Marvel’s hotly-anticipated Fantastic Four movie has found its director in WandaVision’s Matt Shakman, reports Deadline. The film previously had Jon Watts (Spider-Man: No Way Home) attached to direct, but he stepped away earlier this year to focus on non-superhero projects.

Matt Shakman, on the other hand, is coming off the Emmy-nominated WandaVision, which kicked off Phase Four of the MCU and also marked Marvel’s first streaming series. Shakman helmed all nine episodes of WandaVision, and his execution seems to have impressed not only Marvel but other Hollywood studios as well. He is currently directing Apple’s live-action Godzilla series and is also working on Paramount Pictures’ Star Trek 4, set to arrive in December 2023.

Unfortunately, Star Trek 4 hasn’t even commenced pre-production yet, and Fantastic Four is dated for a November 8, 2024 release, meaning Shakman will have to choose between Marvel and Star Trek, or Paramount will have to delay the film once again.

Fantastic Four is also in its early stages of development, with no writers or actors involved at this time. Marvel is expected to reveal more details at the upcoming D23 expo, which takes place from September 9-11.

Related: Fantastic Four: Why MCU Fans Should Get Hyped for the Reboot

Marvel's Fantastic Four Will Not Be an Origin Story

FantasticFour (1)
Marvel Comics

The Fantastic Four are one of Marvel Comics’ most popular and beloved characters. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the superhero team debuted in 1961 and has partnered with the likes of Avengers and X-Men over the years. Fantastic Four also introduced several other iconic characters like Black Panther, Dr. Doom, Galactus, Silver Surfer, Black Bolt, and the Skrulls, with the last two recently making their MCU debuts.

Fantastic Four have also appeared in animated and live-action media, with 20th Century Fox taking a stab at a film adaptation twice, both with disastrous results. Fantastic Four (2015) is widely regarded as the worst superhero film ever made. But just when the cinematic future of Marvel’s First Family looked almost non-existent, Disney swooped in and acquired Fox in 2019. A reboot was soon announced.

Kevin Feige recently confirmed that Fantastic Four won’t tell another origin story since fans are already familiar with it.

"A lot of people know this origin story. A lot of people know the basics. How do we take that and bring something that they've never seen before? We've set a very high bar for ourselves with bringing that to the screen."

Fantastic Four will launch Phase Six of the MCU, which is set to be the most epic one yet, covering the Kang the Conqueror multiverse and the Secret Wars arcs. Marvel doesn’t want another misfire on its hands and has been looking for an established filmmaker to direct Fantastic Four and other high-profile films like Avengers 5 and 6.

Kevin Feige reportedly doesn’t want to oversee the entirety of the projects and just trust the filmmaker, as he did with Sam Raimi on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Consequently, Marvel regulars Matt Shakman and Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) were chosen to helm Fantastic Four and Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, respectively.

As for the casting, fan-favorite John Krasinski recently debuted as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic in Doctor Strange 2, only to be unceremoniously killed off. Emily Blunt, the fans’ top contender to play Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman, has already confirmed that she doesn’t want to star in superhero films, while Zac Efron, the Human Torch favorite, has been campaigning to join the MCU for years. Hopefully, Marvel will not disappoint with the Fantastic Four casting.