Comic book movies have been a cornerstone of blockbuster cinema ever since X-Men first hit it big back in 2000; we've seen so many brilliant visions brought to the screen as well as, let's be honest, a good number of duds. Though we have a lot to look forward to in the next few years - above all else Phase 2 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, heading into The Avengers 2 - there are also plenty of projects that have the alarm bells ringing. Though many of these ideas are sound on paper, I'm just not filled with promise for a variety of different reasons, perhaps because of who is attached to star or direct, or the simple fact that it's been tried before and didn't work then, so why would it now? Here are 8 upcoming comic book movies that must be stopped...
8. Fantastic Four Reboot
Tim Story's two Fantastic Four films released in 2005 and 2007 were, to be kind, not good. Though the casting was fine and the idea was there, the execution was all wrong; it was too goofy, Dr. Doom made for an oddly bland villain, and though the Silver Surfer livened things up in the second film, it still wasn't enough to make it work. After the sequel raked in less money than its predcessor, a third film was put on ice, and plans for a reboot were soon cobbled together, with Josh Trank (Chronicle) being touted to direct. The film is due for a release in March 2015, and this compressed time window is what mainly worries me - the film is not being made because there's a good story to tell, but to prevent the rights to Fantastic Four reverting back to Marvel. This is the same reasoning that saw us get the totally unnecessary The Amazing Spider-Man, and so it follows that this could be accompanied by similar problems. Hopefully a director as accomplished as Trank will have the good sense to keep the origin story - which we've already seen - pretty brief and get right into the meat of the storytelling. Though it will share continuity with the X-Men films and has Matthew Vaughn on-board to produce, count me concerned for this one.