News of the Week: WandaVision's Matt Shakman To Direct MCU Fantastic Four

September has arrived and fall is just around the corner–even if half the country is currently in a heat wave. To beat the heat, it helps to dive into big movie news and exciting announcements. This week brings news of a big Marvel reboot landing a new director, a stacked cast grows, a highly-anticipated video game adaptation finally gets going, a classic Korean noir thriller is coming back to theaters, and more.

As always, Atom Insider brings you a few hand-picked stories we think you’ll like. Ready? Let’s dive in.

Miles Teller & ‘Black Phone’ Director Scott Derrickson Teaming Up For ‘The Gorge’

Scott Derrickson recently returned to the horror genre with this summer’s hugely successful Black Phone, but his next project will be something a little more genre-bending. Deadline reports he’ll be directing Skydance’s The Gorge, and Miles Teller has also signed on to star in and executive produce the project. The story is based on a spec script from Zach Dean, who also wrote The Tomorrow War. Exact details about the plot for The Gorge are being tightly guarded, but it’s being described as a “high-action, genre-bending love story.” High action and genre-bending are certainly in Derrickson’s wheelhouse, seeing as he helmed Marvel’s Doctor Strange, and with a talent like Teller in the lead, it will be an interesting team-up. Reportedly, the selling point for Derrickson was learning that Teller had signed on; it will now be the next project for both of them. Clearly, they’re eager to work with each other and from the sounds of it, there’s a reason why. This has already become one of the better projects to keep our eyes on.

‘WandaVision’ Director Matt Shakman In Talks To Direct Marvel’s ‘Fantastic Four’

When Jon Watts stepped away from Marvel’s Fantastic Four reboot a few months ago, the search was on for a new director to take over. After meeting with a number of potential candidates, it appears Marvel has found their person, and he’s someone they’re already very familiar with. WandaVision helmer Matt Shakman is in talks with the studio to take a swing at the reboot of Marvel’s First Family, and while talks are still in the earlier stages, they’re reportedly moving along quickly.

It’s not clear how Marvel will handle the Fantastic Four’s MCU debut. Previous studios have taken a shot at the property twice before, the first time to mixed reception and the second time the much-maligned 2015 reboot from Fox. If Marvel is smart, they’ll skp the origin story and just get right to the team already in the middle of being superheroes. That may very well be the case, too: John Krasinski recently cameoed as an alt-universe version of Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic in this summer’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Considering his character was unceremoniously killed off, it’s unclear if Krasinski will reprise the role or if another actor will. With Disney’s D23 Expo expected to bring lots of Marvel announcements next weekend, it’s entirely possible we’ll get the reveal of the Fantastic Four cast. Either way, it’s almost a certainty that Shakman’s involvement, if he signs on the dotted line, will be announced then.

Marvel’s Fantastic Four is scheduled to hit theaters on November 8, 2024.

‘Hunger Games’ Francis Lawrence To Direct The ‘BioShock’ Movie

After being in development for years, the long-anticipated movie adaptation of BioShock has finally landed a director–apparently, this is a week of big projects landing big directors. Francis Lawrence, the director of The Hunger Games, is stepping into the director role. Just as excitingly, Michael Green (Logan, American Gods) has been tapped to pen the script for the buzzy project. The video game series from developer 2K has been wildly successful since the launch of the first BioShock game in 2007. The dystopian sci-fi horror game takes place across multiple landscapes with elements of RPGs, survival games, and biopunk all wrapped up in existential themes of what it means to be human. The game was almost universally praised for reinventing the video game genre, and showing that video games could be cerebral and thoughtful while still being action-packed. Considering their respective backgrounds in big, dystopian action, Lawrence and Green are the perfect creative team to bring BioShock to life.

Ben Kingsley’s Trevor Slattery Returning For Marvel’s ‘Wonder Man’ Show

One of the most interesting developments of the MCU Phase 4 has been that one of Marvel’s worst decisions – the Mandarin twist in Iron Man 3 – has been salvaged over the course of the past few years. The character of Trevor Slattery has now become a welcome addition in MCU projects as his reputation has been rehabbed. Slattery, played by legendary actor Ben Kingsley, was first introduced in Iron Man 3 as the Mandarin, only to be later revealed as merely an actor named Trevor Slattery posing as the Mandarin. He next appeared in the short “All Hail the King,” where he was in prison for his crimes. In a fun twist, he returned in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings as a captive of the real Mandarin, Xu Wenwu. Apparently, the Trevor Slattery Rehabilitation Tour is not yet over as it’s been revealed he’ll be appearing in Marvel’s upcoming Wonder Man show, which is currently in development. Variety broke the news. In the comics, Wonder Man, a.k.a. Simon Williams, has been an actor and stuntman. Considering Slattery’s role as an actor, that could very well be the way the two connect. Either way, sources have said that Kingsley’s role is set to be a major one in the show, so it will be fun to see how they work the kooky character into the story.

Bobby Moynihan Joins Ryan Reynolds In John Krasinski’s ‘IF’

John Krasinski’s next film is in the works, and it’s already assembled an absolutely stacked cast. IF, based on an original story from Krasinski, has just added SNL alum Bobby Moynihan to the cast. He joins a cast that already includes Krasinski, Ryan Reynolds, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Cailey Fleming, Louis Gossett Jr., Fiona Shaw, Alan S. Kim, and Steve Carell. Krasinski will be pulling quadruple duty, having written the script, and working both in front of and behind the camera as director as well as serving as producer. Reynolds is also producing under his Maximum Effort banner. While exact details aren’t known, the story is reportedly about a child’s journey to rediscover their imagination and whimsy. The project is moving ahead quickly at Paramount. Right now, it’s slated for a May 24, 2024 release date.

Park Chan-wook’s ‘Oldboy’ Is Getting A 20th Anniversary Theatrical Release

Action fans, thriller fans, and Korean film fans, it’s time to rejoice. In a surprise announcement, it was revealed that Neon has picked up the U.S. distribution rights to Park Chan-wook’s groundbreaking Oldboy and plans to re-release it theatrically for the film’s 20th anniversary. The story follows Oh Dae-Su (Choi Min-sik), who has been imprisoned for fifteen years in a hotel room with no idea why or who his captors are. When he’s finally released, he finds himself still trapped in a nightmare of violent conspiracy, and he learns he only has five days to track down his captors and exact his vengeance. Along the way, he meets a young sushi chef and falls in love in a story that lays bare the human heart and plumbs the depths of the soul. Oldboy made its debut at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, where it was in the running for the Palme d’Or and won the Grand Prix award. It’s not yet known when Oldboy will be rereleased in theaters, but we’ll keep you updated.