I ve got something to say. Something to whine about, actually.
While it SEEMS like Marvel has the upper hand now, since DC has nothing in the pipeline after Man of Steel, and Marvel building up and expanding even more on their cinematic universe then anyone of us would have expected 2 years ago...there is still a weak link to what Marvel is doing. A weak link that could someday break their neck, when DC eventually catches up.
What am I talking about? Easy:
DC/ Warner is actually getting very good, if not brilliant DIRECTORS to get their movies off the ground. They have Nolan obviously, who is probably the best filmmaker of his generation. Zack Snyder also does have a very unique style, and according to the footage of MoS it seems like Snyder is going to deliver. And I am sure that DC/ Warner will keep that in the future. They will search up and low for good directors, leaving them mostly free hand. Because only with free hand a skilled director can pull out his full creative genius. DC knows that!
(They failed with Green Lantern, but I guess that was because they did not care very much for the character. Batman and Superman are their crown jewels, after tasting Nolans goodness DC/ Warner will never again give those two properties into bad hands). In the future DC will put quality over quantity. They have learned their lesson.
Marvel on the other hand...eww, not so much. They basically get hacks to direct their movies. Marvel Studios exes, most importantly that fat ugly asshat called FEIGE, is pushing arround their directors like toys. Marvel and Feige are basically saying in every production:
" You do it this way, you do it that way. No Mr...(Directors Name)...dont come up with any ideas. WE ARE MARVEL - We know what to do, we know how to please fans."
While that might be true, knowing how to please fans by including all that sneaky easter eggs, they always end up with movies that appear as unbelievable MEDIOCRE to the General Audience, to put it nicely.
Marvel Studios is making movies just for ComicBook fans.
Nolans Batman, Snyders Superman, Webbs Spider-Man, Vaughns X-Men...those are for EVERYONE to enjoy equally.
A director is the maker of a film. He is responsable for what the film is and what it is not.
Good studios understand that. And many Hollywood directors with big names, or younger creative ones can do best if they do it THEIR way.
Of course studios KNOW that they dont have to interfere with names like SPIELBERG, JACKSON, SCOTT, CAMERON, FINCHER and TARANTINO. But that is also because they WOULDNT let the studio interfere. If a studio would try to interfere with them they would tell the studio to go [frick] themselves.
Thats why such big directors will never direct a Marvel film. They dont need to put their talent under the "godly" direction of Marvel Studios.
What do you think why Jon Favreau left? Yeah, he said he wanted to do something else, but really....we all know it was because Marvel Studios was touching his ass during the whole production of Iron Man 2. Thats why it ended up beeing so bad.
About Branagh and Thor: Branagh is a good director. He delieverd an "okay film" which still could have been so MUCH better. It was astoundingly uninspired and safe. He is not returning because Marvel didnt have let him make the movie he wanted to make. Thats for sure. He was praising the production in interviews...but jeez...what else could he say?
Johnston and Cap: Well, Johnston is not too good as an director to begin with, but he is still a very crafty dude. He might not be the greatest story teller, but he knows his stuff. However, good for Marvel Studios that Johnston has some "hack-genes" in himself naturally, making him an director who is comparably easy to push arround. Captain America is probably the most disappointing film in the MCU to date. While Iron Man 2 reamains the worst, Captain America ended up as an generic cheese fest, featuring weak characterization of almost every leading figure, a astoundingly cheap storyline, not a single scene which could be called memorable and last but not least a bland overall look and tone which led to the lamest action scenes ever to be seen in a big budget CBM. All that is such a shame, because Cap really deserved an good FIRST major movie outing.
Joss Whedon and The Avengers: Yes, the movie was good. But I really think the reason why it ended up quite good is that they let Joss Whedon write story and screenplay. Dude knows how to have characters interact with each other in an entertaining way. The production on the other hand...in some interviews Whedon gave slight hints about that he didnt feel so comfortable during the production. And we all know why: Feige was holding Whedons dick in steel-claws.
I mean, seriously, box office over 1 Billion, third highest grossing film of all time...and he is NOT SURE about returning? Obviously something went wrong.
But it gets worse:
While I admit that Shane Black seems like a quite decent choice for Iron Man 3, it only gets worse from here. Alan Taylor to helm Thor 2. Really Marvel? A mediocre TV director...Meh. But here comes the bummer: Russo Brothers for Cap 2!!! When they were announced I didnt even know them! I had to google them.
Sure, I cant judge them before seeing their movies, but the thing that really makes me mad at Marvel is this:
Its like they re not EVEN TRYING anymore to get a good director. They just go for hacks who wont come up with their own ideas because they are too shy and unexperienced. Marvel WANTS to push arround their directors. Marvel Studios WANTS to make the movies by themselves, they hire alibi directors who dont acctually direct the movie. Marvel does. Feige does.
They always go for the same formula, ending up mediocre.While hardcore Marvelites who suck the last drop of semen out of Feiges dick obviously love it and praise it as the best things ever happened, the General Audience will most definatly eventually figure out that Marvel Studios is delievering fast food which makes an uncomfortable feeling in the stomach.
When that day comes, and it will come, and DC is making just a FEW good movies then, the whole thing could turn to DC!
At the very least Marvel Studios should do it like Sony and FOX with their Marvel properties. Keep it very safe and marketable, yet leave the director a bit free reign. The Amazing Spider-Man for example had more heart then any Marvel Studios movie combined.
But that wont happen. Marvel thinks they know exactly what fans want. They are wrong. They know what Marvelites want. Genreal Audience will punish them sooner or later. Mark my words.