Actors in CGI-driven movies have traditionally a tennis ball as a scene partner, but “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” took things one step (ahem) further by using an actual rock to take the place of The Thing. And its name was Jennifer.
“We went out to the desert and found a rock that looked exactly how we thought The Thing should look,” director Matt Shakman told Empire in an interview published on Monday. “And we filmed it in every single shot that The Thing appears in in the movie, under every lighting environment.”
“The Bear” Emmy winner Ebon Moss-Bachrach portrays the rock-like superhero, aka Ben Grimm, and told the outlet he had to trust that the final result would be “so much cooler.”
“It’s a little bit heady to think about all the hundreds of people that are helping animate this character. I just had faith that they would make my performance so much cooler. I’m very, very happy with the way Ben looks,” he said
Moss-Bachrach said he felt a connection to The Thing since they’re both from New York. “He’s a Lower East Side guy,” the actor said. He explained that Jack Kirby created the character as an homage to his father. “That, to me, is very meaningful,” he said.
“The Fantastic Four: Final Steps” co-stars Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman and Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/The Human Torch. The cast also features John Malkovich, Natasha Lyonne and Paul Walter Hauser.
The film opens in theaters July 25.
The post ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Used a Rock Named Jennifer as a Stand-In for The Thing appeared first on TheWrap.