Josh Trank

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New Fantastic Four Movie Won’t Be Grim And Gritty; Respecting Lee & Kirby FF

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Some argue that Christopher Nolan killed all the super heroes as Nolan’s The Dark Knight Trilogy saw a dark and gritty Batman become insanely popular with not only movie goers, but movie studios as well.

The Man of Steel appears to be going into that direction, perhaps not as dark and gritty, but a more “realistic” nature not seen in previous Superman films.

Of course there is nothing necessarily wrong with that, but the bandwagon seems to be moving with a lot hopping onboard.

For instance, the Amazing Spider-Man was a darker and grittier version, much darker compared to the previous Spider-Man films, and the sequel appears to be going in the same direction.

The comic books also seem to be following that route as DC Comics rebooted their universe last year revealing a much darker take on various super heroes. Marvel Comics has followed suit as well with their own not-a-reboot-relaunch which sees a darker Spider-Man, known as “Superior Spider-Man,” in addition to darker versions of their popular Avengers and X-Men titles. The latest had Captain America: The First Avenger villain, the Red Skull, holding Professor X’s brain, apparently to be used as a weapon against mutants.

While we could argue darker is better to the cows come home, at least the new Fantastic Four movie seems to be not so grim.

Josh Trank, of the hit found-footage movie, Chronicle, is helming the new Fantastic Four reboot. You could probably bet good money that it’s going to be a bit more “serious” than its predecessors, but from what Fox Studios’ new creative consultant, Mark Millar, recently told SFX Magazine — it won’t be that dark.

“You can tell from Chronicle that it was a new way of looking at superheroes, and I think he’s going to apply that same slightly skewed way of looking at heroes to the Fantastic Four, but do it in a way that feels incredibly reverential to the Kirby and Lee stuff,” Millar said to SFX Magazine about Fantastic Four director Josh Trank.

“I don’t think you could do Fantastic Four and try and make it grim and gritty,” Millar added while discussing the direction of the movie.

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Mark Millar Signs As Consultant on Fantastic Four Movie and X-Men With Fox Studios

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We here at Cosmic Book News are big fans of Mark Millar.

I know the “DOC” Chris Bushley is — with Mr. Millar even saying that one of Chris’ reviews is the best he has ever read.

So it should be no surprise that we are now even more excited for the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot and the new X-Men movie with news that Mark Millar has signed with Fox Studios as creative consultant.

Mark Millar will serve as consultant for the sequel to X-Men: First Class, “X-Men: End Of Days,” as well as the Fantastic Four movie, which is being helmed by Josh Trank, the director of Chronicle.

Millar stated the following in a prepared statement (via CBR):

“As someone who has spent his entire life obsessed with both comic-books and movies, this is essentially my dream gig as it’s a unique combination of both. I spent 10 years working at Marvel and am really happy with the work I did on the comic side of things so the idea of working with these characters now in a brand new medium is enormously exciting for me. I really like the Fox team, love this bold new direction they have for their franchises and am proud to be working alongside some of modern cinema’s biggest talents. James Mangold is incredible, Matthew Vaughn’s one of my closest pals and Josh Trank gave us, in my opinion, one of the greatest superhero movies of the last decade with Chronicle. The invitation to join this crew was maybe the coolest phone-call I’ve ever had.”

Fox Studios is currently filming The Wolverine with Hugh Jackman and X-Men: End of Days kicks off production in January.

We are still waiting on more in regards to the Fantastic Four reboot, but the latest is that Fox did not want to release the rights to the Silver Surfer and Galactus to Marvel Studios, who apparently wanted them for the Guardians of the Galaxy movie.

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Josh Trank Is Directing The New Fantastic Four Movie

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Well, now we can call it official.

Josh Trank of Chronicle fame has been officially named to direct the new Fantastic Four reboot movie from Fox.

It came out a while ago that Trank was attached to FF, but then things seemed to go back and forth between Trank denying and various news sites confirming.

Now, Deadline is stating that Fox has officially named Trank to be the FF helmer and also expects Fantastic Four to be the next movie Trank directs — meaning ahead of Sony’s Venom.

The movie is expected to go into production following Hugh Jackman’s The Wolverine with an all new cast.

Trank’s Chronicle made a bundle for Fox at the Box Office coming in at around $125 million at a cost of only $15 million.

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Josh Trank May Helm New Venom Movie From Sony

[[wysiwyg_imageupload:809:]]Josh Trank, director of the hit movie Chronicle, and also rumored to be attached to the new Fantastic Four movie, has just been associated with another comic book film: Venom, from Sony Pictures.

This news comes via the LA Times, who similar to Variety with FF, says an inside source familiar with the project states Trank is in negotiations for Venom.

According to the Times, a Venom script was penned a few years ago, but their source tells them they are looking for a new writer.

The Times also states the previous Venom/Eddie Brock, Topher Grace from Spider-Man 3, will not be back as Sony is looking for a new leading man to take the role.

Last we heard from Josh Trank was a couple weeks ago where he all but said he wasn’t doing Fantastic Four, but he did leave the door open saying no matter if it is a small project or a big one, all that matters is a good story.

Now, Trank did mention he had a deal with Fox and was looking to do work on original ideas, so we’ll have to see what comes of this.

For those who may only be familiar with Venom from the movies, in the comics, Brock/Venom goes on to become an anti-hero. We could see that here, otherwise the movie would basically be Spider-Man vs. Venom all over again. The recent showing of Venom in the comics has Venom bonded to friend of Spider-Man, Flash Thompson, who conducts Special Ops for the Govt.

Sony’s Amazing Spider-Man comes out this Summer as well, with new Peter Parker/Spidey Andrew Garfield.

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The Door Is Still Open For Josh Trank Directed Fantastic Four Movie

[[wysiwyg_imageupload:698:]]Josh Trank is the director on the new hit found-footage “anti-superhero” movie, Chronicle.

Chronicle has been popular at the box office as well as with fans, and word of a sequel is starting to be mentioned in various circles.

However, a sequel to Chronicle is not the only movie to be associated with the 26 year old as late, as on more than one occasion mention of a rebooted Fantastic Four movie has been made.

While the initial report had Trank being a favorite to helm FF, Trank himself has come out and stated that he hasn’t heard a thing, that he knows as much as us. Following that, there was another blurb with Trank connected to the FF movie, with the studio reportedly eyeing him up for something big, which may be Fantastic Four.

Now, speaking with the Playlist, Trank further holds it true that he hasn’t been contacted about the Fantastic Four movie, and again states he would like to do something more original.

I was on the press tour and had to call everybody up and ask, what is this about? ‘Fantastic Four’ is at Fox, and I guess someone theorized about it, someone heard it, and Variety was like, that’s happening! I can’t really speak on that, because I don’t know what to say. I do have a deal with Fox, but right now I’m trying to work on original ideas.

However, the director doesn’t exactly close the door entirely on Fantastic Four, as he goes on to mention a “big franchise” could be a possibility as long as the story is good.

To me the most important thing is a good story, though I know how cliché that sounds. Finding my next project, whether it’s a big franchise idea, or a small idea, it’s all about strong characters and a good story, making something I would really want to see.

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Matthew Vaughn Confirmed For X-Men: First Class Sequel; Trank Again Mentioned For Fantastic Four Movie

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20th Century Fox Production President Emma Watts has had her contract renewed by Fox, and with that we get some news regarding both the X-Men: First Class sequel and the Fantastic Four reboot.

Matthew Vaughn is confirmed to direct the X-Men: First Class sequel, with Bryan Singer back onboard as producer, and, as we have previously heard, Simon Kinberg (Sherlock Holmes, X-Men: Last Stand, Jumper) to write the script. First Class brought in over $350 million, and with mention of a sequel getting a go ahead by members of the cast, we were just waiting on an official announcement. Michael Fassbender has previously stated he has signed on for two options as well.

We also get some more news on the Fantastic Four reboot, specifically with mention again of Josh Trank, director on Chronicle. A couple weeks ago Trank’s name was said to be the frontrunner to helm a new FF movie, with it being stated that Fox was waiting to see how Chronicle fared. Following that, only two days ago Trank stated that he had no knowledge of being involved with a FF movie. Now, Trank’s name is mentioned yet again as being look at to direct Fantastic Four, as this time it is being said that Fox is “delighted” with the job that Trank did on Chronicle, that he is being “eyed for a bigger assignment, possibly Fantastic Four.”

The sequel to Rise of the Planet of the Apes also gets a brief mention in that Fox has made it a priority with Rupert Wyatt back to direct.

Source: Deadline

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Chronicle Director, Josh Trank, Not involved With Fantastic Four Movie

fantastic fourA couple weeks ago it came out that the director on Chronicle, Josh Trank, was the frontrunner to helm the new Fantastic Four movie.

Variety even stated Trank attended a few meetings on the film.

However, SuperHeroHype got a chance to speak to the director who seemingly shot down any involvement with the Fantastic Four movie.

“I know as much as you guys know. I’m totally serious. I know as much as you,” he said. “I saw that leak online and I was like, ‘Um, okay, I’m trying to finish Chronicle right now.’ This is weird. There’s nothing to say, ‘Chronicle’ is exactly the kind of superhero movie that I wanted to make and, going forward, I want to have some original ideas and different things I’m working on.”

The Variety article also stated that Fox wasn’t 100% set on Trank, as they are waiting to see how Chronicle fares at the box office.

Could be Trank is playing coy, or perhaps the studios hasn’t been in direct contact with him, but Trank is one of the names they are looking at.

Chronicle debuts Superbowl weekend and is described as: “Three high school students make an incredible discovery, leading to their developing uncanny powers beyond their understanding. As they learn to control their abilities and use them to their advantage, their lives start to spin out of control, and their darker sides begin to take over.”

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Chronicle’s Josh Trank Frontrunner To Direct Fantastic Four Movie; Script Being Worked On

fantastic fourLast we heard about a new Fantastic Four movie was in early December from Fox Executive Tom Rothman who stated the movie was in development.

Now, Variety has word that a director is being looked at, and that would be Josh Trank of the upcoming “superhero” movie, Chronicle.

Trank is said to be the current frontrunner to direct the FF reboot, and even said to have attended a few meetings. However, Variety states Fox is waiting to see how Chronicle fares, which debuts Superbowl weekend.

We even learn that a script is in development from Michael Green (Green Lantern movie), of which the Studio is waiting on as well.

Regarding Chronicle, it’s filmed similar to The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity, and described as: “Three high school students make an incredible discovery, leading to their developing uncanny powers beyond their understanding. As they learn to control their abilities and use them to their advantage, their lives start to spin out of control, and their darker sides begin to take over.”

You can check out the latest TV spot here.

Cosmic Book News will be sure to update when more on the Fantastic Four movie becomes available.