New photos of the "Fantastic Four" reboot were recently revealed and they included clear images of The Thing.
The character was played by Michael Chiklis in the first and second movie, but now Jamie Bell will be taking over the role of Ben Grimm. Compared to Tim Story's movie, The Thing in Josh Trank's remake is bigger and more realistic.
According to Empire, the character's new look is a world away from the slightly rubbery suit that Chiklis wore in 2005 and 2007. The director of the new remake decided to take the motion-capture route. Bell had to wear dotted leotard suit to better impart the mannerisms and personality of the rocky-skinned Marvel hero.
"Jamie in real life is a tough guy," Trank told the website. "He exudes this strength. Ben is Reed's best friend in the archetypal, spiritual way, and you want that character to have that warmth and that strength."
During an interview with AOL (via Comic Book), the 29-year-old actor shared his experience in shooting "Fantastic Four" using motion-capture.
"Obviously I'm not made of rocks and obviously I'm not 6 foot 8!" he said. "It's about capturing the essence of a human being inside of that character when he is transformed and you do that through motion capture."
Thankfully, Jamie Bell got some lessons from a motion-capture superstar. "It's a technique that my friend Andy Serkis has very much spearheaded -- he is the guru of performance capture," he said. "I've been lucky to work with him three or four times actually, so I very much consider him my mentor."
Some people were surprised when the skinny English actor was chosen to portray the buffed superhero. Jamie Bell gained fame for his role in the 2000 dance drama "Billy Elliot" where he bagged the "Best Actor in a Leading Role" in BAFTA.
"I think people were kind of confused when I was cast, but this is very much an origin story of these characters," he explained. "I haven't seen the film yet. I'm very excited to see it, but what I can tell you is just from the making of the film and the journey that we've been on with it, it's very much an experience, it really is. I'm very flattered and humbled to be a part of it."
"Fantastic Four" will hit the theaters on Aug. 7, 2015 and also stars Miles Teller as Mr. Fantastic, Kate Mara as Invisible Woman, and Michael B. Jordan as The Human Torch.
