Editorial on Marvel Studios' Phase 3: Figuring Out Kevin Feige's Recent Comments

Editorial on Marvel Studios' Phase 3: Figuring Out Kevin Feige's Recent Comments

Marvel Studios head honcho Kevin Feige recently spoke about movies and ideas post-The Avengers 2. Some of the things he said needed some "reading between the lines", so let's try and figure out what he is really saying...

Editorial Opinion
By TheDailySuperHero - May 19, 2013 09:05 AM EST
Filed Under: Avengers
Source: EW

Recently, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige's spoke about Phase 3 of Marvel Studios' Cinematic Universe to Entertainment Weekly. So let's take a few minutes to try and analyze some of the things Feige said about Act III of the MCU.




On Hulk: “What we’re excited about exploring and expanding is Mark [Ruffalo] — and Banner’s not in Planet Hulk at all.”

Possible Meaning: Feige and company want to explore Bruce Banner just as much, if not more, than the Hulk. And by sending the Hulk to another planet, like in the Planet Hulk comic book story arc, you are not able to focus on Banner at all since that story is very Hulk-centered and focused. So no more Planet Hulk rumors please.




On Doctor Strange:“I would love Strange to be a part of that only because he’s a great character. He’s a great standalone character. He’s got a great origin story, for the most part. And that world of pure magic, we haven’t done yet. There’s a whole supernatural/magic alternate dimension going on in the Marvel comics that we haven’t ever touched on. So I think that’s exciting.”

Possible Meaning: Doctor Strange will be announced at San Diego Comic-Con in July. I'd bet money on it if I was a gambling man.




On another Iron Man movie: “I believe there will be a fourth Iron Man film and a fifth and a sixth and a 10th and a 20th. I see no reason why Tony Stark can’t be as evergreen as James Bond. Or Batman for that matter. Or Spider-Man. I think Iron Man is a character just like that.”

Possible Meaning: Robert Downey Jr.'s days as Tony Stark and Iron Man are numbered. Tough pill to swallow but it's sounding more and more like Downey's next two appearances will be in The Avengers 2 and The Avengers 3 but then a new actor will take over after Phase 3 ends.




On characters who have come back home from other studios: “So Punisher, Ghost Rider,…Blade, all those characters are back. They all have potential, but I think we need to find the right time.”

Possible Meaning: Marvel is obviously happy these characters are back but Disney may be holding them back because Disney frowns upon darker, R-rated movies like these and prefers to max out its films with a PG-13 rating.




On the Inhumans: “Inhumans is cool, they’re really great characters [said while reportedly becoming more animated].” “The most powerful guy is the king who doesn’t say a word and if he does — lookout. That’s awesome. And the notion of the Terrigen Mists, this notion that you go through and don’t know what you’re going to be on the other side, is incredibly compelling dramatically. In other words, all the craziness that comes with Inhumans, we’ve done in the other movies already. But this would have some of the social drama that we haven’t really done yet. [Fox’s] X-Men, obviously, has been touching on that stuff for a while.”

Possible Meaning: Feige really, really wants to get an Inhumans movie into further development and it could be slated for a Phase 3 movie or even just as a standalone movie in the MCU but outside of the phases of films. Just a hunch on this but eventually we will see Marvel Studios releasing non-Phase movies in the near future and the Inhumans could be that first one.




On The Runaways: “It’s a matter of where it fits. The way the business is working now, you either have really inexpensive, sort of surprise movies that can come out and be hits, but don’t cost much. Or you have the big giant summer blockbusters that really swing for the fences. Right now, we’re just swinging for the fences every time. Runaways sort of falls in between those, in a way. We just haven’t found where or how to do it… right now.”

Possible Meaning: The Runaways could be destined to be a television series when/if Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. becomes a hit.




On Marvel Zombies: ”I know… Zombies is such a funny thing because its such a cool comic and it’s such a cool idea, but the bigger profile becomes what starts to happen [with fans]. Are you going to draw figures in chalk with your 3-year-old with Hulk eating someone? Or Captain America with his brains coming out of the top of his head? Probably not.”

Possible Meaning: Not a chance.

How about your thoughts on some of these comments? Agree? Disagree? Do you have a different theory? Please share (like I have to say this) in the comments below.


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ruadh
ruadh - 5/19/2013, 10:16 AM
"Possible Meaning: Marvel is obviously happy these characters are back but Disney may be holding them back because Disney frowns upon darker, R-rated movies like these and prefers to max out its films with a PG-13 rating."

I don't think it's Disney so much as Marvel themselves. Disney has been pretty hands-off with Marvel Studios.

The biggest hurdle for these characters isn't the rating as much as their record so far. Violence won't get you an automatic R-rating, especially if there's not a bunch of blood etc. Nudity and vulgar language will guarantee R more than violence, and that shouldn't be an issue for these movies.

Punisher and Ghost Rider, while both getting sequels, haven't performed nearly at the level Marvel Studios expects. Incredible Hulk made $263 million, but wasn't viewed as a success by the studio, so Ghost Rider and Punisher, and even Blade, just don't seem too viable.
MoonDoggyX
MoonDoggyX - 5/19/2013, 10:33 AM
What Feige is really saying the whole time is... These movies are expensive to make we have to chose which characters marvel studios devolp into movies wisely... Considering the fact that a movie studio puts up all of the money for production and advertising, then they split the box office earnings with the movie theatres. Marvel didn't make their money back with the incredible hulk and barely if at all with captain america.
MoonDoggyX
MoonDoggyX - 5/19/2013, 10:49 AM
...and any characters that marvel has regained the rights is out of the question because tey have already proven to be unprofitible at the box office...
superherofan21
superherofan21 - 5/19/2013, 11:41 AM
Marvel Zombies?
Maybe as an animated film.
TheManFromMars
TheManFromMars - 5/19/2013, 12:02 PM
I never read Runaways, so excuse me if I got this wrong, but aren't their origin that they are a bunch of kids with supervillain parents? How would that work? The MCU is still too young for that. It works in the comics because the Earth-616 is huge with 70 years of history and gazillions of characters. So, we can believe that there are a bunch of "secret" supervillains who had time to raise children till their teen years, but in something as young as the MCU? I don't think so.

Their story will need MASSIVE tweaking. (I'm a aware that "massive tweaking" is an oxymoron)
SpoonWielder
SpoonWielder - 5/19/2013, 1:22 PM
While I like that Blade, Punisher and Ghost Rider are all back with Marvel, not really any of them fit in the current MCU.

If you have Blade come in, it means that there's vampires in that universe. Can you imagine Tony Stark standing beside a vampire? It's just ridiculous.

Punisher and Ghost Rider aren't impossible to put in but again they both don't fit with the tone of the MCU. Ghost Rider will be easier to do after they do Dr. Strange.

The MCU has to take baby steps while doing these movies. The Avengers could not of happened if they haven't made Thor first. Not just to establish characters, but to establish mystical and cosmic elements. It's the same with the future. They can't jump totally into the deep end with far-fetched ideas they have to lay ground-work both tonally and story-wise.
TheManFromMars
TheManFromMars - 5/19/2013, 1:32 PM
I actually think that the problem with the Punisher to fit the MCU is not that he's too violent, but that he kind of lost a bit of his relevance.

The big deal about the Punisher when he was first introduced is that he didn't have any qualms about killing which made a contrast with the other heroes.

In the MCU however, NOBODY has qualms about killing. Hulk kills. Thor kills. Stark kills. Cap kills. The contrast is gone. They really need to amp up his brutality for him to offer something different, which only creates another obstacle.

Shame, because I like Frank.
thebearjew
thebearjew - 5/19/2013, 9:40 PM
compared to hulk does anyone give a sh1t about banner i mean come on hulks a lot of fun now that theyve finally ot his personality right on screen
TheManFromMars
TheManFromMars - 5/19/2013, 11:41 PM
^I do. I've always did. That's why I've always prfered Marvel over DC: It makes me care about the MAN more than the SUPER
TheAbomination
TheAbomination - 5/20/2013, 8:35 AM
All I care about are the Inhumans and Black Panther. Put them in Phase 3 and I'll be a happy camper.
Tainted87
Tainted87 - 5/20/2013, 9:15 AM
Possible meaning to this article: stop trying to over-think things.
EdgyOutsider
EdgyOutsider - 5/20/2013, 10:32 AM
A character like Ghost Rider and DareDevil have proven they can work well without the R rating. Everything else, I pretty much expected.
mook
mook - 5/24/2013, 3:55 AM
"...standalone movie in the MCU but outside of the phases of films. Just a hunch on this but eventually we will see Marvel Studios releasing non-Phase movies..."

I think between Avengers2 and Avengers3 we will see at least 6 films instead of 4.

Some will be sequels to established franchises (Cap3, Thor3 etc) whereas others can be standalone but set in the MCU (under the sea with Namor, off in space with The Inhumans). Others can be origins for new chracters but more linked in to helping move the Phase3 story arc forward.

The end result will be all the introduced characters being involved in some way in Avengers3 for an Infinity Gauntlet style story.
TonyMasters
TonyMasters - 6/10/2013, 6:56 PM
@Crossbones

Are you saying that Ghost Rider and Daredevil did alright as movies? Because after watching both Ghost riders I was disgusted by what they did to the franchise. Daredevil was retarded, the only thing that was done right was the casting for Kingpin... RIP Michael Duncan... :(
EdgyOutsider
EdgyOutsider - 6/26/2013, 1:31 PM
@TonyMasters: No, they obviously weren't good but by no means is an R rated movie necessary for them. I meant it in the sense that they've proven they could work without the R rating, they just need the right creative team.
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