‘Spider-Man’ Director Jon Watts To Helm ‘Fantastic Four’
by Erik Amaya
Marvel’s First Family is finally coming to its Cinematic Universe.
During the Disney Investor Day presentation, Marvel Studios Boss Kevin Feige revealed Jon Watts, the director behind the recent Spider-Man film series, will helm Fantastic Four. Based on the comic book devised by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee, it will introduce the long-missing characters to the milieu of the Avengers.
Sadly, Feige offered little more information on the project, but confirmed an number of casting decisions, like Hailee Steinfeld co-leading the upcoming Hawkeye Disney+ series. In fact, plans for direct-to-consumer content took up the bulk of Feige’s time. Beyond the expected confirmations of Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk castmembers, the studio chief also added Tim Roth and Mark Ruffalo to the cast of She-Hulk.
He also unveiled a new set of series: Secret Invasion, featuring Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) as they face a quiet incursion of the Earth by a sect of Skrulls; Ironheart, focusing on Ri Ri Williams (Dominique Thorn); and Armour Wars, a series starring Don Cheadle (as War Machine).
Additionally, Marvel will shoot The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special concurrently with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and feature Groot (Vin Diesel) in his own animates shorts; collective called I Am Groot.
Feige also made it clear he will not recast T’Challa for Black Panther II, but offered no other details about the project. But in illustrating how the Disney+ programs will feed back into the features, he announced Ms. Marvel star Iman Vellani and WandaVision‘s Teyonah Parris will co-star with Brie Larson in Captain Marvel 2. He also revealed the title of the third Ant-Man film — Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantum Mania — and confirmed Kathryn Newton will join the cast as Cassie Lang.
Notably, the studio chief did not confirm recent Spider-Man casting reports or Oscar Isaac‘s participation in Moon Knight. But considering how long the studio waited to confirm Steinfeld’s part in Hawkeye, this isn’t so much of a surprise. He did tip his hat to the possible return of Daredevil (Charlie Cox) by mentioning She-Hulk lead character Jennifer Walter’s (Tatiana Maslany) day job as a lawyer could lead to a familiar face opposing her in court.
The Marvel announcements reflect Disney’s pivot to its Disney+ strategy, and while it still seems like Marvel wants to be in the movie business, their TV slate looks to be just as thrilling.
