The Fantastic Four: First Steps was not as big a success as the MCU might have hoped, only just passing the $500 million mark, and now its sequel just took a major blow. The first MCU movie for Marvel’s First Family saw the team living in a retro-futuristic world where they appeared to be the only heroes and ended up saving their planet from the World Devourer Galactus. It was an interesting take and paid loving homage to the Stan Lee and Jack Kirby stories in both its design and storyline. The Fantastic Four return in Avengers: Doomsday, and they are expected to be part of the MCU going forward, along with the newly arriving X-Men.
However, it seems that director Matt Shakman might not return for the yet-to-be-announced Fantastic Four sequel. Deadline reported that Shakman has signed on to direct a new movie in the Planet of the Apes franchise for 20th Century Studios. This will not be a follow-up to Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024) and will take the franchise in a new direction. While Deadline did not say what this meant for the Fantastic Four sequel, there isn’t much of a chance he will direct both unless the MCU plans to hold off a few years before releasing the second film in that franchise.
When Could the MCU Release the Fantastic Four Sequel?
Image Courtesy of Marvel
This doesn’t mean that Shakman won’t direct the Fantastic Four sequel. However, if he does direct it, don’t expect it to come out anytime soon. This year has only two MCU movies: Spider-Man: Brand New Day in July and Avengers: Doomsday in December. Next year will only see Avengers: Secret Wars in December. There is no other movie planned yet for 2027, and the 2028 slate is rumored to feature Black Panther 3, with Ryan Coogler returning, and possibly the next Deadpool movie. There is also the X-Men movie from Jake Schreier coming sometime soon.
This means that the Fantastic Four sequel might not even arrive until 2029. With that three years away, there’s still a chance Shakman could direct his Planet of the Apes movie and then return for the Fantastic Four sequel. There needs to be plenty of time for post-production since most FF stories deal with sci-fi themes. If the MCU wants to possibly kickstart an Annihilus storyline, that could be a great place to introduce the Negative Zone. With that in mind, a visionary like Shakman could be a great choice for the director.
However, if Shakman does step aside, there are plenty of other options. One perfect example is Destin Daniel Cretton, who directed Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Wonder Man before moving on to Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Another great option, and another visionary director who hasn’t worked for Marvel yet, is Brad Bird. If the MCU wants to go full steam with a sci-fi idea, Bird could be a perfect fit based on his past movies like The Incredibles. For now, there is no news on the Fantastic Four sequel, and the MCU hasn’t even announced it yet, so everything is up in the air for Marvel’s First Family.
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