20th Century Fox’s President of Production Emma Watts is having a good year and some of that has to do with X-Men: Days of Future Past, which has brought in nearly $700 million at the global box office. Watts and the studio are already hard at work bringing the next round of Marvel properties to the big screen, and in a recent profile piece on The Hollywood Reporter, Watts talked about the importance of directors for their big budget hero romps.
“We’re making a big bet for 2015 with The Fantastic Four and director Josh Trank,” Watts said. “To me, the key is the originality of the filmmakers and the choices they make. Josh is another really interesting example, who is using the vision he gave us in Chronicle to reinvent a franchise he’s loved his whole life. It’s not that you can’t make original ideas — you can, and we did it with Chronicle. The director is the key to not letting superhero movies go stale. That’s the truth.”
When asked if we’d be seeing some “found footage elements” to The Fantastic Four, like what Trank did with the surprise hit Chronicle, Watts replied:
“It’s Josh, so it can’t not have that feel. That’s his talent, that’s what he does, and that’s what excites him about it. It is a really interesting young cast, and he is the magnet that’s brought them all together.”
The subject of X-Men: Apocalypse was also brought up, with the outlet asking if director Bryan Singer would return behind the camera for the film.
“Right now we are totally at the outlining phase,” Watts added. “But nothing would make me happier than if it all worked out. It’s always been the intention for him to do it.”
Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan, and Jamie Bell will star as The Fantastic Four, set for release on June 19, 2015, with X-Men: Apocalypse scheduled for release on May 22, 2016.
