One of the many, many, many films that tricked us to believe they could beat the video game adaptations curse in Hollywood with a stellar creative team or casting was “Assassin’s Creed.” Before the film resulted in a lackluster effort, the addition of such actors as Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons and Oscar-nominated Michael Fassbender, as well as exciting up-and-coming director Justin Kurzel made us believe for a moment that the film could balance its blockbuster status with an art-house style of filmmaking.
Though that didn’t come to pass and “Assassin’s Creed” disappointed basically everyone, at least it didn’t discourage Kurzel from ever attempting to make another big studio movie. In a recent interview for an upcoming episode of The Fourth Wall podcast (stay tuned for the full interview!), Kurzel opened up about his experience with the film and whether he’d want to make another blockbuster.
When asked if the idea of an artful blockbuster can even exist in this day and age, Kurzel seemed positive: “I think you can. I got really inspired by seeing ‘Joker.’ I thought that was an auteur piece.” Kurzel said of the Oscar-winning comic-book film. “Even though it was a comic book film and there were trademarks there you knew it had to hit, it was a surprisingly auteur-driven film. I think for anyone that’s making studio films it’s a sign that they’re able to maintain their own voice in that as distinctly as it was in ‘Joker.’ I think that’s really admirable and amazing.” Sure, this sounds right on paper, but there’s also the fact that “Joker” director, Todd Phillips is one of few directors over at Warner Bros. that pretty much has a blank check to make whatever he wants since “The Hangover” turned out to be such a moneymaker.
As for Kurzel? If “Joker” does inspire him to make another big-budget movie like “Assassin’s Creed” then maybe it was all worth it? “So yeah, I’d definitely love to do another big studio film,” Kurzel said. “But I’d definitely want to go in knowing the reasons why I was doing it and what the vision was.”
You can hear the full interview with Kurzel on the next episode of The Fourth Wall, which will be released soon.
Additional reporting by Griffin Schiller.