Earlier this week, a very interesting rumour started doing the rounds claiming that Jurassic Park and Indiana Jones director Steven Spielberg was being eyed to take the helm of Marvel Studios' Fantastic Four reboot.
Spider-Man: No Way Home's Jon Watts was originally linked to the project, but he recently decided to walk away due to an exhausting run of back-to-back movies set in the MCU. There's a lot of anticipation for the movie, and Spielberg would be one heck of an exciting choice to bring Marvel's First Family back to the big screen.
So, is it happening?
As expected, no. Variety's Adam B. Vary was first to chime in on the rumour, stating that "I've heard the wildly implausible rumor that Steven Spielberg is directing the Marvel Studios reboot of Fantastic 4 is absolutely not true."
Later, former Vulture reporter Mike Sampson would reveal "Marvel did reach out to Spielberg's team to gauge interest in directing Fantastic Four, but that's as far as the "discussions" went presumably because [he] has no interest." You can't blame Kevin Feige for aiming high, but Spielberg joining the MCU always seemed doubtful.
Still, this gives us an idea of the sort of talent Marvel Studios hopes to attract to Fantastic Four. Make no mistake about it, they're clearly taking this movie seriously, and no doubt want to make this franchise every bit as successful as The Avengers. Considering characters like Doctor Doom, Galactus, and Annihilus are also part of their world, that's by no means a surprise.
Hopefully, we'll get an official Fantastic Four update at Comic-Con next Saturday!