Cocktailsandmovies.com contributor Kelly Jo Brick sits down with Captain America: Brave New World writer Rob Edwards
By: Kelly Jo Brick
Known for writing classic Disney films like The Princess and the Frog, as well as for TV series like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Roc and In Living Color, Rob Edwards is embarking on an incredible feat with three films set to premiere early this year.
His first to debut, the Marvel blockbuster, Captain America: Brave New World. Edwards shares his experiences bringing these characters and their journeys to life.
HOW DID THE OPPORTUNITY TO WRITE THIS FILM COME TO YOU?
Marvel liked a screenplay I had written and brought me in to pitch on a few of their projects. I came close to getting the assignment on two of their other movies. I think they liked the way I thought. So, when they told me they wanted me to take a crack at Cap 4, I jumped through the roof.
WHAT’S THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE DIVING INTO WELL ESTABLISHED CHARACTERS AND UNIVERSE?
There’s a saying at Disney-Pixar, “Be a filmgoer first and a filmmaker second.” Remember why you love movies and then write movies you love. It was easy for me on this project because, when I was a kid, I practically lived at the comic book store down the block. I used to dream about swinging from webs or turning into the Hulk, so I understand the connection that the fans have to these characters. These characters are shared in the minds of millions and you have to respect that. Then, as a writer, you have to do the same thing that the amazing comic book writers and artists do, make these characters our own. We have to find the truth in them as well as finding what about them entertains us and then bring that to the audience. It’s an immense responsibility and you feel it every day you sit down to write.
WHAT’S THE MOST FUN THING ABOUT DIGGING INTO THESE CHARACTERS AND THE UNIVERSE?
The Marvel sandbox is unparalleled. There are great characters with complex internal lives and dynamic superpowers. They’re the writing equivalent of race cars. What more could you possibly ask for? The characters are also inherently relatable so they’re almost guaranteed to be exciting when you plug them into a story. I wish all adaptations were as exciting.
WHAT’S THE RESPONSIBILITY YOU HAVE WHEN CREATING THE JOURNEY AND OBSTACLES WITH THESE CHARACTERS AUDIENCES HAVE COME TO KNOW.
In essence superhero movies (and animated movies) are still movies. They have one primary job, to entertain. In that way, the process is similar to any drama or comedy or mystery. Find stories that are relevant, with heart and humor and then tell them as dynamically as possible.
WHAT KIND OF RESEARCH DID YOU DO AS YOU APPROACHED TELLING A STORY WITH THESE CHARACTERS?
I’m a comic book fan and a bit of a research junkie so I found myself buying a ton of comic books. Marvel also provides its writers with access to their extensive library so you can really lose yourself for weeks following different storylines and rabbit holes. After that, like all research, you have to let it all settle in the back of your brain, pour yourself a cup of coffee and write. If you’ve done your job right, you should be able to hear the characters’ voices in your head. And, as with any adaptation, you’re going to have to fill in some of the holes yourself. Fortunately, the producers at Marvel are brilliant. They know every issue of every comic book by heart and they’ll rein you in if you get too far off track.
NOT REVEALING ANYTHING STORYWISE, BUT DID ANY OF THE CHARACTERS OR THE PROCESS SURPRISE YOU AS YOU WERE WRITING THE SCRIPT?
Without giving away specifics, I’ll just say this. Andrew Stanton at Pixar gave a Ted Talk about his “journey of pain.” No matter how many movies and TV shows you work on, you always approach the next one as if it’s your first. You throw a lot of ideas at the wall and watch them shrivel up and die and then you get up fresh the next day and start again, sometimes with an entirely new story. On The Princess and the Frog, the early screenings were often as much as 75% different from the previous versions. This was no different. You have to embrace the suck. You have to love the process and trust that the work will eventually result in something wonderful.
WHAT DRAWS YOU TO THESE CHARACTERS AND THIS WORLD?
I’m connected at a DNA level to stories about human beings who wake up everyday wondering if their moral compass is pointing in the right direction. Idealists who fight for things greater than themselves. There are elements of that in at least four of the main characters here. Each thinking they’re doing the right thing in very different ways. There’s something fascinating about that. You can have all the action in the world, but it doesn’t matter if the audience doesn’t care about or connect with the characters. And, for that to go into the screenplay, I have to care about them first.
THIS FILM BRINGS SO MUCH, AMAZING ACTION, HEROES, VILLAINS, TONS OF ENERGY, AN INCREDIBLE CAST. IT’S ALL SO ENGAGING. AS A WRITER, IS THERE AN ASPECT OF STORYTELLING THAT GRABS YOU THE MOST AS YOU CREATE?
I’m known as a structure guy and I’m fine with that because structure is the most important element to screenwriting to me, as my students at USC will tell you. Good structure comes from creating dynamic character arcs. Dynamic character arcs can’t be created without great characters. The fun here is to create a quilt of tension as the character arcs intertwine and collide. Also, I love the paranoid political thrillers of the 70s. Movies like The Day of the Jackal, Marathon Man, The Conversation, and Three Days of the Condor. So there should be something in there to grab my fellow movie geeks as well.
IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT’S THE PERFECT COCKTAIL TO GO WITH THIS MOVIE? AND WHAT’S YOUR PERSONAL FAVORITE COCKTAIL?
I think this one is a nice American Bourbon. Neat. As far as my personal cocktail, I love a Maker’s Mark Manhattan, up. It sets the perfect mood for a night talking about great movies and comic books.
Kelly Jo Brick is a TV crime, mystery and procedural writer. A Sundance Fellow and alum of the Women In Film’s Writer/Showrunner Mentoring Circle, Kelly Jo is also the Vice Chair of the WGA Genre Committee. She wrote the Telly Award-winning film, PAUSE, and the Frank Lloyd Wright documentary, The Jewel in the Woods. Follow her on Bluesky @kellyjobrick.bsky.social
