Marvel's Fantastic Four Director Addresses Long Wait For Casting News

Matt Shakman teases that "there will be an announcement" following the SAG-AFTRA strike.

By Jenna Anderson

After multiple film incarnations at 20th Century Fox — which fans felt left some things to be desired — the Fantastic Four are now headed to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A new blockbuster reboot is current in development at Marvel Studios, with WandaVision's Matt Shakman lined up to direct. Even though Fantastic Four does currently have a spring 2025 release date, none of the film's cast members have officially been announced — and according to Shakman, that still might not happen for a while. In a recent interview with Collider, Shakman confirmed that, once the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike comes to a close, there will "be a plan" to lock in the four actors playing Marvel's First Family.

"Hard to say. Like I said, we're in the middle of a SAG strike, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they get a great deal really soon and we can go back. Then, once that's resolved, there'll be a plan at that point, but I can't say too much. There will be an announcement at some point! I know that the internet is very excited to find out, and I'm excited to share it. I just can't do it yet."

Why Did Matt Shakman Sign on For Fantastic Four?

In that same interview, Shakman teased that the way the Fantastic Four script approaches its plot — and the influences of its Marvel Comics source material — appealed to him.

"It's different in so many ways," Shakman explained. "I wish I could be specific. I wish I could say more. But we are doing things very differently from a story standpoint, from an approach to the filmmaking standpoint, that really fits the material. I wish I could say more. I would love to, but I can't. But I think it's going to be unlike anything you've seen before, and certainly unlike anything at Marvel that you've seen before."

"We have been nonstop," Shakman said of the pre-production work on the film. "Despite the strikes, yes, we've been working with the effects and with production design and building our world, and that's been incredibly exciting. You know, how do you translate those skills into live-action in dynamic ways? Because some things that work beautifully in John Byrne and Jack Kirby are a little tougher when you're filming them. How do you make sure that things are exciting but also grounded in a scientific thing, which is also part of the Fantastic Four that I love? There's some stuff I'm super excited about. I can't say too much, you know?"

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.

"Well, we talked a little bit about Secret Wars. We talked about [Avengers: The] Kang Dynasty as related to [Ant-Man and the Wasp:] Quantumania. The only other one in terms of me personally and my 23-year history is the Fantastic Four," Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige recently shared with Entertainment Weekly about his excitement for the future. "We sort of talked about mutants and that whole aspect to the Marvel world, but Fantastic Four is the foundation for everything that came after in the comics. There's certainly been versions of it [on screen], but never inhabiting the storytelling of the MCU. And that's something that is really exciting for us. People will start to hear more about that soon. We plan on that being a big pillar of the MCU going forward, just the way they've been in the comics for 50 or 60 years."

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What do you think of the latest update surrounding Marvel's Fantastic Four reboot? Who do you want to see cast in the film? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Marvel's Fantastic Four is currently scheduled to be released on May 2, 2025.

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