The glorious day Werner Herzog rejected Marvel: “He very politely said no”
Werner Herzog has been a legendary filmmaker for a long time, albeit a controversial one. While he has made many classics, these haven’t come without difficulty behind the scenes, and Fitzcarraldo is the ultimate proof.
Shot in the Amazon rainforest, several people died during filming, there were extreme bouts of illness and injury, and Herzog was even asked by an Indigenous man serving as an extra if he’d like him to kill lead actor Klaus Kinski. Herzog got a bunch of local extras to haul a 320-tonne steamship over a mountain, refusing to use special effects, and it’s a wonder that he was actually able to get away with so much – that would never fly today.
Despite the controversy surrounding Fitzcarraldo, Herzog has continued to create acclaimed movies, from the documentary Grizzly Man, in which the director tracks the life of a bear enthusiast who was ultimately mauled to death, to the epic war film Rescue Dawn, starring Christian Bale. He’s a pretty cult figure, adored by many – not just for his films, but also his rather unique persona.
When he got shot by an air rifle while being interviewed by Mark Kermode, he seemed unfazed, despite the fact that he was bleeding, remarking, “It’s not significant.”
With his distinctive soft German accent, Herzog has attracted many fans, and when he lends himself to an acting role, it’s always a fascinating sight – whether it’s Harmony Korine’s Julien Donkey-Boy or something a little more mainstream like Penguins of Madagascar, Herzog is an unmistakable presence.
So, when Marvel came to casting an actor to voice WERNER, the German version of JARVIS from Iron Man, who was set to appear in the animated series What If…?, they reached out to Herzog. Writer AC Bradley thought there was a connection because JARVIS first appeared in Iron Man, directed by Jon Favreau, who was also the man behind The Mandalorian, in which Herzog had voiced The Client in three episodes.
But Herzog wasn’t remotely interested. Marvel was of no interest to the German director, who is, I must say, far too good for the MCU. Bradley told Slash Film, “We were talking about just different voices for Jarvis and also Favreau.”
“The Mandalorian had just come out, and that was amazing. And Werner Herzog was in it, and we’re like, ‘What if we can get Werner?’”
AC Bradley
Concluding, “And Werner Herzog is one of those voices that when you start talking in it badly and [imitating] doing it, you kind of get carried away with it. I think we had two pages of the alternate JARVIS dialogue. There was so much of it because it was so much fun.”
So, Marvel approached Herzog, but, of course, he was not on board. “We did ask him very politely if he would like to do it. My understanding is we asked him, and he very politely said no.” Marvel isn’t exactly the height of cinematic sophistication, and it seems like Herzog had better things to do than contribute to the very thing that is arguably destroying cinema.
