The next unexpected visitor after Peter was the movie director Chris. Greed had previously called him, wanting to have a discussion, but Chris had been busy with film preparation and hadn't had the time. He finally had some free time recently, returned to New York, and came to Hampton to visit Greed's new residence.
As Chris came in, he exclaimed, "Houses like these are so rare to see nowadays. If you don't mind, I'd like to use a part of this setting as Sapphire's residence."
Speaking of which, Greed looked at him and said, "Is the screenplay finalized? Is the part about Sapphire set in stone?"
Chris let out a small sigh, walked beside the sofa and sat down, motioning for Greed to take a seat as well, as if he were in his own home. He said, "There indeed have been some problems. You know there's a screenplay reading session before filming begins, right?"
Greed nodded. He also participated last time, but it was mainly the director and screenwriter explaining scenes to the young actors, with little emphasis on the adult actors, spending most of the time chatting idly.
"Many actors and staff pointed out that the arrangement regarding Sapphire's past isn't well done," Chris said. "The screenwriter aims to make it as straightforward as possible, but many think this sacrifices too much of Sapphire's charisma. What do you think?"
"Honestly, I didn't memorize those lines at all," Greed said. "I'm sorry, but I really couldn't do it. I don't understand why I have to ramble for ten minutes over a fish already on the chopping board, causing it to escape and slap me. This isn't straightforward; it just seems a bit silly."
Greed paused before adding, "I know it's because the protagonists aren't strong enough. If Sapphire were too strong, the protagonists would struggle to escape from his grasp. But, Mr. Director, the protagonists grow up."
"They are currently first-year students, only knowing the simplest magic, not even utilizing Deep Red Ribbon, making dealing with an ancient black magician quite difficult. But if you've seen the graduation standards of Kamar-Taj, you'd know that by the fourth or fifth year, the average student can easily pin down an ordinary Demon God. Last year, an outstanding graduate immediately reached the Grand Mage level, entering the Hell Dimension without needing to knock, and Mephisto offered good tea and wine for hospitality."
"If Sapphire is portrayed as too foolish and weak now, he won't have any room to appear in the later installments. The painstakingly sculpted villain from the first few films will then become utterly useless, and the exit of such a classic character might even lead to fan loss."
"Oh, this is the first time I've heard this," Chris said. "The magic kids use now doesn't look very strong, yet in just a few years, they'll be able to best a black magician? I mean, in reality..."
Greed bit his lip, somewhat at a loss for an answer. After thinking for a moment, he said, "More accurately, it's not beating a black magician but becoming one. Currently, all mages on Earth can be called black magicians, as their powers all come from Hell's Master, King of Darkness, or big shadows like Demon Gods; it's hard to say they're good characters."
Chris scratched his head a little. Greed noticed Chris's basic misunderstanding of real-world magic; their magic-related scenes were all based on a hopeful fantasy of the magical realm.
If not for this, they wouldn't think to design the big villain so weak, because in their eyes, magic isn't very strong. The main reason is this movie employs real little wizards.
Marvel's magician's strength curve is a rapid rise. Without contracting the source of their power, little wizards can only use the magic within wands and props, which isn't much, and many spells seem like mere flowers. And those fundamentally solid meditations show no trace of magic. Younger little wizards appear very weak, unable to match adult mages.
But once they contract their Demon God, their strength skyrockets, wielding magic with ease, with a continuous power source providing energy, enough to be considered unbeatable in the cosmos.
So far, Chris and others have only seen little wizards in action; figures like Scarlet Witch and Strange naturally won't cause chaos on Earth, so they haven't witnessed nor understood how strong young mages can be.
But according to their set strength, this movie can at most be three parts. Because once little wizards reach age sixteen, they can contract their Demon God, making it impossible to restrain them to portray wizards who only know telekinesis and rely on magic wands and chants.
If the villains also kept this same strength and wisdom standard, they might already be slapped dead by the third part.
Little wizards can use excuses of learning and growing for strength inflation, but Sapphire, the old black magician who has lived so long, can't inflate his strength any further, resulting in eventual elimination.
Though backed by Mephisto, Chris never designed Mephisto as the primary villain, for he didn't like Mephisto's classic cunning devil style but preferred Shiller's portrayal of an eccentric, isolated black magician vibe.
"So that's how it is," Chris said. "How do you think Sapphire can be developed to hold out until the last installment? I envisioned an amazing finale, but if magic is stronger than I thought, it might need revising."
"Let me think," Greed said. He pondered how to make Sapphire appear strong enough, maybe not to the level of handling Supreme Magicians in reality, but certainly someone impactful on Earth.
Thinking of this, Greed realized they had a readily available example: Witch Hanix, who could easily be considered the number one under Supreme Magicians—old enough, strong enough, not too wicked, almost a real-life Sapphire.
"Wait a moment," Greed said, "I'll go invite a lady over."
Then he went to find Hanix. Hanix was currently helping Sarah take care of the kids, though Sarah had learned many skills, handling it alone was still a bit much; her regret was visible, likely not shrinking Blake next time.
Seeing Greed arrive, Hanix handed the child to Sarah and said, "You're just in time, I have some things I want to discuss with you."
"What things, ma'am?"
"Where did you take Robert?"
Greed was taken aback; he didn't know which Robert she was referring to. There were so many with that English name, at least three Robert he knew of.
"Robert Reynolds, the Sentinel. Where did he go?"
Greed blinked and said, "How do you know the Sentinel, ma'am?"
"He is my student. During the time of the Old Skrull Empire, I taught him how to control the Constant Star Power within him. I was following his power to find him, and Professor X told me you took him to another world."
"Oh, Anatoli is back," Greed said. He closely observed Hanix's expression and, unsurprisingly, she didn't seem surprised.
"What does he want Robert to do again?" Hanix shook her head and said, "Never mind, the kids are all grown up, I can't control them anymore. I'm just a bit worried, as he still can't properly control his power. If it explodes, it would be troublesome."
"May I ask, what is your relationship with Doctor Shostakovich?"
"We are friends," Hanix said, "or you could say comrades. We built the Old Skrull Empire together, and of course, Reed Richards contributed a part too, providing a lot of technical support. Those technologies are still being used by the New Skrull Empire now."
As expected of the Cosmic Soviet, Greed thought, scientific research relies entirely on archaeology.
Greed could roughly imagine what these people did during the Old Skrull Empire era. Anatoli was a very staunch revolutionary, Hanix was clearly a leftist, and Reed Richards was purely following the trend. It's no surprise they could establish a nation daring enough to pursue communism in the interstellar space.
Indeed, every era of history has its own shining Golden Age. Even interstellar history is no exception. From this perspective, it's understandable why almost all advanced civilizations among the Three Great Empires are so interested in Earth. Because the most peaceful and prosperous periods in interstellar history were created by the human race, fleeting as they were, they remain a bright moon in many hearts.
However, speaking of which, the Sentinel was actually Hanix's student too. This lady seems to like taking in students akin to time bombs. Whether it's the Sentinel with unstable Constant Star Power or the Scarlet Witch with Chaos Magic, she taught them both, and apparently quite well. She can indeed be called a legendary teacher.
"Sorry, ma'am, I really don't know where Robert is. I have something else I'd like to discuss with you. Do you have some time?"
Hanix nodded. Greed invited her to the living room, and as Chris saw her, he stood up, eyes once again shimmering with the passion of artistic pursuit. Obviously, Hanix's mysterious yet profound aura deeply impressed this director.
"It's like this." Greed invited both of them to sit down, then briefly explained the movie project and the Saphir character design to Hanix, saying, "We don't have many references. If you could offer some advice, that would be great."
Hanix fell silent after listening. Both Chris and Greed felt a bit uneasy, wondering if this witch with a wealth of life experience saw some fatal flaw in the movie script.
But now the first part is already finished, and it's too late to make changes. The basic framework was set a long time ago, and if there's truly some irreparable defect, they would have to consider a soft reboot.
"I think your conceptual approach has some issues." While sitting on the sofa, Hanix kept her back straight, hands folded on her lap. Although she was sitting strictly, she didn't appear stiff, exuding a sense of calmness from within.
"You intend to portray Saphir's past to holistically show what kind of person he is, correct?"
"Exactly," Chris nodded and said. "We hope to depict how he became an evil black magician and how he came to oppose the Supreme Magician."
"The controversial part is whether or not to depict Saphir's intelligence and power—should his strength be matched to that of a Little Wizard, or to the Young Mage he'd become later on?" Greed succinctly summarized the problem they were facing.
Hanix nodded lightly and said, "I believe both can be achieved simultaneously."