THERE IS A BIG SPOILER IN THIS!!!
You see, even I think I obsess about this far too much...
At least three people I know have thrown down the gauntlet that I won't be able not to like the final Guardians of the Galaxy film; even one of my closest friends and someone as cynical as I am about the entire MCU admitted to it being a great film which he cried like a baby at.
I feel like this is a futile challenge despite there being this underlying vivisection subplot and the law of averages says I should at least like one of the three films; but you see for some strange reason the fact that no one dies has disappointed me so much I'm going to go into watching this film with a determined I'm-not-going-to-like-this attitude - the same attitude I had when going into the most recent Dr Strange film and that got panned (by me). So I am biased by my own preconceptions, but, hey, they're mine; I own them, so tough. That's not going to affect most other people, it's just my own little peculiarity.
The thing is as much as I'm growing to hate the MCU, I'm currently hopelessly obsessed with it; it's become something of a 'hobby' that fills the void left by things I stopped doing at the end of October, last year. I spent too much time on line doing frivolous things and then I was always complaining about never having any time to do anything else - writing specifically. Plus, Marvel and the MCU is a subject I have many years experience of and it is still reeling from one crisis to another. So when news arrived that audience reaction to Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 was 96% positive but box office returns were 'steady, nothing to get excited about,' it got me thinking again. Thinking about this entire MCU/Superhero film thing and coming at it from a, hopefully, different angle.
I've also been on the Tube of You again, watching stuff I wouldn't normally see on TV but doesn't require access to the hub of porn. Someone had somehow collected every single blooper from every Marvel film from 2008 into one long It'll Be All Marvel on the Night thing and do you know what made me smile? What made me laugh? What made me yearn for simple Marvel films? Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson, that's what. We miss them but I think the MCU misses them more.
Look at that original Avengers line-up; think of it a little like the Beatles. Two of them are now dead, one of them might as well be and the rest are getting old or don't have the same impact.
Hawkeye is deaf and relegated to a reasonably good but poorly received TV series, oh and the actor - Jeremy Renner - almost died running himself over with a snowplough last winter, so he's out of the picture for an indefinite period of time. Thor has become a parody and what gravitas he once had has been lost in the name of comedy (and now Chris Hemsworth has taken an indefinite break from filmmaking because of a history of family illness), which leaves the Hulk, which Marvel can't even use in a Hulk film for another two years because of protracted film and television copyright laws with Universal Pictures. These three aren't going to save the franchise.
It seems that with Sam Wilson (Captain Falcon), Yelena Belova (White Widow) and Riri Williams (Ironheart Power Ranger), Marvel hope they have their icons' replacements and, on paper, they do but this isn't really what fans want. I know that 'fans' are not the people who make these films lots of money, but by the films' very existence and the illusion of an ongoing story or stories to be invested in the MCU creates new fans, the same way soap operas and ongoing TV series gain new fans. It is repeat business that the entertainment industry depends on, after all.
I've talked about Ironheart in another blog, but this Power Rangers-styled Iron Man replacement is being targeted at a younger audience while simultaneously will be part of the the Young Avengers. Riri and her Ironheart were both introduced in the unbelievably dull Wank Ada Forever and were due to get their own series later this year but that's been thrown into doubt by Disney's decision to limit Marvel content on their channel to just two TV series a year. One of the main problems Marvel has is Ironheart is neither Tony Stark nor Robert Downey Jr.
Yelena is a good character on her own and is probably the best of the replacements, but depends how and where she's used. Sam is never going to escape the fact he's a black man playing the symbol of USA and it doesn't matter how good he is the USA is a racist country so he's never going to be as popular as Steve Rogers. Kate Bishop is probably going to be as anodyne as Clint Barton was in the films and we've even got a young Hulk (although we won't know what he does until next summer at the earliest). The thing is none of these characters - these replacement Avengers - are remotely big enough to star in their own major motion picture and without wishing to sound horrible, neither is Ms Marvel, Moon Knight, Agatha Harkness, Echo or She-Hulk. Nothing Marvel has introduced since 2018 has done enough to restore faith in the franchise.
I don't really know where the Marvel Comics Universe is now. They might not have a Steve Rogers, a Tony Stark or a Natasha Romanoff any longer and it might look more like the MCU, but unless things have changed that drastically in comics the originals tend to come back - usually for the worst.
One of the reasons I have such a fondness for the DC Comics crossover/maxi-series Crisis on Infinite Earths is because the Flash I had grown up with - Barry Allen - not only dies in it (actually dies not just pretends) but he does it in such a futile way, it is all about his heroics which mean nothing in the end. When I stopped reading comics Barry Allen was still dead and there was some order in the comic book universes. A few years later they managed to bring Barry Allen back. His replacement, Wally West, remained a Flash but, you know, he was always just a tribute act.
One thing that needs to be clarified about this specific bit of news about TV scheduling is that all existing projects will be used - somewhere - and won't be held over for an indefinite period, they simply haven't been scheduled. However, Disney has told Marvel that from 2024 they must only produce two major TV series per calendar year. As one industry professional said to me, "When you start setting limits for things to come you're telling the people producing these things that they won't be around when the last episodes are shown." However, the same industry pro told me, "This is a wake-up call and it will be positive. The guys in charge now know they need to focus. They need to be tight and tell the stories people want to see. They can't afford to carry on doing this experimental stuff. They need to get back to basics and tell good stories. If they do that Marvel has another 15 years at the top."
Except they don't. None of the newer characters have had anything like the same impact on the film world or the fans lives. Even with the greatest stories imaginable, the players left on the field aren't a patch on the ones who've bowed out.
Of course the problem with real life is that Downey, Evans and Johansson are all getting older, the longer you leave it the more likely they're not going to be able to pull it off without a lot of cgi and body doubles and just how long do they do it for? Robert Downey Jr is 58; will he still be able to play Iron Man in 12 years? Chris Evans might be able to get away with it for a few more years and with some extensive underwiring so could Scarlett, but have we ever considered they might not want to?
If they could lure them back it would be with the obvious time constraints, the stories and direction would need to be good and there's no guarantee of these things succeeding; more likely is bringing all of them back for one or two films in which the conclusion is 'Phase 6' where everything starts again. If I was Kevin Feige at the moment, I'd reschedule the Fantastic Four film for after the final Avengers/Kang film and have them do what they did once before - start the universe. Have the heroes win but everything starts again pre-superheroes in a new world with lots of the multiverse running through it. Start the MCU again to the point of calling it Phase 6 - New Beginnings. Then cast your new Avengers young enough to stick around for 20 years or more. This is what they're trying to do but this won't work because none of them are the A-list quality of Evans, Downey and Johansson.
I think there's a belief within the MCU that the films will act the same way as the comics once did and many people will blindly follow the piper on whatever journey he takes them on, but that's not the case. Guardians of the Galaxy vol.3 has been given excellent reviews, the critics like it, the fans are saying it's the best film since Endgame (no artistic high bar there then?) and yet it's opening weekend take was good but not as expected adding fuel to the 'superhero fatigue' theory now circulating openly all over social media and in entertainment publications.
The writers' strike in Hollywood has allowed Marvel to officially delay the production of Blade, which, it was revealed, hadn't even begun shooting despite being scheduled for release in 15 months - most Marvel films are in the can for months, in many cases almost a year prior to release. Depending on how long the strike lasts, we might see a lot of things that are scheduled get put back even further; this will not have a galvanising effect, far from it. It's likely to make it more difficult for the franchise to re-establish itself. Just look at the post-Covid situation and how the entire movie industry was in limbo for almost two years.
Then there's the situation with Jonathan Majors; he appeared in court again, via Zoom, on May 8 and the case was adjourned until the end of the month when revised pleas will be made and charges will be reassessed. However, in this world where Volksgerichtshof (the people's court) is king because of social media, there will always be the assumption that there's no smoke without fire and while Majors arguably has the rest of 2023 to exonerate himself - although he's scheduled to play a [ahem] major part in Loki - the feeling inside the film industry news and gossip machine is that he's now a busted flush, especially as Disney is concerned.
It does seem that the writers' strike has struck at a good time as far as Marvel/Disney is concerned, but delays will have their own problems and now the odds being heavily stacked against Marvel/Disney isn't an over exaggeration.
Yahoo - not the best source of news I would imagine - is running a story this week saying that, "However, [while] no decision on the actor’s [Jonathan Majors] future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been made. Sources familiar with the situation reveal that Marvel 'has already started preparations' on recasting the role of Kang the Conqueror should they need to."
TV takes centre stage on June 21 with the release of the six-part Secret Invasion and given it has a cast that would grace a decent feature film expectations are very high and yet very little is actually known about the series - it's about an invasion/infiltration of bad Skrulls who have taken over key positions within the world's governments and it's down to Nick Fury, with help from Talos, Jim Rhodes, Maria Hill and a couple of others to prevent the world from being taken over by evil aliens. It certainly looks as though it ticks a lot of boxes and on the back of critical success for the third Guardians picture, it will certainly buoy expectations in lieu of the fact that Marvels is due in November.
However, before that comes Loki and apparently the actual release date was going to be late summer but because there now might need to be reshoots, depending on the outcome of Majors' court case, it is now likely to be October. Early rumours suggest the series is about Loki and Mobius travelling the multiverse trying to track down rogue Kangs. If that's the case then I expect it'll take more than a few reshoots if Majors departs the MCU unceremoniously. And remember Majors is no James Gunn, he's a black New Yorker so memories are going to last a lot longer, even if he's innocent.
Delays, cancellations, changes in schedules (Marvels' was announced before the strike), people being fired, uninspiring films and announcements, everything points towards the MCU struggling the further down the line we go and that doesn't even factor in changes to viewing habits, an aging audience not being replaced and the novelty factor having worn off. When there's at least six superhero films a year and your company is producing ⅔ of them you need to make them a spectacle not just another instalment in a weekly soap opera. I expect the hope was to generate as much interest in the film and TV as the comics had, but obviously with a huge audience and while you can keep comics fans loyal with the odd duff issue film goers are a much more discerning mob.
There is a feeling that the MCU is going to try and return to some of the basics that made it so successful in an attempt to milk as much as they can from the fading light being cast on superhero films. Forbes reports on the difference between critics and fan responses to these films, suggesting Marvel is more concerned with fan reaction and box office returns than critical acclaim and that way is fraught with problems because takings are still down on where they would have liked them to be and this is an example of the Law of Diminishing Returns.
***
A couple of rumours I picked up but worth noting.
Adam Driver has reportedly accepted the role as Reed Richards in the Fantastic Four film - it is the first bit of casting and has somewhat spoiled the desire some fans had for John Krasinski to return to the role he had in the Dr Strange film.
Paul Bettany suggested last week that he was to return to the role of the voice of Jarvis for the Armour Wars film. If this is true, then we might also learn what happened to Tony Stark's workshops and toys. This also seems to discount the idea that RDJ might make a return in the film as a hologram.
No comments:
Post a Comment