‘It Follows’ Director David Robert Mitchell Working on New Superhero Film
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David Robert Mitchell, the director behind the acclaimed “It Follows,” is getting into superheroics: MGM has secured the rights to Mitchell’s upcoming “Heroes & Villains” feature film.
Mitchell will write, direct, and produce the film, which promises to offer a new take on superheroes. Casting is expected to begin shortly, while Good Fear Content’s Chris Bender and Jake Weiner have been tapped to produce the film alongside Mitchell.
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Other details about the project are still under wraps. While plot specifics might not be available, Mitchell’s background may give even the most superhero-skeptical of moviegoers to take notice; Mitchell broke into the film industry spotlight with “It Follows,” his 2014 supernatural horror film that defied most genre conventions and enjoyed rave reviews from critics. “Under the Silver Lake,” his 2018 follow-up feature, was more critically mixed — IndieWire’s Eric Kohn offered considerable praise in his B+ review and noted it continued Mitchell’s streak of smashing through genre norms, however — but helped further boost his profile.
“Like Mitchell’s two other features, ‘Under the Silver Lake’ transforms a familiar genre into a unique context, in this case channeling the shaggy-dog detective story into the ambivalence of a millennial who keeps losing the narrative thread of his own life,” Kohn said in his review. “The movie personifies the male gaze, but it’s also conspicuously about that, deconstructing privilege more than lingering in its confines. After all, this is the story of a philandering white guy whose obsession with his sultry neighbor Sarah (Riley Keough) sends him on a bizarre subterranean adventure because he probably has nothing better to do. Sam’s epiphanies about his privileged circumstances matter more than any of the breadcrumbs he chases through a loopy plot that takes its time to wander across two hours and 20 minutes. It’s a bizarre and outrageous drama grounded in the consistency of (Andrew) Garfield’s astonishment at every turn.”
The superhero genre has one of the entertainment industry’s most oversaturated genres in recent years, but if anyone could breathe fresh air into the field, it just might be Mitchell.
As for MGM, the company will also release Jordan Peele’s “Candyman” horror film in the future, as well as 25th James Bond film “No Time to Die,” the Jennifer Hudson-led “Respect,” the Sylvester Sallone-led “Samaritan,” and “Dog,” which stars Channing Tatum and Reid Carolin.
Good Fear’s current slate features “My Spy,” to be released by Amazon, and Disney’s highly-anticipated “Mulan.”
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