The following contains spoilers for The Franchise season 1 episode 1, “Scene 31A: Tecto Meets Eye,” now streaming on MaxThe Franchise’suse of two Marvel Cinematic Universe veterans highlights some of the entertainment industry satire at the heart of the show.The Franchisepokes fun at the current state of Hollywood by focusing on a silly version of a big-budget film shoot. The show primarily follows Daniel, the 1st Assistant Director on the superhero filmTecto: Eye of the Storm, and all the chaos that ensues as a result of the talent, his co-workers, and the studio reps.The Franchise’s cast of charactersare full of entertainment satire archetypes, filtered through Jon Brown, Armando Iannucci and Sam Mendes' sense of style.
Given the subject matter,The Franchisefeatures plenty of sly jokes and subtle references to other long-running film series' like the MCU. This even extends to the cast on the show, which includes two actors who have previously brought compelling performances to the superhero universe. It helps add a layer of comedy to the show’s parody of the superhero eco-sytem in Hollywood, and contributes to the comedy’s commentary on blockbusters.
Richard E. Grant’s New Loki Mocks The Original’s Glorious Purpose In The Franchise
Richard E. Grant Went From Loki To The Eye
Richard E. Grant’s role inThe Franchiselooks to bea fun satirical poke at the kind of character Grant brought fresh depth to in the MCU. InThe Franchise, Grant plays the experienced thespian Peter, who quickly reveals himself to be a foul-mouthed and over-confident actor. The “blowhard actor” is a well-trodden comedy archetype in industry parodies likeThe Franchise, and Grant brings a coarse relish to the role. Part of the joke in “Scene 31A: Tecto Meets Eye” stems from Peter’s confusion over his big arch villain and the impracticality of blockbuster scale world-building.
Cast and Character Guide ForThe Franchise
Steph
Jessica Hynes
The ridiculous nature of Grant playing a somewhat goofy looking Loki analog known as the Eye is extra funny after remembering that Grant has found gravitas with the characterThe Franchiseseems to be parodying. Grant appeared inLokiseason 1 as a variant of the title character who lived a solitary but long life as a coward. His appearance in the show was short but carried genuine pathos and served as an important comparison point to Tom Hiddleston’s version of the character.Grant has shown superhero characters can have thematic weight, even asThe Franchisemocks their bizarre nature.
Daniel Brühl’s Artistic Director In The Franchise Is Looking For Meaning In Superheroes
Daniel Brühl’s Eric Is A Highlight OfThe Franchise
Daniel Brühl’s Eric is one of the comic highlights ofThe Franchise. Eric is an artistically-minded but short-sighted prima-donna. Whileon the surface level he’s a silly riff on clichés about directors, his lack of awareness about the realities of production make him some ofThe Franchise’s more cutting satire. The character is floundering at one point as a filmmaker and only snaps back in when Daniel is able to remind him he had previously found some thematic elements to latch onto. However, his plans are hijacked byThe Franchise’s overarching studio plan, killing a key element of the story.
Daniel Brühl finding depth in something as surface-level silly as the “fish people” has a subtle parallel in the MCU.
Daniel Brühl finding depth in something as surface-level silly as the “fish people” has a subtle parallel in the MCU. Daniel Brühl has played Helmut Zemo in two MCU projects,Captain America: Civil WarandThe Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Brühl’s version of the character is a deceptively tragic figure, driven by grief-filled fury to bring down an Avengers system that he sees as inherently broken. Brühl’s performance has brought real complexity to a compelling villain, somethingThe Franchisecan poke fun at by having his character find a lesson about frakking in his jackhammer superhero movie.
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.
