It was previously reported by ComicBook that Bad Boys For Life directors, Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallah, had already met with Marvel Studios to discuss the possibility of collaborating with them on future projects. But, at the time, they never specified which ones were discussed.
"Well there's nothing concrete. They just met us," said El Arbi. "They said they liked the movie and they just told us, 'Yo, what do you wanna do? Let's find something to work together on.' So there's nothing really planned yet, it was just like a meeting. But yeah, we'll see if we find something cool."
In this new interview with DiscussingFilm, the two have said which characters and movies they would personally like to direct for Marvel Studios.
NEWS
In an exclusive interview from DiscussingFilm with the duo, the outlet spoke to the two about their careers, issues they've faced directing Bad Boys for Life , and which Marvel films they would be most interested in directing.
Adil El Arbi: "There’s so much. You know, we love Deadpool."
Bilall Fallah: "We love Deadpool!"
Adil El Arbi: "Definitely. I mean there is more of an edge. If there was a Marvel character in the Bad Boys world…"
Bilall Fallah: "It would be Deadpool."
They also expressed an additional interest in Blade, but with not as much explanation and enthusiasm as Deadpool.
Adil El Arbi: "Then Blade is cool too!"
When asked further if this was an "open call" to direct movies for either character, they elaborate on their choice.
Adil El Arbi: "Well, if you do something like that it’s a high responsibility as well. If they say, yeah you’ll do Deadpool. It’s not as if we’re going to just say yeah – we’ll say “Oh sh*t”. But we love these characters. They’re also rated R characters."
The two were then asked whether or not they had been told to aim for less than an R-rating during their discussions with Marvel Studios, with Arbi saying that "There are stories that are PG and correspond to the world that you don’t need to do an R rating if it doesn’t fit." The director also emphasized that Deadpool with an R-Rating fits the character while it wouldn't for Spider-Man.
WHAT THIS MEANS
From the interview, Fallah and Arbi seemed more interested in characters who had the justification and history for an R-rating along with the characters that have more of an edge that fits with the style and tone of Bad Boys for Life . Could it be that they discussed such R-rated projects with Marvel Studios when they spoke with them? Kevin Feige has even said in 2017 that it wouldn't be out of the question for Marvel Studios to produce R-Rated movies.
"Currently we don’t work on R-Rated movies, it’s not out of the question but currently, no."
Obviously, with Deadpool and Blade, and likely many more mature properties from the Fox acquisition, the studio has plenty more material that could warrant an R-Rating.
Additionally, earlier in the interview, Fallah and Arbi made a brief mention of potentially wanting to work with Marvel Studios on Disney+. However, Disney+ is strictly for PG-13 or lower content, but as they said in the interview, if the rating is appropriate for the character, they wouldn't feel shackled or restricted by such a rating.
So it's not out of the realm of possibility that fans could see them direct an episode of Moon Knight in the future.
