Armando Iannucci And Sam Mendes To Write HBO Pilot For ‘The Franchise’, A Satire About Superhero Movies
Iron Man, released in 2008, revolutionized the way superhero movies were created. Before the blockbuster hit starring Robert Downey Jr., superhero movies were either one-off affairs, such as Spawn and The Phantom from the mid-90s, or series of movies that focused on one hero or a small group of heroes like Blade or the X-Men movies.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe, or MCU, which exploded with follow-up films to Iron Man - Captain America: The First Avenger, Thor, and The Avengers - became a Hollywood juggernaut and prompted rivals such as DC and Universal Studios to try to create their own “cinematic universes”.
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Over a decade later, superhero movies and franchises are still as popular and have become a mainstay of pop culture. Armando Iannucci, the creator of political satires Veep and The Thick of It, along with Sam Mendes, known for directing American Beauty, Skyfall, and 1917, are joining forces to create a satire of the world of superhero moviemaking. HBO has ordered a pilot for the satire, titled ‘The Franchise’, which will be directed by Mendes who came up with the idea and is putting the project together.
The pilot will be written by Ianucci along with Jon Brown (Succession) and Keith Akushie (Siblings). Iannucci, Mendes, and Brown will be executive producers for The Franchise. Brown will also serve as showrunner and writer.
The Franchise will be about “a hopeful crew trapped inside the dysfunctional, nonsensical, joyous hellscape of franchise superhero movie-making.” This movie crew, if and when they make it, will have questions they’ll have to face. Is this a new dawn for Hollywood? Or is it the herald of cinema’s last stand?
Armando Iannucci also made his comic book debut earlier this year, writing a story in Amazing Fantasy #1000 which celebrated Spider-Man's 60th Anniversary. Sam Mendes' next film, Empire of Light, will be released in theaters on December 9.
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