Drew Pearce Talks All Hail the King, Doctor Strange and M:I5

Drew Pearce co-wrote Iron Man 3 and has both written and directed the Marvel One-Shot All Hail the King, which revolves around a documentary profile of Sir Ben Kingsley’s hugely popular character Trevor Slattery, and appears on the Thor: The Dark World Blu-ray and DVD.

We caught up with Pearce to discuss the making of the short and the other Marvel properties he’d like to adapt, including his 'gigantic pipe-dream'. We also got an update about his work on the Mission: Impossible 5 script, and found out why the people of his home-town might not be all that happy with him.

What was the genesis of All Hail the King?

I’ve been talking to Kevin Feige and Louis D’Esposito on-and-off for four years about writing and directing one-shots. This is about the fifth character I’ve either written something for, or pitched, out of tens of ideas that I’ve had for one-shots. And I think it’s an amazing program and scheme that Marvel have with the one-shots as it can be the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern of the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe). It lets you not just look at different characters, but explore pockets that would never get their own movie necessarily. But also different genres within the MCU as well. I love that Item 47 is essentially a Bonnie and Clyde movie too. I wanted this one when it came to fruition to feel like if I got to do Out of Sight in the MCU, albeit with Trevor Slattery.

The genesis of this one specifically was the very first day that Sir Ben was on the set of Iron Man 3. Up until that point I’d bugged Kevin about once every two days for two years about writing and directing a one-shot, to the point where I think he was going to have me killed. We were both watching him and then went for lunch, and I said, ‘Maybe we should do a Trevor one-shot’. And for the first time Kevin said, ‘Definitely. Go away and write it’. So I wrote it that night in my corporate housing in North Carolina, and brought it in the next day. And we even showed it to Sir Ben that week. So the seed was planted.

Then it was happening, then it wasn’t happening, then it was going to go away, then I was going to do a different one. Then in a creative meeting with the brain trust of the MCU, it was Joss Whedon who said when I was running down the list of possible one-shots ‘So there’s a possibility that you could do a one-shot with Sir Ben Kingsley?’ at which point I said, ‘If I can convince him to do it, sure.’ Joss said ‘There is no doubt in my mind that that should be the first one you do’. And from then it was very simple – I wrote a different version of it, got it to Sir Ben, who I was quite close to on the set of Iron Man, and he instantly said yes. In fact he didn’t offer up any script changes. He’s shot I think seven movies back to-back recently, and yet he still found three days in that schedule to shoot a reprise with Trevor, which is just extraordinary.

What were you trying to achieve with the One-Shot?

Honestly, first and foremost, it’s just an opportunity to return to a character that I’m very proud of, and that is just so much fun to be around. It’s one of those ironies – Trevor is only really in the final cut of the movie for about two scenes, and yet he casts a very long shadow over the whole movie, and is quite indelible. If you’re making a TV show and you create a character, and the actor creates a character with you, you get to revisit it week after week. But with a movie you kind of have to say goodbye to them. So principally it was the idea of getting to play with Sir Ben and Trevor again. Then as that developed, that turned into ‘What’s the most entertaining way to catch up with Trevor?’ And I think one of the things that’s very true of him as a character is that you have to put him in very real, dangerous environments, where he is the only ludicrous thing in there, in order for the humour to land. Otherwise it just feels like you’re doing a skit. Are you now done with Trevor or are there other things that you’d like to write for the character? Trevor writes himself. He’s definitely a monster, and he’s out there in the world.  Do I hope I write Trevor again? Absolutely! Do I know in what context that might be? Absolutely not. Again, if Kevin finds a reason for Trevor to be back, and Sir Ben is willing… he loves doing the character, quite rightly because I don’t know if he’s ever been funnier than when he was Trevor Slattery. Look, I hope so. There’s certainly nothing where I can go ‘Oh yes, we’re planning the secret Trevor Slattery trilogy!’ Or maybe that’s a double-bluff.

What about Iron Man himself? Do you have more stories for that character in you?

Never say never. I think a bigger question is does Robert Downey Jr have another Iron Man movie that he’s burning to make. In Downey’s portrayal of Stark I think hands-down you have an actor owning a superhero role probably more emphatically than any other actor has ever inhabited a superhero role. So if he doesn’t do another Iron Man movie – which at some point will happen – then I think they’re extremely large, heavy, Stan Winston-designed boots to step into. But Tony Stark and Iron Man are probably my favourite movie superhero, so if the opportunity arose again – if it’s the right circumstances – I’d love to.

I’m from Croydon, so thanks for bringing my hometown to the masses with that Iron Man 3 mention.

I used to live in East Grinstead, so Croydon was the Greek river I had to travel to get to the glory of London. If the gateway to London was Victoria, then Croydon was where I had to pass through. I’ve had some great nights out in Croydon, and now I feel like I owe it my career. One of my proudest moments was being there for those first couple of nights in London, to do press, and simultaneously thinking that I couldn’t believe that I got that line through; it’s so great that it got a laugh, and that laugh is never going to play anywhere other than these theatres right now.

Are there any other Marvel properties that you’d like to tackle?

There are tonnes. I love Doctor Strange – I think it’s going to be amazing to see what happens with him. If indeed anything is going to happen with him. I feel the same way about Black Panther. My biggest desire is to do something with Damage Control, which was a short-lived and very patchy conceptual comic from the 1980s about the clean-up team in the Marvel Universe, and in the Comics Universe. I think there’s a brilliant Damage Control movie to be done that basically views all of the Phases of the Marvel cinematic universe, but from the point-of-view of blue-collar, working class people who also may have super-powers. It would be a brilliant point-of-view from which to revisit some of the events of the MCU, and also, I think there’s a really brilliant, refreshing, different superhero story to be told in that.

Pearce fancies having a crack at a Damage Control movie.

Is that something that you’ve spoken to Kevin Feige about?

Yes, but I don’t think that means it’s going to happen in any way. Let’s file that under ‘gigantic pipe-dream’.

Do you now feel like you’re part of the Marvel family, and if so, what does that feel like?

I would love to think that I’m a part of the Marvel family, but if that’s the case, I’m definitely a visiting relative. There’s a core creative team – a very small core creative team – that are the custodians and also often the generators of lots in the MCU. Obviously led by Kevin, but also Louis D’Espisito, Stephen Broussard, Jeremy Latcham, and of course Joss at the moment as well. It’s utterly enjoyable to come into that world. If I never do anything with them again I’d be really sad, because I feel like… People talk about the halcyon days of Amblin and Star Wars – 1970s into 1980s blockbusters, and say things will never be as good. But for kids who are 10 or even 15 now… I feel like I’ve had the chance to work on some of the movies that will definitely be that for that generation. In some cases are just as good. And in many ways, because of the connected universe, maybe even more potent and exciting. I hope I work with Marvel again. I definitely think if it’s the right project, then Kevin would take me back. He took a big punt letting me direct this short as well as write it. Kevin is never effusive, but I get a sense that he’s somewhat pleased with how it turned out, and proud of it, which makes me extremely happy.

You’re writing Mission: Impossible 5, so where are you at with that script?

The first draft is delivered. I believe the movie is green-lit. There’s a certain kind of handing over of the relay baton because Chris McQuarrie – the truly brilliant Chris McQuarrie – is directing, and is also an Oscar-winning writer. So the next phase is him – quite rightly – imprinting his voice on the draft. As is the nature of Mission Impossible projects, I may well be in and out. As the starter wife of that project, I‘d like to think that I’ve given them an extremely solid foundation, but who knows?

Will Croydon figure in proceedings?

I grew up in East Grinstead. And East Grinstead is probably a bit annoyed that Croydon got the limelight, so if I possibly can, I’ll incorporate at least an East Sussex tone. There will be a Tonbridge Wells-ish, or East Grinstead-esque, or even a Crawly-ish feel to some of the sections. Maybe the travelogue of this Mission Impossible is simply around the tourist sites of East Sussex!

All Hail the King features on the Thor: The Dark World Blu-ray and DVD, which is released in the UK on February 24.

Chris Tilly is the Entertainment Editor for IGN in the UK and should probably stop banging on about Croydon in interviews. He can be found talking nonsense on both Twitter and MyIGN.

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