You know a film is a pretty big misfire when you have the filmmaker disavowing his support for the feature on Twitter right after it debuts in theaters. That’s exactly what happened when Josh Trank told social media that “Fantastic 4,” which debuted in 2015, was not his original vision. And over the past several years, he’s even gone further with explaining what happened. But now, we have one of the stars, Kate Mara, speaking out against the superhero film.
Speaking to Collider, Mara didn’t just explain that she wasn’t happy with the finished “Fantastic 4” reboot, but that she still has some regrets with how she handled some of the situations involved in the production.
“I think that the thing that I always go back to on that one is that I think I should have followed my instincts more,” she explained about the filming of “Fantastic 4.” “Like when my gut was telling me, ‘You probably shouldn’t let that slide, what that person just said,’ or if you’re feeling a certain way about what an energy is like and how that is affecting your performance. You’re being paid to do a certain thing and if something is in the way of that, you have the right to speak up and say, ‘I’m actually not able to do what I am here to do because of X, Y and Z.’”
She continued, “I think that speaking up is something that I think that we all probably learn it over and over again, to follow your instincts and if you’re feeling a certain thing that is uneasy or whatever, there’s a reason for it. But, because it was such a big movie and again, usually, except in this case, when you’re in a big superhero movie they usually do incredibly well, like almost always. So even if it’s challenging, or this or that, or not everything’s perfect, it’s probably good for you to do it. That was sort of what I was being told and also was telling myself. And I don’t regret doing it at all, but do regret not having stood up for myself. I regret that for sure. Because if my daughter ended up acting and was in a situation like that where she felt like she couldn’t speak up – meanwhile, I’m a pretty tough person and I really do advocate for myself. Granted, this was a few years ago and maybe this situation was different, but if I was in that situation today, it just wouldn’t have happened or it just would have been a different environment I think. So again, good learning experience, you know?”
READ MORE: The Best Films Of 2020… So Far
There’s no denying the fact that “Fantastic 4” is a terrible film. There are some minor redeeming qualities, most of which fall into the original vision of Trank. However, you can’t just forget that the entire third act is terrible, Mara is given one of the worst wigs in film history, and Fox clearly just didn’t understand how to make a quality superhero film, let alone a “Fantastic 4” feature.
All that to say, it’s understandable that Mara has some regrets, but she’s one of the best actresses working today, and thankfully, her experience on that superhero film hasn’t cratered her career. But we can almost guarantee that the next time she signs up for one of these blockbusters, she’s not going to sit idly by and let things happen that could reflect badly on her.