The Thing’s Big Moment May Have Been Cut From Fantastic Four For Extremely Silly Reasons

Following Fantastic Four‘s release, Entertainment Weekly has cobbled together a description of a clobberin’ scene that was cut from the movie. (Spoilers to follow, I guess.)

EW’s sources explain that the scene would have seen The Thing invading a Chechen rebel camp at night:

The storytelling goal was to show the futility of firepower against him as he casually demolishes the terrorists. It’s a blue-collar kind of heroism.

When it becomes clear this rock-beast cannot be stopped, the surviving Chechen rebels make a run for it – and that’s when a hail of gunfire finishes them off. … From the shadows of the surrounding forest, a team of Navy SEALS emerge with their guns drawn and smoking. The cavalry has arrived, but the enemy has already been subdued.

The film would then have shifted to a bird’s-eye view of the camp, an aerial shot showing waves of American soldiers flooding in to secure the base. Just when it appears the American soldiers may be ready to clash with the rock monster, The Thing gives them a solemn nod, and they clear a path. He lumbers past them, almost sadly, a heartsick warrior. Then he boards a large helicopter and is lifted away.

EW’s insiders reportedly disagree on why the scene didn’t make it into the final cut, but some of them contend that it was because the section was inexplicably shot in documentary hand-held style (similar to Trank’s last film, the found-footage movie Chronicle).

Late in production, when Fox executives realized they had a comic-book movie in dire need of action, sources sympathetic to Trank say they agreed to finance the scene – but Trank was not allowed to participate in the filming. As a result, the crew returned with footage shot in documentary hand-held style – which didn’t match the previsualization, or the planned digital effects, and also clashed with the visual style of the rest of the movie.

I hope all set gossip that leaks from now on is less “Miles Teller is a jerk” and more “this isn’t handheld/mockumentary/Chronicle 2? Craaaaaaaap.”

(via Uproxx)

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