Perhaps more than any other actor at the moment, Toby Kebbell knows that taking a tentpole role can be a gamble. He starred in the very, very good “Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes,” then saw what happens when an expensive production goes seriously awry with “Fantastic Four.” Then there’s the curious case of “Warcraft,” which has been critically panned, and is tracking pretty low domestically, but is really big in China. And with an upcoming slate that includes “Ben-Hur” and “Kong: Skull Island,” Kebbell is well aware that critical and audience reception can go either way.
“If you let fear into your heart, it will block you,” he philosophically told The Daily Beast about the capricious nature of blockbusters. “I don’t mean to be taking lines from ‘Apocalypto‘ or trying to be too preachy, but I’m not in control of that.”
But it seems if Kebbell had things his way, Josh Trank‘s original vision for “Fantastic Four” would have been released. The director and studio were reportedly at odds throughout the making of the superhero reboot, with Trank early on talking about a body-horror approach to the material. At some point it seems the studio got cold feet, reshoots were ordered, and audiences wound up with the mess that hit the big screen last summer.
“There are always frustrations with these tent poles. But it generally comes from the script changing, sadly enough. But I’m very proud of my work. I’m also just as heartbroken as the fans are,” Kebbell said, revealing that scenes he had filmed that might’ve more smoothly revealed his transition to the villainous Dr. Doom were ultimately cut from the movie. But he has nothing but praise for Trank, and what could have been…
“I tell you, the honest truth is [Trank] did cut a great film that you’ll never see,” Kebbell said. “That is a shame. A much darker version, and you’ll never see it.”
No doubt, someone will start a petition to send to 20th Century Fox to persuade them to let Trank finish the movie the way he intended, but I don’t see that ever happening. It wasn’t a good experience for either side, and it’s probably in everyone’s best interest to just move on. That said, if Fox sees it as another way to add some money to the bottom line of their costly flop, maybe it’s something to consider.
For now, we’ll just have to imagine what a decent “Fantastic Four” reboot might’ve been like.