Yesterday, Eric Walkuski sat down to talk to Miles Teller about his latest film, WAR DOGS, from director Todd Phillips, and asked the actor a few questions in regards to a film he was promoting at this time last year; FANTASTIC FOUR. For those that need a recap, FANTASTIC FOUR, the Fox-produced adaptation of the Marvel property directed by Josh Trank, ended up being savaged by critics and fans, publicly derided by the director, and was ultimately a flop in every sense of the word, making just $56 million domestically. However, the one thing that stood out in the film was the cast, which included Teller, Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan, and Jamie Bell, all actors who could certainly rise to the occassion when given the right material.
That certainly had an effect on Teller, who told us that he'd return for another found of FANTASTIC FOUR if the opportunity presented itself.
"Yeah, for sure. I loved the cast, I loved the characters. I think it's such an interesting dynamic. I love how much they really need to rely on each other. This Avengers thing, they've kind of created their own Fantastic Four in a way, Marvel's first family. Their powers can't just exist on their own, you need Thor to do this, the Hulk to do his thing. So yeah, absolutely, I would do another one."
As for whether the critical reception, from both fans and critics, has soured him on the comic book movie genre, Teller points out that he always begins with the script and his performance in mind, with the rest falling in the hands of the director.
"Obviously you learn more as you go on; for me I've really enjoyed the fact that I've been able to work in pretty much every genre. There's a lot of different factors you're going to take into account. I think script is super important, and director. The director is going to be the most powerful person in terms of what that final product is. But shit, Whiplash was Damian's first feature, who would have known? I did that because of the script. I think certain things you can get sort of disenfranchised with a little bit. But I wouldn't change anything. I can honestly say I've never just done something for money; I'd be really embarrassed for something like that to come out, that I had no attachment to the character, no attachment to the script. It takes a while before you're only working with the best directors, nobody's career is flawless."
It's interesting to address this after the current critical reception of SUICIDE SQUAD, which is hitting almost a year later to the day from FANTASTIC FOUR. The biggest difference here is that fans have rallied behind SUICIDE SQUAD, making it a financial hit, while FANTASTIC FOUR had trouble making friends with fans, critics, or the box office. If you can't get at least one of those categories in your favor then you're pretty well screwed. All that said, Teller and the cast were the least of FF's problems and I certainly wouldn't mind them being given another shot, albeit with a vision and filmmaker that could lead them to a cohesive and worthy adaptation.
Teller will next be seen in WAR DOGS, out August 19th, and BLEED FOR THIS, which hits on November 23rd.