Tag Archives: Marvel Studios

Sep 25 2024

Increasing Optimism For The MCU

It’s been commonly accepted that the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has been on a downward spiral given the mediocre results of their recent offerings such as Secret Invasion and The Marvels. But the powers that be (Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios) have taken corrective steps to rectify the situation with the MCU and from what we are seeing, we fans have cause for optimism.

As most of us know, Feige has restructured the slate of films and TV shows to the point of redoing them as was done with the upcoming Daredevil: Born Again and next year’s Captain America: Brave New World. Feige took an honest and hard look and admitted what was working with the MCU projects and what wasn’t. Marvel Studios has also reassessed which film and TV projects, which were planned and announced previously, would actually go forward. This meant that some anticipated and announced projects will not see the light of day, at least for the near future.

However, while we can mope about the lost projects like Armor Wars and the endangered Blade, we can rejoice with recent concrete developments and the current and upcoming releases.

Of course, Deadpool & Wolverine was a smash success that delighted fans and critics alike as it reveled in Easter eggs, raunchy humor and unfiltered violence. The film is now the second biggest hit of the year and the most successful R-rated film ever released. Seriously, Deadpool & Wolverine could not have arrived at a better time. The film demonstrated that Marvel Studios was still capable of producing quality films that could engage audiences, which translated into box office success.

Then Marvel Studios just began streaming on Disney + the TV show Agatha All Along, the sequel/spinoff to Marvel Studios’ best TV show, WandaVision. Even though the spinoff TV show about the witch Agatha Harkness wasn’t highly demanded by fans, it so far has exceeded expectations with its witty, clever and imaginative early episodes. Sure the jury is still out and we have to see if it sticks the landing, but Agatha All Along is off to a great start.

Another reason to be optimistic is due to the success of the animated TV show X-Men ’97, which captured the essence of the classic X-Men animated TV shows of the 1990s and the best X-Men stories and characters. Even though X-Men ’97 and Deadpool & Wolverine are not actually part of the MCU, they were produced by Marvel Studios and both projects showcased the talent from the studio that could still deliver the goods.

While there has been leaked footage of upcoming TV shows like Daredevil: Born Again and of sizzle reels for The Fantastic Four: First Steps, fans have not had much else to sink their teeth into. But what they have at the moment is more than enough. The trailers for Captain America: Brave New World look very promising, which is a bit of a relief given the behind-the-scenes reports of a troubled production that practically had to be reshot. Hopefully, the actual film, which comes out in February next year, will be half as good as the trailers promise.

Also promising with the release of just one trailer is Thunderbolts*, which can be best explained to non-fans as the MCU answer to the Suicide Squad. Essentially, a bunch of misfit anti-heroes and low-grade villains teaming up to fight a powerful foe and becoming actual heroes in their own right. The trailer that was just released a couple of days ago perfectly captured this theme and the film looks like it will be a lot of fun. Hell, even the first official poster for Thunderbolts* is great and captures the mood the trailer is selling of misfits who can’t get along with each other but are forced to cooperate. Take a look, below.

All we need now is a sneak peek of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, but all in good time. Then there is the constant stream of news and speculation about the upcoming Avengers films featuring Robert Downey, Jr. as Doctor Doom. Surely, once confirmed plans for the X-Men come out the fans will go ballistic. The only news and speculation giving us a pause has to do with the troubled Blade film and whatever Sony Pictures plans to do with future Spider-Man films. But we’ll see how that situation works out.

Sure, the upcoming films and TV shows could wind up being huge disappointments but let’s stay optimistic, shall we? That is because for now it’s a thrill to be excited for the MCU again.

Aug 3 2024

The Return Of Robert Downey, Jr. To The MCU…As Doctor Doom!

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – JULY 27: Robert Downey Jr. speaks onstage at the Marvel Studios Panel during 2024 Comic-Con International at San Diego Convention Center on July 27, 2024 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)

Marvel Studios, as usual, figuratively exploded fans’ minds last weekend at the San Diego Comic-Con with their announcements of their upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films. But the biggest jaw-dropping revelation at Hall H was that MCU mainstay Robert Downey, Jr. would return to the MCU in the next Avengers film as Marvel Comics’ most infamous villain Doctor Doom.

As wild and flabbergasted fans were when the announcement first came out, it was inevitable that questions and second guessing followed soon after the announcement. People wondered if this was the best casting decision and if it meant that Marvel Studios was desperate to rekindle the excitement and attention the MCU had just a few years ago during its heyday.

Marvel Studios couldn’t find an actor qualified enough to play Doctor Doom? Did it have to be Robert Downey, Jr.? Let’s be clear here, Downey is a gifted actor, he’s so great he even won an Oscar for his work in Oppenheimer, and he is the face of the MCU because of his portrayal as Tony Stark/Iron Man, which put the MCU on the map to greatness. But there are many other actors who could’ve easily portrayed the villain. Some have complained that the casting is lazy, unless if some reports are true about Doom’s identity in the upcoming MCU films.

Doctor Doom is traditionally, Victor Von Doom, the armored, despotic ruler of the fictional Eastern European country Latveria, who became a bitter rival to the Fantastic Four’s Reed Richards. Now, Downey was introduced as Von Doom by Marvel Studios, but there are rumors that the actor will actually play an evil variant of Tony Stark from another reality, in fact it will be the same universe where the upcoming The Fantastic Four: First Steps takes place in. This makes a lot of sense and circumvents the complaints by fans about how the other characters in the films are ignoring the fact that Doom looks just like Stark. Otherwise, if he plays Von Doom, then that will raise questions from viewers, which will take them out of the film.

In the recent comic books, Stark has become Dr. Doom and vice versa because the two characters are very similar to one another. So, there is precedent for this to occur. Maybe, in the MCU timeline, Stark came into existence earlier in the Fantastic Four’s universe and did not have the same redeeming experiences that the MCU Stark had and became evil but shares the same goal as the MCU Stark had: to protect the Earth using armor. During his Comic-Con appearance, Downey did say “New mask, same task,” which implies that he will play a variant of Stark.

If this pans out, it will be an ingenious way to bring the actor back to the MCU and allow him and the screenwriters to do something different with the character. It can work and it probably will. But many will be disappointed that the traditional Victor Von Doom with the same backstory from the comic books won’t be in the MCU. However, people should not give up hope.

Marvel Studios probably decided to bring back Downey because of his star power and the twist that will guarantee that people will rush to theaters to see Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. However, while the actor will excel as Doctor Doom, it’s doubtful he will play the villain in the long term. He is being paid a hefty amount to appear in these films and it will be hard for the studio to afford his paycheck forever. What could happen is that Doctor Doom will get killed off in Avengers: Secret Wars and be replaced by another variant i.e. another actor. This variant could possibly appear in a post-credits scene and be introduced as the MCU version of Doom, who will be Victor Von Doom with the comics-accurate backstory. Going forward, this new version of Doom, portrayed by a different actor, will be the go-to MCU version of Doctor Doom that the Fantastic Four, the Avengers and the other MCU heroes will contend with.  

Whatever develops with Doctor Doom, Downey’s casting brought much-needed publicity and excitement for the MCU. Surely, once we see him in his green robes and armor, we can pass final judgment, which will most likely be very favorable.

Jun 14 2024

The Curse Of Blade

About five years ago at a Comic-Con appearance, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige eagerly announced that a new film about the vampire hunter Blade would be produced by Marvel Studios to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). What made the announcement even more exciting was that Mahershala Ali would portray Blade, a role made famous by Wesley Snipes. That was then. Now? Nothing. The film keeps getting delayed over and over again to the point that many are asking if the project is cursed.

At the same Comic-Con, several other film and TV projects were announced and they have been produced and released since then. Only Blade remains unrealized; the closest we got to having Blade appear in the MCU was hearing his voice during a post-credits scene in Eternals. There are several reasons why the reboot of the Wesley Snipes film has been delayed, some of it has to do with the pandemic and the recent Hollywood strikes. But the main reason for the delays has to do with the inability to come up with a script and holding onto a director.

Marvel Studios has not been impressed with the scripts. The first one was penned by Stacy Amma Osei-Kuffour in 2021, while Bassam Tariq was chosen to direct the film. Tariq left a year later due to the lack of progress with the film while Marvel Studios brought in other writers to revamp the script. Reports have it that the first script was very light on action, a staple of the Blade films, and supposedly took place in the 1920s. Other writers who took a shot at Blade included Beau DeMayo, who was responsible for the well-received X-Men ’97 animated series, but time and time again Marvel Studios brought more and more screenwriters to turn in a suitable script. Mahershala Ali himself has expressed dissatisfaction with the original script and the pace of the project and it would not be surprising if he winds up leaving the project, even though he approached Marvel Studios with the idea of portraying the vampire hunter.

Meanwhile, Yann Demange, the director who replaced Tariq, left the project a few weeks ago, and no replacement has been announced yet. This is going on as the film is supposedly slated to begin production later this year for a 2025 release. At this rate, it is doubtful the film will meet the deadline or even be made.

Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios recently announced their desire to focus on the quality of their films and TV shows, which is commendable. But the unfortunate result of focusing on quality has been the delay of Blade. This is very frustrating for fans of the character and the original films who wanted to see the MCU take of the Daywalker (as he is called by the vampires he hunts), as well as Ali’s interpretation of the superhero.

It is baffling why Marvel Studios is having a hard time with this project which should be a slum dunk and would have a ready audience for a character with huge name recognition. The Blade films were popular even before the MCU existed and most people were not even aware that the supernatural hero was actually based on a Marvel Comics character. The premise should be fairly simple to produce. Why not just do a remake of the original Blade film Deacon Frost as the villain? The story worked in the first Blade, just throw in some MCU references and call it a day.

The answer to that is that Marvel Studios wants a fresh new take on the character and probably as rumors have it, wants Blade to help launch the Midnight Sons superhero team for the future. This is a great idea, but Marvel Studios has a lot on their plate and it’s anyone’s guess as to when they will get around to it.

Until Marvel Studios decides on a script and hires a solid director (supposedly they are eyeing Jordan Peele or Chad Stahelski who have either shown interest or been approached for Blade), the least they can do is have the character appear in upcoming MCU projects. This would keep fans happy and maybe even Ali, too.

However, the constant delays has become an embarrassment for Marvel Studios. They must settle on a script and director very soon in order to meet the production schedule and release date. Otherwise, Blade is doomed.

Mar 17 2024

Regarding MCU’s Cancelled Projects

The big news this past week regarding the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) was that Disney cancelled a few MCU projects that were being prepared as a way of getting MCU and Marvel Studios back on its feet. What was noticeable about the news was that the projects included followups to Eternals, Captain Marvel and Ant-Man. There are also reports that long-announced projects like Ironheart and Armor Wars are also on the chopping block. While it is understandable why they have been cancelled, there is also some cause for concern.

The reasoning behind the cancellations was that Marvel Studios should focus on projects based on popular characters that will be guaranteed hits like Spider-Man, the Avengers and the X-Men. It makes sense but it just means that Marvel Studios will be forced to play it safe. It’s a shame because Marvel Comics has a huge plethora of intellectual property to mine from. To just go back and do films and TV shows about the same characters over and over again runs the risk of over-relying on them. Then you wind up with the situation Warner Bros. has with its DC characters where the only thing the company focuses on are numerous Batman films and related TV shows. Of course, these film studios need hits and it doesn’t hurt to rely on what works to fund future projects, but doing so risked overusing certain characters and diluting their appeal in the long run.

By playing it safe, Marvel Studios will avoid taking risks and approving projects based on lesser-known Marvel characters. This is understandable given the time and money that will be used to produce films and TV shows on characters few have heard of. But if Marvel Studios always followed this mentality we never would have gotten Guardians of the Galaxy. Back when that film was first announced, many were convinced that it would be Marvel Studios’ first flop. After all, few people heard of the characters who were outlandish. A talking raccoon? A walking tree? These doubters were sure no one would pay money to see films featuring such bizarre characters. But as we all know, the film was a huge hit and turned the Guardians of the Galaxy into beloved household characters.

Marvel Studios has tried to replicate the success of Guardians of the Galaxy with other lesser-known properties to varying results. For every Black Panther there was Eternals. While not everything Marvel Studios tried worked out, this does not mean that the film studio should avoid experimenting and trying out new characters. This will pay off for the film studio in the long run. Just look at the Scarlet Witch. When she first debuted in Avengers: Age of Ultron, she had an impact but her popularity did not truly take off until WandaVision years later. That show was so popular that it has spun off a couple of its characters into their own film and TV show, that being Photon and Agatha Harkness. Unfortunately, Photon’s film The Marvels flopped and Agatha: Whatever is the Subtitle still hasn’t streamed yet, so the jury is out on the TV show. However, the failure of The Marvels cannot be blamed on the character of Photon. The same would have to go with the other main characters in that film and going further with Nick Fury in Secret Invasion or Ant-Man in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Those projects failed but it was not because of the characters. They had their own issues and the characters were mostly well received in other appearances.

Thankfully, Marvel Studios will continue to utilize these characters in other projects. For instance, Ant-Man is supposed to appear in the next Spider-Man film and the next Avengers film. With Eternals, even though that film won’t get a proper sequel, the characters and events from the film are rumored to be incorporated into the next Avengers film. It would make sense that if the fifth Avengers film is no longer about Kang the Conqueror then it could be a cosmic-based film that features the Eternals and even the Guardians of the Galaxy in a loose adaptation of the Annihilation storyline from Marvel Comics (this was the comic book event that introduced the modern incarnation of the Guardians of the Galaxy that we think of). Some creative scripting could have the events of the cosmic plot in that Avengers film continue the Incursion/Multiverse arc and lead into Avengers: Secret Wars.

Marvel Studios should not hesitate with continuing to introduce new characters all the time in their films and TV shows. Although not all of them will take off in popularity, they should be featured to at least test the waters and see how they are received.

Maybe after a few hits under its belt, Marvel Studios will once again take creative chances with Marvel’s other characters. After all, the richness of the vast Marvel Universe deserves to be fully explored for MCU fans.

Feb 27 2024

Marvel’s Sony/Spider-Man Problem

Here we go again with the two corporate giants, Sony Pictures Entertainment and The Walt Disney Company, battling over Spider-Man. More specifically the films about the superhero and everyone in his orbit. The colossal failure of Sony’s Madame Web and the delays in producing a fourth Spider-Man film set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) only exacerbated the situation between the two companies.

Past Disagreements

Most Marvel fans know by now the convoluted story of how Sony acquired the exclusive film rights to Marvel Comics’ most popular character, Spider-Man. They also know this meant that Disney’s Marvel Studios could not make its own Spider-Man films. After the failure of Sony’s reboot of Spider-Man in the early 2010s, the two companies decided to share the character and have him appear in the MCU starting with Captain America: Civil War.

Things went well for both companies and the superhero. Marvel Studios produced acclaimed Spider-Man films as the character proved to be even more popular than ever. However, as the saying goes, all good things come to an end. After Spider-Man’s appearances in Avengers: Endgame and his solo film, Spider-Man: Far From Home in 2019, Sony decided to end its agreement with Marvel Studios and prepared to make their own Spider-Man films without the involvement of Marvel Studios and Disney. Following a huge backlash from the public, the two companies decided to play nice and the result was one of the greatest Spider-Man films, Spider-Man: No Way Home. Everything was great. The last MCU Spider-Man film essentially set him up to be a more traditional and grounded loner superhero and plans for a fourth film were underway. This was back in 2021/2022. Nothing has happened since then, and now there are reports of tension between the two companies.

Current Disagreements

Apparently, there are disagreements over the direction of the next Spider-Man film. Marvel Studios has planned a grounded, street-level film for Spider-Man that has him facing off against the Kingpin with appearances by Daredevil and other street-level heroes. However, Sony wants a repeat of Spider-Man: No Way Home where the MCU version of Spider-Man is to reunite with the Sony versions of Spider-Man as the trio would team up for another multiverse story. The reason for this is that Spider-Man: No Way Home was the most successful Spider-Man film and Sony wants more of this. While the idea of expanded multiverses has become part of the Spider-Man comic book mythos, to do the same thing after Spider-Man: No Way Home is creatively lazy and plays it safe. Also keep in mind that the recent releases of Sony’s animated Spider-Man films had similar plot lines where the title character interacted with alternate versions of himself. As tempting as it is to repeat the same thing expecting the fourth MCU Spider-Man film to be just as successful as Spider-Man: No Way Home is wishful thinking on Sony’s part. There isn’t any guarantee that lightning would strike twice. Frankly, doing a grounded Spider-Man story that would be part of a larger MCU storyline where the Kingpin is the mayor of New York City is the logical path for Spider-Man: No Way Home left our hero.

Another issue that is being reported is that Sony wants a Spider-Man film to come out next year. But Marvel Studios has four films already scheduled for release next year and adding the MCU Spider-Man film would strain the bandwidth of Marvel Studios’ resources and be too much for the average filmgoer. This could mean that one of the other scheduled MCU films would suffer at the box office. But Sony does not care, obviously they are only concerned about their own studio, which is desperate for a hit after the failures of Morbius and Madame Web. Marvel Studios could play nice and just delay one of their films next year. But the forthcoming MCU films have already undergone significant delays and Spider-Man will reportedly be a major character in the Secret Wars story, so Marvel Studios is in a pickle over how to go forward.

Sony’s Dismal Track Record

The problem with Sony is that they have proven that they cannot make a good Spider-Man or Spider-Man adjacent film. Yes, the first couple of Spider-Man films done by Sam Raimi were classics but that is largely due to the director, who ended up clashing with Sony over Spider-Man 3 and that film was a letdown compared to the first two films. Aside from an occassional Venom and the animated films, the Spider-Man and Spider-Man-related films were not well done and produced to keep the property with Sony. Apparently, Sony is contract-bound to release a Spider-Man film or one featuring characters in Spidey’s universe every few years. This was part of the reason why Raimi left the Spider-Man franchise because Sony was in a rush to release a Spider-Man film before giving Raimi the time to fully develop it. The tendency of Sony rushing out these films would explain why so many of them are bad. Another culprit is probably studio interferrence because that could only explain why Madame Web was so horrible. Let’s be objective, many of the actors and behind-the-scenes people in Madame Web are clearly talented, but the film was such a bad misfire that reeks of last-minute changes, such as poorly done ADR.

Sony is clearly desperate to create their own cinematic universe as seen with their films like Venom, Morbius, Madame Web and the upcoming Kraven the Hunter. On paper, creating a cinematic universe based on Spider-Man and characters in his world makes sense because throughout the decades the world of Spider-Man has seen many interesting characters that have spun off successfully into their own comic books. But what have we gotten from Sony? Aside from their released misfires, there were attempts to launch their own version of the Suicide Squad only this time with Spider-Man’s enemies, the Sinister Six, which was clumsily alluded to in The Amazing Spider-Man 2; a film about Aunt May as a spy in her younger days (!); and the character everyone has been clamoring for: El Muerto. Seriously, Sony, WTF?! We can understand a film about the Black Cat teaming up with Silver Sable, (which fell apart) but El Muerto? And the upcoming Kraven film has him as some kind of anti-hunting hero who gets his powers from being bitten by a lion! “Sigh”

Clearly, Sony does not know what to do with its superhero cash cow. The problem is that Sony’s ineptness is harming the MCU brand. How can this be? The Sony films are set in different universes except for the MCU Spider-Man films, which is what most fans would point out. But the average person would not know the difference. There are people who still confuse the Marvel films with the DC films! They’re not going to look at the fine print in marketing to see that Morbius was made “In Association with Marvel”, they’re going to see the Marvel logo and think that garbage Sony film is part of the MCU. This has a negative impact on Marvel Studios since the average moviegoer will think the inferior Sony films are made by Marvel Studios, which is the last thing Marvel Studios wants now that they are struggling to come back from recent setbacks with their own products.

Marvel’s Options

What can Disney and Marvel Studios do? Ignoring the Sony films is not working. Well, Disney can try to buy back the film rights to Spider-Man. Naturally, Sony will understandably be hesitant to give up its cash cow unless Disney pays them handsomely. But given the company’s financial hurdles, it’s doubtful Disney has the funds readily available for that feat. Disney can sue Sony with the argument that Spider-Man is so entwined with Marvel that the Sony films are hurting the Marvel brand even if future MCU films completely ignore Spider-Man.

Can Sony be forced to sell the rights back to Disney or at least be forced to remove the Marvel name from their marketing? Who knows at this point, but this cannot continue. Of course, the easiest way to get Sony to relinquish or loosen their hold on the rights would be for people to stop seeing the Sony Spider-Man and Spider-Man-related films. This includes Venom and the animated films. Sony has to be convinced that holding on to the film rights is not worth it if there are diminishing returns for these films. After all, it was the failure of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 that coerced Sony to negotiate with Marvel Studios to bring Spidey into the MCU. So, the ball is in our court.