Last month, it was announced that 20th Century Fox would follow Marvel Studios’ lead by bringing in a creative consultant to oversee the development of its future superhero movie slate, with Scottish comic book writer Mark Millar (Wanted, Kick-Ass) taking on responsibility for the studio’s upcoming Marvel output. During the New York Comic Con, Word Balloon caught up with Millar to discuss his new role, as well as getting his thoughts on Fox’s previous comic book adaptations.
“There have been some poor decisions in the past, but you also have to remember that there have been some excellent ones too,” states Millar (via ComicBookMovie). “Bryan Singer’s X-Men for example, I think revolutionised superhero movies. It pre-dated Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, and I think you forget how close that was chronologically to Batman & Robin! To open with a Holocaust scene in a superhero movie was just unheard of. Fox get a lot of flak for the films which didn’t work out, and quite rightly, but you forget that they’ve done some really great stuff too. I’m thinking specifically of X-Men, X-Men 2 and X-Men: First Class.
“Hiring myself was a first step in a number of things that they’re planning and they just really want to be respectful to the material I think. X-Men: First Class, which I absolutely loved, just feels like planting the flag for what they’re planning to do over the next few years… Hiring Josh Trank [Chronicle] for Fantastic Four… it could just not be more different than the first Fantastic Four movie from what I’ve seen so far. Even just as a fan, I’m very, very excited by the level of talent they have on the directors side of things… I can’t say too much about it right now, but The Wolverine has only just started shooting really, I mean it’s been shooting for a few weeks now. I really do like it and I’m really impressed by it. X-Men: Days of Future Past, which is being written at the moment, is the next one up and at the same time, Fantastic Four is being written right now. In a weird way, it’s just the easiest job in the world as I’m surrounded by people who are so good!”
Be sure to listen to the full 45-minute interview, during which Millar goes on to talk about his new role in some depth, as well as discussing the upcoming comic book titles Super Crooks and The Secret Service.
Originally published October 10, 2012. Updated December 13, 2019.
