Filmmaker Sam Mendes (“1917,” “Empire of Light”) is about to make his U.S. tv directing debut with a brand new comedy sequence at HBO known as “The Franchise.” It will see Mendes workforce up with comedy author/director Armando Iannucci (“Avenue 5,” “In The Loop”), doubtless finest identified to American audiences for the political comedy sequence “Veep” and the hilarious Soviet-era satire “The Death of Stalin.” One of the extra curious initiatives on the horizon, “The Franchise,” focuses on the world of Hollywood and the making of superhero film franchises, which is undoubtedly ripe for parody. This a topic that has kind of already, to a lesser extent, tackled by the mature/satirical Amazon sequence “The Boys.”
The present’s pilot episode has assembled an thrilling assortment of actors as Deadline reviews that Billy Magnussen (“Game Night,” “No To Time To Die”), Jessica Hynes (“Spaced,” “Doctor Who”), Darren Goldstein, Lolly Adefope, and Isaac Powell have taken roles that can see them as sequence regulars. Interestingly sufficient, they’ve additionally added Marvel actors Daniel Brühl (“Captain America: Civil War”) and Richard E. Grant (“Logan,” “Loki”) as recurring visitor stars, too, a bit cheeky given the subject material.
Here is the pilot’s logline through Deadline:
It follows a hopeful crew trapped contained in the dysfunctional, nonsensical, joyous hellscape of franchise superhero moviemaking. If and after they lastly make the day, there’s a query they need to face: Is this Hollywood’s new daybreak or cinema’s final stand? Is this a dream manufacturing facility or a chemical plant?
Jon Brown wrote the pilot and can act because the showrunner.
Given the high-profile nature of the pilot, there’s a superb shot that the venture finally lands a sequence order from HBO. Mendes is notably busy in the meanwhile and in addition directed the present Olivia Colman pic, “Empire of Light,” which premiered on the Telluride Film Festival earlier this 12 months. It’ll be attention-grabbing to see if Mendes will pull immediately from his experiences working with large studio franchises after helming two James Bond installments, “Skyfall” and “Spectre.”