Columbus fired from 2005 Fantastic Four for comic-faithful approach

Chris Columbus said he was removed from 20th Century Fox's 2005 Fantastic Four after pressing for a comic‑book‑faithful approach, a clash he says occurred decades ago and that ultimately helped push him away from the superhero genre. Speaking on the Fade to Black podcast while promoting his new Netflix film Thursday Murder Club, Columbus said he wrote an early draft in 1995, was set to produce the feature and was later told he was fired for having "too much of an opinion."

"We were in a weird situation," Columbus said. "I had worked on a script. There were a lot of writers involved. They were about to make a movie and I was producing it. I met with the director and had some ideas. I basically said, Some of this conceptual art should feel more like Jack Kirby, the creator of the Fantastic Four, and feel more like the Silver Age of Marvel." He added that on his drive home from that meeting, an executive at 20th Century Fox called to say, "You are fired. You had too much of an opinion." Columbus also said he retained an executive producer credit on the finished film but had no involvement once production began.

The 2005 Fantastic Four, directed by Tim Story and starring Ioan...