In many ways, we can trace our current superhero cinema boom right back to Tim Burton‘s Batman duology, as those Michael Keaton vehicles rewrote the rule book when it came to comic book movies and proved that Christopher Reeve’s Superman franchise wasn’t just a fluke: people really, really love superhero films. So could the Edward Scissorhands auteur ever be tempted to return to the fold, only this time switching sides from DC to Marvel?
Burton addressed this possibility while speaking to Deadline. In a surprisingly candid interview, the filmmaker opened up about why he doesn’t think he’s ever going to work with longtime partners Disney again, as he considers the studio to be too franchise-focused these days. “It’s gotten to be very homogenized, very consolidated. There’s less room for different types of things,” Burton admitted.
As that suggests, he’s not chomping at the bit to lend his macabre talents to the MCU, then, although it’s vaguely possible that he would if he was allowed to make something standalone. Deadline notes that Burton would only ever do the one Marvel project, joking: “I can only deal with one universe, l can’t deal with a multi-universe.”
In other words, don’t expect Burton to pull a Sam Raimi and direct Doctor Strange 3 as it seems he’s either mystified by the concept of the multiverse or else the crossover concept just doesn’t appeal to him. But if Burton is looking for a way into the Marvel universe, or in case the studio is wanting to hook him in, then maybe the route to take would be to do something in the vein of Werewolf by Night. That throwback to Universal horror flicks is definitely more in Burton’s wheelhouse.
For now, Burton seems happy working with Netflix on his Addams Family reimagining Wednesday, which premieres Nov. 23.
