A so-called attendee of The Fantastic Four: First Steps test screening is pushing back on recent online backlash, calling out misinformation and clarifying what actually happened inside the theater.
With the news that Marvel is skipping Comic-Con, the trades have confirmed a secret screening of Fantastic Four: First Steps was recently held at Regal Long Beach, attended by Kevin Feige and director Matt Shakman.
Recent reports painted the Marvel reboot as a disaster in the making, with viral claims alleging that audience members were “vocal” or even screamed “mid” following the movie.
But now, someone claiming to be the original source of those stories has come forward to clarify what’s real, and what’s been twisted.
“Nobody Screamed ‘Mid’ – That’s Just Fake”
The test screener posted on social media, stating that he shared a story on Discord about a guy next to him who calmly called the movie “mid,” not someone screaming it at the screen like some insiders have claimed:
“No one screamed ‘mid’ in the audience. There was a guy next to me sighing and flapping his hands around. When the movie was over I asked him his opinion, and he said ‘it was mid.’ I told this story on Discord right after I left. Certain insiders have blown this story out of proportion saying some lunatic screamed ‘mid’ in the theater. This is 100% untrue.”
Mixed But Not a Mess
The screener did admit he wasn’t entirely sold on the movie, but not for reasons the average viewer might care about. As a self-described hardcore Fantastic Four fan, his main complaints center on how the characters were portrayed:
- Reed Richards doesn’t do any “crazy shape-shifting.”
- The Thing doesn’t have his classic Brooklyn accent.
Still, he acknowledged that most general audiences won’t care about those details, and some viewers were even giving the film high marks:
“Although the people next to me may not have liked it, there was an employee asking around random people for their reactions. I heard a lot of ‘Excellents’ the highest rating on the survey.”
The Bigger Problem: No Character Growth
While the performances and personalities of Reed, Sue, and Johnny were “on point,” the attendee called out the lack of character development as a major issue:
“The lack of character development is a serious concern for the film. The characters go through no growth.
He also emphasized that the film is “fast-paced but not a mess,” suggesting that Marvel isn’t putting out a total disaster, but the project may still leave longtime fans underwhelmed.
Here are the full comments:
Fantastic Four gets released July 25.
