The Fantastic Four reboot has been shrouded in speculation and mystery since it was first confirmed, and producer Nate Moore has only added further intrigue to the rumor mill with his latest comments.
While absolutely nobody has been officially cast yet, despite plenty of rumors stating pretty much any white man in his 30s-40s had been cast as Mr. Fantastic, there’s nobody signed on — no Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, or Ben Grimm either. But producer Moore has given an intriguing bit of insight into the plans for the 2025 film. But there is a director in: Matt Shakman.
Speaking to Deadline at the Producers Guild of America Awards, Moore made reference to director Shakman’s involvement on WandaVision and teased a similarly “surprising” direction he’s planning on taking the Fantastic Four into with his flick. Read into this as you wish, but it does feel like we could be set for a completely different version than seen before in live-action.
“We have Matt Shakman directing, who’s so talented and who did WandaVision for us, and I think people are going to be pretty surprised by what we’re doing.”
Reading into this, perhaps Shakman is intending for a 1960s-set version which Peyton Reed had previously pitched to Marvel many years prior. WandaVision, which he directed all nine episodes of, had a really interesting changing aesthetic every episode, with the most compelling being those set around the ’50s-’70s timeframe.
Shakman is also responsible for some of the best episodes of the dark comedy It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia which nearly always went for the most surprising, shocking route possible. Who knows, maybe Fantastic Four will be a cringe comedy? Given Phase Five has been mostly forgettable for Marvel, completely switching gears might be the best way forward – audiences are tiring of high stakes shenanigans in every film.
Fantastic Four is set to release Feb. 14, 2025.