Since the boom of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and its impact on Hollywood, many major film auteurs have spoken critically of the genre that has been dominating the medium for years. Among them included the blockbuster pioneer Steven Spielberg, often considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, and it’s hard to argue otherwise.
But while Spielberg once predicted that superhero films are doomed to meet the same end as Westerns, the filmmaker is not new to the genre, as he did helm a superhero parody in the ’90s.
Steven Spielberg’s Lone Superhero Project Was a Result of Batman: The Animated Series
The early ’80s and ’90s were a great time to be a fan of the Caped Crusader until Joel Schumacher dropped the ball with Batman & Robin, which led to the property being put on ice for eight years. But prior to the 1997 failure, 1992 witnessed the most definitive version of Batman to ever be put on screen with Bruce Timm’s Batman: The Animated Series.
And among the many who were left awestruck by its brilliance, involved Steven Spielberg. Spielberg, who was responsible for helming several animated classics at the time and one of the most prolific producers of Saturday morning cartoons, reached out to the BTAS crew after its success. Speaking with CBR, Timm recalled that Spielberg reached out to his boss Jean MacCurdy, and wanted the BTAS crew to work on his own superhero animated adventure.
“What happened was that Steven Spielberg approached Jean MacCurdy, my boss, and said, ‘I really like that Batman show you guys are doing! I want to do an adventure show with that crew. I want to have a meeting with those guys.’ So me, Alan Burnett, Paul Dini all went over to Amblin and had a meeting with Steven and he said, ‘I really love what you guys did on the Batman show and I don’t really have an idea for what I want to do but you guys can come up with some ideas and I can pick one and we can develop it together!”
With the Jaws filmmaker urging them to come up with their own ideas, Timm and his crew eventually developed Freakazoid, which revolved around computer nerd Dexter Douglas. But considering it was moving heavily into the Tiny Toons era, Bruce Timm eventually departed from the series, leaving Tom Ruegger responsible for overseeing its production.
James Gunn’s First MCU Feature Is Steven Spielberg’s Favorite Superhero Film
Although Steven Spielberg did predict that the superhero genre might suffer the same fate as early Westerns, the director did extend his praises for several superhero features over the years. Interestingly, his favorite superhero flick involves James Gunn‘s Guardians of the Galaxy, which remains one of the best movies to come out of the MCU. While commending the film, Spielberg lauded the feature for not taking itself too seriously and bringing in something new.
“When his projection was over, I left with the feeling of having seen something new in movies, without any cynicism or fear of being dark when needed.”
Even though Freakazoid‘s lifespan was short as it only lasted for 24 episodes, over the years, it has garnered a cult following, which too didn’t take itself too seriously.
Freakazoid! is available to rent on Apple TV.
