One of the writers that helped build out James Cameron’s Sully family in Avatar: The Way of Water, Josh Friedman, has been hired to pen the script for Marvel’s new Fantastic Four movie.
The Hollywood Reporter announced the writer’s attachment to Matt Shankman’s feature debut with Marvel’s first family that’s set to kick off Phase 6 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Shankman, who previously worked on Marvel Disney+ series WandaVision, was brought on to helm Fantastic Four after its previously announced director, Jon Watts (Spider-Man: No Way Home), left the project. (Watts is now heading up Disney+ Star Wars series Skeleton Crew.)
Friedman, who previously worked on TNT’s series adaptation of Bong Joon-Ho’s Snowpiercer, is no stranger to genre. Aside from Avatar 2, his credits include Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds, and he created and wrote the highly underrated Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. So it makes sense that he was approached by Marvel Studios for this latest big-screen feature starring Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s beloved family — characters that fans have been waiting a long time to see introduced into the MCU. Previous franchise starts include Fantastic Four (2005) and Fantastic Four (2015); oddly, both featured future Marvel Cinematic Universe stars as Johnny Storm: Chris Evans, who later was cast as Captain America, and Black Panther’s Killmonger, Michael B. Jordan.
Fantastic Four from Marvel Studios is set to start Phase 6 of the MCU on November 8, 2024.