Secret Headquarters administrators wished to make a brand new kind of superhero film

Paramount Plus’ Secret Headquarters attracts from many various superhero films previous. Owen Wilson’s character Jack Kincaid is secretly the Guard, a superhero who makes use of alien know-how to stand up as Earth’s guardian, à la Green Lantern, and wears a metallic go well with strongly resembling Iron Man’s. But the majority of the motion takes place within the Guard’s titular secret headquarters. Directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman instructed Polygon that they appeared on the Batcave from Tim Burton’s Batman film as inspiration for the setting, in addition to Lex Luthor’s lair within the first Superman film. But in addition they drew from a couple of unlikely sources.

“A little bit of Dustin Hoffman in Kramer vs. Kramer,” Schulman says, naming the 1979 divorce drama a couple of workaholic father dropping custody of his younger baby.

“A little bit of Tom Hanks’ apartment in Big,” provides Joost.

Photo: Hopper Stone/Paramount Pictures

The greatest a part of Jack’s character isn’t that he’s a superhero, however that he’s a dad and a superhero. Much of the film focuses on his relationship along with his son, Charlie, who has no concept that his dad is a superhero and looks like his dad deserted the household for “work” causes. So the vibe for the headquarters was half Batcave, but in addition half man cave (“I’ve always hated [that term] but it’s appropriate here, because it literally is a cave,” says Joost). It’s a lived-in bachelor pad, with takeout containers and a guitar that he might in all probability observe a bit extra.

While the superhero film does see the children and the Guard going through off towards dangerous guys, the principle pressure is between Jack and Charlie. Schulman and Joost wished to give attention to a special battle than usually seen in superhero films for a really particular cause.

“Because it’s not a Marvel movie,” explains Schulman. “Those are great and they’re excellent at what they do. We’re trying to sort of carve out a different space in the genre. For us, that meant focusing on the family dynamic, on the father-son relationship. The superhero movie from the perspective of the kid. For us that meant exploring the job itself and the stress that parents feel trying to balance work and life and then if you’re being very, very nail-on-the-head about it, you think, Oh, well, it’s actually kind of ironic if what his job is is saving the world but all his son wants is for him to save his family.”

Secret Headquarters is out now on Paramount Plus.