Following Jon Watts’ departure from the project, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige is reportedly looking for a well-known director to take over the studio’s Fantastic Four reboot.
Disney, Marvel Studios’ parent company, regained the film rights to the Fantastic Four in their acquisition of 20th Century Fox (now 20th Century Studios). The superhero team, consisting of Mr Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, the Human Torch and the Thing, previously made it onto the big screen in two different live-action incarnations – first in 2005’s Fantastic Four and its 2007 sequel, and then again in a 2015 reboot.
While the 2015 version was particularly poorly received, the earlier live-action adaptation of Marvel’s first family failed to really land with audiences. The pressure’s on for the reboot to make the Fantastic Four work on the big screen, with many hoping their introduction to the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be the key to success.
The Sam Raimi Effect
Things were looking up for the MCU’s version of the Fantastic Four when Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness introduced one of their members – John Krasinski’s Mr Fantastic. While this was an alternate universe’s version of the character and Krasinski’s casting as the MCU’s primary Mr Fantastic has not been confirmed, fans responded warmly to this first look at one of the FF in an MCU film.
Behind the scenes, however, the film has hit a slight speed bump. Jon Watts, director of the MCU’s Spider-Man movies, exited the project at the end of April. Watts appeared to leave on good terms with Marvel, but nonetheless, Fantastic Four is now without a director. According to new reports though, Marvel may have been influenced by Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness in their search for Watts’ replacement.
Unlike most Marvel Studios projects, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness brought on a big-name director – the original Spider-Man trilogy’s Sam Raimi – when original director Scott Derrickson left the project. While many Marvel Studios films have tended to rely on relatively unknown directors, Kevin Feige is reportedly considering looking for another well-established director to take over Fantastic Four.
As Deadline’s Justin Kroll is reporting, Marvel currently has a long list of potential candidates and fans should not expect a final decision any time soon. However, the focus appears to be on bigger name directors, with Kevin Feige reportedly wanting to entrust the project to a director who would require less oversight. This was obviously the case with Sam Raimi on the Doctor Strange sequel and so it looks likely Fantastic Four will be brining in another director with a few blockbusters already under their belt.
Here is the official synopsis for Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness:
The MCU unlocks the Multiverse and pushes its boundaries further than ever before. Journey into the unknown with Doctor Strange, who, with the help of mystical allies both old and new, traverses the mind-bending and dangerous alternate realities of the Multiverse to confront a mysterious new adversary.
Directed by Sam Raimi from a script written by Michael Waldron, the Marvel film stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Elizabeth Olsen, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, with Michael Stuhlbarg, Rachel McAdams, and Patrick Stewart.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is in theaters now. Stay tuned for all the latest news surrounding the future of Marvel Studios’ Fantastic Four, and make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more content!
Source: Twitter
