On Monday we reported that Iron Man 3 scribe Drew Pearce was still hopeful about Runaways, the film he was originally hired by Marvelto make, seeing the light of day in a post-Guardians of the Galaxy world. Now, we have word that the screenwriter is setting his sights on an even riskier, and possibly more obscure property to bring to the big screen: Damage Control.
Screen Rant spoke with Pearce about his latest Marvel project, the All Hail The King One-Shot attached to the Thor: The Dark World Blu-Ray, and asked him what property or character he’d like to tackle next if given the opportunity.
The answer to that is – I think actually before the other Drew [Goddard], or as I think of him, the better Drew, took on Daredevil it might actually have been Daredevil, but right now – and my obsession for years – has always been Damage Control. I think there’s an amazing Phase 3 movie to be made about Damage Control which looks at the MCU through the prism of both the kind of blue collar superherodom and also the repercussions of in many ways like the superhero epoch on the rest of the world. I think you also need it to be a brilliant and exciting story but as a group of people, almost as a movie about firemen or public servants in the MCU, I think you can create some genuinely exciting that looks back over 10 years and three phases of MCU – tied it together – but also told an entirely different perspective of the superhero epoch that we’re all living in at the moment.
For those unfamiliar, Damage Control is the name of a construction company that appears in Marvel comics, and has been given four limited series of its own. The company debuted in 1988, and specializes in repairing the property damage caused by superheroes and their villains. It’s easy to see how this unique approach to the world of superheroes could lend itself to a feature film, especially considering the company’s long history of corporate intrigue.
Pearce went on to say:
The [Damage Control] comics themselves were brilliant but ridiculous and patchy but I think the idea of it goes well beyond the meta comedy of that stuff and actually does a thing that Marvel movies do a lot but that you could go further with which is the real life implication of some of these events without forgetting that what defines the MCU is its simultaneous ability to tap into a realistic, real life feeling which often comes through the reality of the characters rather than a slavish, super dark world where it sat in. So I love the idea that Damage Control would incorporate both that kind of reality with the sense of humor and some of the lessons that Runaways has for example, and also in a strange way, the One-Shots exemplify as well – the ability to color in the corners of the MCU. That was a very long answer. (laughs)
If done right, a Damage Control film could certainly “color in the corners of the MCU,” something that Marvel originally set out to do with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., though that hasn’t been too successful just yet. His comments about the movie fitting into Phase 3 of Marvel’s cinematic universe are also interesting, and could place the film in a time when a lot would have already taken place in that world (meaning a lot of cleanup for the average Joe).
With Marvel’s upcoming slate of films already jam-packed full of new characters to introduce, chances are a Damage Control movie won’t happen, but it is an interesting idea and something that could definitely work, if done right. Perhaps somewhere down the line Pearce could bring the property to the small screen instead?
Tell us, what do you think of what Pearce has to say about a Damage Control movie? Do you think it could work? Or would you rather see Marvel movies based solely on superheroes? Let us know in the comments below!
