It’s Official: ‘Fantastic Four’ Has a Rachel Zegler Problem
Hollywood stars learned little from ZeglerGate.
Rising star Rachel Zegler helped tank her Disney dud “Snow White” first by trashing the source material and, later, by alienating half the country.
Her comments got endless media attention, both of the Legacy and New Media variety. You couldn’t escape it. And none of it helped lure fans to see the live-action update.
It’s happening again, but worse.
The stars of “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” took a page from Zegler’s playbook. First, two of the four main stars disparaged the source material.
Joseph Quinn (AKA Johnny Storm) called the character a sexist in a press interview, assuring movie goers the new Johnny would be enlightened (dull?).
“He’s a man that leads with a lot of bravado, which can be an affront sometimes. But also he’s funny,” Quinn said of Johnny. “Myself and [Marvel Studios boss] Kevin [Feige] were speaking about previous iterations of him and where we are culturally. He was branded as this womanizing, devil-may-care guy, but is that sexy these days? I don’t think so.”
The eye-rolling from Comic-Con Nation began, and it kicked into a higher gear after The Invisible Woman, AKA Vanessa Kirby, took a stab at attacking the beloved comic book series.
“If you played an exact ’60s Sue today, everyone would think she was a bit of a doormat … So figuring out how to capture the essence of what she represented to each generation, where the gender politics were different, and embody that today, was one of the greatest joys of this.”
Here we woke again.
The comments didn’t catch fire like a certain Zegler quote, but they got plenty of attention from those already skeptical of Hollywood reimagining beloved properties. Casting a woman to play the Silver Surfer didn’t help.
Enter Pedro Pascal, the man who plays Reed Richards in the film.
The in-demand actor, currently starring in Season 2 of “The Last of Us,” unleashed both barrels in recent days. First, he donned a pro-trans T-shirt “Protect the Dolls” at the UK premiere of “Thunderbolts.” The actor’s sibling is trans and he’s been actively supporting that community for some time.
Wearing the shirt is a provocative statement. No one wishes harm to members of the trans community, or any community, for that matter. The debate over trans women in women’s sports, however, is legitimate. So is the argument against allowing children to endure so-called “gender affirming care.”
He wasn’t done.
The actor blasted author J.K. Rowling, a critic of trans women competing against biological women, as “heinous loser behavior” on Instagram.
He also called her comments “awful” and “disgusting.” The post upon which he commented called for a boycott of all things Rowling.
Pascal’s attacks went viral earlier today.
That will remind some of Pascal’s past comments regarding President Trump’s supporters. Pascal likened them to Nazis.
Even Zegler didn’t go that far.
“The Fantastic Four” film, debuting July 25, represents the third attempt to bring the Marvel Comics quartet to the big screen. The first effort (2005) eked out a sequel (2007) but few reflect fondly on the films. The glossier 2015 reboot starring Miles Teller bombed with audiences and critics alike.
This may be the last try at bringing The Thing and co. into the MCU. This kind of messaging from the film’s core players won’t help.
Zegler could have told them that if they would only listen.
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