Chapter 77: Preliminary Cooperation with Marvel! I Want to Get the Person of Taylor Swift!

"Mr. Xu, this conversation was truly inspiring. Once the script is finished, you will count as one of its participants."

"The script is yours to write; I can at most offer a suggestion."

"No, the concept you brought is the core of it. The entire film has become more profound, not just a simple popcorn commercial film."

"Alright, I am very glad we have reached an agreement."

"This should be my honor. The specific shooting dates need to be negotiated with Warner executives... We will shoot the first one first, and I will contact you in advance when the Joker appears."

"Mm, no problem. Regarding the script, you can call anytime. See you on set."

"See you on set."

Xu Can talked with the Nolan brothers for almost the entire day, from morning until dark.

Xu Can's ideas for the Dark Knight trilogy left the Nolan brothers in awe!

According to the original timeline, the first film, Batman Begins, would have been released long ago by now.

However, the delay of comic book movies in this parallel world,

meant the brothers had only written the first draft of the script. Xu Can's suggestions opened their minds, and they needed to revise the script again.

Once Warner's funding arrives, the Dark Knight trilogy can proceed to auditions and start filming.

According to Nolan's plan, they intend to emulate The Lord of the Rings trilogy and shoot all three films at once.

Finally, they will release them year by year based on the production schedule.

Batman Begins is scheduled for late 2007, and The Dark Knight for 2008, just in time to match the timeline of his past life.

"By the way, Xu, there is one last question. Do you have any suggestions for the casting of Batman?"

Xu Can did not answer directly; he just looked at Nolan and gave a mysterious smile:

"I believe you already have the answer, right? It is that person. Choose him; do not listen to anyone else's advice."

Nolan stood at the door, gazing at Xu Can's back with a thoughtful expression.

Leaving the Nolan residence, Xu Can was about to head to London Heathrow Airport to fly back to Los Santos.

The suggestion he had just given Nolan was exactly the original Batman actor, Christian Bale.

Warner executives and co-writer David Goyer had originally intended to propose Jake Gyllenhaal,

the future "Mysterio" and the male lead of Brokeback Mountain, Source Code, and Nightcrawler.

Under Nolan's insistence, Warner ultimately abandoned this possibility and removed the Riddler character.

Since he chose to participate in the Dark Knight trilogy, Xu Can naturally had to do his best to help Nolan make a film comparable to the original.

If John Wick achieves box office success, Xu Can also considers investing in The Dark Knight.

This trilogy achieved huge success in both reputation and box office; there is no reason not to get a piece of the action. It is simply free money!

Of course, the premise of all this is that John Wick is excellent enough.

Back in Los Santos, Xu Can rushed almost non-stop to the studio to supervise the post-production team with special effects and editing.

Most of the shots in this film were practical, without flashy action designs or fantastical scenes.

Everything strives for immersion as much as possible; all tactical movements can be used in actual combat, fist to flesh, one strike to kill.

Such realistic fighting forms a strong contrast with the absurdity of the entire worldview.

Therefore, the requirements for film editing are extremely high; Xu Can must personally supervise it to feel at ease.

Fortunately, the entire post-production team comes from Columbia Pictures and is considered first-tier Hollywood standard.

Director David Leitch is equally full of potential. His sharp and calm editing gives the film a tone above the original material, with a touch of unique innovation.

After watching the original footage, Xu Can was completely reassured.

He believes the parallel world's John Wick will be no less than the original!

If the schedule proceeds normally, the film will be submitted for review at the end of February. With too many bloody and violent shots, it should be rated R without surprise.

If everything goes smoothly, the film will be scheduled for release in May or June!

While busy with post-production during this period, Xu Can was also busy with two other matters.

One of them was the cooperation with Marvel.

Xu Can has already reached a preliminary cooperation agreement with Marvel President Kevin Feige and Marvel Entertainment President Perlmutter.

He will join the development of the Marvel Cinematic Universe projects as Marvel's Chief Operating Officer, COO.

In terms of status, Xu Can will be on the same level as Marvel President Kevin Feige, but he will not be directly led by Perlmutter. He is more like a senior consultant transcending the system, planning the upcoming film universe plans together with Kevin Feige.

Marvel is currently heavily in debt and has borrowed 500 million from banks; the company's fate is bet on the upcoming films.

Xu Can is the only comic book movie creator to achieve success; with him joining, things are much more stable.

As for Xu Can himself, he can only participate for now and try to gain control.

In his past life, Marvel's market value exceeded 2 billion USD in 2004. In this parallel world, after the success of Spider-Man, the market value is gradually rising, estimated at around 1 billion USD at least.

With his current net worth, he cannot consider an acquisition for now; only a major conglomerate can do that.

But Xu Can can use the box office revenue from John Wick to buy a portion of Marvel stock.

Marvel's stock price has been falling for years and is currently at 9 USD. It rose 15% at the beginning of this year.

By the time he has money to acquire, it should stabilize at just over 10 USD.

By the time Iron Man is released, it is expected to rise significantly again, making a fortune.

He does not even have a system, so it is hard to conjure up billions out of thin air to acquire Marvel; for now, he can only proceed step by step.

As for buying other stocks...

Steve Jobs did not return to Apple in this parallel world, so even if Xu Can wanted to buy Apple stock, it would be useless.

The future is full of uncertainties. He does not want to invest the box office revenue he worked hard to earn into stock market gambling; with that money, it is faster to invest in a movie that is guaranteed to make a profit.