The battle for box office gold over the next 5 years continues to escalate between Marvel Studios/ Disney and DC/ Warner Bros. Marvel delivered the latest blow by announcing which titles would match up with the release dates that were revealed earlier this year. What does all of this mean? The first thing it means is that between the two companies there will be a lot of super heroes on the big screen. Will it be too much? On the one hand, I think it is awesome and there is a lot to be excited about. On the other hand, reading through the list of films coming from Marvel, there is a lot to feel just meh about. Avengers: Age of Ultron brings phase 2 to a close, leading right into phase 3 which will bring us up to 2020. Let’s run down each of the dates and the coinciding films.
Ant-Man; July 17, 2015
This wasn’t part of the big announcement the other day, but it is the first film of phase 3. We have known that this film is coming for about as long as we have known that there would be a Marvel Cinematic universe. I’ll be honest, I have never been a huge Ant-Man fan. In fact, I am not very familiar with the character at all, except that in the comics he created Ultron, as a result became a pacifist, except when he was Yellowjacket. Then there was the little while that he went by Giant Man and Goliath. In short, the dude has had some major identity crises over the years. Unless, course, Ant-Man won’t be Hank Pym, but the guy who stole the Pym Particle suit to become Ant-Man. In any case, the character is a complex character, which means the film will probably be story driven, which for Summer audiences might equal boring. Less action + more story + character mainstream public is unfamiliar with = possible first Marvel flop. I was excited when Edgar Wright was part of this project. Now that he isn’t, I am less excited.
Captain America: Civil War; May 6, 2016
A couple of weeks ago, this was the big news. The way it was announced was that this film would lead us into the Civil War storyline. Now that Marvel has announced the rest of their docket, it looks like this film will be all the Civil War we are going to get. That means it will be watered down. 2-3 hours is just not enough time to tell this story. It could have easily been the whole phase. Of course, the movie will be a huge success since it is Captain America vs. Iron Man, and the ramifications could affect each of the films that follow. I am hoping for some great stuff from the film, despite the fact that it will obviously be a condensed version of the tale. Winter Soldier was the best Marvel film so far, in my opinion, so this film has a pretty high bar.
Doctor Strange; November 4, 2016
Once again, we have a stand alone film featuring a character that the main stream public does not know. Unlike Ant-Man, though, I am not predicting that this will be a flop for one reason. Benedict Cumberbatch. That man will draw enough of his fans to this film to make it a success. If not for him, I don’t know that this movie would work. Marvel has been successful so far based on 2 things: Characters everyone recognizes (Captain America, Thor, The Avengers, etc.) or packing the film with lighthearted humor (Guardians of the Galaxy). Not every character fits into one of those formulas. Ant-Man doesn’t. Neither does Doctor Strange. This will be a success as they try out a new formula-Star Power, but Benedict can’t be the protagonist of every upcoming Marvel film.
Guardians of the Galaxy 2; May 5, 2017
Guardians of the Galaxy was Marvel’s biggest gamble yet. They took a group of characters that no one knew and threw them into a big budget picture and captured lightning in a bottle. Can they do it again with GOTG 2? Only time will tell. This film will be successful because of the success of the first one. In fact, i think there are fan boys who started lining up for this movie right after they saw the first one. Went straight from the theatre to the line, and they’re still waiting. Marvel is betting the house on the success of the first GOTG. They have a whole list of films with characters no one knows, and they are hoping that GOTG wasn’t a fluke. This is perfectly positioned in Phase 3 to remind us about how much we liked the first one.
Thor: Ragnarok; July 28, 2017
This is the big one as far as Thor films go. Expect lots of action, lots of battles, and lots of Loki. Expect some kind of resolution to the Thor character and Asgard. This may be the last Thor film, and the fact that the subtitle is the Norse Mythology term for the end of the world, this could be it. This will be huge success, especially since it is between Avenger films, and in the absence of any new Iron Man films, expect this to do very well.
Black Panther; November 3, 2017
There will be a lot of buzz about this film because it is the first of the super hero films out there to feature a black man in the lead role (Unless you count Steel, starring Shaq, but no one should ever count that). I am trying to get excited about this film, but I just can’t. I think the Black Panther character is a great addition to the Avengers team, but I don’t know about a stand alone film. Yes, marvel is beating DC to the punch with a Black hero headlining a film, but I think Cyborg will be better.
Avengers: Infinity War Part I; May 4, 2018
Finally, we see when Thanos, the Mad Titan, will be the big bad in the Avengers films. This is the most exciting thing that was announced. The Infinity War story line in the comics is a classic, and I am sure the film(s) will not disappoint. Chances are, because it is a 2 part movie, the first part will end on some cliff hanger and that year in between will be just killer. The big question is, who will be the Avengers in the film? Will Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Robert Downey, Jr. all be back, or will we see some others with the Avengers mantle. It will be interesting to see how some of the characters, introduced in the prior films, will be incorporated.
Captain Marvel; July 6, 2018
It will be interesting to see how this film fits into the story here. It is sandwiched between the 2 Avengers films, so will it be a story about Carol, or will it be an additional chapter in the Infinity War story? Also interesting to note, although they beat DC to the punch with a Black hero, they fall behind with a film featuring a Heroine. And, the other surprise, their first film featuring a heroine is not Black Widow, which is what everyone has been begging for. Interesting move for Marvel. I don’t know how many people are familiar with this character, so it will be interesting to see the excitement for it.
Inhumans; November 2, 2018
This is the one that I just don’t get. There is no Hulk movie, but there will be a Inhumans movie? I like comics a lot, but I know very little about this group. I think it is really only the very hardcore fans that know this group, so it will be very interesting to see how or if Marvel can bring the main stream audience on board with this property. This may end up being Marve’ls biggest flop yet. Now, just because I don’t know this title, doesn’t mean it’s not cool. It might be, but will the public be overly interested? I guess we will see.
Avengers: Infinity War Part II; May 3, 2019
Wrapping up the third phase is the second part to the Avengers movie. I am curious to see where this film leaves the MCU. Where will the company go from here, and who will be left standing? This movie will do a lot to let us know what is coming next.
That is a lot of movies doing down the pipe. Will we be ready for more when the credits roll on the Avengers movie, or will we be burned out? I don’t know. I kind of feel like we might be burned out, and I am not sure Marvel has the heavy hitting characters to keep it going much more past this point, unless they bring in a Hulk movie. Poor Hulk, no movie for him.
