Writer and Producer Simon Kinberg Says He's "Really Focused" on a FANTASTIC FOUR Sequel



FANTASTIC FOUR was a flop. There's no sugar-coating it because it was not liked by most critics and fans. In fact, the unused concept art and rumors of what the film was supposed to be prior to major re-writes sounded better than the final product.

In the box office, the reboot has struggling mightily since it reportedly had a budget of $120 million and (as of the publishing of this post) it has only brought in $160 million worldwide. For Fox to break even, with its production and marketing costs, the reboot needs to hit approximately $240 million in the worldwide box office. Unfortunately this seems unlikely as the reboot isn't even in the Top 20 weekend performers for September 11-13, per BoxOfficeMojo. A sign its theatrical run is already nearing its end.

However, writer and producer Simon Kinberg has some faith in Fox continuing the franchise as he told MTV he is gearing up for its sequel.

“I’m really focused on the next one." 

But what does he say about the negative reaction to the reboot?

“I was obviously disappointed. I was most disappointed that fans didn’t like it. I care more about them than I do anyone else."

Kinberg seems confident in finding the right story for a sequel.

“Every time you make a movie, you want to make a great movie. It’s a ton of time and effort you put in. We made that movie in the sweltering heat of summer in Baton Rouge and I was there every day of photography. You’re waking up every morning being like, I want to go make a great movie. It was an opportunity to do that. I do believe there is a great ’Fantastic Four’ movie that we’ve made with that cast. So I’m gonna figure out what that is.”

Bottom line is that if Fox wants to retain the movie rights to FANTASTIC FOUR then they need to move forward with a sequel otherwise rights will revert back to Marvel Studios, if Fox doesn't. After the reboot most fans want the rights back with Marvel. But Fox is losing money on the reboot so they may make one more attempt at recouping their loses and to try to make a movie both fans and critics will embrace.

It's definitely a huge mountain to climb as the reboot could have been such a turn-off that most fans won't see a Fox produced sequel. While that last sentence was speculation, only time will tell and in the meantime Kinberg is going to try and crack the story for a sequel.