Spider-Man Director Jon Watts Exits Fantastic Four Reboot

A lot of fans were kind of surprised when Marvel announced that Spider-Man director Jon Watts would be directing the MCU reboot of Fantastic Four, but it looks like there’s been a change of plans.

According to Deadline, Watts has decided to take a break from superhero films and has exited Fantastic Four. The exit was confirmed by both Watts and Marvel Studios, and both say that the decision was amicable. Marvel head Kevin Feige had this to say about Watts’ exit:

“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.”

On Watts’ end, he says,“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.”

For now, fans are trying to guess who would make a good fit for a Fantastic Four reboot for the MCU. Ant-Man director Peyton Reed has an unmade Fantastic Four movie that he had planned in the early 2000s, but fans have been calling for Brad Bird who is best known for The Incredibles—which some consider to be the perfect Fantastic Four movie.

With Marvel’s First Family expected to make their debut in Phase 5, the studio better find someone to helm soon.

No release date has been set for Marvel Studios’ Fantastic Four.