Edgar Wright wishes franchises would take breathers to build anticipation

Major franchises such as Marvel and DC typically announce years’ worth of projects at once, and Edgar Wright is longing for the days when major tentpoles had a bit of breathing room between them.

Edgar Wright didn’t name any franchises in particular, but while speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, he expressed frustration with how studios handle their slates.

“One of the problems with film franchises is sometimes when they announce — I’m not mentioning any names or anything — when they announce like massive slates of films and TV shows […] there’s a danger of killing the golden goose,” Wright said. “It is a weird thing: If I could go back to when I was a young film fan, and I’ve just enjoyed a movie, and people are saying, ‘Guess what? They’ll be one every three years for the rest of your life.’ I’d be like, ‘Really?!’ That’s the thing that is sad to me, the lack of investment in new movies.“

Wright added, “I wish some franchises would just kind of have the sense to just take a breather and let people get excited about it again. I feel like there are certain things that I loved that I don’t want to see again, or I don’t want to see them again for a long time. And again, I’m not going to bad mouth anything because it always gets interpreted as sound[bites].” Wright did single out the James Bond franchise as an exception. After Daniel Craig called it quits with No Time to Die, producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli made it clear that they wouldn’t be rushed into announcing the next movie (or the next Bond) before they were ready.

“They’re pretty smart actually because they’re willing to kind of put a pause on things to build anticipation. They are the exception,” Wright said of the James Bond franchise. “They are smart enough to put the brakes on and build anticipation so you’ll be excited for the next one. I think one of the problems now is that I wish some films and series that people would understand it’s ok to take a break and build anticipation.“

As fun as it can be to hear the announcement of a full slate of Marvel or DC movies, I would welcome a little less. Give fans the chance to miss that world and its characters and wonder what’s coming, even if it’s just for a little bit. Over the last two years, Marvel has released nearly two dozen theatrical and streaming projects, and we’ve begun to see that approach falter. To their credit, the studio recognizes the problem and is trying to slow things down — quality over quantity. However, with a few exceptions, we still know what the next four years will bring us regarding Marvel projects.

Do you wish franchises such as Marvel and DC announced less and took larger breaks between projects?