Source: IFC
Speaking to IFC John Carpenter revealed that at one point he was approached for film adaptions of Marvel's and DC's most popular characters. Here's what Carpenter had to say when asked about his stance on directing comic book movies:
"Well, I've thought about it before," Carpenter told IFC.
"Way back in the '70s, I was approached to talk about the story I'd write for a Spider-Man movie. They also talked to me about Batman. I had to think about it, but that was way, way back when."
"I've gone through various periods with superheroes," he explained.
"They work in the right hands, but they don't work in other hands. It's tricky. But any movie is tricky. It's impossible to say, 'This is what you do in any situation.' So yes, I've thought about it and I'm not opposed to it."
Well, I wonder what that would've looked like? I'm not sure as to what a "horror-fied" Spider-Man would look be like visually, maybe
Morbius or maybe
Man Spider? However, I believe Carpenter's style and director mentality would've been perfect for Batman. It would've essentially been
Tim Burton's Batman before Tim Burton, so to speak.
John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, editor, composer, and occasional actor. Although Carpenter has worked in numerous film genres in his four-decade career, his name is most commonly associated with horror and science fiction.
His films are characterized by minimalist lighting and photography, static cameras, use of steadicam, and distinctive synthesized scores (usually self-composed). He describes himself as having been influenced by Howard Hawks, Alfred Hitchcock, Nigel Kneale and The Twilight Zone.
With the exception of The Thing, Starman, and Memoirs of an Invisible Man, he has scored all of his films (though some are collaborations), most famously the themes from Halloween and Assault on Precinct 13. His music is generally synthesized with accompaniment from piano and atmospherics.
Carpenter is an outspoken proponent of widescreen filming, and all of his theatrical movies (with the exception of Dark Star) were filmed anamorphic with a 2.35:1 or greater aspect ratio.
Many of Carpenter's films have been re-released on DVD as special editions with numerous bonus features. Examples of such are: the collector's editions of Halloween, Escape From New York, Christine, The Thing, Assault on Precinct 13, Big Trouble In Little China and The Fog. Some were re-issued with a new anamorphic widescreen transfer. In the UK, several of Carpenter's films have been released on DVD with audio commentary by Carpenter and his stars (They Live, with actor/wrestler Roddy Piper, Starman with actor Jeff Bridges and Prince of Darkness with actor Peter Jason) that have not been released in the United States.
Carpenter has been the subject of the documentary film John Carpenter: The Man and His Movies, and American Cinematheque's 2002 retrospective of his films. Moreover, in 2006, the United States Library of Congress deemed Halloween to be "culturally significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry.