Despite theavalanche of superhero moviesthat is thrown at us every year, we don’t spend much time thinking about how they get made. That is, until we finally press play onThe Franchise, the newHBO seriesthat is set to premiere this Sunday. The story followsDaniel Brühl(All Quiet on the Western Front)as the director of a mega-blockbusterfeature film who needs to deal with the everyday issues that come up on the set — and try to keep his sanity in the process. To tease the upcoming show, Max unveiled a new trailer today.
The Franchisewill be a cross between workplace comedies and superhero movies, andall the glamour will be goneas we witness actorsworking in front of a lot of green screens, some that despise their own jobs, others who think they’re the height of their careers, producers who intervene on every aspect of the production more frequently than they should and a series of fires that director Eric Bouchard (Brühl) will have to put out.
Additionally, the new trailer forThe Franchisereveals that itwill show the perspectiveof some professionals that we certainly don’t think about: production assistants. They’re the ones who have to deal with actors' demands and tantrums,break bad news to people who outrank them, and a bunch of other activities that frequently put them in the line of fire and have to endure all kinds of mistreatment. If the trailer is any indication, we’ll feel like we’re watchingThe Officeat times.
Who’s The Team BehindThe Franchise?
There’s so much to cover about superhero franchises — from the “real deal” with Marvel and DC to satires likeThe BoysandDoom Patrol— thatThe Franchisecould easily get lost in which angles to depict. Luckily for us, the series is created bySam Mendes,Armando IannucciandJon Brown. While Mendes has first-hand experience of helming mega-blockbusters likeSkyfall, Iannucci is one of the most acclaimed voices in comedy, having createdVeepand pennedBAFTAnomineeThe Death of Stalin. Brown is a three-time Emmy winner who wrote episodes ofSuccessionandDead Pixels.
Aside from Brühl, the cast ofThe Franchisealso featuresHimesh Patel(Enola Holmes 2),Aya Cash(The Boys),Billy Magnussen(Road House),Jessica Hynes(Shaun of the Dead),Lolly Adefope(Ghosts),Isaac Powell(American Horror Story),Ruaridh Mollica(Ridley),Darren Goldstein(Ozark) andRichard E. Grant(Saltburn).
HBO debutsThe Franchisethis Sunday, October 6 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT. The show will also be available to stream on Max, and episodes will roll out weekly. You can check out the trailer below:
The Franchise
A team trapped inside the dysfunctional hell of creating franchise superhero movies, at the end of the day the question they face is: is this Hollywood’s new dawn or cinema’s last stand? Is this a dream factory or a chemical plant?
