After years of speculation, Marvel Studios finally revealed the MCU Fantastic Four. Playing the part of the “ever lovin’ blue-eyed Thing,” as Stan Lee often called him, is The Bear’s Ebon Moss-Bachrach. While on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the actor revealed a few tidbits about the highly anticipated Marvel film, which also stars Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby as Susan Storm, and Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm. You even get to hear him utter the Thing’s signature catchphrase “It’s clobberin’ time!” for the first time. You can watch the clip right here:
During the interview, Moss-Bachrach mentions his version of Benjamin J. Grimm will be motion capture, and not a practical suit. We’ve seen both practical and CGI versions of the iconic hero over the past 20 years. The Michael Chiklis Thing wore a practical suit for the 2005 version of Fantastic Four and its sequel. The 2015 version of the character, played by Jamie Bell, was all CGI. Neither version was entirely successful. But given how great Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk was in the Avengers films, we expect similar results for the Thing.
Ebon Moss-Bachrach also name drops Yancy Street, confirming this part of Ben Grimm’s backstory will remain in the new film. In the comics, Yancy Street is the rough and tumble, fictional Lower East Side of New York neighborhood the Thing hails from. Essentially, it’s a fictionalized version of Delancey Street. When self-proclaimed Marvel nerd Jimmy Kimmel pressed the actor about the announcement image, which indicates the movie might be set in the ’60s, Moss-Bachrach played coy. He said, “Yes it does seem to be ’60s themed.” Based on just these little hints, we think Matt Shakman’s Fantastic Four might be the most comic book-accurate adaptation about the family yet.