There’s a reason Aaron Sorkin teaches one of those online Masterclasses you’re always seeing ads for on YouTube. He only has 13 writing credits on IMDB, but they’re some of the most acclaimed films and TV shows of the last 25 years, including A Few Good Men, The West Wing, The Social Network, and Steve Jobs. The trend here is that all his productions are known for taut dialogue and character journeys, not giant explosions and actions sequences. Which makes it surprising that Sorkin is apparently about to enter talks with both Marvel Studios and DC Films about finding a comic book movie on which to work.
During a red carpet interview at Las Vegas’ CinemaCon, Comicbook.com asked Sorkin if he’s ever had the desire to adapt a comic book. “It’s funny that you mention that,” Sorkin responded. “I happen to have meetings coming up with both DC and Marvel.”
(Read: A Complete Guide to Comic Book Movies in 2017)
Yes, it seems both major superhero houses are courting one of the most celebrated screenwriters of the modern era to tackle one of their characters. However, they may have to dig deep to get Sorkin on board, as he continued,
“I have to go into these meetings and tell them as respectfully as I can that I’ve never read a comic book. It’s not that I don’t like them, it’s just that I’ve never been exposed to one. So, I’m hoping that somewhere in their library is a comic book character that I’m gonna love and I’m going to want to go back and start reading from the first issue on.”
We wouldn’t expect Sorkin to take on something like Cyborg or Ant-Man and the Wasp (though, come to think of it, the latter might be kinda cool), but there are plenty of options in Marvel and DC’s deep, deep catalogs that could benefit from his unique voice. Atypical characters under DC’s Wildstorm and Vertigo wings like the political Ex Machina or Y: The Last Man are full of opportunities for insightful Walk-and-Talks, while the fact that the lead character in Marvel’s She-Hulk happens to be a lawyer is right up Sorkin’s alley. There’s also some intrigue in something like Marvels or The Marvel Project, series which focused on pedestrians’ and journalists’ perspectives on caped heroes.
Of course, both studios also have TV branches in full swing, and their combined libraries feature enough characters to make comic book movies for over three millennia, so the opportunities are nearly endless. Hopefully Sorkin can find something interesting and give us one of the most dialogue-rich blockbusters ever.
