Veep's Armando Iannucci finally skewers superhero films in The Franchise trailer

For the cinephile who turns their nose up at the Superhero Industrial Complex, what could be more delicious than a send-up of the genre by expert satirist Armando Iannucci? The mastermind behind The Thick Of It, Veep, and The Death Of Stalin teamed up with Oscar winner Sam Mendes for The Franchise, which parodies not just superhero movies but the people making them. Case in point: “Be straight with me. Do you buy me as a guy that can make earthquakes happen?” the film’s star (Billy Magnussen) asks in the trailer. “You’re the greatest actor that ever lived,” Daniel (Himesh Patel) replies, a clear ploy to placate the actor’s ego. “Don’t make me repeat myself. Because I won’t.”

According to a synopsis from HBO, The Franchise “follows the crew of an unloved franchise movie fighting for their place in a savage and unruly cinematic universe. The comedy series shines a light on the secret chaos inside the world of superhero moviemaking, to ask the question—how exactly does the cinematic sausage get made? Because every f*ck-up has an origin story.”

The behind-the-scenes on this franchise installment is as chaotic and ridiculous as you may expect, fraught with dysfunctional performers, chaotic set pieces, and intervening head honchos. “Welcome to the future of getting reamed out,” one studio employee announces as an exec checks in remotely from a giant screen on set. And we’ll allow some rare credit where it’s due to Warner Bros. Discovery, a studio transparently thirsty about mining its  franchise content, for keeping the “WB” logo on The Franchise‘s faux trailers. You have to imagine some of this action has genuinely played out in that studio’s occasionally fraught superhero productions. 

In addition to Iannucci and Mendes, The Franchise has assembled a murderer’s row of talent. The cast includes Patel, Magnussen, Aya Cash (The Boys), Jessica Hynes (Shaun Of The Dead), Lolly Adefope (Shrill), Darren Goldstein (The Gilded Age), and Isaac Powell (Cat Person), with recurring guest stars Richard E. Grant and Daniel Brühl. The series premieres on HBO on October 6 at 10 P.M. ET.