Celine Song Has Met Marvel For Potential Project(s)

With “Past Lives” becoming this acclaimed, and Oscar-nominated, A24 indie, writer-director Celine Song decided her sophomore effort would be a romcom (“Materialists”) which is due out in the summer. However, she now seems open to inserting herself inside the MCU.

Here’s The InSneider reporting that Song recently took a meeting (or two) with Marvel’s Kevin Feige as she looks to set up her next film after “Materialists.” Because that worked out really well for Chloe Zhao. Whether anything materializes out of this remains to be seen, but I wouldn’t be surprised if a deal comes to fruition.

I’ve already tackled how Marvel loves to insert freshly minted indie filmmakers into the MCU; they give them big fat paychecks as a reward and in return control every step of the creative process. It’s not just Zhao, Marvel has hired plenty of Sundance alumni into their ranks, right as these filmmakers were about to burst into the scene with their own unique artistic voices.

The list is long, and depressing: Chloe Zhao, Jon Watts Ryan Coogler, Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden, Destin Daniel Cretton, Cate Shortland, Nia DaCosta, Jake Schreier, and Julius Onah. All young-ish talents. All currently, or formerly, invested in the MCU.

The Wrap recently had a piece tackling this very subject, titled “How Sundance Became A Farm for Marvel Movies.”

“It’s because they’re young, cheap, and will follow Feige’s rules,” a top producer told the outlet, referring to Marvel Studios president and keeper of the MCU, Kevin Feige. The dealmaker added: “High-level directors who are hot don’t work for Marvel Studios. It’s only up-and-comers and veterans who are cold.”

It speaks to the state of the industry today that Marvel looks to Sundance for its roster of filmmaking talent. This is the same festival that launched the careers of Quentin Tarantino, Damien Chazelle, Steven Soderbergh, Todd Field, Darren Aronofsky, Richard Linklater and Todd Haynes — all filmmakers who wound up setting their own paths, free of blockbuster constraints.

Marvel loves to pounce and corrupt Sundance talent. They’re easy targets and, when boatloads of cash gets waved to their faces, it’s very hard for them to refuse the offer. People tend to forget that, given the current climate, and at the end of the day, a filmmaker does need to make a living.