The Marvel Cinematic Multiverse

[Paddy]

That's going to be quite a gap for the next Guardians film but we should be happy they showed up in Infinity War and Endgame to make the wait less lengthy.

Black Widow suits being released at a cooler time of year anyway. I also hope Marvel can stick to the new schedule as I'm looking forward to seeing the Dr. Strange sequel the most out of the above slate (more reality-bending action in IMAX 3D please).

N.B The new Thor film would make a great Valentine's Day film for that year Lol.

[beecee]

Wonder how Guardians will work with Thor Love and thunder, considering Thor is on board the Guardians ship?

[Asura]

Wonder how Guardians will work with Thor Love and thunder, considering Thor is on board the Guardians ship?

I think they did a PR about that - IIRC they said that it takes place some time later, and Thor L&T will explain his departure from the crew, presumably by some hand-waivey means.

[Neon Ignition]

https://www.darkhorizons.com/waititi-teases-new-over-the-top-thor/

Waititi is still working on Thor: Love and Thunder and says it makes Ragnarok look pedestrian.

[Paddy]

I watched Avengers Infinity War and Endgame again on Blu-ray over two different days. Still the pinnacle for superhero films and right next to the first Avengers film for me (Age of Ultron is good but these are better). I honestly don't mind if the Marvel films after this are fairly average and mediocre as Marvel Studios was able to make 4 really great team superhero films (5 if you count Captain America: Civil War which makes sense given how many Avengers or affiliates show up). They'll stand the test of time and are incredibly rewatchable even when you know the story beats.

That said if the next phases can build to another momentous event/conclusion (perhaps Avengers vs X-Men) it could be just as special. After that though I think Marvel Studios would struggle to top two very strong, almost decade-long arcs as it won't be the same teams for three decades (I could be wrong though and we end up getting some superb superhero films this decade and the next (well from next year at this rate)).

[fishbowlhead]

The marvel films on the whole are an incredible achievement of consistent quality and the way they all fit with each other story wise is pretty mind blowing.

The control you’d need to exercise over every film so it fits with the whole would have to be absolute or it would never have worked, but each also watchable as a film on its own.

All fun and entertaining stuff.

[Paddy]

I get the impression Disney trusted Kevin Feige quite quickly once they saw the box office that the original Avengers film brought in. The fact that Endgame's box office currently sits at $2.8b is a sign that they had the right guy in the position. Quite a contrast to the recent Star Wars trilogy which was only three numbered films, one every two years at that.

[Neon Ignition]

https://www.darkhorizons.com/ruffalo-raimi-krasinski-offer-marvel-updates/

Ruffalo says there's still chatter about Hulk being in She-Hulk but other than that the character isn't lined up for any future MCU project currently

Meanwhile, Sam Raimi has confirmed that he will be directing Doctor Strange and the Multi-verse of Madness

[Asura]

I get the impression Disney trusted Kevin Feige quite quickly once they saw the box office that the original Avengers film brought in. The fact that Endgame's box office currently sits at $2.8b is a sign that they had the right guy in the position. Quite a contrast to the recent Star Wars trilogy which was only three numbered films, one every two years at that.

Maybe, but I don't think Mavel had the same baggage that Star Wars did. Marvel might be adapting comics, but they went into that job with zero expectations, and while the adaptations are true to the general spirit of those characters, the actual events are very different (e.g. the very concept of the "Civil War" in the comics and movies are totally different).

Marvel's CU is an alternate universe, but it's in a medium where alternate universes are an established thing; like in their comics, the games, movies, everything, even real life are a numbered, specific alternate universes. That gives them a get-out that their fans tolerate pretty well.

Star Wars always did the opposite. Lucasfilm cultivated the EU, creating a cash-cow, but also creating a fictional universe where fans and new writers filled out every extraneous detail. Every alien in the cantina in Episode IV has a name, with a tragic backstory, and generally these things were treated pretty consistently across the franchise. Prior to the Disney buyout, Lucasfilm had been exploring that with Star Wars Infinity - an alternate universe where Luke misses and fails to destroy the Death Star, but I don't think it really caught on.

Again, this isn't defending fans being genuine ***** to creators. I'm just saying that I think Disney consciously made the decision that they were going to piss off fans, but were also going to make money. And it shows; The Last Jedi wasn't the most successful movie in the franchise but it definitely made bank. The question (which I can't answer) is how much the brand relies on the sales of things like books, lunchboxes and toys, because those secondary purchases tend to be made by fans, both kids and adults.

[Neon Ignition]

With Star Wars it feels like it's mostly a case of do kids like it. The Prequel trilogy is mostly trash but it did it's job on getting a new generation of kids to buy into the franchise. As much as merch is important it's probably less so these days because the franchise has regular film releases that make a lot money (bar one) versus the old days of decade long droughts

[Asura]

With Star Wars it feels like it's mostly a case of do kids like it. The Prequel trilogy is mostly trash but it did it's job on getting a new generation of kids to buy into the franchise. As much as merch is important it's probably less so these days because the franchise has regular film releases that make a lot money (bar one) versus the old days of decade long droughts

Yep, totally fair observation. Disney's likely playing the long game.

[Dogg Thang]

I've said it before but the simple reality here is that the situation with Star Wars is hugely different to Marvel in just about every way and Star Wars can't be Marvel. In fact, almost no existing property can do what Marvel did. Hold anything beyond other superhero films based on decades of varied comics (so really, only DC) up to Marvel and they are doomed to fall short. And even DC has its own struggles in that regard, obviously, because even its situation and baggage is different.

[Paddy]

Marvel Studios clearly had a team that were able to plan the trajectory of the overarching story/growth of its most popular characters in a believable and capable manner. For a decade they became familiar faces that we were sad to see go when Avengers: Endgame rolled around last year. That's a sign of having things locked down and assuring that events in your later films don't contradict ones in the earlier released entries.

It could all go to pot with the next phase but for me we had a golden era or Marvel films up until last year. I leave the door open to continuing to be entertaining and amazed at the superhero adventures that await. That or they'll be a laugh with high production values for two hours.

I'd argue that Marvel was able to keep most of the mediocre content to TV shows so it didn't dilute the quality of the films anyway (see Agents of Shield, the Netflix character-focused shows, etc.)

[Asura]

I'd argue that Marvel was able to keep most of the mediocre content to TV shows so it didn't dilute the quality of the films anyway (see Agents of Shield, the Netflix character-focused shows, etc.)

[Neon Ignition]

https://twitter.com/AaronCouch

The sequel has been retitled to Venom: Let There Be Carnage and its release delayed till 25 June 2021