Cinapse is squarely focused primarily on discussing film, not reporting news flashes and casting rumors or speculating about the business side of things. So when a big story breaks, we’ll do our best to not simply regurgitate what you can read elsewhere, but rather offer meaningful reflections and insights. That’s when we turn to jerks — Knee Jerks!
MCU Phase Three Slate
Marvel just dropped a huge bomb at yesterday’s press event, revealing or confirming titles and dates for nine Phase Three films. Barring any changes or additions, these are the titles that will be following Avengers: Age Of Ultron and Ant-Man. These titles confirm speculation of a Civil War event (notably as a Captain America title, rather than an Avengers tale as one might expect), as well as the Infinity Gauntlet storyline that’s obviously been brewing for awhile. This will finally take place with the third — and fourth — Avengers films. By comparison, a new Thor outing might almost seem a quaint affair, if not for the fact that the subtitle Ragnarök carries major implications to anyone versed in either the related comics or Norse Mythology.
For many fans, though, it’s smaller titles that render the bigger news. Possibly spurred by the success of Guardians Of The Galaxy, Marvel is not only diversifying their output, but taking some risks and filling out the universe with lesser known, fan-favorite characters that don’t necessarily register as household names. Rounding out Phase Three are Black Panther starring 42’s Chadwick Boseman, the Carol Danvers incarnation of Captain Marvel, and Inhumans. While probably the least familiar of the three, that last one may be the most interesting because it promises another team-based movie to stand alongside Avengers and Guardians.
The Jerks Say:
Sean:So Marvel has decided to go ahead and remove all the fun of guessing their next properties by laying out a slate of exciting sounding stuff. Little of it is really surprising, though I feel the loss of the Fantastic Four property hurts even more now that they’re doing Inhumans. Marvel is pulling from well loved story lines regardless of era with a focus on big, end of the world type stuff. How all these will tie in with their Netflix shows and Agents of SHIELD is anyone’s guess (uh, where is Warlock?). The other aspect is the clearing of the path for expiring contracts and introduction of new (to the cinema) characters like Dr. Strange, Inhumans, Ms. Marvel (better be) and of course, muthafucking Black Panther! Seriously that shit will be hype. (@Sbennis79)
Jon:People are saying DC got served with this announcement but to be frank, DC was served months ago when Marvel spectacularly pulled off a movie featuring a fucking talking racoon and sentient tree. Its shocking that DC haven’t got their shit together yet. Marvel-wise, it looks like they’re aiming to send their most popular characters out on a high and lay seeds for some new lesser known ones. A wise strategy; interest will wane eventually, perhaps when DC truly gets in the game and saturates the market. Lesser known characters, smaller budgets, and lower expectations could alleviate pressure and will of course restart the creative cycle. Marvel films don’t sit comfortably into one genre and the new characters let them push out in new directions. The ceremony about it all is perhaps a bit much, but I’m looking forward to the ride they take us on. (@Texas_Jon)
Liam:I love comic books. I love them. I have often said that after The Bible, X-Men is the most important literary work in my life. Which is of course ridiculous because X-Men is WAY MORE important than scripture. So when I see a huge announcement like this I get excited. There is a lot to get excited about! Black Panther seems sick, Captain Marvel is a cool idea, and I really like the idea of doing the Infinity Wars. Then again, there is simply the fact that, at this point, we have titles. THAT IS IT, JUST TITLES!
Sure we have the former films, but what franchise, let alone a related series of franchises, has gone for more than 4 movies without crapping the bed? We have no directors, no scripts, not shooting yet. In fact, some of these are follow-ups to movies we haven’t even seen yet. We basically have titles, and the promises those titles make. From those titles alone, half of movie geekdom is swearing their box office allegiance. The reality for me sets in and I am skeptical. Yes, I am glad that Marvel is shooting for the stars with their properties. That is great. I worry though that so many films powered not by artistic vision but by corporate plans have the potential to fail, to simply collapse under their own weight. I get it, bringing that level of cynicism to properties based off comic books is more than ironic. I want the films to be amazing, and I am excited about some of the choices being made. I am going to be patient though, so that I will not feel betrayed by the universe if it turns out that in 4 years, these movies are less interesting to me. (@liamrulz)
Victor:I suppose that if nothing else, I can take comfort in the fact that all those fanboys who’ve been pushing for Captain Marvel and Black Panther movies for the past three years will finally shut up about it!
Just kidding, this is the Internet! No one shuts up about this stuff, ever! Which means we have the next five and a half years to speculate on every last bit of rumor, hearsay, and outright misdirection! (Which, if you’re wondering, is not my idea of a good time.)
Because the vocal contingent for Carol and T’Challa was so loud, this all seemed a foregone conclusion. If Feige didn’t put those two in the pipeline after all the noise, it would basically be leaving money on the table. In fact, so much of this was a series of non-announcements, confirming what sites had already been speculating for quite a while now.
I suppose the biggest surprise was the third Avengers movie being split into two, which is only a surprise in the sense that it’s what EVERY. FUCKING. FRANCHISE. does now, and they managed to hold off until 2018. (Okay, using the subheading Infinity War was something of a surprise as well, but let’s face it: they were never going to call it Infinity Gauntlet, because movies about gloves don’t test well; if they REALLY had balls, they would have went straight up Infinity Crusade…)
The important thing to remember here is that nothing we say matters. Nothing anyone says matters. Until we see some footage, all we’ve got is some titles and a lot of crossed fingers. As Black Bolt might say, the rest is silence. (80% of the population won’t get that joke for another four years. But for us true believers, that shit is unfunny right NOW!) (V.N. Pryor)
Ed:I grew up dreaming about big budget superhero movies in an era when they just weren’t happening. And that fact is immutable. My youth was filled with a distinct lack of superhero films. So frankly, I’ll always be pretty excited about living in this new world where mega-huge superhero films are in high demand and, honestly, tend to be pretty awesome overall. But, and this is a pretty big “but”, the constant barrage of IPs and franchises and tentpoles (not to mention a new era of streaming video pumped directly into my home) have successfully removed much of the awe and wonder from giant announcements such as Marvel’s Phase 3 MCU unveiling.
Will I see every single one of those movies, in theaters, and likely buy the Blu-rays? Yep. Do I think Black Panther and a female-led Ms. Marvel movie could help push genuine diversity in blockbuster films to the mainstream? Sure! But I also feel an overall sense of inevitability and lack of surprise at this announcement which, a few years ago, might have felt seismic. Marvel is at the top of their game right now and their production model is fascinating to behold, but when every movie on the horizon is the BIGGEST MOVIE EVER, it is impossible for me to keep my sense of childlike wonder cranked up to 11. (@Ed_Travis)
Brendan:What excites me about the expansion of the Marvel Universe is the way that Feige and his team seem legitimately concerned with making sure that they speak to a huge swath of audiences and attack every medium. Call it cold-blooded corporate pragmatism, call it a decade later than it should have arrived, but seeing Marvel load its TV and film slate with stories led by women and minorities makes me think that we really have turned a corner with the superhero subgenre.
The easy point of comparison for superhero films has always been Westerns, but as others have pointed out, there’s not a huge range of voices and styles for superhero films as there were among the Westerns of yesteryear, and very few auteurs bending the format to their will (of the modern age of superhero films, only Nolan and del Toro have made films that feel intrinsically forged from their own DNA). But by announcing a lineup that includes the likes of Black Panther and Captain Marvel, I think Marvel has made great strides towards actually living up to that legacy.
By continuing to expand their universe to include different cultures and different cosmic vistas, Marvel is ensuring that the superhero film will continue to be an elastic and eclectic place to be, even if there is a present house style. You can’t make a Black Panther film that plays the same as a Ms. Marvel film, and neither are anything like a Captain America or Iron Man film.
I love Marvel (when they’re not fucking over geniuses) and today’s announcement has me confident that they will remain ahead of the game for years to come. (@TheTrueBrendanF)
Austin:(Reads everyone else’s notes)
What a bunch of A-Holes.
It’ll be interesting to see how Marvel handles the Civil War storyline. The comics version of this is a massive event that concerns pretty much every costumed or super-powered character. With a radically smaller universe on the screen, not to mention the absence of Spidey and the Fantastic Four, this will need to be seriously retooled to work. Limiting this to a single Captain America title seems a good indication that they’re not going overboard with it.
Dr. Strange’s casting hasn’t been formally announced, despite strong indications that Benedict Cumberbatch is nearly on board. So there’s still a chance for Lee Byung Hun.
#LBHforStrange
I love that Marvel has fully embraced the “Universe” part of the Universe. Between Thor and Avengers, we got a taste of the cosmic side of things, finally going full blast with Guardians Of The Galaxy. I can’t wait to see this all pay off in Infinity War. Desperately missing from this picture? Planet Hulk.
I’m not well versed in some of the other new properties that were announced, but I’m thrilled that we’re getting lesser known characters, and specifically a more diversified palette of heroes.
In closing, I wish to formally announce that I am available to write and direct Howard The Duck’s next feature. I’m much too valuable to work for free, but I’ll do it for $1. (@VforVashaw)
Dan:Marvel so far has unleashed hit after hit building a momentum not seen since the early days of Pixar. My primary concern is with a lineup announced taking five years and with every film so intricately interconnected into the fabric of the next, what happens if someone drops the ball or these films just lose the spark that makes them what they are? I also feel Guardians’ success has A LOT to do with this announcement and I would have liked to have seen the “What if Guardians had failed” lineup. I bring up Pixar because both studios practice filmmaking by committee, even though these films have “directors” they are created with an almost assembly line mentality, swapping bumpers and doors when needed and multiple directors DNA on the same film. This process has so far given them hit after hit, but it has also lost Marvel some truly visionary and creative directors, including the man who built their foundation with Iron Man.
My other worry is their volatile relationship with their talent in regards to contracts and pay. Evans is known to be leaving the fold and Downey seems to be negotiating using the press every time he drops an Iron Man quote; this isn’t surprising considering Marvel is notoriously cheap and a bit callous with its talent. This has quietly been building resentment between the studio and the names that carry their films for the last few years and I wouldn’t be surprised if that possibly blew up as well. Contract and pay are the reason some Avengers might be sitting out the first Infinity War entry and the other big question is will people still respond when they re-cast these roles or leave some Avengers out due to a money or contract disputes. (@DanTheFan)
The next few years are going to be a wild ride, True Believers. Excelsior!