"King Richard is like Iron Man and there still are other stories around it" - Serena Williams
King Richard's release has given tennis fans a chance to gain insight into the lives of the Williams family, who have given the sport two of its biggest stars—Venus and Serena Williams.
Based on the life of Venus and Serena Williams' father Richard, the film traces the champion duo's formative years. Since its release, the film has garnered several accolades, including nominations at award shows such as the Academy Awards and Golden Globes.
Venus and Serena Williams have been heavily involved with the project from the start and have played an active role in its marketing. Both women have admitted to it being a deeply personal project.
In her recent Harper's Bazaar interview, Williams likened the film to a superhero franchise, saying it had the potential to spawn more projects centered around the family.
Comparing King Richard to Marvel's Iron Man series, she said other films could be centered around individual characters including Venus, herself, their three sisters and mother Oracene Price.
“I am a dreamer, and I love Marvel,” Serena Williams said. “I think King Richard is like Iron Man and that there still are other stories around it."
"The next, obviously, would be the Venus story," she continued. "And then there’s always the story about our other three sisters, and then there’s like a mom, and then there’s the Serena story. When I look at it, I see it just encompassing this whole superhero kind of thing.”
"People get this different story of sports fathers who are really overbearing, that wasn’t necessarily my dad" - Serena Williams
Serena Williams also touched upon her father's approach to tennis, saying Richard wasn't the typical "overbearing" tennis father. The American said he instead allowed them the space to grow outside of tennis and taught them to plan ahead.
“A lot of people get this different story of sports fathers—especially tennis fathers, who are really overbearing," Williams said, "And that wasn’t necessarily my dad. Everyone’s like, ‘Well, how do you play tennis for so long?’ It’s because we weren’t raised in an environment where it was something that we abhorred.”
“He’s always like, ‘Take your time. You’ll be okay. Don’t play'," she continued. "My dad always told us to plan ahead. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. We never planned to just only play tennis and just only be tennis players. We planned to do more.”