Ready for Marvel’s PHASE II, but can’t get everything out of your system by watching PHASE I over and over again? Here’s a definitive list of other projects by the upcoming directors/writers of Marvel’s PHASE II movies that you should check out in the meantime. Be very excited. Very, very excited.
Shane Black
Directing Credit: Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang
Writing Credits: Lethal Weapon, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, The Last Action Hero, The Long Kiss Goodnight, The Last Boy Scout
Best Example of What to Expect with Iron Man 3:
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (which reunites Downey Jr. with Black in the role that revitalized his career) and
Lethal Weapon. The first film, both penned and directed by Black, is a hilarious, neo-noir, buddy-cop film that showcases impressive performances from Downey Jr., Val Kilmer, and Michelle Monaghan. It’s an absolute must-see, and almost a dead-ringer for what one could suspect the tone of
Iron Man 3 would follow.
As for
Lethal Weapon, let’s not forget that from what we’ve seen in set pictures and the like that War Machine seems to be a fairly big piece of this film. There are obvious throwbacks and parallels to the duos of both films (one’s uptight and professional, the other wiry and wryly charming; one’s black, one’s white), so even if it’s not safe to assume that
IM3 will be a bit
Lethal Weapon-esque, the opportunity for Black to return to the script that gave him notoriety is definitely there. I feel bad for those who are skipping out on
Iron Man 3 because it’s the second sequel; it’s got all the workings to be the best Marvel film they’ve put out,
Avengers included.
Edgar Wright
Directing Credits: Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, episodes of Spaced
Writing Credits: Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, episodes of Spaced
Best Example of What to Expect with Ant Man:
Now,
Ant Man is currently not among the roster for a PHASE II film, but since it’s already in the bowels of pre-production, I’ve decided to include it. Obviously, the work that stands out the most from Wright’s filmography that would nab him a superhero directorial job is
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, his high-energy, whack-a-mole of a visual and comedy fest. And, really, how could you go wrong? IF there’s one comic hero who needs some invigoration, it’s Ant Man. While not as jeered as DC’s Aquaman, let’s be completely honest with ourselves about Ant Man, the man who gets big, small, and controls ants. It’s incredibly silly compared to the other team of heroes who are also very silly. Wright’s not the kind of director to shun that element, though; he embraces it and turns it into something universally fun and appealing. Possibly endearing? We’ll have to wait and see.
James Gunn
Directing Credits: Slither, Super
Writing Credits: Scooby Doo, Dawn of the Dead (2004), Slither, Super
Best Example of What to Expect with Guardians of the Galaxy
A mix between the pacing and energy of
Super with the visual eye of effects from
Slither. It should be noted that both of these films were filmed with relatively small budgets, and that Gunn wrote both screenplays for the films; something he hasn’t done with
GotG. However, anyone who’s seen some of the behind-the-scenes work on
Super knows that Gunn’s directing style is very fast-pace, quick, and the man does marvels with a small budget, something that would be appealing to any studio.
Gunn is sort of like a mixture of Kevin Smith, Tarantino, and Edgar Wright; he bounces about between dialogues, while never forgetting his characters’ identities and strings it all together with a snap-shot energy before wrapping it with a neat bow in creative visual shots. He’s a relatively new director, but from what I’ve seen of him and his process of filmmaking, it’s a no-brainer he became Marvel’s choice.
Alan Taylor
Directing Credits: Episodes of The Sopranos, Deadwood, Six Feet Under, Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire, Rome, Carnivàle
Writing Credits: The Emperor’s New Clothes
Best Example of What to Expect with Thor: The Dark World
His
Game of Thrones credits are best for a spectacle perspective, and admittedly, Taylor is fairly hard to pin down because
Thor: TDW is his big screen debut. However, it can be noted that Taylor, before working with the grand scope of
GoT worked with intense character detail on shows like
Deadwood,
The Sopranos, and
Six Feet Under; which are all shows where plot progression very much falls under the weight of character development.
That means we’ll get a new respect and interpretation for Thor’s universe, as well as getting the action-packed, period piece war film that Taylor has become used to with
GoT and
Rome. Taylor is definitely within his element, is an experienced director with budget management, and now has Marvel Studios behind him to help him make the best
Thor picture possible.
The Russo Brothers
Directing Credits: You Me & Depree, Episodes of Arrested Development, Community, Happy Endings
Writing Credits: Welcome to Collinwood
Best Example of What to Expect with Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Admittedly, I have no idea. There’s not a piece that ultimately stands out; so what I’ll do instead is pick the positive elements from their work and tie them into what could be good for
CA:TWS. They’re experienced with large casts as
Arrested Development,
Community, and
Happy Endings all have, they commit to directing tight work (they use necessary shots, nothing throw-away), and they’ve managed to work on two shows whose followings are as dedicated as one can get.
Frankly, I don’t know what to expect from the Russo brothers, but I do know they’ve got another action movie on their palette, which says to me it’s a genre they definitely have an interest in contributing to. Time will tell if they are the best choice for the job.