That is what happens in the comic. [Laughs.] It’s an understatement to say “Black Panther” has become a cultural phenomenon. It’s the end of June. Oscar campaigning preparations are already starting. Is there any part the of production that you hope in this process isn’t forgotten? It could be the production design or anybody who you feel like should get more attention, that you hope members of the Academy will pay attention to more?
Well, I think you just named them. I think it’s across the board. It’s the head of production design, which is remarkable. It was costume design, which was remarkable. Ludwig Göransson‘s score is incredible. Obviously, Ryan and Joe Robert Cole‘s script and Ryan’s direction. And Chadwick and Michael B. Jordan, the Killmonger. I think Okoye, played by Danai [Gurira], and Lupita Nyong’o and Letitia [Wright’s] Shuri. I mean, it is an embarrassment of riches on that film, across the board, which I think would be wonderful if they were all recognized as individuals. I think it’d be wonderful if this genre were eventually recognized 20 movies and 10 years in for us at Marvel Studios.
Are you excited about the possibilities of awards season? Or are you sort of taking it with a grain of salt when people talk about ‘Black Panther’ in that context?
I think it would be wonderful.
I have a personal question for you. You guys have had so much success and the expectations for every single movie are so high. It hasn’t been three years. It’s been 10 years. How do you personally deal with those expectations? I mean, I’d be stressed. Do you do yoga? Do you do meditation?
I’ve got to do more. Now that you mention it, I’ve got to do something. [Laughs.]
Do you have something in your own daily mantra…?
“Must finish the movie and get it in theaters. Must finish the next movie and get it in theaters. Must finish the next movie.” I’m half-joking, but it keeps you very busy. The prime motivator is audiences are going to have high expectations and are going to be sitting in a dark room expecting to see something on this day. It better be as good as you can possibly make it on that day. That’s the driving factor. How big is “big expectations?” I think now 20 movies in, people know that the bar for success is, “Have you made a profit? Make the next one.” For us, that’s what it comes down to. When it does more than that, most of our films do, knock on wood, even better.
In many ways you’re the Scott Rubin of this genre, the big blockbuster. And, like him, you really don’t make bad movies. I’m curious, had that ever been, back in the day were there any producers that when you were first coming up that you looked to as role models in terms of this quality control?
Sure. I mean, there were the types of films that I liked. There was the Spielberg films and not just the films that he directed but the films he produced, the Amblin run in the ’80s. “Back to the Future” of course, being the most influential one. I remember looking at people like Harve Bennett and Ralph Winter on the “Star Trek” series. When you start to see the same name on all the different movies that you like, you start to think about [their work]. I didn’t know who these people were, what they looked like, but I saw the same name over and over again and would be inspired. Directors, producers, writers, all of them.
“Ant-Man and the Wasp” opens nationwide on July 6.