CHAPTER 9:
THE OTHER MARVEL
ICON COMICS. A division of Marvel Comics. Icon is where Marvel publishes all of their creator-owned properties, replacing Epic Comics. There are a few writers for Icon Comics, including Brian Michael-Bendies, Ed Brubaker, and last, but not least, Mark Miller Mark Millar.
Mark Millar has had a history with Marvel. Like how Millar was pretty much responsible for the Nick Fury redesign which led to Sam Jackson to be cast in the role. In 2004, Millar launched MILLARLAND! Millarland was his creator-owned line, which he usedto release his four books: Wanted, wich was published by Top Cow Productions; The Unfunnies, which was published by Avatar Press; Chosen, which was published by Dark Horse Comics; and Kick-Ass, which was published by Marvel through Icon Comics.
In 2010, Lionsgate released the film version of Kick-Ass, which was directed by Matthew Vaughn, the director of Layer Cake. Due to the rave reviews and the fact that the last film version of a Mark Millar comic (Wanted) was a success, people thought Kick-Ass would be a hit. Unfortunatley, the film bombed. Some people think that the film bombed due to the controversy around the fact that a kid character said a certain word that begins with C. I don't buy that though. Later, Vaughn would go to FOX in order to direct X-Men: First Class.
Back to Millar, two more of his books were published under Icon Comics. Those were Superior and, of course, The Secret Service. The Secret Service was a minseries about an MI6 veteran recruiting his nephew. The comic was a tribute and spy thillers, as well as classic James Bond films.
In the 2010s, FOX got the film rights to adapt The Secret Service. However, there would be drastic changes from the source material. By that I mean, this only resembled The Secret Service in concept alone. First, Jack was replcaed by Harry Hart. Second, the main character was not related to Harry (or Jack). Finally, they would not be working under MI6, but under a new organization called Kingsman, causing the film's title to get changed. Surprisingly, not a lot of people complained about these changes. Which is rare because if you change one tiny little detail for a CBM today, at least one fan wil go:
Anyway, Millar wanted Matthew Vaughn, who directed Kick-Ass to direct. However, Vaughn was directing X-Men: Days of Future Past, another FOX/Marvel film. Vaughn said it was a difficult choice between choosing what project, but he eventually decided to direct Kingsman. So Bryan Singer replaced Vaughn as X-Men director. Vaughn would also co-write the script with his fellow writing partner (and the hottest screenwriter on earth) Jane Goldman...
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huh?
OH SHOOT!
I'M TOTALLY STILL WORKING ON THIS!
Anyway...
Here's a funny story. On the first day of shooting, they were filming the underwater scene and things went horribly wrong. When they were filming one scene, the computers went rogue, and soon everyone, the actors and crew, were under 20 feet of water. Vaugnh said that it was a horrible first day of shooting.
Now for casting. Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who was in the last Vaughn/Miller film, was considered for Eggsy. However, Taron Edgerton got the role. Rumours were going around that Leonardo DiCaprio was approched to play the villain. Samuel L. Jackson got the villain role. However, it was revealed that DiCaprio was never approched. Emma Watson was considered to play Roxy, but Sophie Cookson got the role. There were also rumours of cameos by David Beckham, Elton John, Adele, and Stefani Germanotta, but those were just rumours. Mark Hamill was cast in a role in the film. His casting was a reference to the fact that a fictional version of him was in the comic.
Now, many people thought that this would be a BIG flop for a few reasons. First, films like this don't do that well that well at the box office. By "films like this", I mean films like Kick-Ass and Scott Pilgrim. These films got rave reviews and tons of fanboy hype. Unfortunatly, that fanboy hype didn't translate to box office gold (This is why some people think Deadpool might bomb). Second, they film was coming out on the same weekend as 2015's biggest potential hits, Fifty Shades of Grey. Finally, the movie was already causing controversy because of the ending shot, which had a Swedish princess...
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Huh?
SHOOT!
LATER! I'LL DO IT LATER!
FOCUS ON THE ARTICLE!
Anyway, the film, like Kick-Ass and Scott Pilgrim, got good reviews. Many people liked it for the action, the comedy, the actors, and that it felt like a tribute to classic Bond films. However, unlike Kick-Ass and Scott Pilgrim, the film was a surprise box office hit. It's this movie that gives me hope that Deadpool will be a box office hit.
Anyway, that's all the history for all of the FOX/MARVEL films that have been released. However, this isn't the last chapter. Join me for the next and final chapter where I talk about what FOX has in store for their upcoming Marvel films.
TO BE CONTINUED...
(KINDA)