Marvel and DC are the two big names in the American comic book industry. Yet, Marvel is often seen as bigger than DC in terms of box office hits. Various factors make the MCU a higher center factor, such as its success — which has connected numerous films into a cohesive storyline.
Marvel undoubtedly has a broader fan base than DC, but James Gunn’s plan to reboot the old DC Extended Universe might give tough competition to the MCU. The DC Universe, led by James Gunn and Peter Safran, will give the superhero franchise a fresh start.
Gunn’s plan to revive the old universe is ultimate, but he can also take notes from Kevin Wright, executive producer of Loki Season 2. He gave his insight on how he manages to keep himself in check.
Loki Executive Producer’s Approach to Managing Complexity
If we look at over 15 years, the MCU has become big. With the addition of numerous Marvel series, it’s an even bigger task to keep up.
So, how do industry giants deal with such complexity? Speaking to The Digital Fix, Kevin Wright, the executive producer of Loki, emphasized the importance of exploring various ideas and keeping everything on the table in the writers’ room.
“I think the fun part is to be able to think about all the things you can do, and in our writers’ room, everything’s always on the table. You always have the cards on the walls, and there’s always those things that you kind of have off to the side, where you think, ‘That would be really cool to do that’. But you can never figure it out, or sometimes they find a way to slot back in later.”
Wright continued:
“But we always talk about it in the sense of intrigue. If it’s intriguing and simple. We’re winning. Once it becomes confusing and homework, it’s not going to work, or you’ve got to refine it. So, a lot of times, with the world building any of the multiverse stuff, it’s just about simplification.”
According to Wright, the key is to maintain simplicity in the storytelling. He said that when things become confusing, it’s time for clarity.
James Gunn Could Learn from Loki Producer’s Management of Keeping Things Simple
The upcoming Marvel movies have the advantage of larger runtimes and big-screen budgets. But keeping things tight is also valuable. Kevin Wright and his team recognized this principle’s importance during the Loki Season 2‘s development process.
They understood that just because you can do something doesn’t necessarily mean you should. The executive producer continued in the same conversation (via The Digital Fix):
“We will usually write out really detailed versions of how we all think this works so all the writers, the filmmakers, everybody are kind of on the same page. Then it’s a matter of condensing it into as few lines as possible or a visual. Usually, through that process, we find the sweet spot, but it’s constantly happening. It’s always evolving. But it’s always with that in mind of simple and intriguing. We think that’s the sweet spot for us.”
Handling the increasing complexity of the MCU while maintaining the show is no small task. The lessons from the MCU’s approach can be valuable for other cinematic universes like DCEU. Its boss, James Gunn (known for his work in both the MCU and the DCEU), can draw inspiration from these principles to keep the multiverse simple.
