If you were offered the chance direct either a Justice League movie or an Avengers movie, which one would you choose?
I’m so not the guy, I’m the last guy you want doing it. I don’t think you need, or especially want a fan in the driver’s seat of those movies. I mean two of the best of the last ten years were X2 and The Dark Knight, and they were both made by people who openly admit not being comic book fans. Those were excellent films, so I think what you need in the driver’s seat is somebody who’s a bit divorced from it and can keep their perspective. You have to take the Stan Lee approach, which is every comic is somebody’s first comic. You have to give enough back story to make them feel they didn’t walk into the middle of the movie.
There are new rumours of a Daredevil movie on the cards, what is your knowledge of this?
They’ve been working on that for the best part of a year. About a year ago a friend of mine said: “Fox is talking to me about redoing Daredevil,” and I was like: “Get out of here man, that’s awesome.” So it looks like they are going for a reboot, and I think the reason they are going for a reboot is because they don’t want to sequelise the one that Ben [Affleck] was in, because Ben has said that he’s not interested and has moved on. But also they want to keep the option alive; 20th Century Fox has the option on Daredevil and if they don’t make a movie, the option reverts back to Marvel. Now Marvel has its own studio, so back in the day when Fox bought Daredevil’s licence off of Marvel they didn’t have a studio so they didn’t have to worry about competition from them. But now if they let Daredevil go, they’ve got to worry that Marvel Studios might make a better movie that competes with them in the marketplace. And we know Marvel can make good movies because they made Iron Man and even the Incredible Hulk was totally watchable.
Would you be a part of the reboot?
Heavens no. Why not go to Frank Miller, he’s a filmmaker. Let him at least write it for them, maybe even direct it too. His interpretation of the character was always the best.
In that respect, did you enjoy The Spirit?
I did for what it was. I couldn’t understand why people slammed it – this is literally a Frank Miller book come to life. As much as people said that about 300, The Spirit is very much a kind of real world example of Frank Miller’s style. I’m not a huge Spirit fan but I was just so happy for him. It was interesting to tour through a world that I’m completely unfamiliar with. But at the same time I know it was put through his filter, it’s nothing like the original Spirit from what I’m told by people, but it’s put through his filter and plays like a Frank book. I totally enjoyed it on that level. For years people have been adapting his shit and then he literally put his shit on screen, and boy did it look and play like it.
What superhero movie would you most like to direct/be a part of?
I would like to be a part of the Justice League but I would like to work in craft services. I’d like to be the guy that works on the candy counter on set. Because that way I’d be there to see it all going on but I would have no responsibility. So good or bad it doesn’t matter, nobody’s going to blame me for anything.
This article originally appeared in the print edition of SciFiNow, issue 35. To buy a copy of the magazine or subscribe, go to www.imagineshop.com, or call our subscriptions hotline on +44 (0) 844 844 0245.
