The Fantastic Four has never had it easy. Since its announcement five years ago, it's been a long, bumpy road for 20th Century Fox's reboot, and it seems like that road just got a little longer. Fox just announced that the film has been delayed from its original release date in June 2015 to mid-August 2015.
No reason was given for the delay, though it's important to note that this is the same slot in which Guardians of the Galaxy premiered at earlier this year, so it's likely that Fox is hoping to capitalize on the same audience with this new release date. Sony's horror-comedy Goosebumps is now The Fantastic Four's primary competition, though the summer of 2015 is already full of Marvel movies. Avengers: Age of Ultron is set for release in May, while Ant-Man is due in mid-July. Whether or not movie-goers will be tired of comic book blockbusters has yet to be seen.
Aug. 17 was previously reserved for the Assassin's Creed adaptation, and that film will likely be pushed into 2016 as a result.
The Fantastic Four reboot was announced back in 2009, only two years after Rise of the Silver Surfer was released. Post-announcement, there was very little news out of the studio for almost three years. In 2012, Josh Trank of Chronicle fame was attached to direct, and casting began in May of this year. Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, the Human Torch and the Thing will all be played by Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Bell, respectively.
The Fantastic Four will be Fox's second attempt at bringing the team to the big screen. The film is a reboot of the 2005 film series, which the studio also produced. The original film and its sequel both did terribly with critics and audiences alike, with Rise of the Silver Surfer currently sitting at a 37% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Hopefully, this new incarnation of the team will prove to be more successful than its predecessor. The Fantastic Four is set for release on Aug. 7, 2015.
