So, you've landed the lead in the latest superhero blockbuster. Great news, right? Well, hold your horses — because you've got a whole lot of rules to learn before you squeeze into that spandex.
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00:00So, you've landed the lead in the latest superhero blockbuster.
00:04Great news, right?
00:05Well, hold your horses, because you've got a whole lot of rules to learn before you squeeze
00:10into that spandex.
00:12Superhero movies are almost never one-and-done affairs.
00:15As long as the movie makes a profit, you can bet it will be getting as many sequels as
00:19the studio can manage.
00:21They're going to make him do this until he's 90.
00:23Since the lead actors of these movies quickly become the face of the franchise, they're
00:27required to sign multi-film contracts that tie them to their characters for years at
00:32a time.
00:33A fear of being trapped like this made Chris Evans think long and hard before accepting
00:37the role of Steve Rogers in the MCU.
00:39The actor explained his thought process in an interview with We Got This Covered, saying,
00:44"'I was nervous about the lifestyle change, about the commitment.
00:48You know, it's six movies that can last 10 years.
00:51I like to have the option to walk away if I want.
00:53With a six-picture deal, you can't walk away.'"
00:56"'Avengers!'
01:03Assemble."
01:04Similarly, Joaquin Phoenix is said to have turned down the lead role in Doctor Strange
01:09because he was unwilling to commit to appearing in multiple MCU films.
01:13Ultimately, Phoenix did jump on the comic book movie bandwagon with 2019's Joker and
01:18its sequel, Joker Folia Do, but only after he and Todd Phillips agreed that they wouldn't
01:23put out an endless list of unnecessary sequels.
01:27Considering the way Folia Do ends, it's fair to say that Phoenix got his wish.
01:31When a franchise is built around storylines and plot points that will pay off years down
01:37the line, it becomes critically important to keep a tight lid on spoilers.
01:41This is something that many actors seem to struggle with.
01:43For example, Mark Ruffalo quickly gained a reputation as a serial offender when it comes
01:49to spoiling MCU movies.
01:51From letting slip the many character deaths in Avengers Infinity War to accidentally live-streaming
01:56the first ten minutes of Thor Ragnarok, the actor seems to be a perpetual flight risk
02:01for the higher-ups of Marvel Studios.
02:03Similarly, Tom Holland is famous for getting overexcited about MCU plot points, while many
02:08older actors, such as Bill Murray and Denzel Washington, seem to just not care about spoilers
02:14in the first place.
02:15Ryan Coogler's writing a part for me in the next Black Panther."
02:19While it might seem that leaking spoilers is problematic, though, there are times when
02:23it can be a blessing for a studio.
02:25After Ruffalo live-streamed Thor Ragnarok, he was surprised to find his gaffe had actually
02:30had a positive outcome.
02:32He told Entertainment Weekly,
02:33When I came to work on Monday, everyone ran up to me.
02:36I thought they were coming to scream at me.
02:38Barry Curtis, Marvel Studios head of security, he threw his arms around me.
02:42That was genius.
02:43We got more press than we could have possibly paid for.
02:47Until recently, superhero movies provided a reasonably safe bet for a studio's money.
02:52With high-intensity spectacle, a built-in fan base, and ridiculously good-looking leads,
02:57well-made superhero movies were as close to a sure thing as you could get in Hollywood.
03:02I am Iron Man.
03:06But there are other issues a studio can run into while making such movies, especially
03:10if they think members of the creative team might attract bad publicity.
03:14This concern was the reason Disney was so quick to fire filmmaker James Gunn from the
03:19Guardians of the Galaxy movies after some objectionable tweets from his past were unearthed.
03:24It's also why the studio was just as quick to rehire Gunn following public backlash against
03:29his firing.
03:30In short, image is everything, and creatives need to maintain that image to survive in
03:34the superhero game.
03:35Attempting to head off such issues before things get out of hand, studios these days
03:40conduct extensive background checks on actors and other professionals before hiring them
03:45to work on a superhero movie.
03:46For instance, actor Tom Von Lawler, who portrayed Ebony Maw in Infinity War and Endgame, revealed
03:52on Ireland's RTE Radio 1, they do background checks to make sure you're not a white supremacist
03:57and they're not hiring someone with weird baggage.
04:01Superheroes are aspirational by their very nature, and the actors who portray them have
04:05to measure up on the big screen.
04:07While actors still get help in the looks department with CGI and specially molded costumes, they're
04:12often encouraged to show off their workout routines to fans on social media.
04:17Some actors, like Chris Hemsworth, have made their devotion to staying in shape a major
04:21part of their brand.
04:23Others have kept information about their exercise routines on the down-low, but even they need
04:27to be in fighting shape when performing in tight-fitting costumes in front of the camera.
04:31The stars of these movies also have to endure endless questions about their diets and the
04:36things they do or don't eat to look the way they do.
04:39Understandably, this can really get on their nerves.
04:42Just ask Scarlett Johansson.
04:43How come you get, like, the really interesting, like, existential question and I get the,
04:48like, rabbit food question?
04:50Superheroes have been rocking colorful costumes for as long as they've been around, and so
04:54an actor needs to be prepared to put on the spandex if they want to play the part.
04:58Hugh Jackman might have somehow managed to get through all those X-Men movies without
05:03having to put on the yellow Wolverine suit from the comics, but even he got to the end.
05:07You save the good stuff for special occasions?
05:10Killing, mostly.
05:11Meanwhile, Christian Bale is clearly still haunted by memories of wearing the Batman
05:16suit for the Dark Knight trilogy.
05:18So much so that the only piece of advice Bale gave Ben Affleck about playing the Caped Crusader
05:23was to make sure the Batsuit has a zipper.
05:26And apparently Bale had the exact same advice to Robert Pattinson as he geared up the star
05:31in The Batman.
05:32Meanwhile, women superheroes suffer discomfort of a different kind.
05:36Margot Robbie admitted she was not a fan of the ultra-tiny hot pants she had to wear as
05:41Harley Quinn for 2016's Suicide Squad, for example.
05:44As she told the New York Times,
05:46"...I'm eating burgers at lunchtime, and then you go do a scene where you're hosed down
05:50and soaking wet in a white T-shirt.
05:52It's so clingy and you're self-conscious about it."
05:55If there were ever a haven for comic book fans, it would have to be comic conventions.
05:59The most famous of these events is San Diego Comic-Con International, but other cons have
06:04also grown in popularity around the world and even online.
06:07Naturally, comic book movie actors with something to promote are asked to attend such conventions
06:12every year.
06:13The actors could be there for a few hours or entire days, talking to fans, taking part
06:17in Q&A sessions, or signing autographs and other memorabilia.
06:21In recent years, the oversaturation of movie studios marketing their wares at cons has
06:26come in for a great deal of criticism.
06:28But that hasn't stopped Hollywood from using it to promote new projects.
06:31The actors themselves are the centerpieces of studios' marketing efforts at comic conventions,
06:36and it can be equal parts thrilling and terrifying for them.
06:39Recounting a Comic-Con appearance alongside Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh told LUK,
06:44"...We both stood there and I instantly had clammy, sweaty hands.
06:49Scarlett gave me her hand and we squeezed each other and she also had clammy hands.
06:53And then I was like, oh, this never gets old.
06:55This is just as powerful for you and you're their legend."
06:58When you've got hundreds of millions of dollars banking on the success of a superhero movie,
07:03there's little room for error.
07:04As such, studios frequently screen parts of their movies to test audiences to figure out
07:09the most crowd-pleasing way forward for the story.
07:12They subsequently conduct extensive reshoots where required.
07:15The actors are naturally expected to be on hand for such reshoots, which are usually
07:19written into their contracts.
07:21Scheduling them isn't always simple, though.
07:24Even though Henry Cavill had finished the shoot for Justice League and begun growing
07:28a mustache for his next role in Mission Impossible Fallout, he was still required to return for
07:33extensive reshoots, which led to this.
07:36"...You won't let me live, you won't let me die."
07:41Sometimes, such studio-mandated reshoots can take a toll on actors.
07:45Idris Elba wrapped shooting for the biopic Mandela Long Walk to Freedom when he was called
07:50in to reshoot scenes for Thor The Dark World.
07:53The actor couldn't help but grow frustrated.
07:55He told The Telegraph,
07:56"...they had to put me in harness in this green-screen studio, and in between takes
08:00I was stuck there, fake hair stuck onto my head with glue, this f-----g helmet, while
08:04they reset.
08:05And I'm thinking, 24 hours ago, I was Mandela.
08:09It ripped my heart out."
08:10While some actors and filmmakers see certain superhero movies as passion projects, the
08:15studios generally view them as money-printing business ventures.
08:19And the money made by these movies comes not only from the box office, but also the sale
08:23of merchandise.
08:24Prioritizing merch was one of the reasons why Warner Bros. fired Tim Burton after Batman
08:29Returns.
08:30They then brought in Joel Schumacher to make Batman films that could better sell toys and
08:34Happy Meals.
08:35"...Seven million.
08:36Never leave the cave without it."
08:41Since that time, the focus on movie merchandising has only increased.
08:45Today's comic book cinematic universes go hand-in-hand with action figures, posters,
08:50and other swag that has the faces of the actors plastered on it.
08:53But not every actor would be comfortable having their image used in this way, especially since
08:58it can strengthen the public's association between the actor and their character, which
09:02might potentially lead to typecasting.
09:04Sadly, for contractual reasons, there's usually not much the actors can do in such situations
09:09beyond hoping to get a cut of the profits.
09:12There's no point in making a staggeringly expensive movie if nobody's going to turn
09:16up to see it.
09:17To that end, studios organize massive publicity campaigns for their superhero movies that
09:22often begin a full year before release.
09:24Naturally, the cast members lead these campaigns, and the bigger the movie, the more time the
09:29actors are contractually obligated to spend promoting it.
09:32Since superhero movies frequently make most of their money outside the U.S., the stars
09:36have to brace themselves for extended visits to multiple countries on a tight schedule
09:41in which they talk to reporters, play games on entertainment shows, and generally try
09:45their best to drum up interest in their movie.
09:48Such publicity tours can be exhausting affairs.
09:50They can be even more difficult to handle when you don't believe in the movie itself,
09:55or if you struggled behind the scenes but are still obligated to sing the film's praises.
09:59This is what happened with actor Ray Fisher when he was promoting 2017's Justice League,
10:04despite being deeply unhappy with the way the movie turned out.
10:08There's a rule of thumb in the world of filmmaking.
10:10The bigger a movie's budget, the more the studio will interfere with the creative process.
10:15Precious few filmmakers get free reign on blockbuster films, and the MCU in particular
10:20has been criticized for hiring directors who are less experienced and easier to control.
10:24Many other directors have complained about the excessive studio oversight they had to
10:29deal with while making superhero movies.
10:32Josh Trank has spoken openly about his issues with the studio while making 2015's Fantastic
10:37Four.
10:38It's fantastic.
10:39Say that again?
10:44Meanwhile, Edgar Wright stepped away from Ant-Man due to Marvel's oversight.
10:49He later told Variety,
10:50I wanted to make a Marvel movie, but I don't think they really wanted to make an Edgar
10:54Wright movie.
10:55The actors don't exactly get an easy ride, either.
10:57They have to accept that their performances must meet studio expectations above all else.
11:02If they refuse to play ball, they can find themselves quickly replaced, as happened to
11:06Edward Norton after The Incredible Hulk.
11:09Aside from making the films, doing reshoots, and taking part in press tours, superhero
11:14actors also have to often budget their time for contractually mandated cameos in other
11:20movies.
11:21Sometimes, these cameos can be quite extensive, such as Spider-Man's supporting role in Captain
11:25America Civil War.
11:27Hey, everyone.
11:28Other times, the appearance can be nothing but a minor gag, like Captain America's appearance
11:32in Spider-Man Homecoming.
11:34In general, these cameos are an important way to reinforce the shared universe nature
11:39of the stories, in which all the major characters exist side by side.
11:43These cameos could also be cause for gossip and behind-the-scenes chatter, especially
11:47when they don't work out.
11:48The Superman cameo intended for Henry Cavill in Shazam fell apart at the last minute, leading
11:53to much speculation regarding Cavill's place in the future of the DCEU.
11:58Cavill later appeared in the post-credits scene of the much-maligned DC movie Black
12:02Adam, stirring just as much speculation — and a fair bit of online mockery, too.
12:06But hey, a guy's gotta work.