I am flat-out baffled by the casting for “Fantastic Four,” but that may not be a bad thing.
While I've seen several films that Toby Kebbell has appeared in, one moment really stands out, and that was in the brilliant episode of the English anthology show “Black Mirror” called “The Entire History Of You.” That one performance is enough to convince me that Kebbell's got the goods, and he's certainly been busy the last few years.
He's appeared in big studio films like “The Sorcerer's Apprentice,” “Prince of Persia,” and “Wrath Of The Titans,” and he's appeared in plenty of smaller movies like “The East,” “RocknRolla,” “Dead Man's Shoes,” and Ridley Scott's “The Counselor.” Like the rest of Trank's cast, he's someone who is recognizable but not “famous,” and he seems like a guy who is poised to break through in something, and playing one of the most famous of the Marvel villains in a giant movie seems like it could be that role for him.
Kebbell's going to be in “Dawn Of The Planet of The Apes” this summer, so it looks like Fox is happy with his work there. When I say I'm baffled about the casting, it's because there is no movie star in the cast that's been announced so far, and there's nothing simple about the way they've cast it. Trank could have gone out and tried to find people who look exactly like the typical versions of these characters, but it feels like he's building a cast he likes based on who they are and how they play off of each other instead. He's making strong choices, and those choices may drive fans crazy right now, but until we actually see the cast together and see how they approach these characters, there's nothing to really react to. I've seen plenty of editorializing about the choices he's made, but at least he's making definitive choices. I'd much rather see a film from a guy who loves the characters and who wants to challenge people's ideas of who they are than just see some flashy fan service. If Fox is going to try this series again, then let's see something we don't expect.
“Fantastic Four” is set for release June 19, 2015.