FANTASTIC FOUR and DEADPOOL: Studios Should Pay Attention to How Fox is Changing Movie Marketing



A Daily SuperHero Editorial.

It's time to pay attention to 20th Century Fox and how they have been promoting and marketing their DEADPOOL and FANTASTIC FOUR movies. They are changing what has been normal and becoming quite boring marketing habits for comic book movies and flipped it on its head.

Normal is the release of dozens of images, trailers, television spots and movie clips. In fact, there are many in the genre fan base (including this guy) who are sick of the excessive release of footage straight from a movie and in some cases spoiling in advance what could have been a much better reveal left for your theater seat. (Cough, cough... Marvel's Falcon... cough, cough.)

Fox has taken a somewhat new approach with FANTASTIC FOUR and especially with DEADPOOL marketing. While I would love to see more Doom in any of the FANTASTIC FOUR trailers, TV spots or clips Fox hasn't budged in keeping the villain a secret and hidden away until it releases. Even actor Toby Kebbell hasn't said but a few small things about Doom to the media. This has created a mystery, at least for me, that has me interested in the portrayal of the villain.

There has been no reveal showing Doom in full force. Just teases. Teases that has me still intrigued at the possibility of this movie being a bigger success than the other part of me which thinks it will flop. Doom is the X-Factor for the success of the reboot... in my humble opinion... and Fox has kept my interest in seeing him on the big screen.

Fox is also changing movie marketing with DEADPOOL. Obviously, this is a movie that is an anomaly on many levels. From its outlandish leading character, to its R-rated content, to it being so meta that Deadpool acknowledges he knows he is in a super hero movie. This isn't your standard issue Marvel Studios or Warner Bros. comic book movie release. 

DEADPOOL could be changing and bending the genre in a good way because of its more mature content and it is definitely changing how studios should look at promoting its upcoming movies. Whether it's revealing Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool costume in a seduction pose in front of a fireplace, or releasing an image of Deadpool delivering a baby on Mother's Day, or a photo of Deapdool on the side of the I-5 hoping to catch a ride to San Diego Comic-Con. All of these marketing teases are so much better than the standard issue movie scene image released in anticipation of a film.

In fact, Marvel Studios should consider releasing the first image of Captain America in Civil War shining his shield and preparing for battle. Or of Tony Stark taking his newest Iron Man suit through a car wash. The point is to create a unique image to promote the movie instead of what is pretty much a screenshot from the movie. (Of course release some imagery straight from the movie, too, but mix it up a bit more.)

Same goes for Warner Bros., but it needs to be stated how director Zack Snyder kind of did this with the first reveal of Batman and the Batmobile using photos taken inside a Detroit warehouse. Those images weren't from BATMAN V. SUPERMAN scenes and it was nice to see the Batmobile just parked in a warehouse with a cover partially concealing it.

I may be hard on Fox for FANTASTIC FOUR recently, but sometimes it has to be done because not everything can (or should) be all fluff and pampering to get a studio to hopefully respect your website. However, I do applaud Fox for what really seems like a valid effort to market their FANTASTIC FOUR and DEADPOOL movies in a different way than competing studios have done it. 

Fingers crossed this continues with X-MEN: APOCALYPSE because director Bryan Singer has already broke down many barriers by posting behind the scenes photos of his recent X-Men movies on social media. Fans love those teases that are not the same and quickly becoming stale marketing efforts seen for many years.