Ant-Man 2 Director Still Dreams of Making Fantastic Four Film

[Black Panther]

With Ant-Man and The Wasp hitting theaters in just over a week, director Peyton Reed revealed that he hopes it won't be the last superhero team he brings to the big screen. Since Iron Man kicked off the Marvel Cinematic Universe all the way back in 2008, the term "superhero fatigue" has been bandied about more and more with each passing year. It's not a sense Reed seems to share, however, still holding onto the dream of adapting even more, specifically the Fantastic Four.

In a direct sequel to the 2015 hit (also directed by Reed) - as well as Captain America: Civil War - Ant-Man and The Wasp will find Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) struggling with the consequences of his choices, as both a superhero and a father. Finally teaming up with Hope Van Dyne, the duo find themselves confronting revelations from the past and a powerful new enemy in the form of Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen).

In an interview with Cinema Blend, as part of the Ant-Man and The Wasp domestic press day, Peyton Reed expressed interest in returning to The Fantastic Four, a project he was first helping to develop nearly twenty years ago. Eventually the adaptation landed in the hands of Tim Story, who went on to helm both 2005's Fantastic Four and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, but it was a dream Peyton Reed clearly never let go of:

"Well, I have been known to mention Fantastic Four in conversations that may or may not have happened in the Marvel hallways. It's all a giant question mark at this point, because no one knows if this merger is going to happen. It was on, it was off, it was on... who knows. I guess I can dream, right? I can have the dream. We'll see. Time will tell!"

 

Though those earlier iterations of the superhero team saw its share of success and appealed to some fans, neither of them quite reached the heights of acclaim and popularity that the MCU films have since its inception a decade ago. The critically and commercially panned 2015 version from Josh Trank notwithstanding, now would be the perfect time for a reboot. And, in the hands of Marvel Studios, fans could finally get the version they have been long since clamoring for - much in the same way Spider-Man: Homecoming gave many their long-overdue and definitive rendition of the wall-crawler.

With the highly anticipated merger of Disney and Fox looking ever more likely, Peyton Reed could very well get his wish. And it's easy to picture how the results could prove pleasing to fans. Reed clearly has knowledge of the material, and already has a particular style in mind for the characters. His previous proposal would have seen Mister Fantastic and family set firmly in their 1960s heyday, serving as almost an allegory to the Cold War space race.

Themes of family would be equally familiar ground, with it serving prominently in Ant-Man, most notably in the often complex relationships between fathers and children. Themes which Ant-Man and The Wasp looks set to continue via Scott Lang and Cassie, Hope Van Dyne and Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), and, if this theory proves true, Ava/Ghost and Bill Foster (Laurence Fishburne). All of which looks set to grow only more complex with the return of Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), and which could lend itself beautifully to bringing to life the humor and complex dynamics of Marvel's first family.

 

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