Who will Marvel entrust to bring the X-Men and the Fantastic Four back to life?
During the end of Marvel’s Hall H presentation at Comic Con, Marvel spearhead Kevin Feige dropped the news all fans were waiting to hear. The return of The Fantastic Four and the reboot of the X-Men.
But who will they turn to shepherd these valuable assets into the MCU, will they turn to old and trusted hands aka Joss Whedon, or will they, as they have done many times e.g. Taika Waititi, Ryan Coogler, Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, Chloe Zhao etc offer this challenge to a new generation of film-maker?
Let’s look at ten possible directors who could bring these beloved characters back to the big screen…
Joss Whedon
Let’s start with the most obvious. Chosen to bring together for the first time the original Avengers in 2012, Whedon also returned for the teams second outing in Age of Ultron. As well as also fire-fighting Justice league for Marvel’s counterparts DC, Whedon also has pedigree when it comes to the X-Men having created the comic-book run ‘Astonishing X-Men’ in 2004, which had a 24 issue run, the sixth of which was voted number 65/70 of the best Marvel Comics of all time.
Kathryn Bigelow
With only three features in the last nine years, best picture winning The Hurt Locker, 2012’s Zero Dark Thirty and 2017’s Detroit, and with the likes of 1990’s Blue Steel and 1991’s Point Break behind her, the only female director ever to win the Oscar for Best director could be the one to bring either of these mega franchises back to screen, Bigelow’s famous and distinctive blend of action, tension and in some cases violence could breathe a new air of life into two sets of characters already seen many times before. Sign me up for a Bigelow take on Berserker Wolverine. Bigelow’s involvement may also mean a link up with long-time collaborator and screenwriter, Mark Boal (The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty, Detroit).
The Safdie Brothers
One that would follow Marvel’s model of trusting billion-dollar franchises to the newer generation of film-maker. Having slowly built their reputations since their film Daddy Longlegs played at the Director’s fortnight in Cannes in 2011, brothers Benny and Josh received a huge wave of attention following the universal acclaim received by their 2017 film Good Time, a crime thriller starring Robert Pattinson in a career best performance. Without wanting to draw too many parallels to Marvel’s mightily successful brother pairing The Russos, Feige could do a lot worse than to let the Safdie’s re-invent one of their prize possessions.
Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach
One of the most coveted directors in all of Hollywood, Gerwig became only the fifth woman ever and first since Kathryn Bigelow to be nominated for best director for 2017’s Lady Bird. It would be surprising if Feige had not already reached out to her in some capacity to be involved in the MCU.Primed to be launched back into minds with her take on the famed Little Women, Gerwig has also agreed to pen the upcoming Barbie (starring Margot Robbie) movie along with long time screen writing partner and husband Noah Baumbach. Having written cult hits such as the brilliant Frances Ha and Mistress America together, it would be intriguing to see what incarnation of the X-Men or Fantastic Four the pair would put on screen.
Ava DuVernay
The pairing of Marvel and Ava DuVernay is something many would love to see. Having moved from 2014’s Selma to the likes of the critically acclaimed When They See Us on Netflix, DUVernay also has big budget experience with 2018’s A Wrinkle in Time, an experience that would prove invaluable when joining the juggernaut of the MCU.
Christopher McQuarrie
The writer of The Usual Suspects (1995), and now long-time Tom Cruise collaborator may be atop many peoples list to helm one of these two films. Having directed the last two Mission Impossible movies, both regarded as two of the series’ best, with the recent Mission: Impossible Fallout becoming not only the highest grossing in the franchise but the most critically acclaimed as well (97% Rotten Tomatoes). However, McQuarrie currently has his plate full as shooting will soon begin on the back-to-back filmed MI7 and MI8 due for release in 2021 and 2022, so Feige and Marvel would have to be willing to wait to secure his services, as well as McQuarrie himself wanting to dive right into another mammoth project.
Edgar Wright
Having famously left 2015’s Ant-Man due to ‘creative differences’, and having not watched the Peyton reed directed film because it would be like ‘watching an ex-girlfriend have sex’, is it possible Wright and Marvel could reconcile their differences? With no shortage of both action and comedy in his locker, Wright could be the perfect man to tackle the comedic family dynamic of the Fantastic Four.
Ben Wheatley
From Kill List (2011), to High-Rise (2015) to Free Fire (2016), Wheatley has operated incredibly within budgetary constraints for years. Currently filming the new adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s novel Rebecca, Wheatley could deliver a more grounded version of the two superhero groups than we’ve seen before. Mix in the high-octane, incredibly well-crafted action sequence seen in Free Fire, and Marvel and Feige could be onto a winner.
Lynne Ramsay
If a grounded take on Superhero’s is what marvel are after, then they should look no further than the prolific Lynne Ramsay. From 1999’s Ratcatcher, all the way through to 2017’s Joaquin Phoenix starring, almost twisted superhero esque You Were Never Really Here, this would be an appointment, all be it (probably) unlikely on Ramsay’s part that would excite and intrigue. Her last real brush with mainstream Hollywood came with her exiting 2009’s The Lovely Bones, but ten years is a long time, and I’m sure many would welcome a gritty Ramsay take on the X-Men.
James Mangold
Having directed the most critically acclaimed entry in Fox’s own X-Men universe with Logan (2017), Hugh Jackman’s almost westernised last rodeo as Wolverine, Mangold must surely be in the conversation to have a crack at rebooting the entire X-Men team. With the rumours of Mangold writing and directing an X-23 movie starring Logan’s brilliant Dafne Keen seeming to have evaporated following the Disney/Fox merger, bringing Mangold on board would hopefully bring with it the chance of seeing the breakout star yet again. And there is always the slight possibility Mangold’s hiring may convince Hugh jackman to don the famous claws once more…