‘Fantastic Four’ Star Toby Kebbell Revives Talk of Movie’s Alternate Cut: ‘A Great Film That You’ll Never See’
Miles Teller and Michael B. Jordan in the ill-fated ‘Fantastic Four’ (Photo: Ben Rothstein/Twentieth Century Fox via AP)
Marvel Studios’ ongoing winning streak may be unmatched in modern cinema history, but at least one of their recent endeavors didn’t turn out as planned — director Josh Trank’s 2015 Fantastic Four reboot starring Miles Teller and Michael B. Jordan. The superteam movie — which had a notoriously troubled production — premiered to dismal reviews and even drearier box-office returns last summer. It wasn’t just fans who were let down by the film, however; one of its stars also continues to lament its fate, while also suggesting that there exists a far superior cut of the maligned superhero adventure.
Speaking to Jen Yamato at The Daily Beast, 33-year-old British actor Toby Kebbell— best known for his motion-capture performances as rebel ape Koba in 2014’s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and as orc chieftain Durotan in this Friday’s Warcraft — talks about the mythical alternate version of Fantastic Four, in which he co-starred as iconic Marvel villain Doctor Doom:
“I tell you, the honest truth is [Trank] did cut a great film that you’ll never see…That is a shame. A much darker version, and you’ll never see it.”
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about such a different edit of Fantastic Four: Director Trank tweeted about it on the eve of the film’s release, before deleting the post.
And Josh Trank deleted his tweet. Good news, I still have it. The oral history lives: pic.twitter.com/AnZQ6ilM9r
— Mike Ryan (@mikeryan) August 7, 2015
Kebbell also laments the fact that, for the most part, his own work on the film didn’t make it to the screen:
“Unfortunately, I played Doom in three points: Walking down a corridor, killing the doctor and getting into the time machine, and lying on the bench. They were the only times I played Doom. Everything else was some other guy, on some other day… doing some other thing. I was infuriated that he was allowed to limp like that!”
Despite acknowledging that the Hollywood process can often be a messy one, he remains saddened by his Fantastic Four experience, saying, “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.”
You can read Kebbell’s entire chat with The Daily Beast — which also include his thoughts on motion-capture performance, and on his Warcraft character — here.
Watch the ‘Fantastic Four’ trailer:
