Quentin Tarantino has never been a filmmaker who tackles well-known IPs, though he did pitch a Star Trek movie to Paramount Pictures a few years ago (which, for reasons which still aren't clear, they weren't interested in). After that project failed to take shape, it appears he quickly moved back to focusing on telling his own, original stories.
However, could he be convinced to helm a Marvel movie? Don't bank on it.
Talking to the Los Angeles Times to promote his new book, Cinema Speculation, Tarantino admitted that he doesn't see himself as a good fit for Marvel Studios.
"You have to be a hired hand to do those things," the director behind movies like Pulp Fiction and Django Unchained stated. "I'm not a hired hand. I’m not looking for a job."
In Cinema Speculation, Tarantino points out that today's filmmakers "can't wait for the day" superhero movies fall out of favour the same way musicals did in the 1960s. However, while superhero films don't appear to be for him, the director mostly seems to have an issue with Hollywood not making big budget blockbusters that speak to him as a moviegoer.
"Of course, I liked ‘Star Wars.’ What’s not to like?" Tarantino said. "But I remember - and this is not a 'but' in a negative way, but in a good way. The movie completely carried me along and I was just rocking and rolling with these characters. When the lights came on, I felt like a million dollars."
"I looked around and had this moment of recognition, thinking, 'Wow! What a time at the movies!' Now, that’s not necessarily my favourite exact type of film."
"At the end of the day, I’m more of a ‘Close Encounters [of the Third Kind]’ guy, just the bigger idea and Spielberg setting out to make an epic for regular people, not just cinephiles," he continues. "Few films had the kind of climax that ‘Close Encounters’ had. It blew audiences away."
While we're sure some people will take great offence at Tarantino's comments, they're relatively tame compared to what some directors have said in the past. However, we're sure the likes of Ryan Coogler, the Russo Brothers, and Jon Watts might have something to say about being referred to as "hired hands."
Which superhero would you put the Kill Bill helmer in charge of?