While Sam Raimi is currently busy channeling his horror roots into his upcoming psychological thriller “Send Help,” a survival story that reunites him with Rachel McAdams, he recently looked back at the iconic heroes that nearly defined his career. The director remains a titan of the genre, and though his current focus is on the tension and isolation of his latest project, his enduring love for the DC pantheon suggests that his days of directing legends might not be entirely behind him.
Sam Raimi Opens Up About His DC Ambitions
In a candid conversation with MovieWeb, Raimi revealed that his history with DC goes much deeper than simple curiosity, admitting, “I love Batman. I tried to make a Batman film. I couldn’t get the rights.” This early ambition to helm a project in Gotham was apparently part of a larger interest in pulp-inspired justice, as he noted, “I love The Shadow. I also couldn’t get the rights to that one.” Despite these missed connections, his affinity for the genre’s heaviest hitters remains strong, with the director confessing that “Superman’s always been one of my favorites.”
Source: Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Pictures
Raimi is not looking for a simple paycheck, but rather a story that honors the fan’s perspective, stating, “There’s a tremendous amount of DC characters that I love, and it would just take the writers to come up with an original story based on their character, that’s true to the character and part of their real universe.” He stressed that any potential project must be “not something that disappoints the fans, but something that’s based on the fans love of the character.” For Raimi, the goal is a narrative that “brings out the best moment of those characters and their proper conflicts, or the right challenges for the right hero.”
The director made it clear that he would only step back into the world of capes if the material offered a substantive emotional arc. He explained that “if it was a story that had a real journey for that particular individual,” he would find the prospect undeniable. He concluded his thoughts on the matter with a simple, hopeful sentiment for DC fans: “Then I’d love to make the movie.”
