Marvel Studios has made a bit of a name for themselves for hiring talented, indie-focused directors for their big-budget tentpole films. The Russo Brothers, Jon Watts, James Gunn, Taika Waititi, and most recently, Ryan Coogler were all drafted by the studio to tackle $150+ million productions, and for the most part, they’ve paid off big.
And now we’ve learned that Marvel Studios had their sights set on an indie directing duo that didn’t actually sign up for the big payday. According to an interview with Vulture, the Duplass Brothers (Mark and Jay) opened up about the one time Marvel came knocking, and why they turned down the offer.
“There was a moment where Marvel was interested in us taking on one of their properties. It would have been a $150 to $180 million-dollar budget and about three years of our lives,” says Mark Duplass.
“’We own you,’ essentially,” continued Jay Duplass.
While they didn’t specifically name the project, one can narrow down the options by the list of films that were recently made by the studio. Could you imagine a Duplass Brothers version of ‘Spider-Man?’ Or “Thor: Ragnarok?” At first glance, the combination seems more peanut butter and tuna fish, but then again, who would have thought that Waititi could have made the most enjoyable ‘Thor’ movie ever?
“To be a little Sundance filmmaker tapped by Marvel felt incredible. But the amount of stuff we could make over those three years, the relationships we could forge with younger filmmakers…” explained Mark.
“We’d have to give that all up,” said Jay, finishing his brother’s sentence.
Other than the idea that giving up that much time to make a big studio film wasn’t worth it, there was the issue of the Duplass Brothers just being at the wrong phases of their lives to tackle such a behemoth as a Marvel Studios film.
“The problem was, by the time Mark and I were making movies, we already had kids. We were changing diapers and making lunches, so we couldn’t be the concubine of a studio at this stage in our lives,” explained Jay Duplass.
So, it’s fun to fantasize about a mumble-core superhero film, but at this point, it looks like that’s not going to happen. At least not coming from the Duplass Brothers.
