The Creator descends into theaters this weekend, and things seem to be coming up fairly well in the world of original sci-fi storytelling. With a respectable 78 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of writing, it sounds like Gareth Edwards’ latest blockbuster brainchild has stuck the landing.
Of course, this is Hollywood we’re talking about, the same entity that wanted to take Martin Scorsese’s The Departed and turn it into a franchise. (He said no, obviously.) Indeed, with The Creator’s solid showings and sweeping sci-fi world, it won’t be long before the executives come along and begin measuring exactly how many movies and shows could be milked from Edwards‘ new canon.
But, as far as the filmmaker is concerned, The Creator’s closing scene will be the last we see of this particular universe, despite whatever impulses may plague him. In a recent interview with Screen Rant, Edwards opened up on the mental back-and-forth he’s found himself in since the possibility of a sequel entered the conversation, comparing and contrasting his long-standing love for endings with the more recent love he has for this world he’s created.
And okay, so look, I would love to go back to this world. There are so many things I didn’t get to do that I would just absolutely love to do. But my girlfriend…. when we sit and we have some dinner or something, let’s watch something. She wants to watch TV shows. I want to watch films. And the other day I was like, “Well, what’s your problem? What’s going on here?” And I thought about it. I was like endings, my favorite part of the story is the end. And so I just want it to be this self-contained thing.
He would go on to reveal that while he wouldn’t be terribly disappointed if he received a request for a sequel in a more official capacity, he currently has no intention of cooking up anything of the sort.
So I mean, it’s a high class problem. If someone ever came up and said, “We want a sequel.” That’d be a really good problem to have. But it is not the plan. No.
It’s an answer that will be a relief to some and a disappointment to others, and speaks to the wider conversation surrounding the real and/or perceived dangers of franchise fare to the health of cinema as a whole. It’s a rather moot conversation, given that a film’s reliance on established intellectual property and continuity has little to no bearing on whether or not it’s actually any good. So long as making something into a franchise isn’t subsequently used as an excuse to make products or content instead of genuinely great media, there’s no real reason to dub “franchise” a dirty word, even if that aforementioned possibility happens a bit more often than we’d prefer.
(featured image: 20th Century Studios)
