Having reacquired the rights to the characters as part of Disney’s Fox acquisition, Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige confirmed at last year’s San Diego Comic-Con International that the Fantastic Four will be making their debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe at some point during Phase Five, and now if a rumour is to be believed, the studio may be turning to a familiar face to introduce the First Family.
According to a rumour from former Movie Talk and Collider host John Campea (which we advise taking with a pinch of salt), Marvel has met with The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron director Joss Whedon about Fantastic Four and he may well be in contention to direct the film.
Whedon was originally heavily involved in the MCU; after the enormous success of the first Avengers movie in 2012, Whedon signed on as a creative consultant/overseer for the studio’s Phase Two projects (which included rewrites on Thor: The Dark World), as well as directing Avengers: Age of Ultron and co-creating the spinoff series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. for ABC.
However, this relationship soured somewhat during the making of Age of Ultron, with Whedon stating in 2016 that he had “made a completely clean break” from Marvel and jumping ship to DC to complete production on Justice League following Zack Snyder’s exit, as well as attempting to develop a Batgirl movie which ultimately failed to get out of the starting blocks.
Whedon isn’t the only filmmaker who’s been linked to Fantastic Four this month as A Quiet Place helmer John Kransinski is also said to have met with Marvel – the speculation being that he could be being lined up for the director’s chair and/or the role of Mister Fantastic.
Would you like to see Joss Whedon returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe to direct a Fantastic Four movie? Who would you like to see cast as Marvel’s First Family for their MCU incarnations? Let us know in the comments, or on our social channels @FlickeringMyth…
