Max’s trailer for new comedy series The Franchise jokes about Hollywood superhero movies like the MCU
Superhero movies can go two ways: they can either be faithful adaptations of beloved comic book canon texts or silly action movies. Watching the new trailer for Max’s new comedy series The FranchiseThe show won’t be examining the best superhero movies, but rather the best ones. It will also poke fun at some poorly reviewed films from the MCU and DC series.
Created by Armando Iannucci (The Death of Stalin) and Academy Award winner Sam Mendes (American beauty), The Franchise will be released on October 6 on Max, one of the best streaming services.
The story follows the production crew behind the fictional superhero film Tecto: Eye of the storm over the course of eight episodes. In the trailer, which you can watch below, we see the film crew struggling and fighting to get the film finished, but its commercial success is jeopardized when the behind-the-scenes drama obscures the film itself.
The film crew is an all-star cast of familiar faces from film and television, including Himesh Patel, Jessica Hynes and Aya Cash from Prime Video’s hit superhero series. The boys as part of the dysfunctional film crew. The trailer also reveals several guest appearances you can expect to see in the series, including Daniel Bruhl (Captain America: Civil War) and Richard E. Grant (Can you ever forgive me? And Salt fire), which is expected to air one episode.
Opinion: Finally, superhero movies are being criticized for what they are
I’ve never been a fan of the MCU or DC franchises for a number of reasons, the main one being that there’s just way too many to take in. But also because it seems like these cinematic giants like the MCU no longer focus on releasing movies that are actually good, because they know they’ll pull in millions of people at the box office even if the movie kind of sucks.
Superhero movies, to me, have lost their sense of novelty and the “event factor” that surrounds movie premieres. They were always money-making opportunities, but that’s more apparent now than ever and that’s what irritates me—as is the tabloid drama that surrounds them. Watch the trailer for The Franchise was like a déjà vu moment, and it reminded me of films like The Flash (2023), a film with a lot of potential, but which only gained massive attention thanks to the dramatic stories and the questionable behavior of Ezra Miller.
Nevertheless, there is something intriguing about the trailer for The Franchise that makes me want to spend some time on it, despite my growing distaste for MCU and DC films. Now that one of the biggest streaming services is coming out with a show that ostensibly critiques one of Hollywood’s most bankable and popular franchises, I’m willing to join the conversation.