Marvel fans (and superhero fans in general) are rejoicing at the news Disney reached an agreement to purchase 21st Century Fox’s movie properties, brining nearly all the Marvel characters under one roof. And it’s not just fans who are excited. The OG Ben Grimm weighed in on Twitter:
Could it be clobberin time? #Disney #FantasticFour pic.twitter.com/J8E2loLp38
— Michael Chiklis (@MichaelChiklis) December 14, 2017
But any idea of getting the band back together is going to be a tough proposition for an already-crowded universe. But who knows, third time could be the charm for F4. If it did, there’s no telling if Marvel would use either of the previous incarnation cast members.
But if Chiklis is called up to reprise his role, Disney might want to consider what happened in his first go at portraying The Thing.
Jamie Bell got the benefit of CGI in the 2015 film, but Chiklis told an audience at Denver Comic Con that his suit in the first movie was awful. It was so bad, Chiklis admitted it was the only job “I almost quit after the first day.” Not surprising, since he needed to endure the 60 pound latex suit for six months of filming. It was so bad, in fact, he even talked to a therapist about coping mechanisms.
Relating the “personal hell” he went through in the suit, Chiklis pointed out “it was this thing [great pun] that they had designed, not thinking of a human being. They were thinking of the way it looked. There wasn’t even a zipper, folks. Seriously. Twelve hours.” That’s enough for us to stop complaining about how far the bathroom is from our desks.
Even scenes when he had a beer with Chris Evans’ Johnny Storm was an ordeal.
When he balked at doing Rise of the Silver Surfer, there was speculation that a pay dispute was to blame. But Chiklis says it was all about the suit, signing on only after it had been re-engineered to not be a personal sweatbox for the actor.
It was even an isolating experience. Since his mobility was severely limited, Chiklis had to lay on a slanted board to get off his feet. Most of the other actors would spend time between scenes chatting, but it was Julian McMahon, the evil Dr. Doom, who would come sit with Chiklis during breaks in the filming. Guess he’s not so bad after all.
Check out the whole story, straight from Michael Chiklis, below.
If Disney reboots Fantastic Four again, who should play The Thing and should they use CGI or a suit? Tell us in the comments!
