Director Matthew Vaughn is no stranger to adapting comic book IP, taking on the movie versions of KICK-ASS, KINGSMAN, and the reboot of the X-Men with FIRST CLASS. His name has been linked to other major comic book properties – the most reported on being a sequel to MAN OF STEEL – but Vaughn has some other characters in mind he would like to bring to the big screen, and is particularly excited about the idea of tackling the Fantastic Four for Marvel.
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Vaughn was chatting with ComicBook.com while promoting THE KING’S MAN at New York Comic Con recently, where he revealed that, being a massive fan of the Four, he sees unlimited potential in doing a proper adaptation of the Four.
"Yeah I've always loved the idea of doing Fantastic Four as it was originally written. I mean it's one of my favorite comics and I actually think that Fantastic Four, as a nice piece of IP, is in theory as big as Spider-Man. I think those, the values of Fantastic Four and Spider-Man, I think those are the reason, if you're a kid, you can imagine being a part of the Fantastic Four family and you can imagine being Peter Parker. So yeah, I think Fan-Four would be the one that would excite me the most."
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Vaughn is echoing comments he made back in 2017, wherein he said he felt obligated to make a new Fantastic Four movie after the disastrous entry from 2015. The movie from Josh Trank attempted to give Marvel’s first family a grounded makeover, and in effect made a movie that bombed at the box office and made 20th Century Fox cancel plans for a sequel. Since then, the characters have re-entered the discussion after Disney bought Fox in a minor acquisition, meaning they will likely be rebooted into the Marvel Cinematic Universe at some point. While Kevin Feige and the people at Disney and Marvel don't have a place for the Four in Phase Four of the MCU (seems a wasted opportunity there), they will indeed be looking for someone to take on the gig in the future.
Vaughn has more than enough experience in the adaptation department, and his knack for colorful characters and slick action make him a perfect choice to give the Fantastic Four the adaptation they deserve. Three movies down and the team still hasn't been given a treatment fans can be proud of, but there's been room for hope now that they're back home under the umbrella of Marvel. But who knows what Marvel has planned for their whole new bundle of characters from the acquisition, so only time will tell who they trust to bring the likes of the Four and X-Men into the MCU.
THE KING'S MAN is in theaters February 14, 2020.