The Thing, also known as Ben Grimm in the Fantastic Four: First Steps, is a fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers rather than the Yankees, as portrayed in the comics.
That is what the film’s director, Matt Shakman, confirmed in an interview with Brandon Davis. He said he took the idea to Jack Kirby’s son, whose father co-created the quartet, to reflect the character’s true spirit.
Ben, in the comics, grew up in a fictional area, Yancy Street, which is a nod to New York’s Lower East Side. But the Dodgers in the real world moved to Los Angeles in 1957.
However, the filmmaker said, “In this universe … the Dodgers don’t go to LA in the comics they made him a Yankees fan — and it didn’t sit right with me.”
In other news, Ioan Gruffudd, who played Richard Reeds in the original Fantastic Four, looked back at how a third installment in his franchise did not get made.
“The mindset was that we were going to do three. I think the second movie was equally successful as the first and equally enjoyable for the fans,” he told Vulture.
“I particularly loved working with Doug Jones [as the Silver Surfer] on that movie, who’s just a terrific artist and an expert in the field of movement,” the 51-year-old continued.
“If you want to witness somebody bringing a character to life physically, he’s just untouchable. So there was definitely that sort of momentum, and the plan was to do three movies, but these decisions are beyond my control,” Ioan concluded.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is playing in cinemas.