'Fantastic Four': How 'rocky' The Thing expressed emotions
What's the story
Ryan Meinerding, the head of visual development at Marvel Studios, has been instrumental in bringing Ben Grimm, aka The Thing, to life in the latest Marvel film Fantastic Four: First Steps. In an interview with Variety, he revealed that his journey with this character began in high school when he sketched him for the first time. Now, he has created 3,600 pieces of concept art for the film!
Character evolution
Meinerding's journey with The Thing
Meinerding has been with the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) since its inception, starting with Iron Man. He spoke about how Jack Kirby's initial sketch of The Thing influenced his design. "The idea of this weird-looking head shape with the huge brow, the tiny nose, the long, muzzle-like mouth...all those things he made work so well," Meinerding said.
Realism efforts
How he made The Thing as realistic as possible
Meinerding also discussed how he tried to make The Thing as realistic as possible. This included building a stand-in with real clothes and giant shoes, and finding actual rocks to use as color references for visual effects. "We went out to a few landscaping places and found decorative rocks," he said. "This one started with, 'How do I find something that's as grounded as real as possible to be the building blocks for him?'"
Teamwork
Emoting on a 'rock'; emphasis on teamwork
So, how was The Thing able to properly emote? Meinerding credited focusing on the superhero's eyebrows. "That eyebrow does everything. It makes him surprised, angry, or happy." He emphasized the importance of his team in this process. "I've been fortunate enough to have the most talented people around me who go from designing characters to doing key frames for big story moments," he said. The team has worked on various aspects, including Reed Richards's stretching powers and Sue Storm's invisibility.
Suit design
Design of the Fantastic Four suits
Meinerding also spoke about the design of the Fantastic Four suits. He and costume designer Alexandra Byrne decided to lean into the blue and white suits from the comics. "It was meant to feel a little bit friendlier and more earnest and not quite so contemporary in its coolness," he explained. The film stars Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Richards, Storm, Johnny Storm, and Grimm, respectively. It's running in theaters.