How Superhero Franchise Movies Lost Their Way: “It’s Actual Chaos”

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As a seasoned film critic with a lifetime of watching and analyzing movies, I can’t help but feel a sense of profound melancholy when it comes to the current state of superhero films. Having seen the evolution of these cinematic behemoths from their humble beginnings to the towering giants they are today, I must say that it’s a bittersweet experience.

In HBO’s upcoming series, The Franchise – a comedy exploring the backstage drama of creating a superhero movie – presents an unusual situation: A director working diligently on a fictional Marvel-esque production gradually discovers that the studio executives have altered their vision for the project and secretly filmed the actual movie elsewhere, while he continued to shoot scenes meant to be discarded.

At least one franchise filmmaker has experienced this situation, as confirmed by the show’s producers. (Or) It’s been confirmed by the show’s producers that at least one filmmaker working on a franchise movie has encountered this scenario.

Jon Brown, creator of ‘The Franchise’ (Succession), who collaborated with Armando Iannucci (Veep) and Sam Mendes (1917), shares that the level of disorder in the production of superhero films was more than they anticipated. Despite the common belief that these movies are planned out for the next decade, he reveals unexpected chaos such as script changes on set. For instance, a limo would show up with new pages in the morning, or producers would have multiple versions of the same script open, piecing together scenes by selecting lines at random. Sometimes, actors would arrive on set and their entire scene for the day would be rewritten to accommodate last-minute cast changes. It seems as though all these alterations were decided long ago, but this has occurred frequently in Marvel and DC films.

In some instances, the creators of the TV series The Franchise found themselves in an unusual predicament, where they had to tone down their storylines because the actual events they heard from industry veterans seemed too extraordinary. As Brown explained, “It’s like, ‘I know this is factual, but it just seems too absurd,’ so we occasionally have to scale things back a bit, as viewers might not accept it unless they already know it’s true.

The journey of The Franchise started during a lunch meeting in London between Mendes and Iannucci. They brainstormed potential collaborations, but none seemed quite right. Then, Mendes – fresh off the set of the 2015 James Bond blockbuster Spectre – spoke about the “spectacular chaos” he experienced directing two Bond films. According to Mendes, “the process of making franchise films can be absurdly chaotic and decisions are often made for seemingly random reasons. You’re always teetering on the edge, as a director. There’s this feeling that a massive machine is moving forward unstoppably, and sometimes you feel like you’re steering it, while other times you’re just a passenger.

Upon exiting the restaurant, Armando remarked, “That was quite a performance – a comical peek into the making of a film franchise.

For Mendes, who is responsible for directing the first episode, this was an opportunity for a renowned film director specializing in serious cinema to venture into something new. He expresses, “The type of shows I enjoy watching always left me feeling sad because I never had the chance to create one that I genuinely look forward to watching at home in the evening.

They soon discovered that it was actually a superhero series, not a spy franchise, that offered the best opportunity for satire. As Iannucci put it, “In the U.K., you can hardly take a step without colliding with an actor who’s spent the last 18 months confined to a small green room, pretending to battle aliens, earning a substantial income while slowly losing their sanity.

After HBO brought Brown on board as the showrunner, they gave the project the green light. However, casting turned out to be a challenge, as we weren’t keen on actors who had previously worked on comic book projects for certain roles. As Brown put it, “Finding believable superheroes who can embody the right physicality and tone without any past experience in that genre is like trying to find MIT or Harvard graduates who are content with just working on Wall Street.” It’s a bit tragic, yet ironic, how talented individuals get drawn into this industry only to find their craft limited by the roles they’re given.

The result is a biting and witty workplace comedy that follows the cast and crew of Tecto, a movie about a superhero who can make earthquakes. The players include an insecure star (Billy Magnussen), an arrogant British thespian (Richard E. Grant), a frustrated visionary director (Daniel Brühl) and an ambitious newbie producer (Aya Cash). But the show’s focal point is the production’s beleaguered first assistant director, Daniel (Himesh Patel), who desperately tries to keep all the plates spinning and egos satiated while mentoring a pestering 3rd AD (Lolly Adefope).  

According to Mendes, the essence of this production lies primarily with the ADs, PAs, script supervisors, line producers, and the rest of the crew who labor behind the scenes, often going unacknowledged for their efforts. Meanwhile, Brown notes that our aim was to create a series focusing on skilled craftspeople ensnared within a flawed system, rather than portraying a team consistently making mistakes.

The head of the fictional production is Pat Shannon (played by Darren Goldstein), a hard-nosed executive at Maximum Studios who dismisses “franchise fatigue” as not a genuine condition but a hoax. His character may bring to mind Marvel’s chief, Kevin Feige, both in appearance and position, yet the producers emphasize that the character is written distinctly differently. Brown, the writer, shares that while everyone praises Feige for his kindness, this presents a challenge as a writer, saying, “It’s such a pity — if we made him a real monster, we could go after him.

Yet Feige having such a hands-on role at a prolific studio is certainly critiqued. Brown suspects giving so much creative authority to one person is one source of the MCU’s struggles. “There’s a very thin funnel that [Marvel] productions go though — which is Kevin Feige’s brain,” he says. “All these decisions come down to one guy. I was doing eight episodes of one TV show and that was enough to make me nearly mad. Imagine having a slate of those movies and TV shows in your brain constantly while being told by people above you that Rotten Tomatoes scores are down, box offices is down, engagement is down.”

One of the debut season’s best episodes features producers and crew members grappling with the studio having “a woman problem” — too few female superheroes. It’s a situation Marvel and DC likewise have publicly, and awkwardly, tried to address. In the show, the producers’ solution is to insert an actress into the film midway through production and give her character an all-powerful phallic weapon from comic book lore, causing online fans to have a meltdown. 

In an effort to rectify issues that drove off fans, franchise films make adjustments, Brown notes. However, this can lead to a balancing act where strong female characters are introduced but perceived as undermining male roles by some viewers. It’s unfortunate because actresses like Brie Larson, who breathe life into modernized female comic book heroes originally conceived in the 1960s, can face threatening messages – something that is far from amusing. Yet, it’s astounding how seriously people take these matters.

It could appear that the timing for a project such as “The Franchise” might not be optimal – the craze surrounding superheroes over the past two decades arguably reached its zenith in 2019 with “Avengers: Endgame“, and since then, it has experienced a decline at the box office and an identity crisis. However, “The Franchise” skillfully explores these very challenges, featuring characters grappling with financial constraints and worrying about studio executives’ decisions.

Brown notes, “The experience was more engaging because it seemed franchise films are facing a predicament. The atmosphere in ‘The Sopranos’ suggests a fading lifestyle; a sense of an empire nearing its end. This ambiance mirrored well with a show that combines workplace comedy and satire of this culture, as well as a cash cow acknowledging its peak might have passed.

In contrast to conventional Hollywood production depictions that typically focus on a dominant director or star, The Franchise stands out as remarkably relatable due to its portrayal of everyone involved feeling like interchangeable parts in the superhero machine. This is consistent with what producers claim was discovered during their research. As Brown explains, “In the world of Marvel/DC, a scene is often filmed with actors on location, followed by another take without the actors but with the same camera movement, just in case they decide to replace them later. Then, they’ll film the actors again against a green screen, allowing them to possibly keep the actors but change the background.

This approach is akin to constructing a real multiverse of tasks, seemingly to dodge decision-making; by keeping countless possibilities open for assembly during the editing process later on. As he puts it, “It’s merely because no one wants to finalize anything, as that allows for constant change, essentially.

The most striking example of such uncertainty and adaptability unfolded in the case of Warner Bros.’ cancelled Batgirl movie, which was scrapped to secure a tax credit. Iannucci, who hails from Glasgow and oversaw part of Batgirl’s filming there, expresses that it was a source of local pride.

He remarks, ‘That’s truly sad.’ Regardless of your intentions when creating something – like telling yourself you won’t get attached to it – once you add even a tiny part of yourself, you’re already emotionally involved. It’s difficult not to feel connected. This is often the most painful because machines don’t have feelings for people; they’re just tools for content.

As a fan, I’ve been curious about how Warner Bros. Discovery feels about “The Franchise” given their significant stake in reviving DC Studios. But according to Amy Gravitt, HBO’s executive vp of comedy programming, there hasn’t been a peep of concern from the top brass. In fact, she finds the concept of a half-hour series poking fun at superheroes amusing. She emphasizes that when it comes to satire, which we’ve dabbled in before, striking the right tone is crucial – one that reflects our current world and cultural climate.

To clarify, the creators want to make it clear that the series is not about the despair or downfall of the movie industry. As Mendes explains, “It’s not a pessimistic show.” Instead, there is a charming and hopeful atmosphere throughout the production process that Jon has effectively portrayed in the series.

Brown emphasizes the importance of treating these films and their creators with respect, as they all strive for excellence. While some might view these movies as following a formula, visiting the sets reveals that everyone involved is putting in their utmost effort to create something extraordinary.

Although The Franchise team’s goal is to mock, rather than rescue, the genre of superhero movies, one cannot help but wonder: How might the creators approach rectifying these issues in the series?

Brown points out that Marvel’s 2008 hit film “Iron Man” thrived due to the high degree of creative autonomy and absence of significant studio intervention, a luxury that is hard to come by in modern productions. As he puts it, “They had the liberty to make editorial and casting choices based on their own judgement.” He feels that Marvel’s connection with its fanbase has shifted, moving from asserting authoritative statements like “This is the movie and this is our way,” to seeking a more involved fanbase that was more engaged during earlier phases. This change, Brown suggests, leads to decisions driven by fear rather than boldness. He implies that making brave and daring choices increases the likelihood of creating something extraordinary, but such freedom can be elusive amidst corporate pressures. In essence, he’s saying that you’ll take risks when necessary.

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2024-09-18 18:00