A few years back before “Mission Impossible: Fallout” came out, rumors swirled that Christopher McQuarrie would make a “Green Lantern Corps” or “Man Of Steel 2” movie. McQuarrie vehemently denied all of it at the time, but over the years, when it was clear the films would never happen, the writer/director would eventually concede that yes, there were quite a few conversations about both movies. It seemed like these ideas began to spring forth from Henry Cavill, who was working with McQuarrie on ‘Fallout.’
READ MORE: Christopher McQuarrie Talked About A Potential ‘Superman’ Film With Henry Cavill
Last year, he discussed how the conversations and ideas started with Cavill while on set. “We had a lot of time hanging out on set, and Henry’s a huge fan of Superman,” McQuarrie explained. “I can’t help but talk story to people, so he told me his take on Superman, and I thought it was really great, and I gave him my two cents.”
He then admitted he spoke to Warner Bros. about “Green Lantern,” bu their ideas of previously created canon prevented him from moving forward. McQuarrie basically thought the studio was too beholden to canon (Tom Cruise was rumored too, because of the McQuarrie connection, but that’s never really been confirmed). “I had a conversation with the previous regime about ‘Green Lantern.’ I’m not a comic book guy. I’m a story guy,” he said. “[Canon] strangles movie[s] to death, and I’ve been in meetings where I’m like, ‘Can we just move this?’ ‘No, no, no, don’t move that! Don’t! Seven people saw that in a comic book ten years ago! It’s established! It’s canon!’ And I was like, ‘But the movie sucks. Can we just do it?’ ‘No, you can’t!”
READ MORE: The DC Films Universe: All The Movies Coming Soon & In Development
OK, so both ideas essentially dead because WB doesn’t have the kind of mindset that McQuarrie needs for his beliefs. Today, on Twitter, responding to fans asking him random questions, McQuarrie revealed that his “Man Of Steel” sequel ideas were interconnected with his “Green Lantern Corps” film, and he pitched and or proposed them both to the studio.
“Too complicated to explain,” he said of his “Green Lantern Corps.” Idea. “It tied into the Superman movie that Cavill and I were proposing.”
WB essentially passed on them, though McQuarrie doesn’t like that verbiage and he threw a little shade at the studio saying they would rather stick with their “broken” ideas; a dig at the way the DCEU has been mostly a mess over the years with lots of little victories and false starts. (To be fair, they’ve had two hits in a row now with “Aquaman” and “Shazam!,” but that’s the longest stretch they’ve had over seven films). “No, takers,” he wrote. “The studios have never cared for my original ideas. They prefer that I fix their broken ones.”
What were the ideas exactly? McQuarrie wouldn’t say, but did explain that he wasn’t under NDA and may share the concepts one day. Fans tend to hold out a lot of hope for these kinds of stories and ideas, but don’t ever expect McQuarrie to circle back to either film. Responding to one fan, McQuarrie basically ruled the idea out. “I must tell you, the possibility of my doing a superhero movie is remote in the extreme.”
All the tweet responses to questions posed to the filmmaker below. Next up for McQuarrie is “Mission Impossible 7 & 8,” one coming next summer, the other, the summer afterward. Don’t expect any Superman or Green Lantern new at Comic-Con later this month; WB is skipping the festivities this year.
https://twitter.com/chrismcquarrie/status/1147088978610442241
https://twitter.com/chrismcquarrie/status/1147130756445159424
https://twitter.com/chrismcquarrie/status/1147094345247535104
https://twitter.com/chrismcquarrie/status/1147146835112419329
https://twitter.com/chrismcquarrie/status/1147135056890204161
https://twitter.com/chrismcquarrie/status/1147144618204643328
Btw, if you’re wondering whatever happened to Christopher McQuarrie’s take on “The Prisoner,” here you go.
https://twitter.com/chrismcquarrie/status/1147084169505386496
