When Spider-Man came to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, fans were eager to see how director Jon Watts would move away from the Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield versions and allow the younger Tom Holland to spread his wings. Homecoming and Far From Home were critical and box-office successes, which has now led to Watts helming the Fantastic Four reboot for the MCU.
Admittedly, given the torrid past this property has endured under Fox, as much as fans clamored for a return, they were very skeptical as to who should take the reins. But now that the cat's out the bag, let's look at why Watts is indeed the perfect person to bring this to life again and what he should do.
Firstly, Watts understands the sense of family that the Fox movies struggled to nail. Now, Tim Story's movies didn't do that bad a job, but they felt more like a bunch of jokes and stereotypes being strung together than an organic family being crafted. And well, it was even worse with Josh Trank's dismal effort that made them cold strangers who didn't feel like they fit together.
Watts, though, nailed this essence perfectly in his Spidey movies with Pete, his friends like Ned, Aunt May, and even Happy Hogan and Tony Stark. Even despite him falling for Liz and M.J. in the two films, at their cores, Pete's story was about those who were there for him, and that's what this reboot requires. It's something the cosmic-tripping Fantastic Four have had engrained in their books for decades and especially now, with the divisive state of the world, it's needed more than ever. Watts even got the family dynamic right with Vulture's wife and daughter in the first film, and Mysterio's group in the follow-up, so you can tell he understands the theme of togetherness and strength in numbers.
Secondly, Watts knows how to play to the strengths of what drives modern families -- and that's kids. Sure, he could have had Pete be more serious, especially after Stark died, but he kept him a child at heart, one lost in the wonder of science and the ambition of heroism, and this has paid dividends, making him an earnest Avenger you want to root for. In other words, while there's a bigger picture at play in the universe, at its core, Watts dials down and deals with the hero at home, which is why he needs to use Valeria and Franklin and scrap the origin story for the seniors we've gotten so much of already.
Watt is a master at the teen aesthetic and that '80s coming-of-age aspect in a world where there are bigger, grander heroes at play. Thus, we can see these teens trying to find their place in the world while their parents, Reed and Sue, and uncles, Ben and Johnny, attend to bigger issues. This also leaves room to connect them to Dr. Doom, time-travel, visiting other worlds and the Multiverse, the same way Watts had Pete wandering but with parents like Stark and Nick Fury/Talos overseeing. Such an approach also sets Val and Franklin up to be in the Future Foundation or as aspiring Avengers, once more reminiscent of Pete's story.
Ultimately, Watts' style is all about the next wave of heroes the MCU is clearly embarking on. He's tapped into the concept of today's young heroes being tomorrow's gatekeepers, and this is what's needed to freshen up the franchise. We've had a lot of the adults in the three F4 movies so far making brave, bold choices, so Watts is the right person to use teens as the anchor in a landscape that will shift to Ironheart, Kamala Khan, Kate Bishop and others.. It does copy the Iron Man/Spidey formula a bit but again, having caring parents trying to deal with super-powered teens trying to find their place in the world has worked in The Incredibles. Most of all, it has that warm, emotive vibe that this series desperately needs with brighter, younger eyes at the forefront.