Fantastic Four Director Reveals Why He Chose Marvel Over Star Trek

After years of being in the works, a new Fantastic Four film is finally headed back to the big screen, with Marvel Studios getting the chance to put their stamp on the franchise. In the director's chair for Fantastic Four will be Matt Shakman, who previously directed Marvel's WandaVision Disney+ series, as well as projects like Game of Thrones and It's Alway Sunny in Philadelphia. Shortly after Shakman was reported to be involved with Fantastic Four, it was announced that he would be stepping down as the director of Paramount's fourth Star Trek film — and in a new interview with The Wrap, Shakman explained why.

"I had a great time working on 'Star Trek' for a little over a year, working closely with J.J. Abrams and everyone at Paramount, and I love that franchise, and I love that cast that J.J. put together, and it would have been an unbelievable pleasure to work with them on the fourth installment there," Shakman revealed. "But movies have different journeys and momentums and and schedules are a little bit mercurial, and so when the 'Fantastic Four' opportunity came up, it was just too hard to pass up, and to go back home to Marvel, a place that I worked on 'WandaVision' at, with those people who are wonderful collaborators. It's really a family there and to be able to go back and tackle something that I truly love, and they're very similar in some ways: they both were launched in the '60s at the same time, they're both about optimism and looking to the stars and technology can solve everything and they're about family too — the family you have, the family you make. So they're aligned in many ways and speak to my heart and equally, so I'm excited to be working on 'Fantastic Four.'"

What is the new Fantastic Four movie about?

Plot details, as well as any confirmed cast members, have not been revealed for Marvel's new Fantastic Four. That being said, with the Marvel Cinematic Universe crossover event Avengers: Secret Wars on the horizon, and the team's ties to new franchise big bad Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors), there is a lot of hype around the film.

"A lot of people know this origin story," Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said in an interview last year. "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."

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Fantastic Four is currently scheduled to be released on February 17, 2025.