At this point, leaks coming out of a comic book movie are commonplace.

Someone might find a set from Batman v. Superman, or some documents get out revealing that Spider-Man is headed back to Marvel Studios.

Without these leaks, fans would have almost nothing to go on - that's not to say that sneaking onto a highly-guarded set to snap a few blurry photos is worth it, but it does show just how little these studios are actually releasing.

Case in point: aside from a single teaser trailer, 20th Century Fox has yet to release any official images of the Fantastic Four reboot's Thing.

Ben Grimm is an integral part of the team, and yet, fans have yet to see his powered-up form.

The only hint that fans have gotten is a blurry, washed-out Instagram shot of a billboard in another country.

Thankfully, that's about to change: Empire just posted the first official stills featuring the powered-up Thing:

Let's be honest: the Thing is looking pretty good.

There are a few occasions in which ditching the source material is the right call to make, and this is clearly one of those cases: the reboot's Thing still looks like the Thing from the comics, but there's no bright-orange coloring or giant rocky lips that made the character feel so fake in the 2005 version. Here, he looks like someone who turned to stone...it's a far cry from the squishy foam suit from the first Fantastic Four movies, that's for sure.

Fans have known for some time that the Thing would be rendered using motion capture and CGI, but few would have expected him to look this good. Granted, the character's not moving, which could make the use of CG obvious...but going on this still alone, the Thing looks fantastic. It's enough to make one think that there's someone's actually walking around in a giant rubber suit.

Empire also revealed a few more shots, though they're not quite as interesting as the Thing: the first shows the soon-to-be Fantastic Four after traveling to another dimension, while the second shows scientists observing Reed Richards (a.k.a. Mr. Fantastic) following the incident. They look great - the film's use of color may end up being one of its strongest aspects - but they're nothing compared to good ol' Ben Grimm.

For the first time in what seems like forever, Fantastic Four fans are actually getting some good news. The Thing was one of the weakest parts of the original films, and all things considered, it would have been easy to mess this version up as well. Thankfully, it looks like fans are finally going to see an on-screen rendition of the Thing that doesn't tear their childhood hopes and dreams apart.

That being said, it'll be some time before fans get to see the Thing on screen: Fantastic Four won't hit theaters until Aug. 7.

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