Back when Marvel introduced Iron Man to cinemas, he was considered one of their lower-tier characters. Without the rights to Spider-Man and the X-Men, many wondered if sole standout the Hulk could buoy the burgeoning studio. Since then, Marvel have proven that everyone from Rocket Raccoon to Ant-Man can be turned into a franchise leader. With the company expanding their reach in theaters and on TV more and more, however, the question becomes: is there any Marvel property too weird to be adapted?

Over their long history, Marvel have created a lot of bizarre characters, launched a number of strange events, and spun out some truly unusual alternate realities. One of the more peculiar and enduring ones is the Marvel Zombies universe. Part of a five-issue run in 2005, the comic was written by The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman. Intimately familiar with zombie comics, Kirkman wove a tale about the entire Marvel Universe becoming infected with a zombie virus. The book was a smash hit and the idea has continued to pop back up in the comics over the years. And even though we think it’d make for the perfect R-Rated superhero film, Marvel would never find some willing to tackle such a project, right?

Little White Lies spokes with Ben Wheatley, the director of High-Rise about the upcoming period action film Free Fire that he wrote and directed. During the conversation, they asked whether he’d ever want to talk a bigger project, specifically a Marvel film:

Assuming a project like Marvel Zombies were to ever see the light of day, it would take someone dedicated to the project with a unique vision. Given Wheatley’s statement and his past work, he’d be the perfect person for the job should Marvel ever decide to test just how much goodwill they have at the box office. Then again, zombies have long been a hit on TV and in theaters, so it’s not as if the merger of the genre with Marvel’s hit brand is such a crazy idea.

“I dunno. I don’t really know how those things work. Marvel Zombies hasn’t been done which is what I’m interested in. Maybe that’s a bit too niche. Marvel’s interesting in that it’s kind of a hybrid of cinema and television. A very, very expensive TV show that you buy a pass for every three months.”

For now, however, Wheatley will likely stick to indie films. Free Fire not only looks to be a mad romp thanks to the red band trailer from last year, but the cast were even down to play paintball with us recently. Speaking of the cast, future Captain Marvel Brie Larson co-stars in Free Fire. Perhaps her and Wheatley can trade notes and get to scheming on Marvel Zombies after all.

Source: Little White Lies

  • Free Fire Release Date: 2017-04-21