The Marvel Cinematic Universe phase six will kick-off on November 8, 2024 with the release of the Fantastic Four and up until now there was a vacancy at director. This has now changed.
It has been revealed Matt Shakman will direct the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot. Shakman is known for his directing of WandaVision, the first MCU television show to hit Disney+ in 2021. He as also directed episodes of The Great, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Fargo, and Game of Thrones. The WandaVision director was schedule too direct the 2023 Star Trek film, but has opted to work with Marvel instead. Paramount confirmed this saying “the timing didn’t align” for Shakman.
“Matt Shakman is an incredibly talented filmmaker, and we regret the timing didn’t align for him to direct our upcoming Star Trek film,” Paramount said. “We are grateful for his many contributions, are excited about the creative vision of this next chapter and look forward to bringing it to audiences all around world.”
Fantastic Four was originally set to be directed by Jon Watts known for his work as director on Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and Spider-Man: No Way Home. Watts is the creator and showrunner of the upcoming Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Disney+ series. Word is that Watts wanted to take a break from the world of superhero films.
Kevin Feige, President at Marvel Studios and Chief Creative Officer at Marvel, has noted the Fantastic Four film will not be an origin story like it’s two prior films under the 20th Century Fox banner. Little else is known about the film other than it will be part of the sixth phase and release in November 2024.
Shakman will use his success on WandaVision to bring a new feel to the reboot of Fantastic Four and regain the superhero team’s credit.
