Posted at 1:30 p.m. - Friday, January 30
Chris Yost is a writer for comics and animation who is well known for his work with Marvel Comics' titles like X-Force and is currently writing the adaptation of Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game. He is the co-writer for the newest Marvel Animation feature 'Hulk VS', a direct-to-DVD title that I reviewed in a previous post.
Yost took a few moments from his busy schedule to answer questions about Hulk VS, what it was like putting the features together and if we'll ever have a Deadpool feature:
Geek To Me: Where did the
idea of a 'VS' series of Marvel videos come about?
CHRIS YOST: My
understanding of it was that Lionsgate really wanted a Hulk feature, and Marvel
also wanted to expand their animated universe, so the idea of the Hulk teaming
up with other Marvel heroes seemed a natural. But as Marvel executive and
producer Craig Kyle observed, there's nothing the fans love more than hero
versus hero, as in the recent and tremendously successful comic series 'Civil
War.' So looking through Marvel's history, everyone looked for the characters
that the Hulk had some really good tangles with... and Wolverine and Thor were
the top of the list.
G2M: You're no stranger to
the Marvel U, having written several titles before, so what were the challenges
you encountered going from writing for animation as opposed to comics?
YOST: The challenge in
animation is usually how to not to get tied up in all the history, the 70 years
of baggage that the characters bring with them. To tell a story that even
people who don't know the characters like the hardcore fans do can enjoy and
understand. Now, in the case of 'Hulk Vs,' we were really making the movie FOR
the fans. So we were able to get more into the shared history, the
references, the 'easter eggs'. We put so many nods to the larger universe
and to comic history, that I'm still kind of laughing about it.
G2M: Was there a scene or
idea that you really wanted to include that was left out for some reason?
YOST: This was the
first project I've worked on where the animation studio came back to us and
said, 'MORE!' We actually went back in and added scenes.
G2M: Do you imagine these
films taking place in the 'animated Marvel Universe' or in the one established
in the comics?
YOST: For me, I
imagine it as a shared universe... as much as I can. There are two
animated series coming out that will help with that... 'Wolverine and the
X-Men' and 'Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes.' It's easy to see Hulk Vs
existing in those series, as they're more the classic comic look and feel. As
any comic fan will tell you, shared universes are where it's at.
G2M: What's your favorite
scene from either film?
YOST: There's a bit in
'vs Thor' where Hulk is trying to pick up the hammer, and Thor takes it back
from him. And then Thor shows him why he's the God of Thunder.
G2M: Deadpool practically
steals every scene he's in, so when are we getting a Deadpool feature?
YOST: The sooner the better. We'll see how many people are sick enough to demand it. I know I am.
You can visit the HULK VS web site for more info!
