Warning! SPOILERS for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Who the director of MCU's Fantastic Four will be following the exit of Jon Watts has not been decided yet – here are Marvel's best possible choices to helm the reboot. After three films and two different iterations of the group, the Fantastic Four is returning to the big screen, now part of the large Marvel Cinematic Universe. Following Disney's acquisition of Fox, the X-Men and Fantastic Four characters can now be integrated into the MCU. While no X-Men movie has been announced yet, the MCU Fantastic Four reboot is already happening.
The MCU Fantastic Four movie was revealed to be in the works in 2019, followed by the announcement in 2020 that Spider-Man: Homecoming trilogy director Jon Watts would direct. However, Watts, who's currently attached to the upcoming Star Wars Disney+ series Skeleton Crew, exited the project in April 2022. Although the Fantastic Four movie is still a few years away, elements related to the superhero are already being felt in the MCU. Mister Fantastic was one of the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness cameos, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is expected to feature the often Fantastic Four-related Namor.
It has been reported that after Kevin Feige's positive experience with Sam Raimi in Doctor Strange 2, the MCU is eyeing high-profile names to helm the Fantastic Four reboot. This breaks an MCU trend of getting new talent to direct big productions, but it also makes it easier to predict the most suitable names to direct the Fantastic Four film. Considering how important the Fantastic Four is to Marvel's history and that none of the previous films were as successful as the Avengers or even the X-Men movies, nailing the Fantastic Four is one of the MCU's biggest challenges. This helps explain why the MCU is reportedly looking for a more established director for the Fantastic Four movie reboot, a description that fits the following suggestions.
Edgar Wright
Before Peyton Reed directed Ant-Man and its sequels, Edgar Wright came close to directing the film for the MCU. However, due to the creative differences, the collaboration between Wright and the studio did not move forward. Now, years later, Edgar Wright and the MCU could try once again a collaboration now for a Fantastic Four movie. Not only Edgar Wright has experience in translating comic book pages to life, which he did in the Scott Pilgrim vs. The World comic book adaptation, the director knows how to combine action, humor, and the feeling of adventure that works both for the Fantastic Four and the MCU films in general. On top of that, considering that the MCU is reportedly going for more experienced directors like Sam Raimi, Wright would most likely have more creative freedom this time than when he was close to directing Ant-Man.
Matthew Vaughn
Should experience with comic book adaptations be a must for the Fantastic Four director position, then Matthew Vaughn would be a safe choice. Vaughn has brought the Kick-Ass comic series to the big screen with two Kick-Ass movies and has recently directed three Kingsman films. On top of that, in 2011, Matthew Vaughn was responsible for reigniting the X-Men franchise with X-Men: First Class. While First Class was technically part of the X-Men movie chronology, the film was essentially a reboot of the X-Men franchise, and it took the saga in a completely different direction. That is very similar to what the MCU needs to do with the Fantastic Four, which makes Matthew Vaughn almost a perfect pick. In addition, Vaughn has already expressed interest in directing a Fantastic Four film.
Russo Brothers
The other two directors who have already expressed interest in working on a Fantastic Four movie are the old-time MCU collaborators Anthony and Joe Russo. The duo has worked in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, and in the two-part epic finale of the Infinity Saga, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. After creating four of the most important films in MCU history and becoming two of the highest-grossing movie directors of all time, only behind Steven Spielberg, the Russo Brothers became almost a brand of their own, but the duo never ruled out returning to the MCU at some point. In fact, when asked about other Marvel characters they would like to work with, Joe Russo mentioned Ben Grimm – The Thing from the Fantastic Four – and the iconic villain Dr. Doom.
Justin Lin
Adventure blockbuster films with a family of very skillful people at the center of the story could describe what the Fantastic Four franchise needs, but it's also a summary of the Fast and Furious movies directed by Justin Lin. While Justin Lin has exited Fast and Furious 10, the director of more than half of the Fast and Furious films, including the most recent F9, is one of those responsible for turning the saga into one of the most successful movie franchises in recent history. On top of that, Justin Lin directed 2017's Star Trek Beyond, a film that managed to bring a sense of wonder and adventure to the Kelvin-timeline Star Trek franchise. The members of the Fantastic Four were adventurists before they were superheroes, meaning that Justin Lin could bring this feeling to the MCU reboot.
John Krasinski
While John Krasinski is not as an experienced director as the ones previously mentioned, the former The Office star has directed two recent box office horror hits, A Quiet Place and A Quiet Place Part II. On top of his recent directing and producing experiences, John Krasinski played Mister Fantastic in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and it is not at all unlikely that he also plays the definitive Reed Richards in the MCU's Fantastic Four movie. It would not be the first time Krasinski directed and starred in a movie, as he did so in the two A Quiet Place films. Both of those films were centered around family, which is an important part of any Fantastic Four story.
Sam Raimi
If the experience with Sam Raimi in the making of Doctor Strange 2 is what is causing the MCU to consider a high-profile director for Fantastic Four, then Sam Raimi himself cannot be disregarded as a possible pick. Sam Raimi has directed four superhero movies and thus already knows all the possibilities and the risks of the genre. Raimi is known for blending heartwarming stories with the fantastic element in an organic way, and his signature directing style could help set the MCU Fantastic Four reboot from the previous Fantastic Four iterations and from the Avengers franchise.
