9 Directors Who Have No Business Directing A Superhero Movie (But Should), According To Reddit
Between David Lynch, Lars von Trier, and Boots Riley, their unique ways of filmmaking would make for some truly twisted superhero movies.
While there are the odd few directors, such as Martin Scorsese, who will remain firm on their belief that superhero movies aren't real films, most directors have taken to the genre like ducks to water. However, there are some visionary filmmakers with such a distinct style that's almost impossible to imagine them directing a blockbuster movie about a superhero.
Nevertheless, it's something that Redditors want to see. Whether it's a Danish director whose offerings are full of sadism or a directing duo that makes intentionally ambiguous films, they'd actually make for some unironically fascinating releases.
Eucldian simply wants "Jordan Peele's Blade." And given how Peele can expertly create dramas imbued with terrifying horror sequences, the choice makes sense. However, the director seems more interested in his own Twilight Zone-influenced movies every couple of years than in joining a juggernaut superhero franchise.
There is a Blade movie scheduled to be released within the next couple of years, which will be directed by Bassam Tariq, who had previously directed Mogul Mowgli, a drama about a British rapper. But while Tariq will surely do a great job at directing, the exciting and chilling horrors the Get Out and Us director delivers would definitely loan themselves to Blade's world.
MonaSherry thinks Kathryn Bigelow should direct "Poison Ivy taking on climate criminals," and if there's anybody who can turn Ivy into a badass anti-hero, it's Bigelow. The director turned Jamie Lee Curtis and Juliette Lewis into action heroes in Blue Steel and Strange Days, respectively.
But Bigelow isn't completely outside the realm of possibility for directing a superhero movie. Though she is seemingly focused on making political thrillers like Zero Dark Thirty and Detroit, the filmmaker has directed some major action movies in the past. The 1990s saw Bigelow direct Point Break, and though it's full of cringey acting and one-liners, the action sequences still hold up today.
SamJGetty1 has one of the most unique ideas ever, as they try getting inside the mind of one director. The Redditor half-jokingly mentions that they'd love to see "Terrence Malick’s Aquaman with narration from his octopus." The joke refers to how the filmmaker intriguingly blends hard-hitting realism with surrealism.
One of the best examples of this is the story of an estranged brother mixed with the evolution of mankind in The Tree of Life. But given that Malick shoots hundreds of hours of footage, so much that, according to Indiewire, Adrien Brody, who played a main character in The Thin Red Line, was almost completely cut out of the movie, his Aquaman could feature everything but Aquaman.
Boots Riley doesn't have many movies to his name when it comes to directing, as he has only his directorial debut, Sorry to Bother You, to represent his filmmaking style. However, that movie says more about Riley's unique vision than some filmmakers' entire filmographies. Sorry to Bother You is a wild, exciting, and surreal comedy, and based on that, one Redditor wants to see "Boots Riley do a Green Arrow movie."
Given that some viewers couldn't finish Sorry to Bother You, it'd make for an intriguing adaptation of Green Arrow, to say the least. The erratic cuts, the practical, daydreamy sets, and an assault-on-the-senses music score from Tune-Yards might be the movie DC fans didn't know they wanted.
Soal1 explains that they'd love to see "Denis Villeneuve direct The Silver Surfer." However, it isn't as if Villeneuve has no business making a superhero movie. And even though the director has been vocally opposed to superhero films, Dune isn't far cry from the genre. The movie is full of actors who all play superheroes, such as Oscar Isaac (Moon Knight), Josh Brolin (Thanos), and Jason Mamoa (Aquaman).
Dune is also essentially setting up a cinematic universe and is full of visual effects and world-building, just like superhero films. And given how beautiful Dune's cinematography is with its golds and metallics, Villeneuve could make such a wonderful-looking Silver Surfer movie too.
ObiTate wants to see "the Coen brothers make a Punisher movie." Though the celebrated filmmakers largely make their own original stories, the character that the Redditor has chosen is surprisingly fitting.
As there are so many great villains in the Coens' movies, the Punisher's violent sensibilities and dark and gritty tone would work perfectly with the directors' trademark styles. However, given that Joel Coen solely directed the recently released The Tragedy of Macbeth, there's no knowing whether or not Ethan Coen has retired or is just taking a break.
NoHandBananaNo would "like to see Lars Von Trier write and direct an entire movie about Doctor Manhattan." While the Danish writer-director has dabbled with sci-fi before, as he made Melancholia, a movie about a planet hurtling towards Earth, it isn't exactly superhero-exciting.
Von Trier's Doctor Manhattan would be the most meditative superhero movie ever made. And with R-rated superhero movies becoming more popular, von Trier's Doctor Manhattan might even push the rating to an NC-17. The director's films are full of profane language, shocking violence, and unsimulated sex.
Unfortunately, David Lynch hasn't made a movie in years, as it has been more than 15 years since the release of Inland Empire. Though the filmmaker's surreal leanings would be more exciting to see in an original movie, UncleWillard5566 believes that the director should make his return by directing "the Polka Dot origin story."
In fairness, the portrayal of Polka Dot man in The Suicide Squad is as Lynchian as a comic book movie has ever gotten. The character's strange behavior wouldn't seem out of place with the population of Twin Peaks, and the way he envisions everybody as his mother is something the fascinating director would have a field day with.
JimmyOlsen1996 wants to see "Jack Kirby's The New Gods directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky." Alejandro Jodorowsky is one of the most theatrical filmmakers ever and is known for his surreal movies El Topo and The Holy Mountain. However, he is perhaps even better known for his unmade Dune movie.
Jodorowsky's Dune is often called the best movie never made, as all of the zany concept art and the movie's unbelievable bible is available to find online. The New Gods would be fascinating to see under Jodorowsky's direction, especially as his movies are generally full of mysticism.