Erik Sommers

Last updated
Erik Sommers
Born (1976-12-16) December 16, 1976 (age 48)
Occupation(s)Television writer, television producer, screenwriter
Years active1999-present

Erik Sommers is an American television writer, television producer and screenwriter.

Contents

Career

Erik Sommers began his career working on the production staff of Stark Raving Mad .

During his time as a writer on American Dad , he met Chris McKenna, who would become his writing partner. [1] Together they co-wrote The Lego Batman Movie and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (both 2017), as well as part of the first Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) Spider-Man trilogy from 2017–2021 and co-wrote another MCU film, Ant-Man and the Wasp , in 2018.

Filmography

Film writer

Television

YearTitleWriterProducerNotes
2002–2003 3-South YesNoAlso staff writer
2003–2004 Crank Yankers YesNo
2004–2007 Drawn Together YesYesAlso executive story editor
2008 Atom TV YesExecutive
2008–2013 American Dad! YesYesAlso executive story editor, actor and supervising producer
Nominated–Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program ("Hot Water")
2012–2013 Happy Endings YesCo-executive
2014 Community YesCo-executiveNominated–Online Film & Television Association Television Award for Best Writing
2014–2015 Marry Me YesCo-executive
2015–2016 Dr. Ken YesConsulting

Other credits

YearTitleRole
1999 Stark Raving Mad Production staff
2002 Greg the Bunny Writers' assistant

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Superhero film</span> Film genre

Superhero films are movies centered around one or more superheroes. These characters typically possess superhuman abilities. Hero ensembles often feature many distinct character archetypes and personalities. Traditionally, the first film in a series about a superhero character focuses on the hero's origin story and introduces the hero's nemesis. Superhero films typically contain genre elements of action, adventure, fantasy, or science fiction, and often address themes of power, justice, morality, and immortality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris McKenna (writer)</span> American television and film writer and producer

Chris McKenna is an American television writer, film producer, screenwriter, and television producer. He has written for American Dad!, Community, and The Mindy Project, and part of the first Marvel Cinematic Universe Spider-Man trilogy (2017–2021).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marvel Cinematic Universe</span> Media franchise and shared universe

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The franchise also includes several television series, short films, digital series, and literature. The shared universe, much like the original Marvel Universe in comic books, was established by crossing over common plot elements, settings, cast, and characters.

Lego Super Heroes is a theme and product range of the Lego construction toy, introduced in 2011, owned by The Lego Group and licensed from DC Entertainment, Marvel Entertainment, Warner Bros., The Walt Disney Company and Pixar.

<i>Ant-Man and the Wasp</i> 2018 Marvel Studios film

Ant-Man and the Wasp is a 2018 American superhero film based on Marvel Comics featuring the characters Scott Lang / Ant-Man and Hope Pym / Wasp. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the sequel to Ant-Man (2015) and the 20th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was directed by Peyton Reed and written by the writing teams of Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, and Paul Rudd, Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari. It stars Rudd as Lang and Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne, alongside Michael Peña, Walton Goggins, Hannah John-Kamen, David Dastmalchian, Tip "T.I." Harris, Judy Greer, Bobby Cannavale, Randall Park, Abby Ryder Fortson, Michelle Pfeiffer, Laurence Fishburne, and Michael Douglas. In the film, the titular pair work with Hank Pym (Douglas) to retrieve Janet van Dyne (Pfeiffer) from the Quantum Realm.

<i>Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle</i> 2017 film directed by Jake Kasdan

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is a 2017 American fantasy adventure comedy film directed by Jake Kasdan from a screenplay by the writing teams of Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, and Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner, based on a story conceived by McKenna. The film is the second mainline installment in the Jumanji film series, the third film overall, and a direct sequel to Jumanji (1995). It stars Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Nick Jonas, Rhys Darby and Bobby Cannavale. The story focuses on a group of teenagers who come across Jumanji, now transformed into a video game twenty-two years after the events of the 1995 film. They find themselves trapped inside the game as a set of adult avatars, seeking to complete a treacherous quest alongside another player who has been trapped since 1996.

<i>The Lego Movie</i> (franchise) Warner Bros. media franchise based on Lego toys

The Lego Movie is an American media franchise and shared universe based on Lego construction toys. It began with the 2014 film The Lego Movie, which was directed and written by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. The success of the film led to the release of two licensed video games, a 4D film theme park attraction, two spin-off films titled The Lego Batman Movie and The Lego Ninjago Movie, which were released in 2017, Unikitty! an animated television series that also came out in the same year, and the sequel to the original film titled The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part in 2019. Plans for a third spin-off film and a sequel to The Lego Batman Movie were later shelved. Development would end in 2020, with Warner Bros. letting the rights lapse back to The Lego Group after The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part underperformed at the box office and the studio failed to create any new projects within that time frame.

<i>Spider-Man: Far From Home</i> 2019 Marvel Studios film

Spider-Man: Far From Home is a 2019 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man, co-produced by Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. It is the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and the 23rd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was directed by Jon Watts, written by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, and stars Tom Holland as Peter Parker / Spider-Man, alongside Samuel L. Jackson, Zendaya, Cobie Smulders, Jon Favreau, J. B. Smoove, Jacob Batalon, Martin Starr, Tony Revolori, Marisa Tomei, and Jake Gyllenhaal. In the film, Parker is recruited by Nick Fury (Jackson) and Mysterio (Gyllenhaal) to face the Elementals while he is on a school trip to Europe.

<i>Spider-Man: No Way Home</i> 2021 Marvel Studios film

Spider-Man: No Way Home is a 2021 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man, co-produced by Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. It is the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), and the 27th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was directed by Jon Watts and written by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers. It stars Tom Holland as Peter Parker / Spider-Man alongside Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jacob Batalon, Jon Favreau, Jamie Foxx, Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, Benedict Wong, Tony Revolori, Marisa Tomei, Andrew Garfield, and Tobey Maguire. In the film, Parker asks Dr. Stephen Strange (Cumberbatch) to use magic to make his identity as Spider-Man a secret again after it was revealed to the world at the end of Far From Home. When the spell goes wrong because of Parker's actions, the multiverse is broken open and several visitors from alternate realities are brought into Parker's universe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hope van Dyne</span> Character in Marvel Cinematic Universe

Hope van Dyne is a fictional character portrayed primarily by Evangeline Lilly in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film franchise, loosely based on the Marvel Comics character Hope Pym. Portrayed as the daughter of Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne, she was a senior board member of her father's company, Pym Technologies, and later inherits the superhero identity of Wasp from her mother, using a suit containing shrinking technology to shrink to the size of an insect and also fly with insect-themed wings. Her appearances in the MCU have received media attention, with praise often given to her authentic, relatable portrayal as superheroine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of the Marvel Cinematic Universe</span>

The following outline serves as an overview of and topical guide to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), an American media franchise and shared universe created by Marvel Studios and owned by the Walt Disney Company. The franchise began in 2008 with the release of the film Iron Man and has since expanded to include various superhero films and television series produced by Marvel Studios, television series from Marvel Television, short films, digital series, literature, and other media. These are based on characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige produces every film and series from that studio for the MCU. The shared universe, much like the original Marvel Universe in comic books, was established by crossing over common plot elements, settings, cast, and characters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three</span> 2016–2019 group of superhero films

Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is a group of American superhero films produced by Marvel Studios based on characters that appear in publications by Marvel Comics. The phase began in 2016 with the release of Captain America: Civil War and concluded in 2019 with the release of Spider-Man: Far From Home. It includes the crossover films Avengers: Infinity War, released in 2018, and its sequel Avengers: Endgame, released in 2019. Kevin Feige produced every film in the phase, alongside Amy Pascal for Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home, and Stephen Broussard for Ant-Man and the Wasp. The eleven films of the phase grossed over US$13.5 billion at the global box office and received generally positive critical and public response. Upon release, Avengers: Endgame became the highest-grossing film of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norman Osborn (Sam Raimi film series)</span> Sam Raimis Spider-Man film series and Marvel Cinematic Universe character

Norman Virgil Osborn is a character portrayed by Willem Dafoe in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man film trilogy and later the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise. Based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, Osborn first appeared as the main antagonist in Spider-Man (2002), where he is a scientist and the CEO of Oscorp who tests an unstable performance-enhancing serum on himself, developing superhuman strength, but at the same time, a crazed alternate personality known as the Green Goblin. The Green Goblin takes control of Norman, and compels him to commit crimes. He uses advanced Oscorp armor and equipment to terrorize New York City and battle the local hero Spider-Man, whom Goblin would discover is the secret identity of Peter Parker. However, during his final battle against Spider-Man, he reveals his identity, and both Osborn and Goblin ultimately die when they are impaled by Goblin's own glider. A hallucination of Osborn haunts his son Harry in Spider-Man 2 (2004) and Spider-Man 3 (2007).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. Jonah Jameson (film character)</span> 2002–2007 Spider-Man film series, Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Spider-Verse character

J. Jonah Jameson (JJJ) is a fictional character portrayed by J. K. Simmons in both Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy and the Spider-Verse franchise produced by Sony Pictures, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise co-produced with Marvel Studios. Based on the Marvel Comics character by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, he was adapted to screen by David Koepp, Sam Raimi, Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, and Jon Watts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Multiverse (Marvel Cinematic Universe)</span> Marvel Cinematic Universe setting

The multiverse is a fictional setting within the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise. Based on the setting of the same name from the Marvel Comics, it is a collection of infinitely many alternate realities and dimensions. First explored in the film Doctor Strange (2016), it is revisited in the film Avengers: Endgame (2019) before playing a key role in Phases Four, Five, and Six of the MCU, which constitute "The Multiverse Saga". The MCU's multiverse centers on a universe called the "Sacred Timeline". Alternative universes are generally "pruned" by the Time Variance Authority (TVA), until Sylvie kills TVA's leader, "He Who Remains", allowing new universes to form.

References

  1. "Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers Talk "Spider-Man: Far From Home"". Creative Screenwriting. July 8, 2019. Retrieved July 16, 2019.