A New Series Explores the ‘Chaos’ Behind Superhero Franchises

By Andrew Sanford | TV | September 20, 2024 |

By Andrew Sanford | TV | September 20, 2024 |

Superhero movies dominated Hollywood for over a decade. While things have cooled off, films like Spider-Man: No Way Home still made a billion dollars during the pandemic. What was once a niche market (that still raked in cash) has become mainstream. “Regular” people know who Kang the Conqueror is! They also know that the actor playing him in the MCU was fired, causing the company to scramble to adjust its schedule.

Jonathan Majors was convicted of assault and harassment of a former partner. His trial and the events leading up to it were very public, as he had already achieved breakout success on the big screen and television. His case of abhorrent behavior was magnified due to his status in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Majors’s Kang was set to be the next big villain to challenge the Avengers.

The actor had already appeared in an Ant-Man movie and two seasons of Loki before he was fired from the important gig. Marvel then found itself with a schedule to keep, two Avengers movies on the horizon, and a need for a villain worthy of the famed team. They shelled out large sums of money to secure Robert Downey Jr.’s return, albeit in a different role, as the universe’s take on Dr. Doom. Reaction to this casting has been mixed at best.

While I may not like the casting decision, I don’t dislike it either. I’ll hold my judgment until the movie releases. Regardless, I understand it. Marvel had to introduce a villain that audiences were already familiar with and who also posed a multiversal threat. Fans know RDJ, they know Tony Stark, and they know his relationship to the other heroes. Using him allows Marvel to skip several more years of setup, keeping them on schedule. Making movies just to keep shareholders happy isn’t ideal, but if it’s going to happen, this approach makes sense.

If you’re already aware of this information, it’s because much of it played out in the open. Specific details are still missing, but various outlets have provided news and context throughout this process. That doesn’t mean we know everything. Hollywood has its secrets, and it only makes sense that comic book movies and franchises do as well.

What’s happening beneath the surface of these culture-dominating films and shows will be explored in The Franchise, a Max series by Jon Brown of Succession fame and Armando Iannucci, who may have come too close to reality with his hit show Veep. “All the research we did—and we did tons, we spoke to so many people—the actual chaos [on superhero films] was really surprising,” Brown recently told The Hollywood Reporter. It seems he didn’t spend much time on that site, or he would’ve realized what he was getting into.

“People think these movies are laid out in neat phases for the next 10 years,” Brown mused. “Then you hear about a set where, in the morning, a limo literally pulls up, the window comes down, and they hand out new script pages. Or producers on set have eight versions of the same script open, and they go through each script, cherry-picking lines, and then they Frankenstein a scene out of nothing. Or the studio sends an actor to the set in the morning, and they basically rewrite the day’s entire scene [to accommodate the last-minute cast addition]. You would assume all this was decided two years ago, but it’s happened a lot across Marvel and DC movies.”

Brown, Iannucci, and director Sam Mendes will be incorporating real-life aspects of superhero franchises into their new show. They’ll also have to tone down some of the things they’ve learned to make them seem more believable. “You think, ‘I know this is real, but it just seems too silly,’” Brown explained. “So we sometimes have to take it back a step, because you don’t think people will believe it unless they know it’s true.”

The Franchise will premiere on October 6. It was made for Warner Brothers Discovery, which has never had any issues with superhero franchises! Nope! Not a one!