After finally announcing a release date at San Diego Comic-Con 2022, Marvel Studios Sheet hit a speed bump. On the same day it was reported that Hugh Jackman would be reprising his role as Wolverine in Deadpool 3it was also reported that director Bassam Tariq has stopped directing Sheet. Tariq was hired to direct Sheet in September 2021, so he’d been working on the project for over a year, and with the film going into production in November 2022, Marvel Studios will have to work hard to find a director quickly if they want to keep the film on track to to meet its planned release date of November 3, 2023.
Marvel Studios has had issues like this before, most notably when Edgar Wright left ant man just three months before filming; most recently Jon Watts left Fantastic four and was replaced by WandaVision director Matt Shakman. Marvel Studios is probably hard at work looking for directors to lead Sheetand here are a few suggestions the studio should consider that will make a great Sheet movie.
Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah
Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, jointly billed as Adil & Bilall, are most famous for directing 2020’s Bad boys for life and also collaborated with Marvel Studios on Mrs. Marvel, where they directed the season premiere and season finale. Most notably, they are also the directors of the canceled movie batgirl which unfortunately will never see the light of day.
The duo have expressed an interest in directing a superhero movie, even after the batgirl situation, and given their good working relationship with Marvel Studios (Kevin Feige even sent them an apology note regarding) batgirl‘s cancellation), the duo seems to be strong contenders for Sheet. Given their previous experience with action movies and television, Adil & Bilall would both be a good choice for Sheet and also some good PR move for Marvel Studios, by giving one of their big budget tentpole movies to directors who treated their biggest competitor so badly.
Gina Prince Bythewood
Riding high on the financial and critical success of The woman kingGina Prince-Bythewood should be at the top of any studio’s list to direct a movie for them, and she’s more tailor-made for Sheet than one would expect. Her previous films include: Love & Basketball, Beyond the lightsand the Netflix superhero movie The old guard. Prince-Bythewood was associated with Sony Picture’s for two years silver black, which was a team of two Spider-Man characters, Black Cat and Silver Sable. That movie never got any attention and Marvel Studios could take Sony’s loss as profit and get her to direct Sheet.
Prince-Bythewood’s involvement would add a lot of credibility to Sheet. First, her history as an athlete comes through in her action scenes, as she really understands how to frame an action scene. The other is a thematic connection, as much of Prince-Bythewood’s filmography is about characters trying to find their place in a world where they feel lost, possibly due to her own experience as an adopted child. With Blade, a half-human and half-vampire hybrid who didn’t know his parents, Prince-Bythewood could make this a more personal film and give it rich thematic importance.
Wanuri Kahiu
Wanuri Kahiu is a celebrated Kenyan filmmaker who has been nominated for multiple awards and nominations at the Africa Movie Academy Awards, including winning Best Director, Best Picture and Best Screenplay for her 2008 film. From a whisper portraying the aftermath of the 1998 bombings of the US embassy in Kenya. Her movie from 2018 Rafiki became the first Kenyan film to be screened at the Cannes Film Festival. Most recently she directed the underrated romantic comedy Looking both ways starring Riverdale’s Lili Reinhart for Netflix.
Marvel Studios is always looking for talented filmmakers to bring their characters to life, and they tend to look in many different places, from established directors to television directors waiting for their cinematic breakthrough. By hiring Kahiu, they not only get a talented filmmaker, but one of the most underrated directors gets her biggest canvas ever to reach the widest audience.
Amma Asante
Marvel Studios’ portrayal of Blade will have to find a way to differentiate itself from the cinematic portrayal of the past. One element that can be explored is that Blade’s comic book counterpart is British, and with that, British filmmaker Amma Asante makes a bold choice to direct Sheet. Her four films: A way of life, Belle, A United Kingdomand Where hands touch they all take place in Europe and explore different aspects of European history and the Blade movie is said to span many decades.
Both Belle and A United Kingdom both also explore race and identity in British society, an element that might not have been thought of for a while Sheet film, but one that seems both important and thematically rich. This is an element about the character that has been downplayed in other images, and with a filmmaker like Asante it could come to the fore and say something new about the character.
Hiro Murai
One of the most talented and underrated filmmakers working today, Japanese director Hiro Murai has created some of the best episodes for popular television series such as Legion, barry, and Atlanta and is an executive producer of the popular FX series The bear. He has also directed several high-profile music videos, most prominently featuring Childish Gambino, including the iconic ‘This is America’ music video that won Best Music Video at the 2019 Grammys.
While some dismiss the idea of hiring a music video or television director because it would come true if Marvel Studios hires someone they can easily control, it’s incredibly shortsighted to ignore the strong directors working in those fields. Acclaimed filmmakers like Michael Gondry and David Fincher got their start with music videos, and Marvel Studios’ ability to recognize the talented work of television directors like the Russo Brothers paid off. One look at the work of Hiro Murai, and it is clear that this is a director with untapped potential who would make a one of a kind film, especially with regard to Sheet would deliver an incredible visceral action.