Another sad story to break overnight, Spiderman: No Way Home director Jon Watts will no longer be directing Marvel Studios’ upcoming Fantastic Four movie.
The news was first reported by Deadline before being confirmed by both Marvel Studios and the director himself. According to both parties the decision to separate was amicable and comes from Watts’ desire to take a break from comic book movies after his Spidey trilogy.
Said Kevin Feige, president, Marvel Studios and Louis D’Esposito, co-president, Marvel Studios: “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.”
Watts said that “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.”
Watts exit marks the first stumbling block for the Marvel Studios project, the third attempt to bring the superhero family to the big screen. The theatrical rights to the Fantastic Four characters only recently returned home to Marvel following Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Studios, the same deal which brought all of Netflix’s Marvel shows to the House of Mouse.
