‘Fantastic Four’ Star Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s Thing Will Be Motion Capture, Not a Suit: That’s a ‘Little Cosplay and Amateur Now’

Ebon Moss-Bachrach took to “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” to talk about his recent casting in Marvel’s upcoming “The Fantastic Four” film — revealing that his character Ben Grimm (aka the Thing) will be created using motion capture rather than a physical suit.

“In the past, I think they’ve done a suit. Michael Chiklis wore a suit that apparently was really uncomfortable, and it’s kind of… we’re past that,” Moss-Bachrach said. “It’s a little kind of cosplay, kind of amateur that kind of stuff now with the technology we have.”

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Kimmel also pressed Moss-Bachrach to confirm if the recent teaser poster released by Marvel — which unveiled Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards (aka Mr. Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm (aka the Invisible Woman), Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm (aka the Human Torch) and Moss-Bachrach as the Thing — meant that the film would be set in the 1960s.

To fans’ disappointment, Moss-Bachrach only quipped that the poster did, in fact, look like it was ’60s themed: “That image does seem to be ’60s themed.”

Though plot details remain scarce, in the comics, the Fantastic Four are astronauts who are remade into superheroes after they’re exposed to cosmic rays in space. Reed gains the ability to stretch his body to astonishing lengths; Sue, Reed’s girlfriend (and eventual wife), can manipulate light to become invisible and cast powerful forcefields; Johnny, Sue’s brother, can turn his body into fire, allowing him to fly; and Ben, Reed’s best friend, is transformed into a giant with orange boulders for a body, giving him super strength.

Matt Shakman (“WandaVision,” “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters”) will direct “Fantastic Four” from a screenplay written by Josh Friedman, Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer. “The Fantastic Four” is set to release in theaters July 25, 2025.

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