Now that Disney owns Fox along with all of their properties, the big question for Marvel fans is, when can we see some new superheroes in the MCU? And by superheroes, we mean the X-Men and the Fantastic Four.
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige spoke briefly about his desire to give us the FF movie we deserve last year and it appears they’ll tackle that franchise before getting into the X-Men. In fact, rumors have been swirling for months about the cast, with both John Krasinski and Emily Blunt rumored as the frontrunners to play Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, respectively. And as for directors, while Ant-Man’s Peyton Reed has been considered, it looks like it might be another MCU veteran who takes the job.
According to YouTuber John Campea, Joss Whedon and Marvel Studios have been talking for the past two months about Fantastic Four. Campea’s unsure if those discussions are about what direction to take the characters in or if they’re about Whedon writing and directing, but there’s definitely been dialogue.
Whedon certainly has the experience directing team-up superhero movies after making The Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron and at least some of Justice League. Though he famously admitted to getting burned out while doing Ultron, which is probably why we didn’t see him direct the last two Avengers movies.
He’s a better writer than director, too, but at this point, the FF could use someone with experience in turning the ship around. After all, Fox tried multiple times to turn Marvel’s First Family into a successful franchise. Tim Story directed two movies in the mid-’00s but other than a notable performance from a pre-Cap Chris Evans, those entries are largely forgotten.
Then came the notorious 2015 Fantastic Four. Director Josh Trank clashed with the studio and cast, which resulted in multiple reshoots and a number of scenes left on the cutting room floor. And the theatrical cut was an absolute mess.
Honestly, you can’t do any worse at this point, which is why this could be a win-win for Whedon. It could also put him back in good graces with superhero fans. His first Avengers movie is beloved, but many found Ultron to be a letdown and to say Justice League is divisive would be an understatement.
