Thunder Force, landing April 9 on Netflix, is the most recent collaboration between Ben Falcone (Tammy) and Melissa McCarthy (Life of the Party). The husband and wife duo produced a superhero comedy, written and directed by Falcone himself, in which the heroes don't fit the typical image one would expect.
After all, who would imagine that super scientist Emily (Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures) would plan to inject herself with super serum to become a real-life hero, and end up roping her estranged and irresponsible best friend Lydia (McCarthy) into the team-up process? In a world populated by powerful villains, though, the ladies have to get their act together as soon as possible and prove they're exactly who society needs.
Falcone spoke to Screen Rant about his inspiration for the story, his collaboration process with McCarthy, and his hopes for a follow-up film.
I loved Melissa and Octavia's chemistry, and I know that you wrote it with them in mind. What was it about them that screamed superheroes to you?
Ben Falcone: I started with the idea after I'd read an article about the owner of the LA Times. He was a biotech entrepreneur - I don't know if you know this, but the new owner made all his money in biotech.
I love comic books, so I wanted to make a superhero movie. And I was like, "This guy who bought the LA Times, theoretically, if he were a villain, he could do bad things. Or if he was a superhero in this world, he could do good things." So, I thought, "Who's one of the smartest people we know?" It's Octavia Spencer, who has been our friend for over 20 years. She's lovely, and we've been wanting to work with her forever.
I thought she could effortlessly play the energy of somebody who carries an easy authority; who is an intellectual. And then I thought, "If you were that person, who would you need by your side?" You'd need a scrapper who can settle things in a schoolyard fight. To me, the impulsive quality of that character felt like Melissa, so I just rolled from there and ran with it. And it kind of developed quickly from that point.
I think they were perfect for the roles, but you and Melissa also have such a great creative dynamic together. What is it like growing together after all these years and all these products?
Ben Falcone: Yeah, good question. I think it's only getting better, because we're learning. We're learning what we like and what we don't like on set; what we feel are our stronger areas, and areas that we can get even better at and try to improve.
If you're an artist, if you're not growing, you're dying. I think it's really important to stay open to new ideas and fresh ideas, but also to adhere to the idea that some things like camera coverage or whatever that are one way for a reason. Like, lighting should be beautiful, and these sorts of things. We're learning as we go and continue to learn, and I think it's only getting better and more fun.
The ending made me think I'd like to see some more adventures. Do you have any more in mind?
Ben Falcone: I do, I do. There's more stuff. I've pitched it to Octavia and to Melissa, and they both seem to like it. It's so hard to corral [Jason] Bateman, but I would make that crab come back.
I'd make them all come back in some way form or fashion, even just for a second. But I do have a basic idea of number two. If people enjoy the movie, and if people would be amped to see another one, we would of course try to get it together. So, we'll just see how it goes and go from there.
Thunder Force arrives on Netflix April 9.
