The Fantastic Four franchise built up some steam this summer with a much stronger sequel than its original outing. I’m not sure exactly what made the movie better, because it wasn’t specifically the addition of the titular Silver Surfer, but the story flowed better and the characters just seemed more likable. One of the nice things the movies have done is established how much of a family the Fantastic Four are. You have a husband and wife along with her brother and his best friend for your team. These people are close.
Well, families have babies and Jessica Alba is dropping hints that a little bundle of joy might be a new addition for a third film. In Fantastic Four lore that child is Franklin, who proves to be an incredibly powerful entity born to Reed and Sue Richards. Alba’s comment to the MTV Movie Blog about the team having to deal with a powerful child is consistent with that, at least, which is good for those who prefer the comic continuity, but not so good for those who were hoping to see a romantic bru-ha-ha between Reed and Namor, the Sub-Mariner.
More interesting than the plot for the third movie is the mention of one foe the Fantastic Four may not be able to defeat: time. Alba mentions the pending strike that Hollywood is building up against: ”…everyone’s freaking out - they’re cramming movies in. I’m not sure if [Fantastic Four] is one of those movies you can really cram.” Regardliess if it’s a movie that can be crammed, it’s not above studio producers to try. It’s actually good to hear that isn’t sounding like a possibility though. I’d hate to see the third movie ruin the impressive gain the second movie made for the franchise.
So, the third movie, whenever it happens, will feature a baby for the FF. This means Alba is going to have to actually stretch her acting abilities instead of her spandex costume. Who wants to take a stab at names? Fantastic Four: Birth of the Powerful One? Fantastic Four: Rise of the Placenta? Fantastic Four: At Least She’ll Be Able To Hide Her Stretch Marks?
