,’ one critic tweeted, as another piled on: ‘Silver Surfer is a dude. Disney don’t learn.’
While defenders of the trailer pointed out that Marvel Comics has in fact depicted a female Silver Surfer in alternate storylines, angry fans weren’t buying it.
‘#FantasticFour is ruined they put a woman as SILVER SURFER WHY. I don’t care there’s an alternate universe that has one it was wack because it only lasted for 1 series!!! SILVER SURFER IS A MAN!!!!!!’ screamed one upset post.
Another fan posted a side-by-side comparison of Doug Jones’ 2007 portrayal and Julia Garner’s new version, captioning it, ‘Greatest downgrade of Silver Surfer ever in Fantastic Four.’
Still, while Garner’s casting has sparked a furor, the film’s early success shows Marvel’s first family has reclaimed its place in the spotlight — even as old wounds from the franchise’s troubled past resurface.
