Fantastic Four"s Best Live-Action Thing Design Shows A Major MCU Challenge For 1 Key Character
Summary
Including the unreleased Fantastic Four movie of the 1990s, there have been three iterations of the titular heroes in live-action movies. 2007's Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer is largely believed to be the best among them, despite earning relatively poor reviews. Praise leveled at the movie concerned its family-friendly frivolity and chemistry between its characters. Yet it also holds another accolade regarding the contentious issue of how the instantly recognizable Ben Grimm should be depicted in the MCU timeline.
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Related Every Fantastic Four Movie Ranked, Worst To Best The Fantastic Four has starred in four movies, three of them origin stories, and two of them reboots. Here's which FF movie is actually the best. The Thing's Best Live-Action Design Highlights A Problem For The MCU Close Appearances of Ben Grimm/The Thing
Release Date
Practical Suit/Motion Capture
The Fantastic Four
1994
Practical Suit
Fantastic Four
2005
Practical Suit
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
2007
Practical Suit
Fantastic Four
2015
Motion Capture
The Fantastic Four
2025
Motion Capture (reportedly)
2005's Fantastic Four contains the best live-action rendition of the Thing to date. In fact, Michael Chiklis' Ben Grimm may be the best live-action depiction of any Fantastic Four member. This is thanks in no small part to the strikingly memorable design of the Thing - though the way that 2015's Fantastic Four fumbled his design to such an extent that he looked worse than his co-stars shows that his overall appearance isn't a surefire win.
Regardless, Chiklis' appearances across the two movies afforded him a greater opportunity to act - even only with his eyes - which is an important factor when dealing with the tortured character of Ben Grimm. His practical suit was certainly the favorable option at a time when convincing CGI was still finding its feet, and its almost cartoonish appearance matched the family-friendly tone of the movie. This poses a challenge to the MCU, however, as the best iteration of the Thing doesn't marry with its typical MO.
The MCU is in the habit of favoring motion capture, especially with characters as large and unusual as the Thing. A person needs only look at Thor: Ragnarok to see how the studio handled a similar character in Korg and presume that the MCU will likely attempt something similar with Ebon Moss-Bachrach's Thing. This, at least, is something that the actor would seem to prefer.
What Ebon Moss-Bachrach Has Said About The MCU's The Thing Design![]()
Ebon Moss-Bachrach was revealed to be portraying the iconic Ben Grimm in February 2024. Shortly thereafter, he was asked about how the studio intends to portray the Thing in live-action, to which Moss-Bachrach responded it was likely going to be "mostly performance captured - motion capture, performance capture." This, he asserts, is a good thing, confessing that he believed practical suits look more amateur when compared to the visual feats that modern movies can now accomplish.
Why The MCU Thing Ideally Shouldn't Be All CGI Or Practical Effects![]()
In the context of the MCU, depicting the Thing entirely through practical effects would be jarring when characters like Korg and Hulk (which the Thing is arguably an amalgam of) have already set a precedent. While the MCU is not impervious to bad CGI, its track record of convincingly conveying characters via this method outshines the handful of missteps. Besides, the same fate could easily befall a practical suit that is suboptimally made, as it becomes just as distracting as MODOK's giant CGI head, suggesting the best route might combine the two approaches.
Additionally, one of the main criticisms leveled against Jamie Bell's portrayal of Ben Grimm concerned his overall, distinctly suit-less design more than the CGI in which he was rendered.
To avoid looking hammy, a convincing practical suit would require a vast amount of resources, including the time and effort of the creators and wearer of the suit. Chiklis himself compared wearing his Thing costume for hours on end to being in "the seventh circle of hell but in a good way." Despite his positive addendum, his comments highlight how much of a toll a practical suit takes on those working on it (or in it), making it hard to justify taking this route in Fantastic Four two decades later, and further suggesting a middle road may be preferable.
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The Fantastic Four (2025) Marvel's Fantastic Four is the first MCU movie to feature Marvel's First Family in the same live-action universe as the Avengers. It introduces the Marvel Cinematic Universe's version of Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Ben Grimm, and Johnny Storm, and precedes Phase 6's Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars.
Director Matt Shakman Release Date July 25, 2025 Studio(s) Marvel Studios Distributor(s) Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Writers Josh Friedman , Jeff Kaplan , Ian Springer Cast Pedro Pascal , Vanessa Kirby , Ebon Moss-Bachrach , Joseph Quinn
[圖擷取自網路，如有疑問請私訊]
- Marvel's MCU Fantastic Four movie faces pressure to accurately depict the Thing after past failed attempts.
- Practical suits and motion capture have been used to portray the Thing, with mixed success.
- The MCU may lean towards motion capture for the Thing, despite actor Ebon Moss-Bachrach's preference for it.
Including the unreleased Fantastic Four movie of the 1990s, there have been three iterations of the titular heroes in live-action movies. 2007's Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer is largely believed to be the best among them, despite earning relatively poor reviews. Praise leveled at the movie concerned its family-friendly frivolity and chemistry between its characters. Yet it also holds another accolade regarding the contentious issue of how the instantly recognizable Ben Grimm should be depicted in the MCU timeline.
Related Every Fantastic Four Movie Ranked, Worst To Best The Fantastic Four has starred in four movies, three of them origin stories, and two of them reboots. Here's which FF movie is actually the best. The Thing's Best Live-Action Design Highlights A Problem For The MCU Close Appearances of Ben Grimm/The Thing Release Date
Practical Suit/Motion Capture
The Fantastic Four
1994
Practical Suit
Fantastic Four
2005
Practical Suit
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
2007
Practical Suit
Fantastic Four
2015
Motion Capture
The Fantastic Four
2025
Motion Capture (reportedly)
2005's Fantastic Four contains the best live-action rendition of the Thing to date. In fact, Michael Chiklis' Ben Grimm may be the best live-action depiction of any Fantastic Four member. This is thanks in no small part to the strikingly memorable design of the Thing - though the way that 2015's Fantastic Four fumbled his design to such an extent that he looked worse than his co-stars shows that his overall appearance isn't a surefire win.
Regardless, Chiklis' appearances across the two movies afforded him a greater opportunity to act - even only with his eyes - which is an important factor when dealing with the tortured character of Ben Grimm. His practical suit was certainly the favorable option at a time when convincing CGI was still finding its feet, and its almost cartoonish appearance matched the family-friendly tone of the movie. This poses a challenge to the MCU, however, as the best iteration of the Thing doesn't marry with its typical MO.
The MCU is in the habit of favoring motion capture, especially with characters as large and unusual as the Thing. A person needs only look at Thor: Ragnarok to see how the studio handled a similar character in Korg and presume that the MCU will likely attempt something similar with Ebon Moss-Bachrach's Thing. This, at least, is something that the actor would seem to prefer.
What Ebon Moss-Bachrach Has Said About The MCU's The Thing Design
Ebon Moss-Bachrach was revealed to be portraying the iconic Ben Grimm in February 2024. Shortly thereafter, he was asked about how the studio intends to portray the Thing in live-action, to which Moss-Bachrach responded it was likely going to be "mostly performance captured - motion capture, performance capture." This, he asserts, is a good thing, confessing that he believed practical suits look more amateur when compared to the visual feats that modern movies can now accomplish. "We’re past that, I think it’s a little kind of cosplay kind of, you know, it’s a little amateur, that stuff, now with the technology we have."Ebon Moss-Bachrach's practical effects opinions have caused some controversy, especially in light of modern evidence to the contrary. Standout examples of practical effects working well with MCU characters include Drax the Destroyer and Nebula. With that being said, it is also hard to ignore the fact that when Marvel depicts a character through motion capture CGI, it succeeds a lot more than it fails. Furthermore, Drax and Nebula's character designs are arguably much less extravagant than the Thing, whose hulking form is composed entirely of a rock-like hide.
Why The MCU Thing Ideally Shouldn't Be All CGI Or Practical Effects
In the context of the MCU, depicting the Thing entirely through practical effects would be jarring when characters like Korg and Hulk (which the Thing is arguably an amalgam of) have already set a precedent. While the MCU is not impervious to bad CGI, its track record of convincingly conveying characters via this method outshines the handful of missteps. Besides, the same fate could easily befall a practical suit that is suboptimally made, as it becomes just as distracting as MODOK's giant CGI head, suggesting the best route might combine the two approaches. Additionally, one of the main criticisms leveled against Jamie Bell's portrayal of Ben Grimm concerned his overall, distinctly suit-less design more than the CGI in which he was rendered.
To avoid looking hammy, a convincing practical suit would require a vast amount of resources, including the time and effort of the creators and wearer of the suit. Chiklis himself compared wearing his Thing costume for hours on end to being in "the seventh circle of hell but in a good way." Despite his positive addendum, his comments highlight how much of a toll a practical suit takes on those working on it (or in it), making it hard to justify taking this route in Fantastic Four two decades later, and further suggesting a middle road may be preferable.
The Fantastic Four (2025) Marvel's Fantastic Four is the first MCU movie to feature Marvel's First Family in the same live-action universe as the Avengers. It introduces the Marvel Cinematic Universe's version of Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Ben Grimm, and Johnny Storm, and precedes Phase 6's Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars.Director Matt Shakman Release Date July 25, 2025 Studio(s) Marvel Studios Distributor(s) Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Writers Josh Friedman , Jeff Kaplan , Ian Springer Cast Pedro Pascal , Vanessa Kirby , Ebon Moss-Bachrach , Joseph Quinn
[圖擷取自網路，如有疑問請私訊]
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