Marvel’s upcoming reboot of Fantastic Four has hit a slight snag after filmmaker Jon Watts announced he has exited the MCU movie as director.
Unlike previous director changes, like Justin Lin’s recent exit from Fast X, Watts’ exit from Fantastic Four is not due to creative differences, but simply a need for a break from the world of superheroes. Watts directed Marvel and Sony’s Spider-Man trilogy which includes the films Spider-Man: Homecoming, Far From Home and No Way Home, the last of which became a blockbuster hit earning $1.89 billion in theatres.
“Making three Spider-Man films was an incredible and life-changing experience for me,” Watts said. “I’m eternally grateful to have been a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe for seven years. I’m hopeful we’ll work together again and I can’t wait to see the amazing vision for Fantastic Four brought to life.”
“Collaborating with Jon on the Spider-Man films has been a true pleasure,” said Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and co-president Louis D’Esposito in a joint statement. “We were looking forward to continuing our work with him to bring the Fantastic Four into the MCU but understand and are supportive of his reasons for stepping away. We are optimistic that we will have the opportunity to work together again at some point down the road.”
The Fantastic Four was one of Marvel’s flagship series at the time of its creation with it being Marvel’s first team book. The film rights were obtained by 20th Century Fox which first brought the team to life in the 2005 film Fantastic Four. It was followed up with the 2007 sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and the series was later rebooted with 2015’s Fant4stic, both of which flopped with both critics and fans. With Disney’s purchase of Fox, Fantastic Four fell back under the Marvel umbrella.
Though Watts has dropped out of Fantastic Four, he is still expected to return for a fourth Spider-Man film with Tom Holland, but that film is not expected to release for some time. Hopefully by then Watts will be ready to return for the webslinger’s next adventure.
Are you disappointed that Jon Watts won’t be bringing Marvel’s First Family to the MCU? Who would be your pick to direct the Fantastic Four movie? Let us know on our social channels @FlickeringMyth…
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