Fantastic Four reboot movie close to finding a director

Director Josh Trank is on the short list to direct Fox’s reboot of Marvel’s Fantastic Four franchise, according to Variety. That’s a major sign of confidence from the studio in Trank’s upcoming supervillain film Chronicle, which doesn’t hit theaters until February 3rd.

According to the report, Trank has had several meetings regarding the Fantastic Four project, but Fox is expected to wait and see how Chronicle does over Super Bowl weekend before extending an official offer. Green Lantern writer Michael Green is also working on a new draft of the script.

Fox feels strongly about Chronicle, having offered exclusive footage during the NFL’s wild-card weekend after the movie’s trailer generated massive traffic online.

Tim Story directed the first two Fantastic Four movies, which grossed $620 million worldwide.

Though Marvel owns and finances properties like Iron Man and Thor, Fox controls Fantastic Four in perpetuity as long as it continues making the films. Fox has the same arrangement on Marvel Comics properties X-Men, Daredevil and Silver Surfer, with Marvel acting as a producer and financial participant through a licensing agreement.

Trank got his start writing and directing several episodes of Spike TV’s miniseries The Kill Point and went on to serve as editor and co-producer of Robert Siegel’s acclaimed indie Big Fan.

Max Landis wrote Chronicle, which follows three teens who gain superpowers after making an incredible discovery but soon find their lives spinning out of control as they embrace their darker sides.