Josh Trank says “his” version of Fantastic Four would have received great reviews

The just-released Fantastic Four movie was the result of an enormous number of people’s work, but Chronicle director Josh Trank’s name is the one at the top of the pile. And so it’ll likely be Trank who gets pilloried for the lackluster reviews the movie is already receiving, especially if they translate to weakness at the box office for Fox’s $120 million film.

That’s the sort of scenario that can probably get pretty frustrating, especially for a director transitioning from a handheld indie success to something with 10 times the budget, and a corresponding increase in studio pressure and control. So it’s not entirely surprising that Trank lashed out on Twitter today, saying, “A year ago I had a fantastic version of this. And it would’ve received great reviews. You’ll probably never see it. That’s reality, though.”

Trank didn’t point any fingers with his tweet—which he’s since promptly deleted—but it’s clear that he’s feeling frustrated with the final result of his efforts, which have been subject to rumors of on-set difficulties and necessary re-shoots for months. That stress might also shed some light on his (or possibly Disney’s) decision to have him step away from directing one of the standalone Star Wars films he was previously slated to helm. In any case, if Trank wants to get back to directing smaller, independent pictures, as he’s suggested in interviews, taking potshots at the studios is one way to ensure that that’s definitely what’ll happen.