Zak Penn Is Working On Another Marvel Movie, But Which One?
Screenwriter Zak Penn (The Incredible Hulk, The Avengers) has already logged some serious hours working for Marvel Studios, and in a new interview, he says he's coming back to write a new Marvel movie. But what could it be? Read the writer's quotes and let's see if we can zero in on the newest Zak Penn Marvel project.
In an interview with ScreenRant, Penn (who co-wrote Steven Spielberg's upcoming Ready Player One) revealed that he's about to start work on another screenplay for Marvel Studios:
"I think I'm probably gonna come back. I think I'm gonna do one more Marvel, one more project in the Marvel Universe. I'm about to start doing, but...I have to check and see if I'm allowed to say what it is. For the most part I had a long run on comic book movies and I was kind of eager to, you know, just cause it can be really crushing, you know, at times..."
Penn wrote the screenplay for 2008's The Incredible Hulk – at least before star Edward Norton famously took over and started rewriting scenes during production. (Penn received sole credit after a Writers Guild arbitration.) But that wasn't the only time he was nearly edged out of a Marvel project: he also spent years writing the screenplay for The Avengers before Joss Whedon came on board to write and direct.
Whedon ultimately decided to throw Penn's existing script out the window and start from scratch. The director told GQ, "There was a script. There just wasn't a script I was going to film a word of." Penn was bummed, but seemed to take it in stride. "We could have collaborated more, but that was not his choice," he said at the time. "[Whedon] wanted to do it his way, and I respect that. I mean, it's not like on the Hulk, where I got replaced by the lead actor. That was an unusual one. This was more normal." (Penn received a "story by" credit on The Avengers.)
What is This Mysterious Zak Penn Marvel Movie?
Right now, the only projects Marvel Studios has officially announced for the future are Avengers: Infinity War, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Captain Marvel, Avengers 4, a sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
Both Avengers movies are done filming, Captain Marvel is shooting right now, and James Gunn is writing the script for Guardians 3. That leaves the Homecoming sequel, which seems unlikely, since we know it already has a couple returning writers from the first movie. The odds are that Penn is writing something that hasn't been given the official greenlight yet. Could he be helping Jac Schaeffer write the screenplay for the Black Widow solo film? Or is he taking to the skies and writing one of the more cosmic stories that we're supposed to be seeing in the wake of Avengers 4 – maybe that rumored spin-off about the Ravagers? We're not sure, but we'll let you know as soon as we find out.
Regardless, I hope Penn has a better experience this time than he did in his previous two outings with Marvel Studios. After taking that kind of beating, he's starting to remind me of Steve Rogers getting his ass kicked repeatedly, but still coming back for more. Sounds like Zak Penn can do this all day.