Director, casting news for 'The Fantastic Four'

Posted Tuesday, April 6, 2004 at 11:20 AM Central

by Tim Briscoe

A movie based on The Fantastic Four comic has long been in development. It was talked about even before the recent comic-to-movie fad -- and well before the first Spider-Man became a blockbuster. (Heck, our first story on the project was in May 2001.)

Well, enough time had passed that we thought we'd revisit the subject. Plus, a few recent tidbits have given new life to the project. Precisely, a new director has been named. Tim Story, the filmmaker behind Barbershop, is the man for 20th Century Fox's project. Story just completed the comedy Taxi starring Queen Latifah and Jimmy Fallon for Fox.

Also noteworthy are the casting rumors. The Shield bad cop Michael Chiklis is being mentioned for Benjamin Grimm -- you know, the rock-covered tough guy The Thing. Oscar winner Tim Robbins is rumored for villain Dr. Doom. (But then again, when we last talked, fellow Oscar-winner Geoffrey Rush was discussed for that part.)

We're sure there will be a million more casting twists and turns before this movie is done. So many that the true superhero on this project will be the film's producers.