Disney‘s two biggest acquired properties are at a crossroads. Following the tepid (and billion-dollar grossing) reaction to The Rise of Skywalker, the Star Wars sequel trilogy is over, as is the decades-long Skywalker Saga as a whole, while the Marvel Cinematic Universe will release two new franchises next year (The Eternals and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) for the first time since 2011. Underdog stories, these are not, but it will be interesting to see what comes next. Patton Oswalt has some ideas.
In an interview with the Observer celebrating the seven-year anniversary of his nerd favorite filibuster on Parks and Recreation, Oswalt was asked what he would like to see going forward from Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
“I would like to see both of them do what they’ve done when they were at their best,” he replied. “After [Star Wars], George Lucas handed it over to different writers and directors to keep expanding on the world. Marvel, the best movies in their series were the ones where they went with the not-first choice directors. First out of the gate with Jon Favreau directing Iron Man made it such a unique film. He has a unique vision as a director. And then they kept doing that — picking people like Taika Waititi and Scott Derrickson. Keep doing that, keep taking chances on more idiosyncratic, visionary directors.”
Beyond the names Oswalt listed, there’s also Ryan Coogler and James Gunn for Marvel and Rian Johnson for Star Wars, as Black Panther and Guardians of the Galaxy and The Last Jedi are highlights for both franchises. Marvel is off to a good start in finding the next Taika, so to speak (an indie director making a four-quadrant blockbuster), with Cate Shortland (Black Widow), Chloé Zhao (The Eternals), and Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi) helming the next three installments. Hopefully Star Wars is paying attention.
Here’s Oswalt’s classic Parks and Rec filibuster.
(Via the Observer)