Elle Fanning Lost a Big Franchise Movie Over Instagram Follower Count: ‘I Don’t Feel Pressure’ to Join Marvel, ‘Star Wars’ and More

Zack Sharf
·2 min read
109
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Elle Fanning has some experience starring in a major studio franchise thanks to her role as Aurora in Disney’s two “Maleficent” movies, but the 25-year-old star has yet to join franchise behemoths like “Star Wars” and Marvel. During a recent interview on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast, Fanning was asked if there is pressure on her career to join big studio franchises in order to stay “relevant” as an actor.

“I don’t feel that [pressure]. I don’t,” Fanning said, while also acknowledging that joining the likes of Marvel, “Star Wars” or DC “does something” for other actors’ careers. “But you also don’t know if they’re going to work sometimes, which is scary,” she added.

More from Variety

Fanning confirmed that she has auditioned for at least one big franchise movie. She revealed she lost out on a role because her social media wasn’t sufficient enough for the studio.

“I did try out for…I’m not going to say what it was, but I didn’t get a part once for something big because – it might not have just been this reason, but this was the feedback that I heard – was because I didn’t have enough Instagram followers at the time,” Fanning said. “So that was a little like…I firmly don’t believe in not getting a part [for that]. It was for a bigger thing, a franchise thing.”

Fanning, who currently boasts 7 million Instagram followers, is making the press rounds in support of Hulu’s “The Great” Season 3, in which she stars opposite Nicholas Hoult. Her co-star has been more vocal recently in discussing how he’s missed out on franchise films such as “Top Gun: Maverick” and Matt Reeves’ “The Batman.” Hoult lost the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman to Robert Pattinson.

“I would never say no to those things, but I would have to have a meeting and really talk to see what it is,” Fanning added about joining a franchise. “I didn’t have to go through what Nick did…they made him try the [Batman] suit on. You need a balance. If you want to do your indie work, especially in producing now…[having a big franchise] does make you breathe better.”

“The Great” Season 3 debuts May 12 on Hulu. Watch Fanning’s full interview on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast below.

Best of Variety

Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.