When Disney and Pixar released Brad Bird’s The Incredibles into theaters in 2004, the superhero movie landscape looked much different than it does today. Only the X-Men and Spider-Man franchises existed, and it would be another four years until Jon Favreau, Kevin Feige, and Robert Downey Jr. brought the Marvel Cinematic Universe to life.
Now, a decade and a half later, the second Incredibles film is finally hitting theaters, and it’s easy to look back and see how its predecessor helped bring the superhero genre to the mainstream. In fact, according to Samuel L. Jackson, Marvel Studios, as well as the rest of the genre, still has a lot to learn from what the Incredibles franchise has to offer.
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“Fourteen years later, to evolve a story that gives everyone in whatever age group a chance to participate in a very real and honest kind of way…” Jackson said in an interview with EW. “Teenagers can sit there and watch Violet’s story and say, ‘I know that girl. I know that story.’ Little boys and little girls can watch Dash and go, ‘Yes! That’s who I want to be!’ Or they got a math test they don’t understand. Or fathers doing things they don’t know they’re capable of doing, and wives who are working and still experiencing anxiety about what’s going on at home.”
That reality of life, what goes on when the supersuits are in the closes, that’s what Marvel could show a little but more of. Jackson finds himself in a unique place to make these comments, considering he’s a cornerstone of both franchises. Four years after he first voiced Frozone in The Incredibles, Jackson walked into Tony Stark’s house with a patch over his eye, taking on the role of Nick Fury, the man who would form The Avengers.
According to Jackson, the normal lives of a character is what makes their superhero alter ego more interesting.
“That ordinariness of who you really are is as interesting as this super thing you can do,” he explained. “How do you live every day? What do you do? Who are you without your uniform, or your costume?”
Jackson went on to mention a few Marvel characters, like Thor and Bruce Banner. They don’t really have jobs or lives outside of The Avengers, at least from what we’ve been able to see lately.
“[The Incredibles] are a real family with real family problems,” he said. “It’s a very universal story, and you come to realize that being a superhero is an avocation. It doesn’t put food on the table. It doesn’t keep the lights on. So you’ve got to do something else to be a part of real life.”
Do you think Jackson is right? Would you like to see Marvel dive into the everyday stories of its heroes? Let us know your thoughts and theories in the comments below!
Incredibles 2, written and directed by Brad Bird, is now playing in theaters.
