Welp, we all saw this coming. The suits at 20th Century FOX were so gassed on Fantastic Four—read: so eager to throw their hat further into the superhero franchise arms race—they pre-greenlit a sequel to drop June 2017 months before the reboot even hit theaters. But now opening weekend has come and gone, and said reboot—with its wooden acting, joyless execution, and embarrassing behind-the-scenes drama—is both a critical and commercial dud. Seriously, a superhero movie rated PG-13 and with quasi-recognizable actors only made $26 million in its first weekend (box office projections hoped for $40). So now FOX is left with a sequel on the books that absolutely no one outside of Miles Teller's loyal 32 Crew cares to see. As the rumor mill would have it, a pretty sweet consolation may be in store.
There's industry talk that the studio plans to fast-track a Deadpool sequel to take its place. Buzz among the comic community for the movie, dropping next February, is already deafening, especially following the first official trailer. On one hand, it's very dope that Deadpool as a character went from a truly botched adaptation in Wolverine: Origins to actually getting his own film that's true to form, one that inspires so much trust as to qualify for a scheduling quick-fix sequel. But, in the same case as Fantastic Four, we haven't actually seen the film yet. Not to mention, the entire production, from script, cast to filming, would have to come together extremely fast to meet a June 2017 release. We'll see how this all plays out but clearly 20th Century FOX is a madhouse.
