We already heard from various sources that we would most likely see teh likes of Dr Strange or Iron Fist make it to the movies at some stage, but now it seems that Marvel have started a whole new smaller movie initiative which could not only bring these guys to the screen much sooner than we thought, but even more obscure characters too.
This from C.H.U.D..
Marvel Studios is currently taking meetings with writers and directors to work on small scale movies based on some of their third tier characters. The movies would cost in the range of 20 to 40 million dollars (very small when we're talking studio films) and would allow them to take risks with less obvious characters and with interesting talent.
Filmmakers are being offered their pick of characters whose names are only familiar to comic fans. Properties like Dr. Strange, Ka-Zar, Luke Cage, Dazzler and Power Pack are among the many that are being tossed around right now. And the attitude seems to be that Marvel is open to bringing any of their characters to the screen at the right price point.
Ka-Zar? Dazzler? Why not! Clearly after the success of
Kick-Ass, a very low budget film by Hollywood standards, Marvel have spotted a gold mine. I mean a Power Pack movie for example, costing over 100 million is a big risk, but costing 20 or so million, and with the seemingly ever increasing popularity of comic based properties has the potential to make big bucks. And smaller movies can tend to attract directors that know how to reign it in and focus more on the story and characters than the big effects sequences so we could be in for a treat. Of course, until any of these projects or indeed the initiative itself is confirmed we can only take C.H.U.D's word on the info, but this would seem like a very savvy studio move to me.