J.C. Chandor ("Margin Call," "All Is Lost," "A Most Violent Year") is a first-rate filmmaker who hasn't even hit his peak yet. Hell, I even liked his last, critically divisive, film, the “Treasure of the Sierra Madre” ripoff “Triple Frontier.” So you can bet I was crushed to hear that Chandor “is in talks” to direct Sony’s “Kraven the Hunter,” a Spider-Man spinoff [via Justin Kroll].
I really hate to say it, but isn’t this the definition of selling out? Chandor’s style is auteur-driven and heavily inspired by his love for ‘70s cinema. Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with the superhero genre, especially when done right (“The Winter Soldier,” “The Dark Knight” “Spider-Man 2”), but, goddammit, couldn’t Chandor just pass on this and work on another original movie? I do realize that he may have signed up to direct the ‘Spider-Man’ movie to pay for the bills and be able to finance his next personal project, but it’s incredibly depressing to think that that’s just how the industry rolls these days for talented folk such as Chandor.
“Triple Frontier” nabbed 63 million views on Netflix last year, doesn’t that merit another project for him with the streaming giant? Regardless, I spoke to the writer-director in early 2019 about ‘Frontier,’ its thematic similarities to his other movies, working with Netflix, and, really, just the way his entire creative process works.