Fans were understandably crushed in the spring when they learned that Spider-Man: No Way Home filmmaker Jon Watts would not be returning to helm the much-talked-about Fantastic Four film. There was no question in my mind about bringing back the director to lead a Fantastic Four feature after his most recent outing with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man franchise was a critical and commercial success.
After Watts’ resignation, we’ve been curious as to who Marvel would bring on to continue developing the superhero film. Okay, good news: it looks like WandaVision director Matt Shakman has agreed to helm the project. Yes, the Fantastic Four movie will have the creative input of the guy responsible for the critically acclaimed Disney+ and Marvel series. Deadline says negotiations are underway, but it appears that Marvel president Kevin Feige has settled on Shakman. After the phenomenal success of WandaVision, for which Shakman received an Emmy nomination for Best Director and the series received numerous more Emmy nominations, he is an obvious choice to direct Fantastic Four and ensure its popularity on par with the streamer’s shows.
At this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, Feige answered the burning question of Marvel fans everywhere by announcing that the Fantastic Four movie will serve the MCU as the Phase 6 kick-off, arriving in theatres on November 8, 2024. Several previous films focusing on the heroic quartet have already been released, so this won’t be the first time their story is told on the big screen. The 2005 film directed by Tim Story and starring Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, and Michael Chiklis stands out. The story would also support Fantastic Four 2: Rise of the Silver Surfer, which was released in 2007.
Fantastic Four (FANT4STIC), directed by Josh Trank and starring Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara, and Jamie Bell, was a smash hit with moviegoers in 2015. Although the original film’s failure meant that a sequel was planned for this adaptation as well, it was never completed. It appears like Marvel is moving on with full force in an effort to repair the damage done by its prior Fantastic Four adaptations. The addition of Shakman’s name suggests that Marvel is taking their next attempt at turning the Fantastic Four into a box office smash very seriously.