Some would argue yes, following Edgar Wright's high-profile, abrupt exit from his adaptation of "Ant-Man," a project he's been shepherding almost singlehandedly since 2006. Now, another filmmaker is dropping out from another Marvel property, and it's raising more eyebrows.
On Saturday, one day after Wright's shocking departure, Drew Goddard left the "Daredevil" series set to debut on Netflix in 2015. While Goddard will still serve as a creative consultant for the show, that's a significantly diminished role for a man who was supposed to serve as showrunner, executive producer, and the writer-director of the first episode.
So what went wrong with Goddard? It's unclear, though Variety reports that he's set to focus on writing and directing Sony's upcoming "Sinister Six" Spider-Man villain spinoff for Sony. Maybe that project was a conflict of interest with Marvel Studios, which doesn't own the rights to Spidey?
Whatever the reason for Goddard leaving, it's certainly not looking good for Marvel, leading some to wonder if the studio is reverting back to safe, homogenized superhero choices in an effort to make more money, and keep existing franchises' future earnings consistent with past box office successes.
The studio once took a chance on unconventional filmmakers -- Joss Whedon and Jon Favreau, before "Avengers" and "Iron Man" -- and is taking a big gamble on the ragtag group at the heart of "Guardians of the Galaxy." But maybe they're worried that someday those chances won't pay off, and are now taking a firmer hand with directors' visions, leading some like Wright and Goddard to balk and walk.
Steven S. DeKnight (a writer for "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," like Goddard, and onetime writer-producer on CW Superman series "Smallville") will take over "Daredevil" showrunner duties from Goddard. The 13-episode series begins shooting this summer, and will premiere sometime next year.
Just how different DeKnight's vision will be from Goddard's, we may never know.
[via Vanity Fair]
Photo by Karl Walter/Getty Images for SXSW
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