Here’s a surprise to many, but after being announced as the director for Fantastic Four in 2019, it seems that Jon Watts has pulled out of the project. This is quite the surprising move considering he just cemented his standing with Marvel Studios after his work on Spider-Man: No Way Home. It seems that the reasoning is that the director wants to take a break after completing the trilogy and it wasn’t intended to be his next film.
The director has been quite busy, as he’s been busy with production, directing, and promoting the Spider-Man films since he finished work on his 2015 Cop Car. So, he wants to take a break and all parties have confirmed the exit is amicable. Marvel Studios CEO Kevin Feige shared the following statement:
Collaborating with Jon on the Spider-Man films has been a true pleasure. We were looking forward to continuing our work with him to bring the Fantastic Four into the MCU but understand and are supportive of his reasons for stepping away. We are optimistic that we will have the opportunity to work together again at some point down the road.
Kevin Feige
Watts has shared the following statement on the exit:
Making three Spider-Man films was an incredible and life changing experience for me. I’m eternally grateful to have been a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe for seven years. I’m hopeful we’ll work together again and I can’t wait to see the amazing vision for Fantastic Four brought to life.
Jon Watts
It’s great to see Marvel Studios give the director time to focus on himself and take a step back. Not only that, but it opens up new opportunities for them to find a new voice to join the MCU, especially with the strong sci-fi direction this project might take. There’s a lot of potential with many talented directors that might be perfect for the film.
Source: Deadline
