Viva la blockbuster! Edge Of Tomorrow director Doug Liman says he’s ready to revolutionize, flip the script, and just generally chop and screw any Hollywood concept he can get his hands on, from superheroes to virtual reality to the concept of the sequel itself. Liman is currently stumping for his new VR-based TV series Invisible—cryptically noting, “How can you be conventional when there aren’t even conventions that exist?”—but he’s also been fielding questions about the other projects he’s been attached to in recent years.
Most notably, Liman’s been talking about Dark Universe, a planned adaptation of DC’s Justice League: Dark featuring magic-based superheroes like John Constantine and superpowered stage magician Zatanna. Liman didn’t get into specifics on the project, but noted that, “When Warner Bros. wants to sort of turn the comic book genre on its head, they call me. It’s like, how do you fundamentally reinvent what people are doing?”
Also facing fundamental reinvention: movies taking place after other movies. Edge Of Tomorrow 2 has been on the books for a while now, but Liman revealed a few little glimmers of his master plan for the franchise, telling Collider it’s “a sequel that’s a prequel,” and IGN, “It’s going to revolutionize how people make sequels.”
The only downside of all this cinematic regime change, then, is the way it takes its toll on the man at its head. “You know, sometimes I’m working on a project and I pitch an idea that’s too conventional, and the producers will say back to me, ‘That’s not Doug Liman enough.’ And that’s the good and the bad news of this sort of box I’ve been put in.”