‘The Fantastic Four' Director Matt Shakman Reveals the ‘Magical' Comics That Inspired the Film in ‘Small and Large Ways' (EXCLUSIVE)

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Before Iron Man, before the Hulk, before Spider-Man, there was the Fantastic Four. The quartet of astronauts transformed into superheroes were Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's first creation for Marvel Comics, launching the sprawling storytelling universe of interconnected characters that has endured for 64 years. Until Disney acquired 20th Century Fox in 2019, however, Reed Richards (a.k.a. Mr. Fantastic), Sue Storm (a.k.a. the Invisible Woman), Johnny Storm (a.k.a. the Human Torch) and Ben Grimm (a.k.a. the Thing), as were unable to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
That will finally change in July with the premiere of Marvel Studios' 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps,' starring Pedro Pascal as Reed, Vanessa Kirby as Sue, Joseph Quinn as Johnny and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben. To marshal Marvel's First Family into the MCU, studio chief Kevin Feige tapped veteran director Matt Shakman, who helmed every episode of Marvel's first streaming series, 'WandaVision,' as well as episodes of 'Monarch: Legacy of Monsters,' 'Succession,' 'Game of Thrones,' 'The Great,' 'The Boys,' 'Fargo,' 'The Good Wife' and 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.'
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Beyond his extensive resume, Shakman's biggest qualification for the job is his love for the Fantastic Four comics, as demonstrated in the foreward the filmmaker penned for the new Marvel Premiere Collection release, 'Fantastic Four: Solve Everything' — which Variety is exclusively previewing below.
The volume, which goes on sale June 3, is a streamlined collection of Fantastic Four comics published between 2009 and 2011 (i.e. issues #570–588) written by Jonathan Hickman, with art by Dale Eaglesham, Neil Edwards and Steve Epting, and cover art by Joe Quesada. In his foreward, Shakman singles out Hickman's work — and this particular run of issues — as a major influence on the new 'Fantastic Four' movie. Among several curious allusions to FF storylines and characters, the director specifically cites three of Hickman's inventions — Reed's philanthropic Future Foundation, the multiverse portal the Bridge, and the interdimensional Council of Reeds. How these may (or may not) be incorporated into the movie remains to be seen, but Shakman's love for the comics, and for these characters, is abundantly clear.
Fantastic Four: Solve EverythingForeward By Matt Shakman
I fell in love with the Fantastic Four when I was a kid growing up in Ventura, California. Encountering a family of super heroes that felt so familiar blew my mind: the humor, the heart, the sniping and griping, the messiness. At the same time, I was taken by the optimism and wonder of their world. With their roots in the '60s space race, the F4 have always been about exploration — whether it is to the cosmos or the Negative Zone or deep into the human mind. Reed, Sue, Ben and Johnny may have incredible powers, but they are family first, scientists and explorers second and super heroes only when absolutely necessary.
Every Marvel filmmaker attempts to build on what has come before in publishing while simultaneously reinventing the characters for the current moment. The same is true with comic creators. What Lee and Kirby launched in the '60s changed Marvel forever. Their bold gamble to center a realistic family turned into the biggest hit of the early Silver Age. Every artist and writer since has attempted to build on that legacy while finding something in the characters that made them sparkle anew.
In preparation for Marvel Studios' 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps,' I delved into the 60-plus years of comics history. Marvel's First Family has been continuously cared for by the best and brightest the company had to offer. None shone so bright as Jonathan Hickman. The humor and heart I loved as a kid? It's there and better than ever. The messy family dynamics? Made even more interesting as Val and Franklin take center stage. And that sense of optimism and wonder? I don't think the Fantastic Four have been quite as fantastic as they are in the pages of this book.
As we developed the script for the film, I returned again and again to this epic run — thrilled by brain-bending innovations like the Council of Reeds and riveted by heroic standoffs against the likes of Annihilus. But it was Hickman's deep insight into the specific family dynamics of the Four that affected me the most.
His Reed Richards is part Steve Jobs and part Oppenheimer, always on the edge of saving the world or destroying it. The author runs right at Mister Fantastic's weakness: believing that he can and should do it all on his own. Reed is determined to 'Solve Everything' — but he learns that the cost of solving everything is… everything. Ultimate knowledge risks ultimate sacrifice: the loss of his family.
Sue has come a long way from the 'Invisible Girl' of the early '60s. In these pages, she is part United Nations Secretary General and part Field Marshal, backing up diplomacy with force when necessary. Hickman's Sue may be the most powerful member of the Four — she's the glue that holds the world together while Reed experiments in the lab with things that could destroy it. She brokers deals as the world's finest diplomat, ending up as the Queen of the Sea. In one of my favorite F4 moments, she declares to Namor, 'I am a Queen that bows before no King.' Damn right.
How do these two very different people make up the greatest marriage in comics history? We see, page after page, that the secret is their unique balance of heart and mind. Before Jerry Maguire, these two completed each other.
Sue and Reed are relatable not just as partners, but also as parents. We understand their anxiety, fretting over the destiny of Val and Franklin just as I fret over my 9-year-old daughter's future. I cherish the family intimacy of scenes in the Baxter Building and never doubt that these parents love their children and would do anything to protect their future. I know that Johnny and Ben would do the same.
And we know that, as super heroes, they will fight just as hard to protect our world.
Having absorbed six decades of F4 publishing, many of Hickman's magical moments and unique character dynamics stick with me. And they made it into our film in small and large ways. From Sue as a diplomat to Reed trying to solve everything even at the risk of imperiling his family. Johnny's need to be taken seriously. Ben's gentle nature, forever at odds with his appearance. The Future Foundation. The Bridge. The mystery of children and the anxiety we have as parents about their future.
Hickman is a poet, of both the everyday and the extraordinary. His work beats with a heart as big as Sue Storm's, rendering an emotional journey that culminates in a scene that makes me tear up every time I read it. (I won't ruin it… just wait for 'Uncles.') His writing is thrilling, thought-provoking and tender…and, like the characters he writes about, fantastic.
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