The Simpsons
scribe Don Payne is set to see his feature-length screenwriting debut, My Super Ex-Girlfriend,
bow later this summer, and it came at a price. “Unfortunately animated shows
don’t really have a hiatus, so I had to write it on my nights and
weekends,” he says. “I was actually able to do it pretty quickly — I just had
to ignore my responsibilities as a husband and father, which I’m sure I’ll pay
for when I’m divorced and my kids are in therapy.”

There are few projects for which Payne would gladly jump
through those same hoops, but the sequel to last year’s Fantastic Four is one of them,
so he might want to putting a therapist on retainer. With director Tim Story back
on board, Payne has been tabbed to tackle a script given an initial pass by
Mark Frost. “I’ve been reading Fantastic Four comics since I was a kid,” he
says, “and I’m intimately familiar with the characters and their history — as
are so many other fans out there. So I know their voices because I grew up with
them, and it’s just a thrill to be able to put words in their mouths.”

Having already riffed on and re-contextualized superhero
conventions for My Super
Ex-Girlfriend, Payne thinks he can jump back into more overt
action territory with Fantastic
Four 2, but he still sees the franchise’s appeal in its familial
roots, despite rumors of the sequel focusing on the Silver Surfer. “If I were to leak anything to you about the story, it would
be clobberin’ time for me,” says Payne. “But I think the Fantastic Four are actually
like the Simpsons in a lot of ways — they’re a uniquely dysfunctional,
squabbling family who, at the end of the day, has a real love for one
another.”

OK, as long as Sue Storm doesn’t start rocking a blue beehive
’do and The Thing doesn’t develop a beer gut…