Matt Shakman has become a sought-after director in Hollywood. For Marvel, he helped launched Phase 4 with WandaVision on Disney+. It was presumably his great success with that gig that landed him the job of helming the next Star Trek film.
But Shakman ultimately would not stay in that role for long. Marvel Studios has since lured him away to make its Fantastic Four movie and assist in ushering Marvel’s First Family into the MCU.
Shakman takes over directorial duties from original director Jon Watts, who departed the project to focus on less stressful endeavors.
A former child actor, Shakman began his career in Hollywood directing for TV, and he’s racked up credits on several popular shows such as Game of Thrones, The Boys, and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
Now, some of Shakman's former colleagues have sung their praises for his latest MCU endeavor.
Always Sunny Stars Discuss Shakman’s Fantastic Four
On The Always Sunny Podcast, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia stars Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day, and Glenn Howerton shared their reactions to the news that Matt Shakman, who has directed many episodes of their show, will helm Fantastic Four.
A transcript from the podcast can be read below:
McElhenney: “Hold on, so we talked about Matt a little bit, but this is directed by Matt Shakman. Matt Shakman is one of the biggest directors in Hollywood right now.”
Day: “We’ve talked about Matt a lot.”
Howerton: “I know, it’s crazy.”
McElhenney: “Yes, but he signed on to do Fantastic Four. He might be directing the Fantastic Four movie, but I think he may have even dropped out of that to do a bigger movie.”
Howerton: “No, no, no. He dropped out of Star Trek.”
McElhenney: “Oh.”
Howerton: “He was signed on to do that Star Trek and he had to drop out because it conflicted with fab– Fantastic Four. Almost said Fabulous Four… The Fabulous Four would be…”
McElhenney: “We should potentially do a movie called the Fabulous Four.
Additionally, WandaVision star Julian Hilliard, who played Billy Maximoff, tweeted his response to the Shakman news: “Yesss!! Awesome choice” and “Matt really is incredible. So happy for him!”
Why Shakman’s the Right Man for the Job
It certainly seems as though Matt Shakman has the right touch to help bring Reed, Sue, Ben, and Johnny into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
He’s worked with Marvel Studios before and has experience directing complex family dynamics from his work on WandaVision as well as several of the other series he’s worked on. And not only that, he just seems to be a skilled director with whom people get along and enjoy working.
Marvel has its work more than cut out for them with the Fantastic Four. The team has three theatrically released films, all released by 20th Century Fox, and all of them were critically panned (particularly the 2015 movie).
Marvel intends to fully and completely reboot the Fantastic Four into the MCU and treat the characters with the reverence and respect which they deserve. The team will likely go on to be massive players in the MCU, so it’s doubly important that the studio gets its debut just right.
As for the release date of Marvel Studios’ Fantastic Four, it’s sitting on November 8, 2024.
