Marvel Cinematic Universe general stuff

Penn · 24-02-2023 7:27pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120284254#Comment_120284254

Oh definitely. Blade was the original Nov 2023 release but they rushed into that and film ended up having to be delayed. Pushing The Marvels out to November helps give more time for editing and VFX, gives some breathing room after GOTG3 (which will no doubt blow it out of the water), and BP2 did well in the November slot.

If Blade was still on track for Nov, no doubt we'd be getting The Marvels in July with dicey VFX regardless.

pixelburp · 24-02-2023 8:15pm

I'd debate the clout of that Hunger Games Prequel; YA has kinda burned out as a hot box-office prospect, while the prequel idea itself (young President Snow??) isn't itself especially enticing IMO. Just feels a few years too late to catch the series at its height.

If you wanted to make a Deadpool of potential blockbuster flops, I'd have that far enough up the list. Can't say the MCU would have too much to fear IMO during that section. Dune 2 will be interesting as a minor success story (adult oriented sci-fi blockbuster!)

Loughc · 25-02-2023 11:10pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120265745#Comment_120265745

Things aren’t working in the MCU since Endgame. A chance of tact is badly needed.

silverharp · 25-02-2023 11:16pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120288952#Comment_120288952

it's up against Cocaine Bear, what do you expect lol

Foxtrol · 27-02-2023 8:59pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120288952#Comment_120288952

Didn't you move the goal posts after the first weekend results to say that your point about the MCU 'rapidly dying' had nothing to do with box office? Interesting you now want to talk about it...

MCU movies have performed very well since Endgame - just look at the top grossing movies each year.

At this stage, they're usually just front loaded, with plenty of other pandemic era releases having seen similar falls: “Black Widow” (67.8%), “Thor: Love and Thunder” (67.6%), “Spider-Man: No Way Home” (67.5%) and “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” (67%).

Anyone with expectations of Endgame type performance of movies have simply set unrealistic expectations.

That is an incredible clickbait headline though, I'm sure it drove some nice traffic for them.

Cotts72 · 01-03-2023 5:04am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120261956#Comment_120261956

She's hinting that Steven Yeun may be cast as Sentry

Loughc · 07-03-2023 12:07pm

https://cosmicbook.news/the-marvels-reshoots-dumping-goofy-footage-following-ant-man-bombing

Good to see Marvel trying to learn from their mistakes. Antman bombing bad in the box office shook them I’d say

flazio · 07-03-2023 12:15pm

Probably means the Kahn family are about to be left on the cutting room floor.

Cosmicbook is painting a picture that Ms Marvel is the least watched Marvel show on Disney+ because it was sh!t. In my opinion, certainly not the case. It suffered from being released alongside the business end of Obi-Wan Kenobi, something Disney tried to correct with She Hulk coming out on Thursdays giving Andor a run on Wednesdays. It did well in audience appreciation indexes. Weak point was the protagonists in my opinion.

Loughc · 07-03-2023 12:19pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120324398#Comment_120324398

I actually really liked ms marvel despite it not being aimed at my demographic. It was dripping in charm.

pixelburp · 07-03-2023 12:24pm

Ms. Marvel was also quite deliberately aimed at a younger audience; I had always presumed the older, crustier, grumpier MCU audience demos out there would have switched off. I'd imagine for Disney it did just fine with the target market(s) it was aimed it. Never watched it myself, but that's because I could clearly see it wasn't for me - but as we know, that often doesn't stop some online cohorts from getting angry.

TBH I'd shed no tears if The Marvels never came out; MCU Captain Marvel has been such a poor character, an overpowered Superman stand-in played with leaden sincerity by Brie Larsen. On the fence about her as an actor overall, but my eyes have glazed over every time she appeared in something. I'd go so far as to say Lashana Lynch showed wayyyy more star power & charisma in her brief little cameo in Dr. Strange 2, than Larsen has managed in her various MCU moments.

peteeeed · 08-03-2023 8:22am

Jon Bernthal Returning as the Punisher for ‘Daredevil: Born Again’

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/daredevil-born-again-casts-jon-bernthal-punisher-1235342229/

nix · 09-03-2023 2:14am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120328398#Comment_120328398

I cant get excited for that show at all, both of them will be toned down and nothing like what they were like in the netflix shows. He's going to be a neutered Punisher that doesnt kill 🙄

PTH2009 · 09-03-2023 2:28am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120328398#Comment_120328398

Felt the Neflix version did not fit into the world of the MCU

Gangland war, shady drug deals/bars etc in the same universe as a talking trees/animals, aliens, demi gods etc

Sure a superheros could easily get the task of eliminating all that stuff

Loughc · 12-03-2023 9:31pm

Disney CEO Bob Iger wants fewer sequels in the MCU, and this is likely fueled by the veritable failure of Thor and Ant-Man's latest movies.

As I said previously the current incarnation of the MCU is dying. This is more proof. Looks like it’ll just be origin movies and team up movies going forward.

I imagine after Phase 6, continuity will be gone out the window completely and connectivity swapped out with disconnected solo projects.

Been a hell of a ride but all good things must come to an end.

Penn · 12-03-2023 9:47pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120324370#Comment_120324370

Sorry but that's one of the worst written articles I've read in ages, and is basing it on "...thewatcher_2099 Twitter account who appears to be new to the scoop game..."

There might be reshoots etc, but I'd call into question the bulk of that article.

Loughc · 12-03-2023 9:53pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120350986#Comment_120350986

There’s a good few outlets on Twitter confirming they are toning down the comedy aspects as they feel Antman and Thor’s last outing failed to hit the mark and tone wise the comedy reduced the stakes.

Making the marvels more serious makes more sense.

flazio · 12-03-2023 10:23pm

Having fun in your comic movies has been the stand out feature of the marvel movies. Good things coming to an end is only acceptable if something else good takes its place.

Everyone keeps telling me how great The Batman is but I tried twice to watch it and turned it off after 15 minutes because it was just so damn miserable.

The MCU is so much above fighting Street level drug Lords at this stage.

Penn · 13-03-2023 9:22am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120351013#Comment_120351013

Oh yeah I don't deny that may be true, just that the article itself is really awful and very poorly sourced.

pixelburp · 13-03-2023 9:34am

As always, Hollywood learning all the wrong lessons, if that story's true.

I can get behind fewer sequels: a saturated market - going double with Disney+ now increasingly the table - will only reduce the value of a commodity, the comedy is not the problem in of itself.

Love & Thunder was crap in part cos the "comedy" was Taika Waititi not even trying for half-árse, let alone full. Any script that used the whole "...he's behind me, isn't he?" gag isn't a sign of of peak comedic writing. I think the MCU got increasingly lazy WRT comedy and thought it could just throw zingers into a script and call it a day to bookend the Pre-Vis action scenes; that worked when at least you had writers trying. Say what you will about Whedon - and I have - he was the kind of that kind of dialogue.

I doubt the MCU is gonna hard-pivot towards the kind of overcranked angst that has saddled the DCEU of late, but I'd not throw the baby out with the bathwater just yet - they just gotta make more of an effort.

silverharp · 13-03-2023 9:53am

One point I saw being posited is that fans dont want to be tied into watching 20 movies and a bunch of tv series just to follow a story fully.

Cotts72 · 13-03-2023 10:56am

I don't mind sequels if they are done right and if it's the right character ...the likes of Spiderman,iron man,captain America all worked because they are solid characters with decent catalogues of villains available to work with

The likes of ant man and back widow aren't hugely popular to fill seats. I agree about Thor..love and thunder ruined him well he's been dross since dark world. All he serves as now is a comedy character with a low IQ instead of the powerful god/scientist in the comics

Foxtrol · 13-03-2023 6:18pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120352296#Comment_120352296

Agree, the lack of drawing power of the remaining heroes is really not getting the attention it deserves. Once Blackwidow wasnt the first female MCU movie it was never going to do good numbers and neither Dr Strange nor Ant-man movies brought in audiences previously. MCU needed to reset but they likely put too much faith into these backup characters and tried to bleed too much out content out of them. Phase 4 should have ended with Fantastic 4, not it be towards the end of Phase 5 (though I do understand this if they're using it to hype Phase 6).

It was mentioned earlier that the writers aren't 'trying', I think the opposite is true. They've heard complaints regarding 'the formula' and have tried to do different things and it hasn't worked each time. The biggest box office successes outside of MCU in post COVID period were formulaic sequels. They didn't try to be something they weren't.

Still to see any evidence that the MCU is moving away from its interconnected approach. This Quantumania 'failure' would still be top 10 in the box office last year. It would be idiotic to blow up something that is still incredibly successful, especially before introducing mutants to it and all the potential story lines.

Cotts72 · 14-03-2023 12:27am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120354495#Comment_120354495

They should have used this phase to usher in the fantastic 4 or X-Men to keep momentum going but as you said they tried to elevate bit part players into prime time spots and failed. Even the end credit scenes nowadays fail to build any buzz like they used

Guardians and the marvels are really going to have to knock it out of the park and map out the future direction but will probably just setup secret invasion and thunderbolts

Penn · 14-03-2023 9:23am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120354495#Comment_120354495

A big problem is where they're pulling the writers from. A quick look at the filmography of a lot of the Phase 4 & 5 films shows that a lot of the writers (with the exception of the likes of Waititi, Coogler, Gunn) have come from Rick & Morty, or American Dad, or Robot Chicken. The writer for Quantumania has pretty much only written for Rick & Morty and Jimmy Kimmel (chat show + awards shows). A lot of them have gone from comics or small things, to Marvel TV shows or one-shots, then are writers or co-writers for giant blockbuster films.

Not that someone can't be incredibly good or turn out a great script, but so far it's not showing itself to be the case.

James Gunn has shown that you can take the most obscure "Who?" characters from the comics and make something terrific with them, but only if the writing is there. Whereas you can have a third Ant-Man film, setting up Kang as the next Big Bad, and if the writing isn't there it's just going to fall flat.

pixelburp · 14-03-2023 9:35am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120355878#Comment_120355878

The Dr. Strange 2 mid-credit was the precise moment I thought the concept needed to be retired. Charlize Theron playing a relatively deep-cut character was just like ... "uh, I don't care anymore, no matter how seriously you portend danger, Charlize". I'd consider myself quite knowledgable of much of the MArvel bench, but even I'm struggling these days. The very end-credits scenes are at least played for laughs, and these days can be ignored if you don't care too much.

If they're gonna be used, they should be used like Wakanda Forever: that was possibly the best use of the format in a long while. Instead of some niche character being introduced in a "this character's really important you guys!" swing, it was a neat little bookend to the characters' stories within the film you just watched. It didn't have that jarring sense of disconnect, coupled with the ongoing sense no single film is its own beast.

TheIrishGrover · 14-03-2023 11:45am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120356342#Comment_120356342

If the Post Credit sequences mad sense/were earned, I have no problem:

Fury at the end of Ironman
Thanos' couple of appearances
Loki with the Tesseract

Mainly because we already knew that this is the angle they were going down. We knew there was going to be a Thor movie, we knew or assumed they were aiming for an Avengers Teamup and that Thanos would eventually come into play. But, as you say, especially Dr Strange 2: It's a case of setting up another whacky adventure. Remember: Spiderman's reveal as Peter Parker came mid or post credit sequence. that's CRAZY!!! and on top of that you had Fury in space. I know, setting up Secret Invasion but jeez. Really? For cryin' out Loud you had Patton Oswald and yer man from One Direction turning up at the end of Eternals!

So I love the standalone/funny ones: I mean Ash beating himself up.... AGAIN. Banner "I'm not that kind of doctor" and, probably my favourite at the end of Spiderman 1 "Patience. Sometimes it's worth it. Sometimes.... (sigh) not so much" (Oh no there was a mid-credit bit with Michael Keaton...)

(Actually, wasn't Captain America waking up in modern day New York a post credit sequence?) Won't someone think of the ~~children~~.... I mean cinema staff who need to clean the place before the next showing...

Penn · 14-03-2023 11:52am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120356775#Comment_120356775

No, Cap waking in modern New York was the very end of the film. The post-credits for that film was just a trailer for The Avengers.

I agree that the post-credit scenes (and even mid-credits scenes) need a bit of re-balancing. Make people hyped for one of the next films, rather than hinting at something that could be years down the line. Definitely the worst was the Eternals credit scenes with Harry Styles showing up as Thanos' brother, something so poorly explained and could be years before it's even mentioned again. That one really annoyed me and was just terribly done (and that's ignoring the annoyance of having Harry Styles as Thanos' brother....)

TheIrishGrover · 14-03-2023 11:57am

Especially as it's most likely NOT gonna happen at this stage

pixelburp · 14-03-2023 12:16pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120356775#Comment_120356775

I presume now that Kang is introduced as the coming Big Bad, we'll start getting mid-credits sequences of a type we saw with Thanos.

Penn · 14-03-2023 12:20pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120356818#Comment_120356818

Fingers crossed anyway that the Poochies died on their way back to their home planet.

Marvel Cinematic Universe general stuff

Comments