With two years still to go until it hits theaters, Marvel has confirmed the Fantastic Four director to be WandaVision's Matt Shakman. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the Fantastic Four marked the first family of superheroes in the comics, consisting of the stretchy Mister Fantastic, the stealthy Invisible Woman, the fiery Human Torch and the powerful The Thing. The Fantastic Four previously got the big screen treatment with two movies in the mid 2000s and the 2015 reboot, all of which scored generally negative reviews from critics and audiences alike.
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Development on a Marvel Cinematic Universe-set Fantastic Four movie has been in the works since 2019, with Spider-Man: No Way Home's Jon Watts originally being attached to direct. Watts would ultimately depart this past April, citing a fatigue from directing superhero films and expressing a desire to explore other avenues. As Marvel has forged ahead with their Fantastic Four reboot, they have now found a new filmmaker to take charge of the project.
As part of the studio's D23 Expo, in which Screen Rant was in attendance, Marvel officially announced the Fantastic Four director to be Matt Shakman, best known for his work helming the MCU's first Disney+ series WandaVision. Despite anticipation from audiences for a casting announcement, Marvel head Kevin Feige solely confirmed Shakman's involvement and said that further updates on the film would be coming in the near future. The MCU-set Fantastic Four reboot is currently slated for a November 2024 release date.
News of Shakman's confirmation as the Fantastic Four director comes just weeks after reports surfaced that the WandaVision director was in talks to reunite with Marvel for the movie reboot. While those who fell in love with his MCU show celebrated his return to the fold, others lamented the fact that his Fantastic Four position was pulling him away from directing Star Trek 4 for Paramount, citing scheduling issues in making the two films work. Given the latter film is scheduled to release nearly a year before the MCU title, it does leave one to wonder how far along in development Star Trek 4 actually was, as it's sat in development hell for seven years now.
Though the confirmation that Shakman will be the Fantastic Four director, some MCU fans have expressed their disappointment at the lack of a casting announcement for the titular group. Rumors had swirled in the lead up to D23 about possible names set to be announced for the MCU, including John Krasinski being confirmed to return as Mister Fantastic after his Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness cameo and Jodie Comer as a potential Sue Storm, among others. With Shakman now properly in the director's chair for the film, one can hope he and Marvel begin compiling their cast roster in the near future.