Okay so I think Marvel has done an excellent job so far with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I think the whimsical weaving of characters and narrative mirrors the comic universe in a perfect silver screen way. The next step (after Avengers) is to continue delivering strong character-based films that focus on the main plot rather than the wider universe, only making minor references to other films etc. Also this is my first article so please, go easy on me and the casting is just to give an idea of what type of actor should be in the role and I am willing to take criticism on casting and plots and anything as I realise everything I say could be hated but let’s hope not!
I do also acknowledge I do not own any of the names, place names etc and all belong to Marvel Entertainment and Walt Disney.
Iron Man: Heart of Darkness (Shane Black, 2013)
I, unlike many others, liked Iron Man 2 however I do agree with criticism that it lost sight and uniqueness and became just a prologue for Avengers. This is why I think Shane Black needs to get Iron Man 3 back on track with a film that, tonally, I’d have a lot darker.
The film would kick off with a fight between Iron Man and Sinclair Abbott/Spymaster, someone who tried to replicate a suit and failed and Tony thrashes him, conveying again how Tony works on his own. A lot of the film would be based in china and would feature the love interest Rumiko Fujikawa as a rival to Pepper and who teases Tony. Gene Kahn/Mandarin would be the main villain and would be revealed to be the head of the “Ten Rings” organisation from the first film.
The rings would be something like a series of problems/narrative disruptions and would heavily involve science (and also I’d have them made of vibranium as a little hint) they could still have some alien back-story with references to the other world from Thor and also hints at magic from the upcoming Doctor Strange, if done right it could be really convincing and not feel to “disney”. Stark would face off against Mandarin in the climax and would leave Tony almost dead, this would be a fight against a lot of different things happening rather than just one “big bad” villain. Tony could really let loose here as I’d have his world come down around him and see him more vulnerable than we did in IM2.
War Machine would be a main character in the film however would not have gone with Tony to China and therefore wouldn’t take part in the final battle. Morgan Stark (Tony's cousin) would appear as trying to buy more shares in Stark Industries while in China. Black Widow, Maria Hill, Captain America and Nick Fury would all make minor appearances at the beginning of the film.
New cast would be: Ken Watanabe as Mandarin, Fann Wong as Rumiko Fujikawa, Eric Dane as Spymaster and Karl Urban as Morgan Stark.
Thor II (Brian Kirk, 2013)
It well and truly blows that Brannagh won’t be returning but I’ve heard rumours of Kirk taking the chair and while he hasn’t got much cinematic experience, his TV credits are brilliant. He knows how to work a story and has worked on a variety of shows including Game of Thrones, all of which I think are very well presented and I’d look forward to Kirk’s take on the god of thunder.
One thing I definitely think is a MUST is seeing the other realms. I’d have Enchantress as the main villain and she could use the dark elves from Svartalfheim as her soldiers or servants of something, let them loose and see a full war with the Asgardians and the light elves from Alfheim against them.
Thor is a brilliant character as are the warrior three (and Sif) but I don’t think we saw enough fighting in the first instalment. Not saying it should be full on action but it should have a few more epic moments from the mighty Thor.I think more moments and hints at the love story would work here and Thor goes to protect Midgard from the Enchantress and here Jane Foster could be a strong love interest. The first film set up the love story but it didn’t really delve in to it much. I did like this though as we got a solid origin story.
Maybe by the end of the film Thor could be made king of Asgard as Odin steps down. It would see the character grow yet again from his experiences and possibly bring Jane to his home or something. A new bifrost would be good and possibly a new addition to the cats with Hercules and even a cameo from Loki (depending on Avengers ofcourse). I’d scatter clips and hints to Odin’s treasure room as well especially on the infinity gauntlet for some future films.
I don’t quite know what I’m talking about when it comes to Thor but I gave it a shot with what I knew. Helen Hunt could be a good Enchantress (debateable?), and I don’t really know for Hercules. Someone like Gerard Butler of Vince Vaughn comes to mind but I know they’re far too comedic nowadays even after Butler’s 300.
Doctor Strange (Alfonso Cuarón, 2014)
Exploring the magic side of the universe would be great fun and I think it needs to be done. Stephen Strange would be the cocky, egotistic surgeon who is almost as full of himself as Tony Stark. He would be shown to be very rich and with sports cars and a large penthouse and in hospital scenes he would be very talented but also lacking in caring for patients. I would even include a scene with Tony Stark and Happy Hogan near the beginning of the film where they come in with Happy injured from boxing against Tony. Strange would pretend to be a friend of Stark to impress some girls and gets Stark to play along, promising him one of the girls. The film would be a very magical event but coated with comedic moments to keep it light-hearted.
Following the basic origin, a car accident would take away Strange’s use of his hands and he would gradually sell his possessions to pay for medical expenses. Wong would first appear here and leaves him a map to get to the home of the Ancient One would can help him. Here Strange would learn the ways of Magic from the Sorcerer Supreme and be held as the next Supreme. This angers fellow, arrogant magician, Baron Mordo and he turns and releases Dormammu who would feature as the main villain.
Doctor Strange would grow throughout the film as a person and learn to appreciate basic human emotions and values. The love story would be minimal with Clea but it would be seeded in every now and then. The costume would not be as comic book, it would be very china-dress-robe-like. I would try to avoid too many similarities with Batman Begins but with Strange’s origin, it might be hard to stray completely away.
I’d have Strange return to being a Doctor with his healed hands and have Nick Fury or some S.H.I.E.L.D. representative come to hire him by the end of the film, bringing Strange in to the universe fully. In my head, Ken Leung plays Wong, Naomi Watts as Clea, Chow Yun-fat as Ancient One, Hiroyuki Sanada as Baron Mordo, Vigo Mortensen as Dormammu and Patrick Dempsey as Doctor Strange.
Captain America: The New World (Joe Johnston, 2014)
The first film was done brilliantly and was done in such a way that it was set over many years and there is still a lot of room to go back and tell stories from that time. I think the sequel could deal with a lot of that very well and go back and tell stories of Peggy Carter and Steve in the war. I’d have the film half set in modern times and half set in WWII. Sharon Carter/Agent 13 would be a big character in the modern time parts and would be asking Steve questions about the war and bringing up the stories.
The main villain in modern times would be Baron von Strucker and how he and reinstated HYDRA and plans to carry on the Red Skull’s ideals. The plot would weave in and out of present and past and I’d have constant similarities which would lead to destroying Strucker.
HYDRA would not be as big and would only have few soldiers under Strucker’s command. The film would not be a massive war film like the last instead it would be a bit more about solving puzzles and a lot about nostalgia with Cap revisiting Queens and experiencing the new world he has found himself in.
The love story between Sharon and Cap would be hinted at and they would flirt and tease but it would constantly come down to he loved Peggy.
This film is the hardest for me as I don’t know much Cap history and I think a lot has already been done with him in CATFA, I think the jumping around time zones could be something that could work really well and would see returns for all the Howling Commandos. Steve would hate the world he lives in at first but come to like it with Sharon by his side.
Casting for this one is hard. Not many new characters would be introduced as it would have Steve, Bucky, Dum Dum all from WWII and only really Sharon (I assume is the girl at the end of CATFA) and Baron von Strucker are new to him. So for Strucker there are a few options, someone older that probably suits the character more like Derek Mears or maybe someone younger like Matt Damon. I’d personally make him younger for the same reason Justin Hammer was made younger as it rivals the hero more and makes them seem more equal.
S.H.I.E.L.D. (J.J. Abrams, 2015)
Okay now for me this is the fun one. I realise many people don’t want a S.H.I.E.L.D. film and think it unnecessary but hear me out for I think it would be a brilliant film and here is how I would do it. I don’t really like the idea of a separate film for the popular characters Black Panther and Ant-man so I would have them both in this film and would basically be a collaboration origin story scattered with characters we have already been introduced to making it familiar yet also refreshing to the audience. It would also serve as a somewhat solo adventure for Fury for I do not believe he needs a full solo film but he would get a lot of action and possibly back-story here.
The film would centre a lot around Africa and the origin of vibranium in Wakanda. Flashbacks would have a young Nick Fury with, the then head of S.H.E.I.L.D., Rick Stoner and Simon Savage (also with a cameo from Howard Stark) in Africa talking with T’Chaka (the Black Panther of that time) and negotiating about vibranium.
Modern times would see Hank Pym as a scientist for S.H.I.E.L.D. experimenting with particles with his assistant Janet van Dyne. Ulysses Kraw would be the main villain and would be trying to get to Wakanda. T’Challa would find Fury as an old friend of his father and we would see how Man-Ape took the throne and banished T’Challa. He warns Fury about Kraw and S.H.I.E.L.D. go to Africa.
Granted I’m not sure how the overall plot would work with secondary villains but I’m really sure all these origins could be combined in to one film and be done successfully. You could even have the Hulk running riot in Africa being chased by Thaddeus E. “Thunderbolt” Ross and treat this as an on-going Hulk story.
The main narrative would follow Black Panther and how the ins and outs of S.H.I.E.L.D. work; it would be more of an espionage film which is why I chose J.J.Abrams. He did one of the Mission Impossible films and he did Star Trek showing his expansive diversity in film-making also with Super-8 out recently he has gained a lot of credibility so I believe he is the right choice. I think this film could be very different from other Marvel films and not focus too much on the Superhero thing, keeping it fitting in with the realistic universe, contrasting Doctor Strange a lot. I’d just love to see S.H.I.E.L.D. agents running through the jungle with Nick Fury in the lead.
Also with Ant-man in this film I would have it allude to Ultron, having plans for him or something Pym’s workstation in S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, setting him up for a place in a future Ant-man solo film however not for the next Avengers.
As far as casting goes: Nathan Fillon as Hank Pym/Ant-Man, Michelle Monaghan as Janet van Dyne/Wasp, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Black Panther, Hugh Laurie as Ulysses Kraw, Jeffery Dean Morgan as G.W. Bridge, Harrison Ford as Simon Savage, John C. McGinley as Rick Stoner, Denzel Washington as T’Chaka, Michael Clarke Duncan as Man-Ape and Morgan Freeman as N’Gassi. Obviously as it’s S.H.I.E.L.D. there would be a lot of familiar faces with Sharon Carter (from Captain America ending), Phil Coulson, Black Widow, Clint Barton, Maria Hill and the brilliant Nick Fury.
Avengers: Annihilation (Joss Whedon, 2016)
My run of films would culminate in another Avengers film, not knowing how the first one is going to shape-up all of this is guess work and will probably be proved impossible come 2012 but I want to give it a go nonetheless. Also not knowing how the film is going to be (though I predict masterpiece) I am keeping Whedon as director. I have a lot of faith in him and I am sure he will deliver, this leads me to see no reason to replace him quite yet but if he was to be replaced I’d like to see somebody just as fan-boyish.
First off, the villain for this film would be Thanos. He would have the infinity gauntlet and trying to rule over each of the realms one by one. He would be using an army of Skrulls (as long as they weren’t in the first one I’m saing) as well as maybe dark elves from Thor II. As a very big villain he could have some great action scenes and it would really take all the Avengers to get together and defeat him. The Skrulls would just be fun as you could kill hundreds of them on screen and not have it as an 18 rating.
Now this film would include an expanded Avengers team with the return of Doctor Strange, Ant-man, Wasp and Black Panther. However, all these characters would not be as central to the plot as the original line-up. Ant-Man and Wasp would remain just scientists really, only experimenting with particles and weapons and maybe trying the Ant-man suit at the climax.
Doctor Strange would not play a key part but would be used mainly as a helper to the main team, kind of second line-up and behind the scenes. I think he would not be the properly fighting type and has been taught peacefulness. He would be a really loveable character still but not integral to the narrative although I’d have him use a lot of magic in the last massive battle scene where you’d have all the characters trying together.
Black Panther would be there as a representative of Wakanda at first and gets dragged in to the fighting like the rest of the characters. Mainly interested in his countries survival, he is not interested in saving America that much and sees himself as the Cap America of Wakanda.
S.H.I.E.L.D. agents would get some great action scenes as they fight off the Skrull armies with G.W. Bridge being a very comedic character that likes big guns etc. Black Widow and Hawkeye would have some kind of romantic involvement in the film which would be the only love story and it would be miniscule. Nick Fury would really get his game on and you’d see some real fighting from him and maybe more of a ruthless side as he could be willing to sacrifice whatever to do his job (kind of similar to some variations of Fury we have seen over the years).
Cap and Iron Man would continue to bicker but both would not have respect for one another and would be a good fighting team. Hulk would have gained some control and would see some very good rampage scenes through the armies of the Skrulls. Thor would possibly be held responsible for the emergence of Thanos and the Skrulls as he is meant to guard the universe and did not see this coming.
While some may hate the idea, I think at least one of the characters needs to die. Maybe not a main character but a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent like G.W. or Sharon Carter, Kate Neville, Jasper Sitwell or dare I say it… Phil Coulson. I just think it would be too much for none of them to die. Maybe you could kill a love interest or family members or something along those lines. Personally I think Hawkeye could die especially as I’d include a love thing between him and Widow making it twice the hurt when he dies. I think he is the most expendable character other than the aforementioned S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.
I think Avengers 2 could work really well and possibly be the last team-up movie unless someone comes up with a really good film. But if that happens I’d like for it to be left a while otherwise it’s just like every couple of years having all these superheroes on screen together and it would kind of ruin the magic of the original concept.
Is it too cliché to suggest James Earl Jones as the vice of Thanos? This film wouldn’t have too many new faces really. Andy Serkis could do motion capture for Skrulls and maybe Steve Buscemi could play one of them or at least use his creepy voice for it. If you don’t like that Thanos then maybe Alan Rickman? Someone with a cool voice anyway.
2017 onwards…
So from here if the franchise is still going strong then I’d focus on characters more, possibly having an individual Ant-man movie that would include Scott Lang and Ultron as the villain, it would come after Avengers 2 and therefore show off more of the character as he fights his own creation. Obviously with his side kick Wasp. You could have a Hulk sequel with the Leader as the main antagonist or even hints at Red-Hulk! Then from here you could (if Marvel get the rights back) have a Fantastic Four film! Bringing in the team as S.H.I.E.L.D. scientists that are sent in to space, have the accident and have to fight Doctor Doom etc. I think the Universe has a lot of potential still with minor characters like Luke Cage and Iron Fist (who I’d have in one single film together) and I’d love to see it keep expanding from page to screen.
Well, hope you enjoyed!
Thanks for reading,
Himynameisnik