While I'm not sure that many would argue the previous Fantastic Four films were anything but disappointing from a sheer cinematic perspective (on the bright side, I'm sure they sold tons of merch to my nephews), 20th Century Fox still has future plans for the franchise with Fantastic Four Reborn. That said, Screen Rant is reporting today that the studio has made two announcements regarding the film's status:

- The Thing will be 100% CGI rather than using a practical effect suit like the one worn by Michael Chiklis in the previous installments.

- The reboot itself is on hold pending the completion of X-Men: First Class.

For more info on the announcements and why neither sounds like a terrible idea, hit the jump.

I must agree with Screen Rant in that, while a well-done practical effect, the suit Chiklis wore as The Thing in the previous films stood out like a sore thumb when juxtaposed with the CGI involved in creating a dude that can stretch, one who is on fire, and a girl who is invisible. As such, I feel as if there are worse decisions that could be made regarding the reboot (such as making it in the first place...but more on that below).

As for the news that Reborn is on hold until the studio finishes X-Men: First Class, this gives me hope that there is still time to cancel the project altogether. Honestly, shooting on First Class doesn't begin until September 21st of this year which gives the studio plenty of time to leave well enough alone and let the iconic superheroes live on in their native platform (and save me the trouble of hunting down the inevitably bad video game for my aforementioned family). Also, if worst comes to worst and the project is still a “go,” this means we won't have to see images relating to the film for the foreseeable future.

X-Men: First Class is currently slated for a June 3rd, 2011 release with Fantastic Four Reborn hopefully lying low for awhile.