Marvel keeps details about upcoming films close to the vest, but onJimmy Kimmel Live,Emmy winnerEbon Moss-Bachrachlet some details slip.The Bearstar is the newest actor to portray Ben Grimm AKA The Thing ofFantastic Fourfame. This will be the team’s third time making it to a feature film – not counting the ill-fatedRoger Cormonattempt – but the first time for the united Marvel canon underKevin Feige. Moss-Bachrach rightfully didn’t give too much away but gave credit where credit is due. As The Thing, the actor is required to undergo motion capture to bring the expansive character to life, and there is one person he wants to acknowledge.
“Andy Serkis, who is sort of the godfather of motion capture in a way, he has this company called The Imaginarium, which is at Pinewood Studio where we shotFantastic Four, and he was very generous,” Moss-Bachrach said on the show. Serkis has become a director in his own right but made motion capture an art form. Thanks to him, fans will never forget the wailing and sneaking rendition of Gollum inLord of the Rings. Debuting in 2001, the fantasy trilogy pioneered technology of the time which Serkis utilized as the iconic character. His contribution to motion capture didn’t stop there, as he would also star inMatt Reeves’Planet of the Apesseries as Caesar, the steadfast leader of the ape resistance. Support from Serkis bodes well for the franchise that has struggled with its live-action adaptations.
‘Fantastic Four’ Is On the Right Track
Ebon Moss-Bachrach detailed as much of his The Thing experienceas he could without angering the Marvel overlords. He went on to describe onJimmy Kimmelthat Andy Serkis’ studio allowed him to test out The Thing technology to see how the character might appear onscreen. Moss-Bachrach put on the motion capture suit in a room called the Magic Mirror where he could test out how the character.
“You can see in real-time a rendering, you know a kind of beta, rendering – not fully realized,” Moss-Bachrach explained. Though the mock-up of what The Thing would look like wasn’t fully complete, the actor teased that he tried the trademark line of the character that many hope will make it to the final cut of the film. The formerPunisheractor wasn’t sure if “It’s clobberin’ time!” will get its time in the film, but he tested his delivery of the line while in the motion capture suit. Any more information about theFantastic Four film will likely not be available until the highly anticipated Marvel film makes it to the big screen. Viewers can see theFantastic Four in their MCU debuton July 29, 2025.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
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