Fantastic Four finds director in WandaVision’s Matt Shakman, leaves Star Trek 4: report

The Fantastic Four found its director in Matt Shakman. According to Deadline, the WandaVision director is in preliminary talks to continue his partnership with Marvel Studios, directing the first entrant in Phase Six of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Kevin Feige will oversee production duties for Fantastic Four, which is slated for release November 8, 2024. As such, Shakman has left Paramount’s Star Trek reboot sequel, which is produced by JJ Abrams (Star Wars: The The Force Awakens) and Lindsey. Weber.

Deadline indicates that although a formal offer has not been made to Shakman, initial talks have begun. John Watts – the director behind Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home and Spider-Man: No Way Home – was originally attached to direct the Fantastic Four reboot in 2020. But the filmmaker quit later. early this year, and signed on to work on Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, with Jude Law leading the cast. With Shakman now in the mix, Feige found himself a legitimate replacement – even landing Emmy nominations for the Disney+ limited series, WandaVision.

Regarding Shakman’s departure from the Star Trek sequel, Paramount Pictures said in a statement, “Matt Shakman is an incredibly talented filmmaker, and we regret that the time has not come for him to direct our next film. We are grateful for its many contributions, excited about the creative vision for this next chapter, and look forward to bringing it to audiences around the world.

Star Trek 4 is recruiting the franchise’s first female writers, Lindsey Beer and Geneva Robertson-Dworet, and remains dated December 23, 2023. Shakman has been assigned to helm the sequel in the summer of 2023, with the studio hoping to reunite Chris Pine with the remaining space team.

The Fantastic Four reboot kicks off MCU Phase 6, hopefully with a more cohesive plot. Marvel Studios has acquired the film rights from superhero team 20th Century Fox, which has three failed attempts under its belt. The last Fantastic Four film – stylized “Fant4stic” – was released in 2015 and starred Miles Teller (Whiplash), Michael B. Jordan (Black Panther), Kate Mara and Jamie Bell in the lead. The film earned $167.9 million (approx. Rs. 1,344 crore) worldwide, against a production budget of $155 million (approx. Rs. 1,241 crore). The film was the lowest earning The Fantastic Four entry to date.

Currently, there are no casting details for the upcoming The Fantastic Four film. John Krasinski is a longtime favorite to play Mr. Fantastic. He appeared as an alternate version in Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, only to be turned into spaghetti.

The Fantastic Four hits theaters worldwide on November 8, 2024.

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