VFXWorld reports that Sean Astin (Samwise Gamgee in The Lord of the Rings) has mentioned in an interview that he is in the running to direct the film version of The Fantastic Four. “Upon the success of his short film, The Long and Short of It, which he filmed while making The Lord of the Rings, he has had interviews to direct 20th Century Fox’s feature adaptation of the Marvel comic classic”. Astin was nominated for an Academy Award in 1994 for his short film Kangaroo Court. Steven Soderbergh is also rumored to be on Fox’s short list. The film is penciled in for a mid-2005 release.