If watching Nicolas Cage trapped in a haunted equivalent of Chuck E. Cheese while fighting for his life against possessed animatronic mascots sounds like your idea of a fun night in, then you need to check out Willy's Wonderland.
The riotous horror comedy is now available to stream online, and we recently got the chance to speak to director Kevin Lewis (The Drop, The Third Nail) about his experience working on the movie.
During our interview, Lewis revealed that he's been a comic book fan and collector for many years, and although Willy's is more rooted in the horror genre, it was partially influenced by his love of comics. He also said that if he could direct any comic book-based project, it would be Spy Smasher.
"Well, I have to tell you that I am a huge comic collector. Even on the set of Willy’s when I was directing Nick, I would reference specific artists and comic issues and Nick knew every one of them. I would say 'OK Nick, this is the moment when you break the cuffs like the Neal Adams Superman 233 where Supes breaks the kryptonite chains'. So, comics were a huge influence on me making this movie. I collect a lot of silver, bronze age, and have over thousands of comics.
"So yes, I would love to direct a comic book movie. So many of them have been done now but there are a lot left that could be amazing. Spy Smasher, the Fawcett character, would be a dream to make into a movie. I also love the old serials, and Spy Smasher has all the ingredients you need to make a great “Indiana Jones” type adventure movie."
Lewis is referring to the original Fawcett character Alan Armstrong here, but Spy Smasher was reintroduced as Katarina Armstrong in 2007, and would go on to feature as an enemy of the Birds of Prey.
A solo Spy Smasher movie might seem like a long-shot, but with the amount of DC properties set to be adapted for the big screen and the HBO Max streaming service over the next few years, you really never know!
Be sure to catch our full interview with Kevin Lewis later on. Willy's Wonderland is available to stream on Amazon Prime and YouTube, and you can check out our review HERE.