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Google PlayWandaVision director Matt Shakman is reportedly in talks to direct Marvel’s long-awaited Fantastic Four film after Jon Watts stepped down from the role.
Deadline reports that Shakman is in talks with Marvel Studios for its Fantastic Four film, which lost Spider-Man: No Way Home director earlier this year. While the search for a replacement was originally expected to go on until the end of the year, Shakman has emerged as the frontrunner for the project due to his acclaimed work on all nine episodes of WandaVision, Marvel’s first Marvel Cinematic Universe-based Disney+ series.
Fans have been hoping to see Fantastic Four join the MCU ever since Disney announced its plans to acquire 21st Century Fox, who owned the movie rights to the franchise and X-Men, in 2017. Fantastic Four was finally confirmed at Comic-Con last month, where Marvel revealed it will kick off MCU’s Phase 6 on November 8, 2024.
Aside from WandaVision, Shakman has also directed 43 episodes of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, two episodes of Game of Thrones, and a handful of one-off jobs for shows like The Boys and Succession. He was attached to direct a new Star Trek movie for Paramount, but he’s since dropped out of the project due to scheduling issues.
“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 Pictures said in a statement, per The Hollywood Reporter. “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 the world.” The movie is planned to be a fourth in the Chris Pine-led series, after Paramount decided against rebooting the series.
