As we move through 2013, fans are still waiting to hear any word on the film, “Silver Surfer.” There was a rumor it would happen and then we get news the movie is no longer in production or in talks as a future feature.
Last summer, director Alex Proyas announced he would not work on the project, saying he would never work with Fox studios again.
After the report from Proyas, news from Fox studios is that it is going to move forward with the “Fantastic Four” reboot. A new cast has been chosen for the reboot, so where does that leave the “Silver Surfer” spin-off movie once the Silver Surfer has been introduced?
J. Michael Straczynski is the writer for the “Fantastic Four” reboot project and he recently reported that the idea of the “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer” has not been received well. This puts a hold on the “Silver Surfer” character for a while.
The script has been written for some time. Fox holds the script and even though it is complete, it is intertwined with the “Fantastic Four” film. To create a spin-off character movie of “Silver Surfer,” the script would have to have major changes worked in before they can consider production of the “Silver Surfer” movie.
Straczynksi states:
What happened was when FF2 did not do as well as they hoped it would do, it caused them to call into question a “Silver Surfer” movie. The script that I wrote picked up right where “FF2” left off. Therefore, if they do a “Silver Surfer” film down the road, it will have to be its own separate things. It was definitely adult fare. I wanted to tell the origin of the Surfer and get into that whole thing.
Straczynksi has recently backtracked on his words with an update. He claims his words were “taken out of context” and has released an “official” take on the “Silver Surfer” film:
When I was asked about the “Silver Surfer” script, I responded about the one I’d written around the time that “FF2” was launched and was designed to pick up where that one left off. When “FF2” didn’t do as well as hoped for, that script was set aside but that has nothing to do with the “Silver Surfer” script that is now under development at Fox with other folks. As far as I know, that is proceeding apace. So the hysteria that’s gripped the nets about “Oh, my God, the Surfer movie is dead!” is not correct, as I was again referring to only that one specific script tied into “FF2,” not what is being done now.
Even though Straczynski is not involved with the new script, the “Fantastic Four” franchise is pretty much dead. Why would a new “Silver Surfer” film come off with high income from box office sales when the franchise it’s linked to is not popular with fans?
The “Silver Surfer” character would be defined as a separate entity in the “Fantastic Four” reboot. If those films were more popular, at least more so than their first two attempts, then they could make the magic happen with a spin-off of the Surfer character.
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