“Avatar 2” writer Josh Freidman is set to write the latest draft of “Fantastic Four” for Marvel Studios, according to an insider with knowledge.
Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer wrote the previous draft of the script.
“WandaVision” filmmaker Matt Shakman is attached to direct.
The MCU film is scheduled for release on Feb. 14, 2025.
Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, “Fantastic Four” is the comic that started it all for Marvel. Though the group’s concept is pure weirdness — science genius Reed Richards, his best friend Ben Grimm, his girlfriend Sue Storm and her reckless brother, Johnny, are exposed to cosmic radiation and develop superpowers — the team was depicted as a dysfunctional but loving family unit.
That idea helped launch what became known as “the Marvel revolution,” a shift in superhero comics that emphasized flawed protagonists expressing humanistic values who often had to resolve family, dating and even financial challenges while protecting the public from an increasingly packed roster of supervillains.
The “Fantastic Four” characters have appeared in four previous films: two 20th Century Fox movies directed by Tim Story, the 2015 flop directed by Josh Trank and an unreleased movie directed by Roger Corman that was made solely for Constantin Film to maintain film rights.
Along with writing “Avatar 2” for James Cameron, Friedman’s credits include adapting “Snowpiercer” for TNT, Steven Spielberg’s “War of the Worlds,” and “Terminator: Dark Fate.”
Friedman is repped by CAA and Jackoway Austen.
The Hollywood Reporter first reported the news.