Eric Pearson: From Uncredited Edits to Marvel’s First-Call Screenwriter

Screenwriter Eric Pearson spent a week watching Captain America: The First Avenger in five-minute segments to find moments where additional dialogue could be added. This type of work with already established films, often unnoticed and uncredited, was an early part of Pearson’s career at Marvel. However, his dedication and hard work paid off, and now, 15 years later, Pearson is a first-call writer for Marvel. His work includes successful films such as Thor: Ragnarok and Black Widow. In addition to his film work, Pearson also has been involved in Marvel TV, working on the Captain America spinoff, Agent Carter.

– Eric Pearson, a screenwriter for Marvel Studios, once spent an entire week watching Captain America: The First Avenger in five-minute increments to pinpoint moments where Chris Evans could add lines for better continuity. Pearson, who began as part of Marvel’s Writers Program, has no qualms about doing uncredited screenplay touch-ups, believing that there is no such thing as grunt work in writing.
– Pearson is a top choice for screenwriting at Marvel, having written for major franchises like Thor: Ragnarok, Black Widow, Thunderbolts*, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and a potential Blade film. His films have earned more than $2.5 billion globally till date.
– Pearson is also known for his strong connectivity with actors, with a large part of his career spent on set improvising lines. Alongside his work in film, Pearson has contributed to TV, including the short-lived Captain America spinoff, Agent Carter.
– Beyond the Marvel universe, Pearson has also written scripts for Paramount/Hasbro’s Transformers One and Legendary’s Godzilla vs. Kong. His understanding of tone and character-based storytelling has earned him recognition, with some speculation about Pearson potentially taking on a directorial role in the future.

One week in the life of Eric Pearson, a budding screenwriter at Marvel, involved watching Captain America: The First Avenger in five-minute segments in a quest to extract moments where star Chris Evans could infuse lines to enhance continuity. His efforts were part of the uncredited yet necessary task of retro-fitting dialogue into an already complete movie. Pearson, in the early days of his career at Marvel’s Writers Program, considered no writing task too mundane. Fast forward 15 years, Pearson has become a central figure in the Marvel writer’s room, credited for blockbuster films such as Thor: Ragnarok, Black Widow and The Fantastic Four: First Steps, collectively grossing over $2.5 billion globally.

Pearson has also provided his expertise to short-lived Marvel TV shows, notably, the Captain America spinoff, Agent Carter. Co-showrunner Tara Butters commends Pearson’s knack for connecting with actors and his dedication in every aspect, from set to editing room. This was reflected by Pearson’s warm birthday surprise where lead actor Hayley Atwell, along with the staff, wrapped up Pearson’s entire office in wrapping paper.

Marvel Studios boss, Kevin Feige, credits Pearson for bringing humor, stakes, and emotion to Marvel, while Pearson himself has contributed to other franchises such as Transformers One and Godzilla vs. Kong. Mary Parent, bigwig at Legendary films, prospects that Pearson could potentially become a director, given his clear grasp of tone and character development.

Pearson recounts his early days in Hollywood as a script reader at DreamWorks, his subsequent venture into pizza delivery and his desperate plunge into debt before landing a job at the Marvel Writers Program after a grueling seven-month audition process. His Marvel stint involved tedious grunt work like finding split-second moments for additional dialogue in nearly completed films, but Pearson reflects on those days fondly and appreciates being paid to write.

Pearson’s first brush with Marvel was rewriting dialogue on set at Agent Carter, and he fondly recalls the excitement and rush of being asked to come up with revised lines in real-time. His major film breakthrough was with Thor: Ragnarok, but the initial success led to false confidence and a failed project which forced him to take a short break, only to return rejuvenated and stronger.

Pearson cherishes working on the Black Widow reshoots, particularly his interactions with Scarlett Johansson and OT Fagbenle. He admits that the Thor: Ragnarok misevaluation led him to add elements to scripts that were entertaining on the page but failed in the actual movie.

Fantastic Four: First Steps was Pearson’s most cherished project due to the level of involvement from inception. He recalls the friendly disagreement with director Jake Schreier over referring to a movie climax as a “group hug”, and shares insights on script changes like moving the birth of Franklin Richards to a more action-packed middle sequence.

Pearson isn’t sure about his involvement in future Transformers projects, but is quite content with his career trajectory, still relating to his early days of enthusiasm and eagerness at Marvel.