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After working as a director for WandaVision, Matt Shakman has reportedly been roped in to helm Marvel Studios' Fantastic Four. According to Deadline, Shakman is in early talks to direct the upcoming MCU film.
Shakman is known for directing Marvel's WandaVision, a Disney+ series on Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff, and Paul Bettany's Vision. The director was also in talks to work on Chris Pine starrer Star Trek 4. It has now been announced that he will no longer helm the movie due to scheduling conflicts. It is reportedly releasing on December 22, 2023.
In a statement, Paramount Pictures said:
"Matt Shakman is an incredibly talented filmmaker, and we regret the timing didn’t align for him to direct our upcoming Star Trek film... We are grateful for his many contributions, are excited about the creative vision of this next chapter and look forward to bringing it to audiences all around world.”
Exploring Matt Shakman's directorial projects
Matt Shakman is a director and producer born on August 8, 1975. He is known for helming many globally acclaimed movies and television series including WandaVision (2021), Game of Thrones (2011), and The Great (2020). He directed "The Spoils of War" and "Eastwatch" from the seventh season of HBO's Game of Thrones in 2017.
The director has earned good recognition for WandaVision, which went on to be acclaimed with 24 Emmy nominations and three awards.
Matt Shakman was onboard for the Star Trek movie, which was announced in 2021. Paramount reportedly reunited Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldaña, and John Cho for the film. It has not been reported whether the company has already started looking for a new director post Shakman's exit.
He has also helmed movies like Cut Bank (2014), which starred Liam Hemsworth, John Malkovich, and Billy Bob Thornton. He had his first directing credit as early as 2002 on the show Once and Again (1999-2000), which earned him recognition in Hollywood.
He was then known mostly as a television director who worked on famous projects like Fox's House, M.D (2004-2012), USA's Psych (2006-09), and CBS' The Good Wife (2009). Starting 2007, Matt Shakman has also directed 40 episodes of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia.
Previously, Shakman was a child actor. He has starred as a guest on shows like NBC's The Facts of Life (1979-1988) and Diff'rent Strokes (1978-1986). He worked as a regular on ABC's Just the Ten of Us (1988-1990), which was his final role as a child actor.
Further on Matt Shakman's deal with Marvel Studios
While the rumors have been running, Deadline stated that a formal letter from Marvel Studios is yet to be presented to Matt Shakman.
The movie is being produced by Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige. Shakman, who has been asked to direct the project, has begun early discussions with the franchise. Deadline reports that Shakman was comfortable with Feige after working for WandaVision, which earned several acclaims despite being a mini-series.
Previously, Jon Watts was helming Fantastic Four, but the director wanted to stay away from the comic book genre after directing Spider Man: No Way Home (2021).
Talks about making Fanstactic Four have been on ever since Disney acquired Fox and its assets. At San Diego Comic Con, Feige said that the movie would reportedly kick off phase six. It shall reportedly be released on November 8, 2024.
Fantastic Four will be followed by Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars.
