Marvel’s first family haven’t had the easiest time on the big-screen. After the release of Fantastic Four and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, 20th Century Fox decided to retool the franchise with a gritty reboot from Chronicle director Josh Trank. Fantastic Four starred Miles Teller as Mr. Fantastic, Michael B Jordan as Human Torch, Kate Mara as Invisible Woman, Jamie Bell as The Thing, and Toby Kebbell as Doctor Doom. It’s safe to say that the film didn’t receive the most glowing reception, even from its own director, but with Fantastic Four back in the hands of Marvel Studios, fans are hoping that the third time is the charm.
While speaking with Forbes, Toby Kebbell opened up about Fantastic Four, saying that no one set out to make a bad movie and that they were the victim of bad leadership.
You know, I’ll be entirely honest… I don’t think we were a victim of timing, I think we were a victim of bad leadership and organization. I actually thought people in charge —— I mean in charge, in charge, not people creating and working on set —— I think there were opportunities, there were conversations had, there were script differences, there was like, ‘Hey, you know, Simon (Kinberg, Fantastic Four producer and writer), this is actually factually true, this is important information…’ He’s like, ‘No, no, no. That’s not what this is.’
Toby Kebbell continued, “So there were unfortunate things. In Hollywood, you can’t ever speak ill and I’m not doing that, I’m just saying while I was there, there was a lot more that could have been done to make that a better thing.” The actor added that he truly believes that Doom is an awesome villain but that “they kind of always just do something goofy with it.” As the Marvel Cinematic Universe was already a juggernaut by that point, Toby Kebbell was confused why the effort to match them wasn’t put in.
With Spider-Man: No Way Home director Jon Watts set to helm the Fantastic Four’s introduction into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the stage is set to finally get these characters off on the right foot, and Toby Kebbell is hopeful that they’ll get Doctor Doom right this time as well. “So I hope, I truly hope, that someone does create a great version,” Kebbell said. “I’m a big fan of Doom as a character. He’s awesome. So, yeah. I hope they do it just right.” Toby Kebbell can currently be seen starring in the third season of M. Night Shyamalan’s Servant on Apple TV.