YouTube Directors Turned Down Offer To Helm A New DC Movie
YouTube creators Danny and Michael Philippou turned down a chance to direct a DC movie.
To many aspiring content creators and filmmakers, landing a movie directing gig with DC Studios sounds like a dream come true. But YouTube creators Danny and Michael Philippou decided to turn down an offer from James Gunn and Peter Safran in favor of pursuing their own original content, according to ComicBook.com. The Philippou twins, known for their RackaRacka channel on YouTube, have stuck to their guns (but not James Gunn) and decided that for the time being, they’d rather continue to work on their own material.
Turning down an offer from DC Studios is probably a decision the Philippou brothers didn’t take lightly. Danny Philippou stated that the brothers are “keen to see what James Gunn does with the universe,” but it appears that the Talk to Me creators aren’t quite ready to work for the massive production machine that is the DC Extended Universe. And with the success of their YouTube channel, and their very well-received directorial debut with Talk to Me, one could see why they want to continue down their own creative path.
Talk to Me is currently boasting a 97 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, and the supernatural horror film has been universally praised for its brilliant use of practical special effects and storytelling. The duo is also working on their sophomore film effort, Bring Her Back, which does not currently have a release date. While we don’t know why the Philippou brothers turned down their DC offer, scheduling was probably one of many deciding factors.
Not only are the Philippou brothers busy on the directorial front, their comedy-horror YouTube channel also has an intimidating 6.7 million followers who love their original content. So although a DC gig would definitely give their careers a boost in visibility, the Australian twins have decided to lean into what has already made them such successful content creators up to this point in their lives. It’s also worth noting that the Philippou brothers have been making their own content online since they were kids, so we can’t really fault them for not wanting to let go of what is clearly a passion project that they’ve been working on for such a long time.
But never say never! The door to DC Studios has been open for the Philippou brothers, and just because they didn’t walk through it after their first offer, it doesn’t mean that they aren’t interested! Without knowing the full exchange that happened during their meeting there are a lot of variables at play with James Gunn and Peter Safran’s new DC initiatives.
As we all know, the new DC initiatives are vast, and potentially long-running, if a movie franchise or TV series ends up being a hit. This would mean a massive time commitment from the Philippou brothers that they’re not quite ready for. When you’ve got your whole life ahead of you, a 10-year multi-film commitment could actually be stifling to your creativity, and this may very well be the case for the brothers, who are just 30 years old.
Another thing to consider is that it’s evident that the Philippou brothers are passionate about blurring the lines between comedy and the macabre. Taking on a role with DC Studios would probably prove invaluable in building on their skill sets when it comes to special effects, but they might find that committing to DC canon isn’t the creative direction they want to take at this point in time. But who knows- maybe years from now we’ll see the Philippou brothers giving us their take on Batman sometime down the road.
