New details emerge on a cut action scene featuring The Thing.
[dropcap size=small]I[/dropcap]t’s no secret that Fantastic Four is a fantastic turd. Critics didn’t like it, we didn’t like it, audiences didn’t go see it, and quite frankly, the behind the scenes drama is more interesting than the film itself.
For the past couple weeks, we’ve seen numerous reports citing studio meddling as being a big factor in the final, not so fantastic, product that was shipped to theaters. Director Josh Trank has gone as far to tweet out that the film was changed significantly from what he originally intended (this tweet was quickly deleted).
Regardless of what really happened between 20th Century Fox and Trank, the film was clearly edited and modified not long before it was released, and this is even more evident through the trailers.
Remember the scene in the trailers where The Thing leaps from a plane? (Skip to 2:25 in the official trailer for a refresher). Well, it’s not in the final cut of the film. In fact, according to Entertainment Weekly, that scene was a part of a larger action set piece cut from the film for unknown reasons. EW seems to know how this scene would have played out in the film if left in. Check out the details below.
Warning! Spoilers for Fant4stic (If you care).
In the final cut of the film, there is a one year gap following the accident that gives Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm their powers. During this gap, we learn that Grimm (now The Thing) has been executing covert government missions. The cut scene was intended to further show the Thing carrying out these missions, and would take place right after the time skip.
Here’s how the scene plays out: Cut to Chechen terrorists loading weapons onto a truck at night. All of a sudden, sirens ring, and the terrorists see a large object falling from the sky via a plane. The object slams into the ground, making a huge impact.
The terrorists recover from the impact and examine the large rock-like object, which is revealed to be, of course, The Thing. As he moves towards the terrorists, The Thing is shot numerous times, but bullets bounce off his rock skin. Frightened, the terrorists retreat, only to be shot down by Navy SEALS hiding nearby.
The Navy secures the weapons, and The Thing gives them a nod, indicating to the audience he is working with them.
Why this scene was cut from the film remains a mystery, but a leading claim is that it was left behind due to budgetary concerns.
The real question is if had this scene been included, would it have made Fant4stic a more coherent, and better film? We may never know that answer, but as it stands, Fantastic Four is a more jagged and bumpy mess than The Thing himself.
