At first glance the star-studded family dramedy “This Is Where I Leave You” bears little resemblance to future blockbusters like the upcoming Marvel superhero movie “Ant-Man” or the highly-anticipated “Star Wars Episode VII.” But at the Toronto International Film Festival on Saturday, actors Adam Driver and Corey Stoll pointed out that their quirky family drama has more in common with their superhero movies than you might think.

Adam Driver at the 'While We're Young' premiere on Saturday, Sept. 6. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images) More

Granted, on paper, it doesn't sound a whole lot like "Star Wars" or "Ant-Man." “This Is Where I Leave You” follows four siblings (played by Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Driver, and Stoll) who return home to mourn their recently deceased father. A series of personal crises, combined with cramped quarters and their overbearing mother (Jane Fonda), quickly turns the house into an emotional powder keg that frequently explodes in hilarious, heartwarming, and sometimes violent ways.

So how, exactly, does the upcoming "Star Wars" sequel compare? After all, Driver is set to play an unspecified villain in the upcoming "Star Wars" sequel - a far cry from his misguided, button-pushing “This Is Where I Leave You” character Phillip Altman. But according to the actor, both are taking a "character first" approach.



“‘Star Wars’ is a big thing, ‘Ant-Man’ is a big thing, they're huge and the scales are bigger than the things we've worked on before,” Driver told reporters at the Shangri-La Hotel. “I can't speak for ‘Ant-Man,’ but I know for ‘Star Wars’ what JJ [Abrams] and Larry Kasdan have written - and the way they've decided to approach the project - is very much how you'd approach anything."

He continued: “From the very beginning it's all about story and character... Yes, it's ‘A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...’ but at the same time there's those moments: It's about loss and friendship and those universal themes that made the original movies have such a long life and resonate. I think it's the same as [‘This is Where I Leave You’]: we're playing this moment, then the next moment, and hopefully at the end we'll have a movie."

Corey Stoll in at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 6. (Jonathan Leibson/Getty Images) More

Stoll drew similar parallels to between playing the buttoned-down and responsible older brother Paul Altman in "This Is Where I Leave You" and taking on the role of the villainous Yellowjacket in Marvel’s “Ant-Man.”

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