Aaron Taylor-Johnson says studios are stopping audiences going to the cinema
The year of 2024 is proving to be a busy one for the actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson, beginning with a supporting performance in The Fall Guy, before a leading effort in Kraven the Hunter and a further appearance in Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu.
Taylor-Johnson is also hotly tipped to be in the lead for the new James Bond actor, although he’s previously played down such suggestions. In a new interview with Rolling Stone, the actor opened up on the current state of cinema.
Discussing the opportunity to launch a new superhero franchise for Sony, Taylor-Johnson said, “I think there was something unique about this character, and something grounded.”
Going on to discuss the fatigue with studio movies, he added, “We’ve all had enough of seeing certain studio films, a certain kind of pop culture… where they’re churning out stuff that dilutes wanting to go to the cinema. I wouldn’t have signed onto it if I felt there wasn’t something to really bring to life with this character.”
According to the actor, though, there is still a challenge in taking on a Sony/Marvel movie. Not only is there the “story, the character, [and] the role,” but “you also step into a world where you’re dealing with a studio and a franchise.”
“So, they’re rolling the dice on me, in a sense, which is a lovely thing,” he signed off on the matter. “But you’ve got to appease the studio, please the audience and do what’s dignified for you as an actor. I find all of that super challenging.”
There are few franchises as big in the world of cinema as James Bond, though, and the reports recently have suggested that Taylor-Johnson has been offered the role and has signed a contract, but neither the actor nor the films’ producers have confirmed this.
In the Rolling Stone interview, Taylor-Johnson responded to such rumours, “I can only really talk about the things I’m going to show and tell. I don’t feel like I need to have a future drawn out for me. I feel like: whatever’s drawn out for me, I can fuckin’ do better.”
For now, the actor has one hell of a year ahead of him. The Fall Guy, starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, will be released on May 3rd before Kraven the Hunter will find its way into cinemas on August 30th. The year will be rounded off for Taylor-Johnson on Christmas Day with one of the most anticipated movies of the year in the shape of Nosferatu.
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