"Robert, what are your plans next?"
"I don't know. Maybe I'll just eat, rot at home, and wait for my agent to call me."
Robert Downey Jr. smiled to himself.
"No, I mean at the beginning of next year. You'll be free then, right?"
"Ah? Are you planning to make a sequel so soon?"
"No. Not just a sequel." Xu Can handed him a document. "The entire series."
Downey took the document and looked through it.
Inside was the next Marvel movie production plan, along with the planned appearances of Iron Man.
August 2007: Thor ending Easter egg.
January 2008: Iron Man 2.
Second half of 2008: The Avengers.
First half of 2009: Iron Man 3.
After that came Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers 4: Endgame.
There were also future concepts such as World War Hulk, Avengers vs. X-Men, Onslaught, and Dark Reign.
From the scenes in Iron Man, one could already see that every movie was a node, gradually forming an enormous cinematic network.
This was Robert Downey Jr.'s first glimpse into Xu Can's cinematic universe.
Before this, no one in the world had played like this.
At most, there were series like 007 or Harry Potter, which followed a single line of connected films.
But under the same universe, different characters and stories could intertwine into one giant movie world.
Robert Downey Jr. could barely imagine it.
He even felt a little afraid of the young man standing beside him.
This guy was more than ten years younger than him, yet his ambition was terrifying.
A monster.
"How about it?" Xu Can asked.
"Are you interested in joining? There will still be enough time for you to shoot other types of movies during this period. You don't have to play Iron Man all the time."
Robert Downey Jr. understood very clearly that even if he made other films later, Iron Man's influence on him would probably become deeper and deeper.
But with such a huge plan in front of him, he would regret it if he refused.
"I'm in. Count me in."
"Very good. Then your contract will have to be readjusted by the legal department later. Don't worry, we won't treat you badly."
"Thank you, Xu." Downey was rarely this serious. "You could have chosen Tom Cruise for the role, but you still insisted on choosing me."
"Hey, we're buddies. Besides, I think you are Tony Stark."
"So you think I'm a jerk myself?"
"You said that yourself, not me."
Xu Can put the matter aside and focused on work.
Iron Man had officially completed filming, and while waiting for post-production, other movie plans were already moving forward.
Preparations for Thor had begun.
Xu Can was only responsible for the final script revisions and part of the supervision work. The director and actors would be handled by Kevin Feige.
There was a high possibility that the director would be Alan Taylor, who directed the original Thor 2, while Thor would naturally be played by "Brother Hammer," Chris Hemsworth.
This time, Xu Can planned to fuse the original Thor 1 and Thor 2 into a new version of Thor, directly introducing the Space Stone and the Cosmic Cube.
Next would be Captain America 1, which would be produced and filmed after Thor.
As for the script of Captain America, Xu Can planned to write it himself in the near future.
The original Captain America 1 had many flaws. Xu Can wanted to introduce Captain America's origin while adding more exciting stories about the Howling Commandos, leading naturally into the next Avengers.
Now that he was doing everything again, Xu Can naturally wanted to make up for the regrets of his previous life and make the already brilliant movie universe shine even brighter.
The individual films for each character were not just there to make up numbers.
Each one had to be treated as an independent, high-quality film, exploring the maximum value of every character.
This was also one of the reasons Xu Can had acquired Marvel.
At Griffith Observatory, under the same lavender night sky, Xu Can and Emma Stone sat side by side on a bench, looking out over the night view of Los Santos.
It was just like the night before the premiere of Spider-Man.
Back then, they were still in the stage of being the Spider-Man and Gwen on-screen couple, and their relationship was still heating up.
Now, both of them were much busier. They gathered less and separated more.
With Taylor's presence added to the situation, Emma sometimes deliberately avoided Xu Can unless she truly could not help it.
A woman's sixth sense told her that Xu Can and Taylor Swift had an unusual relationship.
But Xu Can did not admit it, and Emma was not in a position to demand anything.
On this day, they finally had a date.
After the two of them had a big meal, Emma suggested coming here to sit for a while.
"Why do you want to come here?" Xu Can asked. "Why don't we go back and do something more interesting?"
Emma gave him a helpless look.
"You know what that means."
"That only proves you're attractive enough."
"I really lost to you." Emma pouted and suddenly tried to step on him.
Xu Can, sitting on the bench, seemed to have spider-sense and avoided her sneak attack.
Wait.
This scene.
Xu Can suddenly realized that this place looked exactly like the scene in La La Land, where the male and female leads tap-danced together.
To be honest, ever since playing the Joker in The Dark Knight, Xu Can had not acted for a long time.
Spider-Man 2 was about to begin filming next, and John Wick 2 was planned for next year.
Neither role felt especially challenging to him anymore.
For the past six months, he had mostly been a director and investor.
But his original dream, his original intention, had always been to perform.
He wanted to find the joy of acting again and be a pure actor once more.
In that case, La La Land might be a good choice.
It also happened that he had promised Emma before that he would collaborate with her again as the male and female leads of a movie.
Why not film this one?
Just in time to aim for the 2009 Oscars.
Weren't the old Hollywood elites always proud of the Oscars?
Then he would take away the thing they were most proud of and see what else they could still be arrogant about.
Emma did not understand what Xu Can was thinking at first. Seeing him suddenly freeze, she stepped on him several times, but he did not respond.
Instead, it was Emma's turn to feel worried.
"Xu, what's wrong? Did I step on you too hard?"
Xu Can suddenly wrapped his arms around her and kissed her deeply.
"What's going on?" Emma was directly confused by the kiss.
"As I promised you before, we'll work together on a musical film. I've already planned to start the project right after Christmas."
"Really?" Emma Stone's eyes flashed brightly under the streetlights.
"Yes." Xu Can smiled. "Let's fight for the Oscars together."
This time, it was Emma's turn to take the initiative and kiss Xu Can.
The post-production of Iron Man was more difficult than expected.
Although the newly established special-effects company, Galaxy Digital, had attracted many talents, this was still their first major task.
Special-effects production required more effort to meet Xu Can's standards.
Therefore, Iron Man, which had originally been planned for release around Christmas, was postponed to the end of January 2008.
This also allowed it to avoid the sharp edge of The Dark Knight.
Otherwise, it would have been a little embarrassing if Xu Can ended up fighting himself at the box office.
On Warner's side, because of the success of Batman Begins, they spent heavily on publicity for The Dark Knight.
Just like Spider-Man back then, Xu Can could now see The Dark Knight advertisements in subways, newspapers, magazines, and large commercial areas.
At the same time, internet video platforms were becoming more and more powerful, and the first teaser trailer for The Dark Knight had appeared online.
As the actor playing the most important role, Xu Can reposted the trailer on his Facebook.
His fans had already exceeded fifteen million, and the moment he shared it, tens of thousands of likes and comments poured in.
"Wow, what did I just find?"
"Joker. Xu Can's clown is finally coming."
"I've been waiting since the day the casting was announced. I've waited for so long."
"Batman Begins can only be regarded as an appetizer. The real meal is The Dark Knight."
"But Spider-Man playing the Joker still feels strange…"
Xu Can's current two roles, Spider-Man and John Wick, each had their own highlights.
Movie fans were looking forward to his third major role and could not wait to click on the trailer.
At the same time, more than one hundred million fans were watching the trailer for The Dark Knight on platforms such as YouTube, the DC community, and IMDb.
[Warner Pictures]
[DC Comics]
In the dark night, Batman jumped from a skyscraper.
[Produced by Galaxy Pictures]
"Where do we begin?"
The first narration in the trailer was Xu Can's voice.
The Joker's unique, low, chaotic tone instantly made everyone's eyes light up.
"A year ago, who would have dared to touch you? The police? The lawyers?"
"And what happened in the end?"
Commissioner Gordon and Harvey Dent appeared one after another on the screen.
The camera first showed the clown from behind.
Messy dark-green hair.
An unconventional purple suit.
Even that strange silhouette carried a strong sense of pressure.
"Kill Batman."
The camera instantly cut to the front, and the Joker's face appeared before everyone for the first time.
Most people could not even recognize Xu Can at first glance.
Those eyes were not like Spider-Man's.
They were not like John Wick's either.
Those eyes were full of madness.
How could this be Xu Can?
"Ehehehehehe…"
That sharp, eerie laughter made everyone shudder.
"This is my calling card…"
A colorful Joker card appeared.
The music composed by Hans Zimmer sounded low, tense, and powerful.
"Bruce, this is Harvey Dent."
"He is the knight who protects Gotham City. The hero we need."
Bang.
Batman drove his cool Batpod through a field of fire.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen."
With a strange and crazy tone, the clown made a brilliant appearance.
"We are here to add to the fun tonight."
"Wow. Hello, beauty."
"You look too nervous… Do you want to smile?"
The Joker looked at Rachel with an evil smile.
"The night is darkest just before the dawn."
"I assure you, the dawn is coming."
Harvey Dent stood on the podium, full of energy.
On the other hand, the clown in the dark was already roaming Gotham's streets.
"Let's begin our show."
"This city needs criminals with better taste."
"Ehehehehe…"
"You'll see."
"I have prepared a good show for all of you."
Bang.
Boom.
Explosive and exciting scenes continued one after another.
"Either you sacrifice your life for justice, or you sit back and do nothing, becoming part of the evil."
[The Dark Knight]
[This Winter]
The trailer ended.
The internet exploded.
"My God."
"When can I buy tickets?"
"Shut up and take my money. No matter how much it costs, I want a ticket."
"Better than expected."
"I'm looking forward to it even more now."
The quality of the trailer shocked movie fans.
Whether it was the explosion scenes in the movie or the heroic image of Batman flying down from a great height, everything felt exciting.
More importantly, from this one-minute trailer alone, people could already tell that Xu Can's Joker was absolutely stunning.
A senior DC comic fan commented:
"I have been reading DC Comics and Batman for decades, and this is the most realistic and best Joker I have ever seen."
"What clown? That's the ugly man."
"Oh, I love this character so much. Xu Can's performance is amazing."
After the trailer was released, it quickly triggered heated discussion across the internet.
Compared with the previous film, Batman Begins, the quality of The Dark Knight seemed to have risen to a higher level.
What was even more shocking was that Xu Can's Joker almost became the protagonist of the trailer.
He stole the spotlight from both Harvey Dent and Batman.
So much so that the two actors jokingly called Xu Can and asked him to treat them to a big dinner.
Faced with the overwhelming praise online, the media finally learned its lesson.
No one wanted to actively slap themselves in the face again.
Even if some media outlets and film critics still questioned The Dark Knight, they did not dare to speak recklessly at this moment.
Unless The Dark Knight failed at the box office, the high quality of the trailer could be regarded as the concentrated essence of the film.
Only then would doubters and anti-fans who disliked Xu Can have a chance to attack him.
At that time, competitors such as Disney and Paramount would certainly follow suit and crush him together.
As for Xu Can himself, he was naturally full of confidence.
"Yes, The Dark Knight is indeed better. Batman Begins is just an origin story, and it was never meant to carry too much."
"So if everyone has higher expectations for Batman now, they should watch this movie. I hope everyone buys more tickets to support it."
Xu Can smiled brightly in front of the media.
He looked nothing like the Joker's evil face on screen.
Needless to say, after Xu Can said this, some crazy fans had already rushed toward major theaters.
With their experience from Spider-Man and John Wick, many Xu Can fans lined up at the doors early.
As a result, the theaters became increasingly crowded.
Some people even waited two days in advance for tickets to go on sale. By the early morning before ticket sales opened, the queues were already full.
Some passersby were puzzled.
"Is it really necessary? Won't it be the same if you watch it later?"
Xu Can's fans replied seriously:
"No. Xu Can's movie is worth watching in the first 5.9 seconds. We can't bear to wait even one more minute."
In Hollywood, a consensus seemed to have formed:
A film produced by Xu Can had to be a high-quality product.
Finally, it was time to celebrate the premiere.
Every time Warner watched Sony showing off its strength next door, it felt helpless.
This time, Warner finally felt proud and held the world premiere at the famous Huxia Theater in Los Santos.
Afterward, the film would premiere simultaneously in more than 150 countries and regions around the world.
Hong Kong Island, Baodao, and Haojiang had all joined the synchronized release plan.
Only the mainland market failed to catch up with the simultaneous premiere because of the long review process.
According to Warner's news, even if it passed the review, it would be delayed for at least ten months.
In the original timeline, The Dark Knight had failed to pass review because of factors such as crime and violence.
It was not until 2012 that The Dark Knight Rises reached theaters there.
Of course, this time, nothing was absolute.
With Xu Can's addition, Huxia's censorship had loosened slightly, and it was said that things were already turning around.
Director Nolan and the crew attended the premiere.
Xu Can was naturally among them, and as always, he created a huge commotion on the red carpet.
This time, Emma Stone had other arrangements, and Taylor Swift was not a movie star.
Xu Can could only walk the red carpet alone and then join the creative team.
At the Hong Kong premiere, Brother Guanxi was invited as a guest for the roadshow.
When Nolan passed Xu Can's message to him, it was said that Brother Guanxi's expression changed on the spot.
He quickly grabbed Nolan and asked how Xu Can knew.
Nolan looked confused.
"I don't know what code you're talking about. I'm just a messenger."
After that, Brother Guanxi left with a solemn expression.
"So, what exactly did you say to him?" Nolan was still curious. "Which of his works were exposed?"
Xu Can only smiled mysteriously.
"I guess it won't happen this time. Let's watch the movie. It's about to start."
Nolan suddenly felt helpless.
You are the clown, not the Riddler.
The theater darkened.
The Dark Knight was released.
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