The MCU fandom continues to build substantial hype for the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot, which will be the first official integration of a property formerly owned by 20th Century Fox under Marvel Studios' umbrella. While the excitement would be there regardless of the situation due to the team's first inclusion alongside Earth's Mightiest Heroes, it also ought to be a major redemption story after the disappointment behind 2015's Fantastic Four.
This film is seen as one of the worst superhero movies in history, which was at least partially due to the conflict in direction between director Josh Trank and future Moon Knight head writer Jeremy Slater. Other important players from Fantastic Four have also commented on what went wrong throughout the process as more information from behind the scenes of that outing becomes public.
Mr. Fantastic actor Miles Teller recently opened up about what a potential return would have to include for him, largely focusing on making sure the script and the personnel were right for their roles. Now, another actress currently in the spotlight has shared her own experience with Fantastic Four after her chance to screen test for a role in the failed 2015 movie.
Emmy Rossum on Fantastic Four Hopes
In a chat with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused Podcast, via Twitter, Shameless' Emmy Rossum revealed she did a screen test for the role of Sue Storm aka Invisible Woman for Fox's Fantastic Four (2015).
During the press tour for her upcoming Peacock show Angelyne, she remembered being "devastated" that she didn't get the role after her screen test went so badly. Specifically, she noted that she couldn't "hook into that character" and that she "didn't understand the dialogue," finding it difficult to actually perform what was given to her in the script:
"Yes, I did not get it. Devastated, utterly devastated. I remember where I was when I didn’t get it. I was with my now-husband on a beach somewhere, and I got the call that I didn’t get it, and I was pretty sure I didn’t get it because I did not feel that the screen-test went well. I just didn’t hook into that character at all, I didn’t understand the dialogue, I couldn’t sell it, I was like ‘I don’t know what to do with my lines, I can’t find my in here,’ but I was still…"
Although she missed out on that role, she still loves seeing "that kind of transformation" with superhero projects, specifically noting 2008's Iron Man as an instance that worked well:
"I think I did [want it]. There’s part of me that thinks that that kind of transformation, when it works, is really fun. When it is Iron Man, when it is those things that feel like, they feel really unique, I think it can really work."
Confusing Dialogue in Fantastic Four Reboot
The list of things that went wrong with Fantastic Four is clearly much longer than the list of things that went right, even going back as far as the film's screen tests for its actors.
One of the biggest complaints surrounding the 2015 Fox movie was its script, which Rossum had a difficult time bringing to her work from the page. The story and the dialogue behind that ensemble outing still baffle fans and actors alike to this day, making it perfectly understandable why her experience with the project didn't go the way she had hoped.
Whether Rossum goes for Marvel Studios' upcoming reboot is a mystery, especially since casting for it is still likely some time away, but she clearly gained something from that moment and looks forward to superhero movies that are done right.
As for that new reboot, there is still plenty of work to do to make sure that Marvel's First Family is done the right way, especially considering that the team is still immensely popular. John Krasinski's portrayal of Reed Richards in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness provided just a taste of how good the new outing could be, even with the studio still searching for a director after Jon Watts' exit.
