When fans heard the bad news that Spider-Man: No Way Home director Jon Watts would be stepping down from the highly anticipated and talked about Fantastic Four flick back in the spring, they were incredibly bummed, to say the least. The latest installment in the Tom Holland led Spider-Man series was an absolute box office smash that garnered much praise from critics and audiences alike, leaving it as a no-brainer to hire the filmmaker back on to stand at the head of a Fantastic Four movie. And, in Watts’ departure, we’ve been wondering who Marvel will hire to pick up the torch for the superhero-based feature long in development. Well, happy Friday because it sounds as though WandaVision director, Matt Shakman has signed on to bring the production to life.

That’s right, the man behind the fan-favorite Disney+ and Marvel series will be pouring his artistic vision into the Fantastic Four flick. While it’s been reported by Deadline that talks are ongoing, it would seem as though Shakman is at the top of the list and Marvel president Kevin Feige’s number one choice.

Following the incredible success that was WandaVision, which would see Shakman earning an Emmy nomination for Best Director along with the series bringing in several other Emmy noms, Shakman is just the person to choose to make sure Fantastic Four gets the proper eye to make it just as much of a hit as the streamer’s series.

Feige answered the burning question of Marvel fans everywhere at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, when he announced that the Fantastic Four movie would serve the MCU as the Phase 6 kick off, landing in theaters on November 8, 2024. This won’t be the first time the fearsome foursome will be given a big screen telling, with several other projects centered around the heroes coming out over the years.

Most notably would be 2005’s Tim Story helmed feature that starred the likes of Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, and Michael Chiklis. Story would also stand behind the film’s 2007 sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Given a reboot in 2015, audiences were hit with Josh Trank’s take on the Marvel heroes in Fantastic Four (FANT4STIC) which starred Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara, and Jamie Bell. While this version was also set up to have a sequel, it never quite came to fruition due to the first film being such a flop.

With Marvel charging full speed ahead, it sounds as though they’re trying to clear their tarnished reputation that previous takes of Fantastic Four have had in the past. With Shakman’s name attached, Marvel really isn’t messing around with their next shot at making Fantastic Four a blockbuster hit. The story is still developing, so stay tuned to Collider for updates.

via Collider