THR compiled a list of DC and Marvel’s next generation of superhero writers for its annual Next Gen issue, which recognizes the rising stars in the industry. Over a decade ago, Iron Man and The Dark Knight ushered in a new era of superhero storytelling with their release. As a result, comic book heroes and villains from a wide range of backgrounds now populate prestige television and the awards circuit.
When it comes to writing superhero stories for “matured audiences,” as Kaz Firpo puts it in The Eternals: Michael Waldron, Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, and Jennifer Kaytin Robinson discuss how they deal with the overwhelming amount of superhero stories.
On how superhero audiences have changed
There are many complexities that you have to deal with as an audience because you’ve grown up with us over the last few years. Eternals is a film that focuses on the people who believe they’re right and how far they’re ready to go in order to achieve their goals.
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The term “Dark Knight-ing” is frequently used, and I believe it is frequently overused. Using it as a means of suggesting it’s making [something] grounded or more mature or darker. What this really means is that you’re creating a hero who has to deal with far more moral, emotional, and spiritual complexity than heroes of the past have had to deal with in the past.”
Micheal Waldon The golden age of television has conditioned us all to accept moral ambiguity. But now we’ve come full circle back to where we started. Finally, a good news story, as in the case of Ted Lasso. Seeing Christopher Reeves’ Superman as a pure decent guy may make us need him more than ever.
Superhero content, and how they keep it fresh…
DUNNET, ALCOCER You have to put forth a lot of effort to avoid becoming impulsive. Are you claiming, “Now this is too much like this!”? Due of the lack of originality. And you need to be as descriptive as possible because it will make it unique.
WALDRON When Armageddon and Deep Impact were released at the same time, it seemed a little out of place. Every year, there are more than 100 superhero films. Working in the superhero genre necessitates a high level of tension, which must be channeled into your work in order to ensure that your story stands out from the crowd. They’re going to know all of the sleight-of-hand.
On real-world anxieties affecting their stories…
JENNIFER KAYTIN ROBINSON You never want to bring in an element that is going to take people out of the movie. I don’t think running at topical or political stuff for the sake of it is very interesting, but there is so much you can mine when you take something very real and put it in this hyper-world.
WALDRON I think that they can’t not. Writing Doctor Strange, in a global pandemic— it is going to find a way into what you are doing. But it finds its way in organically. Everything we make is, to some extent, a reflection of the world around us.
On what can be accomplished in a superhero movie now that couldn’t happen a decade ago…
DUNNET-ALCOCER You can make a movie that is unabashedly Latino or, to a certain extent, Mexican American. [Blue Beetle’s] Jaime Reyes and [Spider-Man’s] Peter Parker are similar characters but are so different at the same time. For example, when Peter Parker gets bitten by a radioactive spider, his first instinct is to hide it from his family. Whereas, in a Mexican American household, there’s no hiding because your life is so intertwined with your family. His family should be a part of his journey, intrinsically.
On the future of the genre
ROBINSON We are at a point where women and people of color are front and center. And, yes, the people onscreen look different, but what do people behind the camera look like? That’s what is most exciting to me about the future of superhero movies. I don’t think it is the superheroes, think it is the storytellers.