The following contains spoilers for The Franchise season 1 episode 7, “Scene 113: The Bridge,” now streaming on MaxThe Franchise’slatest dig at the Marvel Cinematic Universe takes Martin Scorsese’s comments about the superhero films and amplifies them into a harsh condemnation of the entire state of the movie-making business.The Franchisehas been poking plenty of fun at the blockbuster machine, highlighting the challenges faced by threatened actors and exhausted creatives. However, while the overtly ridiclious parody of superhero movies likeTectohas been the primary focus of the show (making plenty of room for harsh digs at the MCU),The Franchise’s commentary about Hollywood’s connections to Chinahave highlighted a broader approach to the show’s satire.
This is amplified more than ever in “Scene 113: The Bridge,“which sees the cast and crew ofTectorelocate to a remote shoot in Armenia. The new environment proves disquieting for the director Eric, who spends most of the episode tricked into staying in his trailer. Instead, Daniel’s attempts to keep the production moving, coupled with some harsh truths courtesy of Pat and a teenager visiting the set, highlight grander problems with the franchise as whole. Here is howThe Franchiseuses Martin Scorsese’s MCU commentsas a springboard into further commentary about the movie industry as a whole.
The Franchise Season 1 Makes Martin Scorsese’s MCU Comments More Damning
The FranchiseGives Martin Scorsese’s Harsher Perspective On The State Of Cinema
The Franchise’s take on Martin Scorsese’s MCU criticisms takes the legendary director’s harsh viewof the superhero franchise further and plays into the show’s true feelings about the film industry. One of the overarching elements of “Scene 113: The Bridge” is the revelation that Martin Scorsese’s most recent comments about the superhero genre claim that films likeTectoand the shared universe blockbustersCenturiosare actively killing cinema. Initially, this is shown to cause Eric to have another breakdown, leading him to try and fashion a new ending to the movie and continuehis problematic streak as a “difficult director.”
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However, the criticism is steadily revealed to have more impact beyond Eric’s state of mind. Although Pat tries to brush the comments off, he admits to Anita that the internal data within the studio suggests that the increased closure of multiplexes might be tied to the weak tracking and low enthusiasm for franchises likeCenturios.Shane, the unseen stand-in for MCU architect Kevin Feige, is horrified by the somber implications of Scorsese’s commentsand has been bugging Pat constantly about this possibility. This is a grim reflection of the director’s true comments and the current state of the entertainment industry.
Martin Scorsese Has Been Open About His MCU Criticisms
The Real Martin Scorsese Has Repeatedly Called Out The MCU
Martin Scorsese being a critic of films likeTectowithin the world ofThe Franchiseisreflective of the director’s comments about the films of Marvel Studios. Coming out after the massive success ofAvengers: Endgamein 2019 cemented the MCU as the most prominent and successful franchise in the history of the film industry, Scorsense’s comments during the press tour forThe Irishmanled to widespread debate over the MCU’s artistic merit. As reported byScreen Rantat the time, Scorsese toldEmpirethat despite his attempts to give the superhero franchise a try, he simply didn’t like them.
“I don’t see them. I tried, you know? But that’s not cinema. Honestly, the closest I can think of them, as well made as they are, with actors doing the best they can under the circumstances, is theme parks. It isn’t the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being.”
The comments sent a ripple through the cinematic fanbase. Many stars and creatives of the MCU, including Robert Downey Jr., James Gunn, and Samuel L. Jackson defended the franchise as one with plenty of artistic merit. As reported byThe Independent, other filmmakers like James Cameron and Francis Ford Coppola have also openly criticized the MCU as lacking the kind of epic scope or natural gravitas that elevates other movies. The resulting conflict between different corners of the film industry has been fascinating to watch as movie fans, but it’s also ignored what may be the film industries greatest threat.
What The Franchise Thinks Is Really Dooming The Film Industry
The FranchiseBelieves Young People Are More Excited About Mr. Beast Than Superheroes
An undercurrent of “Scene 113: The Bridge” is the presence of a local “sick” teenager who has been given a chance to visitTecto’s location shoot in Armenia. The teen is completely non-plussed by the famous actors or the intrinsicities of filmmaking, something that rubs old school movie star Peter the wrong way. The teen even reveals he’s not really a fan of theCenturiosfranchise. Instead, his monotone passions lie with YouTube stars like Mr. Beast.This is quietly one ofThe Franchise’s most damning bits of criticismlevied at the MCU and the film industry as a whole.
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The Franchise’s Goofy Characters Underscore Dark Realities About Movie Making
The Film Industry Has Big Problems Beyond The MCU’s Success
The Franchiseis a comedy at heart, poking fun at the industry as a whole with a lot of profane and silly gags. However,the satirical core of the show is directed at the way mercenary filmmaking on a blockbuster scalehas only made the industry a harsher place. The ambitions of the creatives like Daniel, Dag, and Anita stem from a desire to make “good films,” with the latter two openly dismissing the superhero genre. Their efforts lead them to condemn a wild animal to death, accidentally destroy a piece of Armenian history, and nearly kill an innocent woman.
The studio behindTectohas repeatedly stressed they have no faith in the film, but continues to spend a fortune on the project. On set, the creatives are casually dismissive of the VFX’s workers clear exhaustion, while script supervisor Steph takes her infatuation with the actor Rufus takes an openly toxic direction.The Franchiseisn’t just drawing attention to controversies surrounding franchises like the MCU, buthighlighting the problems that are haunting the whole industry.The Franchsieis a silly but cutting takedown of the entire world of filmmaking, and is better for embracing a wide-ranging approach to its satire.
The Franchise
Cast
The Franchise is a Max original comedy television series that follows a film crew as they document their increasingly chaotic and hectic work on a Superhero film franchise. Acting as a satire on the industry, the show looks to lampoon the process and the sometimes unreasonable expectations of keeping a long-standing franchise alive and kicking.
