Albert Hughes Passed on Directing BLADE For Marvel; Says He Doesn't "Understand Why Any Real Filmmaker" Would Direct a Marvel Movie
Director Albert Hughes (Menace II Society, From Hell, The Book of Eli, The Continental) recently revealed that he was in the running to direct Blade for Marvel Studios. But, as he was going through the process, he realized he didn’t want to work within the confines of the Marvel studio system.
The filmmaker talked about this experience with the Happy Sad Confused, and explained that he doesn’t “understand why any real filmmaker” would want to make a Marvel movie. He said:
“I’ve been in talks with the obvious studio about superhero movies a couple of times, but I always felt uncomfortable because I knew it was a system. And they’re very nice, and I went through a long process. In fact, I broke down all their movies and put them in a spreadsheet and broke down the box office, watching the title scores, where the VFX ranks, I had to do a deep dive on them.”
Hughes went on to talk about why he decided to pull himself out of the running for the job explaining that he isn’t the type of filmmaker to work within the "controlled" Marvel Studios system:
“And I got, halfway, not very close, halfway through the process, and I go, ‘No, I would implode from the kind of controlled nature of that world and not being able to do what I do.’ And I don’t understand why a real filmmaker would want to be in that system. I understand why up-and-comers would, which they do a good job of. finding people at the right time. But I think I would implode.”
He continued, saying:
“So if you’re getting hired for you, and what you do and what you bring, I’ve been in a situation more recently where I’m getting poked and prodded, and it’s like, ‘Oh, you don’t really want what I do.’ That was checking a box for them, and this is not going to work out. And it didn’t work out; I had to quit that job. I smelled it pretty early, and I said, ‘No, I’m not here for this.’”
That’s completely understandable. It seems like many of the Marvel directors are being directed by the executives and the producers on how to direct these films. I think there are a few exceptions, and while Marvel does seem to allow filmmakers to incorporate their filmmaking style and sensibilities, they are constrained with the story they tell because it has to fit in with a bigger picture.
I’ve enjoyed watching Marvel movies over the years, but it is very much now a movie-making factory over there.