Netflix has decided to step into the blockbuster business, and it’s spending all the money. Well, $200 million to be more exact. The film it’s spending it on is a globe-trotting action comedy titled, “Red Notice,” and it stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Gal Gadot, and Ryan Reynolds. In this episode of The Discourse, writer-director, Rawson Marshall Thurber joins the podcast to discuss helming the streamer’s latest foray into blockbuster moviemaking.
During the interview, Thurber talks about the differences between making blockbusters for the standard Hollywood studio system and Netflix.
“The sort of blocking and tackling of making a big-budget movie is the same, but the level of creative support is different. There typically are fewer notes, [and] there’s less hand wringing about opening weekend box office,” Thurber shared. “So, though it’s a different building the people that populate it are the same and I don’t think I’ve ever felt more creative support than I have making a movie at Netflix, which is great.”
And Netflix isn’t just making one blockbuster, the studio has greenlit several, including Rawson Marshall Thurber’s next project, an adaptation of Tom Clancy’s “The Division,” based on the popular action role-playing game, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Jessica Chastain.
“Yes, absolutely! That’s going to be my next movie. We’ve just finished a rewrite on the script and we’re prepping to make it this year. I think, finally having finished ‘Red Notice,’ I’m going to take a pass on the draft and make some tweaks and then hopefully we’ll get going,” Thurber noted. “Jake Gyllenhaal and Jessica Chastain are incredibly committed to the project and passionate about it. I love the game; I’ve played the game…I keep pinching myself. I can’t believe I get the chance to make ‘The Division’ and I can’t wait to start.”
Before the conversation finished, the subject of Marvel blockbusters inevitably arose, and Thurber openly shared that he has a pitch for a movie involving two very prominent Marvel characters.
“I love the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC stuff. Like a lot of guys my age, I grew up reading comic books…There’s one particular paring in the Marvel Universe that I would be incredibly excited to try my hand at. Who knows if it will ever happen, but we’ll see…” teased Thurber.
After some probing, he revealed the pairing and his thoughts.
“I would love to take a crack at Hulk Vs. Wolverine. I especially love Lindelof’s run with Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk,” he added. “Yeah, so there’s something really exciting about that pairing. Of course, everyone knows that Wolverine was introduced in Hulk, they’re inextricably linked – they’re the immovable object and the unstoppable force. And I think that’s sort of a delicious pairing – Yin and Yang. And of course, Logan and Banner, they’re sort of cursed with functional immortality and they handle it in very different ways. And I think that would be really, really interesting to dig into.”
“Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk” is a comic book series written by TV writer Damon Lindelof and featured Wolverine hunting the Hulk down after several incidents of mass destruction caused by the not-so-jolly green giant, a brutal fight in which Hulk rips Wolverine in half, a Betty Ross version of She-Hulk and, of course, many more confrontations between the titular characters.
“Red Notice” is in limited theaters now and is streaming on Netflix on November 12. You can hear our full discussion below:
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