MONTREAL—Many were left wondering after AVN Hall of Fame director Axel Braun announced his retirement last Friday what that meant for the future of iconic brand Wicked Pictures, where he was on contract for nearly a decade and served as Head of Production since the studio was acquired by Gamma Entertainment in 2020.
The 56-year-old Braun places on the mantle of his career more than 350 credits, and remains the only four-time winner of the AVN Director of the Year award. But, even a legacy of critical acclaim and industry-changing influence will eventually come to an end.
In the wake of such, AVN spoke with new Wicked showrunner Jessica Jasmin—an up-and-comer at Gamma who's been making a name for herself directing for its gay label Disruptive Films—about what's in store for the 30-year-old porn institution.
"It would be crazy to try to replace Axel. His skill set is irreplaceable," Jasmin told AVN. Speaking over videochat, she explained that the studio, and its partners at Gamma Entertainment, are now facing a crossroads. And, according to her, that crossroads is to determine the best way forward to catapult Wicked to the top again while still honoring Braun's professional legacy and mark left on the production and content teams he worked with for years.
“Our goal is to take Wicked in a new direction. We’re ready to offer the industry something that hasn’t been seen before,” Jasmin said. “We’ll be working with up-and-coming directors and allowing them to use Wicked as a way to express their art and vision.”
One such director—who seems poised to inherit Braun's throne, in a sense—is his longtime protégé Seth Gamble.
A winner of various awards as a performer, including the 2023 AVN Male Performer of the Year title, Gamble offers a fresh and unique vision when it comes to his storytelling. Jasmin pointed to the stunning aesthetics in some of Gamble's latest work such as Reckless and Goddess.
“Not only is Seth a great storyteller, he’s created his own cinematic style with movies like Goddess, Vanity, Money,” Jasmin said. “I’m going to stay consistent and double down on Seth’s work. We’re so excited to enter the new era of Wicked. I want creators to come to Wicked and do something different, something they’ll feel proud of.”
Future projects coming down the pipeline for Wicked, Jasmin posited, will aim to redefine what we see in adult movies. She even divulged that her first outing as a director for the brand is set to release in the upcoming months.
“I’m also excited for my Wicked directorial debut, Blast From the Past. I know it will resonate with the industry and our member base,” Jasmin said. “The movie is full of fun and nostalgia. It celebrates the debauchery of the college years, the sexy secrets we keep, and the lost art of porn on a handheld video camera. I absolutely love it!
“We also have several movies going live before the end of the year, and in fall we’ll be working with James Avalon, who has plenty of interesting stories to tell,” she added.
In summation, Jasmin set the tone for Wicked Pictures moving forward as such: “I see Wicked as a mainstream studio producing high-end content with amazing storytelling. Our movies are cinematic and different from the content you’ll see elsewhere. We draw our inspiration from pop culture, nostalgia, series, events in the news, and social media trends. We want our films to resonate with porn fans everywhere. Wicked is entertainment at its highest form!”
