Edgar Wright believes Hollywood franchises need to “take a breather”
Major directors giving their opinion on large movie franchises is not uncommon. Martin Scorsese is still quizzed about his comments surrounding Marvel when he compared the likes of Captain America and Iron Man to theme parks. Now, following a recent appearance on the ‘Happy Sad Confused’ podcast, Edgar Wright has made his voice heard.
It’s no surprise that, unlike Scorsese, Edgar Wright is more in favour of these movie franchises. When you consider his back catalogue that leans into spectacle, with films such as Baby Driver and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World being some of his most popular credits, films that act as escapism for cinemagoers are something he enjoys and considers essential. Wright’s issue is less with storyline and over-reliance on effects and more with timing.
“One of the problems with film franchises,” he said, “Is sometimes when they announce – I’m not mentioning any names or anything – when they announce like massive slates of films and TV shows […] there’s a danger of killing the golden goose.”
He continued: “It is a weird thing: if I could go back to when I was a young film fan, and I’ve just enjoyed a movie, and people are saying, ‘guess what? They’ll be one every three years for the rest of your life.’ I’d be like, ‘Really?!’ That’s the thing that is sad to me, the lack of investment in new movies.”
Wright’s advice is fairly straightforward: keep making these major blockbusters, but take some time so that people can get excited about them once again. He didn’t mention Marvel specifically, but their film and TV schedule for the next three years has been mapped out and released to the public, meaning the anticipation for what is coming does slightly dwindle.
The director mentions the James Bond franchise as an exception to this rule. They are happy at the moment having no films in their release calendar as a new way forward is mapped out.
“They’re pretty smart actually because they’re willing to kind of put a pause on things to build anticipation. They are the exception,” the director confirmed. “They are smart enough to build anticipation so you’ll be excited for the next one.”
Wright certainly has a point, but it’s one that a lot of people would likely disagree with. For a lot of fans of major franchises like Marvel and DC, half of the fun is considering what has been confirmed and coming up with theories about what could happen in upcoming films. In that sense, an element of anticipation is built in waiting to see whether or not their predictions are correct. That being said, as major movies decrease in popularity, it could well be time to heed the director’s advice and leave people in the dark for a little bit.
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