'Fantastic Four' Movie Synopsis Teases 'Ultimate'-Style Origins

We've seen a full Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer already and some bits and pieces from Ant-Man, but next to nothing from 2015's other big superhero movie, Josh Trank's Fantastic Four. Really, the closest thing we've gotten to a teaser for the latter is a Punisher comic book that kills off a bunch of Fantastic Four cast member lookalikes.

However, we do know little more about the story now, thanks to a new plot summary that's been making the rounds. And as has been rumored, it diverges quite a bit from the team's classic origin story. Hit the jump to get the official Fantastic Four movie synopsis.

THE FANTASTIC FOUR, a contemporary re-imagining of Marvel's original and longest-running superhero team, centers on four young outsiders who teleport to an alternate and dangerous universe, which alters their physical form in shocking ways. Their lives irrevocably upended, the team must learn to harness their daunting new abilities and work together to save Earth from a former friend turned enemy.

In the original telling, the Fantastic Four gain powers after being exposed to cosmic rays in outer space. That said, the alternate universe explanation isn't without precedent. It's similar to their origins in the Ultimate Fantastic Four comics, and we already knew the Ultimates universe would be a major influence on the new movie.

Possibly more eyebrow-raising is the description of the leads as "four young outsiders." Maybe I'm reading too much into the word choice, but that makes it sound like they'll be weirdos and misfits like Dane DeHaan in Trank's Chronicle. While there's nothing wrong with weirdos and misfits per se, it doesn't quite jibe with their characterizations from the comics.

Then again, maybe it's not so strange because the characters are supposed to be younger than the more established adults from the original comics. Star Michael B. Jordan, who plays Johnny Storm, previously described the characters as follows: "We're more or less a bunch of kids that had an accident and we have disabilities now that we have to cope with, and try to find a life afterwards – try to be as normal as we can."

Fantastic Four also stars Miles Teller as Reed Richards, Kate Mara as Sue Storm, Jamie Bell as Ben Grimm, and Toby Kebbell as Victor Domashev (a.k.a. Doctor Doom). It hits theaters August 7, 2015.