Director Josh Trank and 20th Century Fox reportedly clashed over the Fantastic Four cast

Fantastic Four cast
(Image credit: Kena Betancur/AFP/Getty Images)

With Fantastic Four limping to a dismal $26.2 million this weekend — an embarrassing total for 20th Century Fox, which hoped to launch an entire franchise on the back of the film — people are already beginning to dissect how it all went wrong. And while it sounds like plenty of blame can be laid at the feet of both Fox and director Josh Trank for Fantastic Four's various missteps, inside sources tell Entertainment Weekly that there were problems from the very beginning.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source reports that Fox and Trank clashed over which actors to cast in the lead roles. Though both sides agreed on casting Michael B. Jordan as Johnny Storm, the studio wanted a different actor than Miles Teller to play Reed Richards. Trank won that round (though he and Teller eventually "developed a mutually disdainful relationship on set.")

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
Scott Meslow

Scott Meslow is the entertainment editor for TheWeek.com. He has written about film and television at publications including The Atlantic, POLITICO Magazine, and Vulture.