When it comes to naming the most influential and consistent filmmakers in the comic book genre’s ongoing boom period, the usual suspects include the likes of Kevin Feige, Christopher Nolan, Zack Snyder, James Gunn, Sam Raimi, the Russo brothers, and others who are always brought up, but maybe it’s time to start putting a great deal more respect on Seth Rogen‘s name.
He may not have dabbled in either Marvel or DC, but his track record remains undeniably impressive. As a writer, director, or producer he’s worked on Preacher – which holds a four-season Rotten Tomatoes average of 87 percent – as well as eight-time Emmy nominee The Boys, and the almost universally-acclaimed Invincible (Certified Fresh on RT at 98 percent), while next week’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem carries a 96 percent approval rating at the time of writing.
Of course, there’s also The Green Hornet, but we can ignore the fact his stint at onscreen superheroism was a disaster when his work behind the scenes has proven so remarkably solid. Funnily enough, though, Rogen admitted to Polygon that’s precisely the reason why he’s not interested in joining the two heaviest hitters.
“We really have a pretty specific way we work; me and Evan have been writers for 20 years at this point. It’s a fear of the process, honestly. And I say that knowing nothing about the process. There are a lot of Marvel things I love. It’s mostly a fear of how would we plug into the system they have in place, which seems like a very good system, and a system that serves them very well. But is it a system that we would ultimately get really frustrated with?
And what’s nice about [Mutant Mayhem] is that we’re the producers of this. So we dictated the system, and we dictated the process in a lot of ways. And that’s what’s also appealing for us about The Boys and the other bigger franchise-y type things we’ve done, is that we are creating the infrastructure and process for them, not plugging into someone else’s infrastructure and process. We’re control freaks!”
Based on how outlandish and gnarly Preacher, The Boys, and Invincible have been at points, it’s fair to assume that Rogen is right in saying neither Marvel or DC would afford him the same kind of leeway. That being said, having him tackle one of the big boys would be a sight to behold.
