The superhero genre has evolved leaps and bounds in recent years. After the resounding success of the MCU, superheroes have become our go-to archetypes for movies and TV. Of course, the modern superhero has many incarnations; there are the heroes that come right out of comic books, the heroes that are sleek and modernized, and the heroes that are dark and gritty. And, of course, we even have superhero satire series like The Boys to keep us on our toes. But now, HBO’s The Franchise series is taking us to a place no superhero series has ever gone in earnest, behind the camera. We love a meta-series (listen, I was just rewatching Unreal), and this one promises to up the ante as it tells the story of what goes on behind the cameras of a superhero movie. How true to life is this? Well, maybe more than we’d think. Take a look at the full trailer for HBO’s The Franchise below.
The Franchise Trailer
“I’m going to get this stunt if it kills me,” our first AD tells his colleague as she introduces him to health and safety in the first trailer for The Franchise. Oops! But that’s just the pressure of making a superhero movie at work. On top of this, there are sobbing actors, human growth hormones, fights on the set, and the studio to contend with. Not to mention a diva director who may have done a sexism once, but is hoping to do a feminism. Honestly, this The Franchise trailer is really funny and speaks to many of the issues that touch superhero movies (but really all movies) today.
To help us better understand the trailer, the logline for The Franchise reads, “A hopeful crew finds themselves trapped inside the dysfunctional, nonsensical, joyous hellscape of franchise superhero moviemaking.” We feel this crew is about to get their dreamed squashed pretty quickly. But isn’t that the business of Hollywood? We have a feeling like there will be some light at the end of the tunnel though, and we’ll see this wacky film set come together to make something… filled with spandex if not life-changing. We wish them well.
HBO’s The Franchise Release Date
In addition to its trailer, HBO also confirmed the release date and cadence for The Franchise. The Franchise will premiere on October 6 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and will be available to stream on Max. The season will have eight episodes and will release weekly until Sunday, November 24.
