Matt Shakmanjust directed one of the biggest blockbusters of the summer, but it’s quite the change of pace for him. Shakman led theMCU’s next big superhero team as director ofThe Fantastic Four: First Steps. The film is perfect for families, as it has a light-hearted message about the importance of family.
However, beforeThe Fantastic Four: First Steps, Matt Shakman didn’t even work on films, and he certainly didn’t make projects for whole families to enjoy. In fact, Shakman set records with one of the darkest sitcoms airing on television today:It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. The director did a lot of work for the series, creating some of the show’s most iconic episodes. His skills on the show even had a small effect on his future Marvel projects, which would come to be knownas some of the MCU’s best.
‘Fantastic Four’ Director Also Made Some of ‘Sunny’s Best Episodes
Before he madeThe Fantastic Four: First Steps, Matt Shakman honed his craft by directing episodes ofIt’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which isnow in its 17th season.He directed 43 episodes across a span of 10 years and holds the record for most episodes directed on the show. That’s more than double the number of episodes from the second-place director, Fred Savage, with 18 episodes.
With his long history on the show, Matt Shakman has directed some ofIt’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s greatest episodes. He directed “The Gang Goes on Family Fight,” “CharDee MacDennis: The Game of Games,” and “The Gang Dines Out,” which audiences might recognize by the memeable image of Charlie and Mac staring across a restaurant at each other.
While most of Shakman’s episodes are iconic, they’re not free from the controversial jokes in the show. He directed “The Nightman Cometh” episode, which has the gang putting on a musical featuring songs that accidentally sound inappropriately sexual. He did not direct the episode that included Blackface, but he did direct another episode focused on race, which also just happened to be another musical. “The Gang Turns Black” found the show’s characters in situations where they were treated as if they were Black, despite still being all-white. It’s a much different directing job from Shakman’s latest Marvel movie.
Every ‘Always Sunny’ Episode Directed by Matt Shakman
3.3 “Dennis and Dee’s Mom Is Dead”
3.7 “The Gang Sells Out”
3.12 “The Gang Gets Whacked: Part 1”
3.13 “The Gang Gets Whacked: Part 2”
3.15 “The Gang Dances Their Asses Off”
4.2 “The Gang Solves the Gas Crisis”
4.4 “Mac’s Banging the Waitress”
4.5 “Mac and Charlie Die: Part 1”
4.8 “Paddy’s Pub: The Worst Bar in Philadelphia”
4.10 “Sweet Dee Has a Heart Attack”
4.11 “The Gang Cracks the Liberty Bell”
4.13 “The Nightman Cometh”
6.6 “Mac’s Mom Burns Her House Down”
6.8 “The Gang Gets a New Member”
6.9 “Dee Reynolds: Shaping America’s Youth”
6.10 “Charlie Kelly: King of the Rats”
6.11 “The Gang Gets Stranded in the Woods”
6.12 “Dee Gives Birth”
7.1 “Frank’s Pretty Woman”
7.2 “The Gang Goes to the Jersey Shore”
7.3 “Frank Reynolds’ Little Beauties”
7.4 “Sweet Dee Gets Audited”
7.5 “Frank’s Brother”
7.6 “The Storm of the Century”
7.7 “CharDee MacDennis: The Game of Games”
7.8 “The ANTI-Social Network”
7.9 “The Gang Gets Trapped”
7.10 “How Mac Got Fat”
7.11 “Thunder Gun Express”
7.12 “The High School Reunion”
7.13 “The High School Reunion Part 2: The Gang’s Revenge”
8.1 “Pop-Pop: The Final Solution”
8.2 “The Gang Recycles Their Trash”
8.8 “Charlie Rules the World”
8.9 “The Gang Dines Out”
10.4 “Charlie Work”
10.5 “The Gang Spies Like the US”
10.8 “The Gang Goes on Family Fight”
12.1 “The Gang Turns Black”
12.2 “The Gang Goes to the Water Park”
12.4 “Wolf Cola: A Public Relations Nightmare”
12.8 “The Gang Tends Bar”
12.10 “Dennis' Double Life”
Shakman’s TV Directing Is Much Different From ‘First Steps’
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphiaisn’t the only wild TV show Shakman has directed. He did episodes for sitcoms that includeEverybody Hates ChrisandNew Girl. He led episodes for gritty dramas such asGame of Thrones,Mad Men,Succession, andFargo. He even directed five episodes each of the classic TV seriesHouseandPsych. It wasn’t until 2019 that Shakman waded into the superhero genre with an episode of the satirical, hyper-violent seriesThe Boys.
Matt Shakman joined Marvel in 2021 withWandaVision, which was also the first show in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Shakman directed all episodes of the series, and his sitcom background played a major role in the show’s success, as many of the show’s episodes were inspired by sitcoms. Shakman did such a good job with the series that he got to direct one of Marvel’s biggest summer blockbusters, despite the film being a change of pace.
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Shakman makes his debut directing films withThe Fantastic Four: First Steps. It’s a brave step for him (get it?), considering that he’s only directed television shows for more than two decades. The film is also different compared to the kinds of shows he typically directs. Shakman has worked on one of the most outrageous comedies withIt’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, some of the darkest shows withGame of ThronesandThe Boys, and now he’s directing a family film. “Family film” even works in two ways forTheFantastic Four: First Steps, as it’s a film about a family, made for families.
Matt Shakman’s TV Pedigree Works for ‘The Fantastic Four’
Shakman may seem like he’s out of his depth withThe Fantastic Four: First Steps, but years of working onIt’s Always Sunny in Philadelphiaand other shows have prepared him more than any other director. Shakman actually brings his TV directing skills to the film at surprising moments. For instance, the audience is introduced to the Fantastic Four through a montage that shows them gaining their powers, fighting different villains, and helping citizens with various problems.The scene feels like it could have been a supercut of moments from an episodic Fantastic Four series.
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Shakman’s love for TV is also sprinkled throughout the background of the film. There’s a TV running in nearly every scene that takes place on Earth. TVs are also important because most of the characters, both main and background, learn what’s happening from TV news. It’s how the citizens come to love or hate the Fantastic Four. Not to mention,The Fantastic Four: First Stepsincludes fictional shows that help paint the team in a good light, including “The Ted Gilbert Show” and a retro Fantastic Four cartoon. Hopefully, the next time audiences see the superhero team, they’ll also get introduced to Matt Shakman’s version ofIt’s Always Sunny in PhiladelphiainThe Fantastic Four’s universe.
