Spider-Man’s director is out, WandaVision’s director is in. Matt Shakman, best known for directing the hit Marvel Studios show, is apparently the company’s new choice to direct its upcoming Fantastic Four film, which will be out November 8, 2024 as the first film in Phase Six. He’s currently in talks to take the job.
Deadline confirmed the news, which was first revealed in a rumor report from The Direct. Apparently, the deal isn’t signed, sealed, and delivered yet but “early discussions have begun and that things are headed in the right direction,” according to the trade.
When the fact Marvel Studios was going to make a Fantastic Four movie was first announced back in December 2020, it was Jon Watts, director of the Tom Holland Spider-Man trilogy, who was attached to direct. And that was the case until April of this year when Watts left the project. A move that, we now know, was in some part so he could go make a brand new Star Wars show called Skeleton Crew. The search for a new director began, especially after the film was given a release date at San Diego Comic-Con, and Deadline reports that while several people were considered, Shakman always had a leg up due to his handling of a similar family dynamic on WandaVision. (Among the others considered, according to The Hollywood Reporter, were Love and Monsters director Michael Matthews and Dog’s Reid Carolin with the ultimate decision coming down to Matthews and Shakman.)
And while Shakman’s work on WandaVision, as well as It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Game of Thrones, Succession, and more, all show his penchant for directing ensemble pieces, one question remains (about Shakman... there are about a billion questions about Fantastic Four itself). What now happens with his Star Trek movie? He is attached to direct a new Star Trek movie out Christmas of 2023 bringing back the cast from the J.J. Abrams and Justin Lin series. Is that dead? Is someone new coming in? We’ll let you know when we do.
If and when Shakman does sign onto Fantastic Four though, and all signs are that he will, the next big question will be casting. Is John Krasinski actually going to be Reed Richards? If so, does that make Emily Blunt Sue Storm? And with its November 2024 release date, how does that story fit into the overall Multiverse Saga ending the following year with Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars? Tell us your thoughts below.
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