[Movies] MCU: Phase 3 And Beyond
- Thread starter BananaHands
- Start date
Sounds like Disney and Fox sealed the deal. Waiting on the formal announcement. Probably won't be until next week.
I know X-Men are more popular, but I'm hoping Fantastic Four will take priority for some damage control. X-Men already have some good movies; Fantastic Four have none.
Disney CEO Bob Iger says Deadpool can stay R-rated.
I agree. I suspect it's an easy choice for the studio. The news coverage about the Fantastic Four will be about "the Fantastic Four will finally be in a good movie" and "what Marvel Studios will do with them?" The news coverage about the X-Men will be caught up in "what should they do with the existing properties?" and "who could possibly replace Hugh Jackman ?"
Of course, the most important part of this deal (from the MCU perspective) isn't either superteam. It's the catalog of villains and supporting characters that come along with them.
Oh absolutely. The character I'm happiest to see coming into the MCU is Doctor Doom.
Stick him in a humorous movie like Thor-Rag, and I could see it.
I think in that case they would need to be careful he doesn't come off like Ronin in Guardians of the Galaxy though, just the butt of other characters' jokes, because the smart thing would be to use him like Loki, in multiple movies. Marvel now has many of their best villains available for their films and shouldn't waste them.
For a few seconds there i was wondering how i missed a Hawkeye cameo in GotG...
Pretty much my own wish. I would actually love them to fit it into more of the galactic marvel universe and use styles similar to GOTG or T:R.
If I could give one suggestion to Feige it would be to do what they did with Spider-Man, and skip the origin story, since it's really not as shocking in a world already filled with super-humans.
If they do have to do an origin story, then my other recommendation is "drag it out". What I mean by that is have them go into space, transform, and sort of get lost out there. It becomes less a "Oh hey we have more super people, great..." to a sort of Lost in Space adventure, where they are trying to come to terms with their powers in an unfamiliar galactic landscape (Ben can even use his rocky looks to make people think he is a Kronan). As they attempt to find a way to get home, a newly awakened Galactis appears, and they have to escape the planet they are on at the time before he consumes it. In the end they have to decide to head home or stop the threat from reaching Earth, and decide to sacrifice themselves to save Earth (but of course get back to Earth anyways through some other contrivance, like maybe Captain Marvel shows up, creating a more solid MCU link). I think that is preferable when it's pretty much assured the incoming X-Men will be more Earth based.
I'd be happy if they skipped most origin stories or at least show the origin in the opening credits.
I honestly believe that a large portion of the audience for every MCU movie is not familiar with the source material, and they usually need an origin story. Some of them are kids, some of them are people who never read a comic in their life, and they need some exposition for the story to make sense.
Pretty much this. Spider-Man has been a huge cultural icon for decades, so we don't need to rehash his origin. F4 hasn't really had much of a media presence in the last 10+ years, and none of their movies have been blockbusters, so they might need at least a recap for most movie-goers.
A recap or a short intro is one thing - making your first movie an origins story is something else. I really don't need to be told how they came to be over 90 minutes. Tell me in 5, preferably in flashbacks or something.
And that's coming from someone whose only knowledge of the F4 is from the last two movies.
And that's coming from someone whose only knowledge of the F4 is from the last two movies.
It worked for The Incredible Hulk.
It works differently for different properties. Spider-man is so thoroughly well-known that they can skip the origin entirely and have a short conversation with a supporting character about it midway through the movie. The Incredible Hulk can do a short recap in the beginning because it was only 5 years removed from a previous film (it really is a good example of how to do a soft reboot). I would say that FF4 could do the same.
On the other hand, most of the MCU properties need an origin story for the audiences. Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, GotG, Ant-Man, Dr. Strange, Black Panther... each one of these are properties people may or may not have heard about before, but large segments of the audience will be ignorant as to how they came about. The audience needs something to tell them how they came to be, or they won't become invested in the story.
On the other hand, most of the MCU properties need an origin story for the audiences. Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, GotG, Ant-Man, Dr. Strange, Black Panther... each one of these are properties people may or may not have heard about before, but large segments of the audience will be ignorant as to how they came about. The audience needs something to tell them how they came to be, or they won't become invested in the story.
Also Fox did such a terrible job establishing the characters, an origin story might be required.
I don't know. We didn't need to watch John MacClane's marriage fall apart for half the movie in order to be invested in Die Hard.
I really didn't need Professor Strange's origin story, even though I'd never heard of him. He's a wizard in modern times. Got it.
While it's an easily used (and abused) method to show one's character and set their stage, so to speak, I think what they did with Dr. Strange was great in that they drew a huge parallel between him and the villain, so on top of seeing that he's a callous, self centered jerk, you also get to see where he might have ended up if he didn't change.
So yes, they can do away with them, but they have to convey the individual's character in some way so that necessary character growth is obvious and reasonable.
Take the latest spider man - no origin story, but they still had to spend a good chunk of the beginning establishing his character so that later actions had consequences.
So yes, they can do away with them, but they have to convey the individual's character in some way so that necessary character growth is obvious and reasonable.
Take the latest spider man - no origin story, but they still had to spend a good chunk of the beginning establishing his character so that later actions had consequences.
Now that the movies have more or less established super heroes as a genre, I don't know if that's really necessary.
I read comics as a kid, and when picking up a new comic of a character I wasn't familiar with, I didn't expect an origin story at the beginning of every issue. Oh, this guy can make fire, that's all I need.
fade
Staff member
See, I disagree, specifically on the FF case. The origins of Spidey and the Hulk (for example) don't really showcase their characters. "Bitten by a special spider" doesn't really have anything to do with Peter himself. But breaking into a government launch site, launching against advice, complete with Johnny, Reed, and Ben bickering, pushing through cosmic radiation because consequences be damned, Reed wants an adventure--- all that says a lot about the characters, and it sets up a lot of the subsequent story.
We didn't need to see his marriage fall apart because because marriage and divorce are already part of our daily culture. We needed Doctor Strange's origin because it built a new world of magic that was both alien to the viewer and the protagonist. Through him, we learned the rules, limits, etc.
F4 may be part of the superhero genre, but their origins are different than their peers: they're not magic, they're not born into it like Thor or the Inhumans, they didn't seek out their abilities like Iron Man. They may not need an entire origins movie, but their does need to be some kind of recap to establish the atmosphere of the F4 for the general audience.
GasBandit
Staff member
Celt Z hit the nail on the head with Dr. Strange - it's not just his introduction to powers, it's the MCU introducing the magical and explicitly supernatural (ie not a science experiment or alien technology). The audience needs that introduction.
With Fantastic Four, we need the introduction and origin because the characters' personalities are reflected by their powers. Reed Richards is ever-reaching for the next discovery, the next breakthrough, to the point where frequently he overstretches himself and his reach exceeds his grasp, leading to as many colossal failures are it does spectacular successes. As such, he becomes the super-elastic Mr Fantastic. Susan Storm is shy and tends to fade into the background, disappearing, but will always protect her family and friends, and when roused can project great force. As such, she becomes the Invisible Woman. Johnny Storm is impulsive, hot-headed, and flighty, so he becomes the Human Torch. Ben Grimm is rock-solid, dour, and pessimistic, but strong and capable, and as such, becomes a mighty rock-monster, The Thing.
I see Reed Richards as sick of being in the shadows of "mundane genius tycoons" like Elon Musk, Richard Branson, Bill Gates, and even thinks that Tony Stark and Hank Pym, while geniuses, don't think far enough outside the box. His wife, Sue Storm, is almost his equal in brilliance and has a vast family fortune behind her, from Storm Industries, but her anxieties make her shun the spotlight that Reed craves.
With Fantastic Four, we need the introduction and origin because the characters' personalities are reflected by their powers. Reed Richards is ever-reaching for the next discovery, the next breakthrough, to the point where frequently he overstretches himself and his reach exceeds his grasp, leading to as many colossal failures are it does spectacular successes. As such, he becomes the super-elastic Mr Fantastic. Susan Storm is shy and tends to fade into the background, disappearing, but will always protect her family and friends, and when roused can project great force. As such, she becomes the Invisible Woman. Johnny Storm is impulsive, hot-headed, and flighty, so he becomes the Human Torch. Ben Grimm is rock-solid, dour, and pessimistic, but strong and capable, and as such, becomes a mighty rock-monster, The Thing.
I see Reed Richards as sick of being in the shadows of "mundane genius tycoons" like Elon Musk, Richard Branson, Bill Gates, and even thinks that Tony Stark and Hank Pym, while geniuses, don't think far enough outside the box. His wife, Sue Storm, is almost his equal in brilliance and has a vast family fortune behind her, from Storm Industries, but her anxieties make her shun the spotlight that Reed craves.