Growing up as a Marvel Comics super fan, one could have dreamed of working for the giant studio and bringing all of their favorite characters and stories to life. Many of the people behind the hit MCU movies are avid comic book fans, but for Marvel producer Nate Moore, that’s a huge red flag.
Avid comic book fans will always appreciate anything true to the source material; the general public wouldn’t care as long as it’s entertaining. But sometimes writers need to deviate and generate new ideas to make stories more compelling, relevant, and fresh.
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Marvel Producer Nate Moore Opts Against MCU Writers Who Are Comic Book Fans
Nate Moore, Marvel Film Producer Captain America: The Winter Soldier at Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, said being a big comic book nerd wouldn’t get you the job. In the podcast, The City with Matthew BelloniMoore tells fans all behind the scenes of Marvel’s hiring process, and that includes being strict about employing die-hard fans:
“For me, one thing that I find interesting [about Marvel’s process], and especially for writers, I’d say we’re often Marvel-loving writers. And for me, that’s always a red flag. Because I say, ‘Oh, I don’t want you to already have a pre-existing idea of what it is because you grew up with number 15, and that’s what you want to recreate…’ I want someone. one that’s hard on the material, that goes, ‘What is this? I think there’s a movie here, but maybe we should look at it that way.”
It can seem daunting to deviate from the source material, as the comics form the foundation of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. But over the years, those giant leaps of faith have become advantageous to Marvel Studios’ success. It’s also worth noting that a single change in a character’s details or story has never caused Marvel to lose a chunk of its fan base.
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Deviations from the source material made Marvel so successful
It’s no secret that many aspects of the Marvel movies have never been so accurate. Nate Moore also noted:
“The best example of that for me was Markus and McFeely, who weren’t comic book guys going up, but going, ‘Wait, Captain America, that sounds a little weird. How about we kind of look at it that way? And they weren’t married to anything, nothing was, you know, there was nothing sacrosanct. And I think it’s important to be able to say, “Look, the source material is awesome, and I love it, and the comics work great with the medium they’re built in, but it’s not a direct and individual translation to the best version of the film.’”
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This could be a deal breaker for some and a heartbreaking truth for fans. Many of these modern changes and approaches have influenced the flow of their comic book counterparts. Take, for example, Nick Fury. He was originally white in the books, but Samuel L. Jackson’s portrayal was so influential and compelling that Marvel used him as the basis for subsequent issues.
This should not discourage budding writers from giving up on their dreams. Think of it as a challenge to see through and beyond what’s already on the table. Put simply, Moore means that the comic is a source of inspiration, not a manual to be followed to the letter.
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