Hollywood has a notorious follow-the-leader mentality that tends to fail to give people what they want until someone else figures out that they want it. Even the biggest media empires in the world struggle to innovate before someone else comes along and takes the risk.
The concept of anti-heroes, or superheroes who don’t uphold the usual standards of decency, is all over the place right now.James Gunn’sPeacemakercentersaround an immature murderer with a misguided understanding of justice who learns to become a superhero, and it’s one of the most popular series in the world. This is only one part of a larger craze that has consumed a ton of superhero media.
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Hancockdropped in 2008, about two monthsafterIron Manlaunchedthe Marvel Cinematic Universe and two weeks before the release of the incredibly beloved superhero classic,The Dark Knight. The film landed between the two in the budget as well as release date, with ten million dollars overIron Manand thirty-five million underThe Dark Knight. The film made a healthy return at the box office but was not well-received critically. Frankly, the most interesting aspect of the film has nothing to do with what happens on-screen. The most interesting story surroundingHancockstarts in 1996 and ends when the film releases twelve years later.
The film that would becomeHancockbegan life asTonight, He Comes, a spec script written in 1996 by Vy Vincent Ngo. The narrative centered around an alcoholic fallen superhero who takes charge of a troubled 12-year-old kid. The script was noticed and adopted by producer Akiva Goldsman, perhaps best known as the screenwriter for bothJoel Schumacher Batman films. The script was picked up by Artisan Entertainment, the iconic studio behindRequiem For a DreamandThe Blair Witch Project, in 2002. The studio selected Michael Mann for the project, a well-established and influential figure after his masterful 1995 filmHeatand 2001 biopicAli. Mann, unfortunately, dropped out to direct the 2006 film adaptation ofMiami Vice, which went on to decidedly mixed reception.
With Mann off the project, the script entered turnaround and underwent heavy editing. Dave Chappelle was briefly considered for the lead role, but he was not selected. Vince Gilligan, now bestknown forBreaking Badbut then known as a writer onThe X-Files, was brought in to rewrite Ngo’s script. Alongside him was John August, the scribe behind the 2000sCharlie’s Angelsreboots and the live-actionAladdin. Johnathan Mostow, director ofTerminator 3, was attached to direct, but later departed due to creative differences. It was at this point that Will Smith joined the film. His involvement required the studio to put the project on hold so that their new star couldfilmI Am Legendin 2006, but with Smith attachedTonight, He Comeswas on its way to the screen.
At least it was until Peter Berg was attached to direct and the script underwent another round of rewrites, which also led to the title change. The film was briefly known asJohn Hancockbefore dropping the first name. Berg was fresh off theintense military action thrillerThe Kingdomwhen he joined the project, and the film finally began filming in the summer of 2007.Hancockbegan life as something Berg compared toLeaving Las Vegas, but what it became was an irreverent comedy about a hero with some problems.Tonight, He Comeswas something akin to a character study of a terribly unwell, morally bankrupt, debatably dangerous man gifted with superhuman abilities. It’s interesting to wonder whetherTonight, He Comeswould’ve been made as intended if the script was written today. One also wonders whether the release ofHancockaffected that change.
Hancockreleased immediately before the superhero craze really kicked into full gear, but popularity for the genre was beginning to emerge. In the modern-day, it seems like every other superhero movie or series is abouta morally questionable metahumanstruggling to do their version of the right thing. The multiple rewrites of Ngo’s original script occurred almost entirely to make it lighter, more family-friendly, or more uplifting.
The film was edited and resubmitted multiple times to the MPAA to get a PG-13 rating, but the problem was mostly language and crude humor. Though the idea of an amoral Superman predatedHancockby decades in the comics, seeing it on the big screen was a new concept that the film had to struggle mightily to achieve. It’s hard to imagine a film this underwhelming being this significant, but it’s also hardto imagineThe Boysor evenVenomreleasing today without it.
Hancockis a deeply imperfect movie, mostly remembered today for lame immature gags, but the cultural legacy it left behind is much bigger than the film itself. How fitting that a movie likeHancockwould only be interesting before it was released and after it ceased being relevant.
