The MCU - Marvel Cinematic Universe

[A. A. Ron 1,744]

It’s really not resolved though as

Spoiler

there are still skrulls everywhere and there is now chaos on a global stage with vigilantes killing both humans amd skrulls out of sheer paranoia. That montage of violence at the end of the last episode is what the whole series should have been, just with superheroes.

 

[Faleel 5,363]

7 minutes ago, A. A. Ron said:

It’s really not resolved though as

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there are still skrulls everywhere and there is now chaos on a global stage with vigilantes killing both humans amd skrulls out of sheer paranoia. That montage of violence at the end of the last episode is what the whole series should have been, just with superheroes.

 

would that really be a *secret* invasion? or just a normal invasion...

[A. A. Ron 1,744]

9 minutes ago, Signals said:

would that really be a *secret* invasion? or just a normal invasion...

 

Well that's a good point, but it has to stop being a secret at some point during the story if they're going to try to adapt the comics at all.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,554]

6 hours ago, Signals said:

 

 

Oi!! @Signals, what the cuffin' 'eck has happened to your avatar?!

Bring the doggie and fire hydrant back. Now!

[Gabriel Bezerra 303]

11 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

 

Oi!! @Signals, what the cuffin' 'eck has happened to your avatar?!

Bring the doggie and fire hydrant back. Now!

[Edmilson 7,474]

Marvel Studios VFX Crews Seek To Unionize With IATSE

[crocodile 8,020]

That's absolutely fair game. Good for them.

 

Karol

[Edmilson 7,474]

This article is correct: the MCU is becoming more and more like Marvel comics, and that is alienating a lot of people.

 

The MCU Was Highly Profitable Until It Started Repeating a Major Comics Problem

[Groovygoth666 672]

On 16/08/2023 at 8:37 PM, Edmilson said:

This article is correct: the MCU is becoming more and more like Marvel comics, and that is alienating a lot of people.

 

The MCU Was Highly Profitable Until It Started Repeating a Major Comics Problem

I disagree entirely with that article. For one thing CBR is often contradictory, for instance in the article linked it claims Marvel has never done a reset of continuity, ignoring their own article discussing the reboots/rebranding of only a few years ago, but also it's omitting the Ultimates comics, Heroes Reborn and Spider-man Chapter One, while those lines ran concurrent to the main line comics they were all meant to be starting points for new readers disregarding any established continuity. And sure you could argue that with DC each resest nullified the prior continuity, Marvel only doing new titles to appeal to the audience coming in from the movies while maintaining its existing titles to keep longtime readers was the better strategy. 

 

I also disagree that in 2008 "The Marvel Cinematic Universe started a trend of creating a massive franchise that spread out into different films and TV shows that integrated uniquely", sure the MCU started in 2008, but it wasn't till 2012 and after The Avengers made $1.5 billion, following 5 films and with a TV show starting in 2013 that studios then were announcing all their connected Universes (DC starting with Man of Steel, Sony with it's Amazing Spider-Man universe and of course Universal's Dark Universe, among others) so it was in reaction only after it proved profitable, that's when the trend started.

 

But CBR are accidentally right, the MCU's problem is the same as the Comics and it's not that there's too much and it's interconnected, there are plenty of points that allow viewers/readers to jump in. The problem is the writing, if your story is heavily dependent on previously established continuity and you can't think of a way to bring an audience up to speed within that story maybe you shouldn't be a writer. Continuity should be thought of as a guide, not a restriction that you should ignore because it's easier. Also most of the writers currently working on MCU projects haven't done anything significant before, that these are their first real attempts at writing, I mean look at the fact they hired a group of writers that don't know anything about law or law procedural shows to write She-Hulk, how could that possible feel like a good idea?

 

I think a huge problem with phase 4 onwards is the story matters the most, not plot, not characters, everything is in service of the story they want to tell no matter how little sense or how logical it is. This is incredibly apparent since most post Endgame projects are written while they're being made and so they're trying to fix problems they are creating within their own works because the time wasn't taken to plan it all out to begin with. And sure I know there's the meme that every male Avenger now has a female counterpart, that in of itself isn't a problem, the problem is that they want these equivalents to be just as important to the audience without doing the work on building them up like the originals, most of which had over 10 years and multiple movies for audiences to grow attached to and so Marvel want that attachment to be fast tracked, which then makes them feel poorly written/defined as their main goal is to just be that already established character.

 

[enderdrag64 624]

https://www.thewrap.com/wandavision-the-mandalorian-loki-4k-blu-ray-release-date-bonus-features/

[GerateWohl 4,373]

14 hours ago, enderdrag64 said:

https://www.thewrap.com/wandavision-the-mandalorian-loki-4k-blu-ray-release-date-bonus-features/

Better print more Dial of Destiny soundtrack CDs.

[Edmilson 7,474]

This made me lol  

[Naïve Old Fart 9,554]

Chad something 

 

Snail Girl 

 

Troot 

[Edmilson 7,474]

[crocodile 8,020]

I could swear that was a still from Quantumania.

 

Karol

[Naïve Old Fart 9,554]

1 hour ago, Edmilson said:

 

You're not wrong.

[A24 4,346]

Weird chest plate.

[Bayesian 1,364]

The MCU has long overstayed its welcome, IMO. I don’t know what Disney will do to replace it, but if their new Marvels movie flops (and I read somewhere that it’s expected to), that’ll be like the Mouse House’s 14th consecutive money-losing film. Coupled with DCU’s half-dozen movie money-losers, maybe we’ve finally gotten to the point where the studios will be willing to try something different, at long last. They’re definitely gonna have to do something different before they go insolvent.

 

On a related note, it’s hard to shake the feeling that a seismic shift in the world of movie production is underway. The studios no longer make the money they used to from theatrical exhibition and have to generate copious amounts of “content” for streaming platforms with their smaller bankrolls. I worry for the SAG and WGA, because the studios really seem determined not to allow writing and acting to remain major cost centers. These strikes really feel like the last possible chance to allow writing and acting to continue to be viable careers.

[Jay 37,374]

 

[Mephariel 451]

On 08/09/2023 at 1:04 PM, Bayesian said:

The MCU has long overstayed its welcome, IMO. I don’t know what Disney will do to replace it, but if their new Marvels movie flops (and I read somewhere that it’s expected to), that’ll be like the Mouse House’s 14th consecutive money-losing film. Coupled with DCU’s half-dozen movie money-losers, maybe we’ve finally gotten to the point where the studios will be willing to try something different, at long last. They’re definitely gonna have to do something different before they go insolvent.

 

On a related note, it’s hard to shake the feeling that a seismic shift in the world of movie production is underway. The studios no longer make the money they used to from theatrical exhibition and have to generate copious amounts of “content” for streaming platforms with their smaller bankrolls. I worry for the SAG and WGA, because the studios really seem determined not to allow writing and acting to remain major cost centers. These strikes really feel like the last possible chance to allow writing and acting to continue to be viable careers.

 

The MCU has long overstayed its welcome because of Disney's own doing. The last time I went to the theater to watch a MCU film was Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Before that, I think it was Endgame. I supported WF after seeing the trailer because for first time in a long time, I felt they were trying to do a movie that is about something. Like the people actually care about the cinematography, the music, the acting, etc. I am sorry, but in a age of numerous TV shows and films on streaming, I want to see mastery in the theaters. I went to see Oppenheimer and Dune for the same reasons. Nolan and Villeneuve actually cares about showing films as art. The MCU went the opposite direction. Every film looks the same. The acting is just there. Even the scores, no matter how orchestral, feels generic. Nothing is taken seriously. Everything is humor and fake drama. I heard from interviews that The Marvels is a 90 minutes long funny film. Great, put it on Disney+. 

[Tallguy 3,402]

50 minutes ago, Mephariel said:

Like the people actually care about the cinematography, the music, the acting, etc.

 

But instead you saw Wakanda Forever.

[Edmilson 7,474]

53 minutes ago, Mephariel said:

Every film looks the same. The acting is just there. Even the scores, no matter how orchestral, feels generic. Nothing is taken seriously. Everything is humor and fake drama. I heard from interviews that The Marvels is a 90 minutes long funny film. Great, put it on Disney+. 

Funny thing is, since its early days people have been saying how most MCU movies look and sound like straight to TV stuff. When the first Avengers were playing in cinemas, back in 2012, people were already complaining that it seemed like something for TV.

[mstrox 6,651]

I think that after Endgame, there was a nice clean break to the story - and audiences probably would have followed even after that, except the sheer volume increased - which led some to opt out.  Gone are the days of 1-2 movies a year, and even when it’s fun, it can start to feel like work.

 

If anything, the massive amount of stuff, variable quality, increased weirdness quotient, stupid crossovers, everything leading to the next event - make it feel like the comics the movies are based on to me in a way that the MCU didn’t in the last decade.

 

I wouldn’t necessarily call it burnout, but my priorities have been elsewhere lately.  Back in the days of WandaVision and Falcon/WS, the shows were night-of appointment viewing for us, a rarity in the streaming era - put the kid to bed, pop some popcorn and enjoy.  Now I’m one MCU movie and one series behind, with no immediate goal of watching either until maybe after the holidays.  My spouse opted out completely midway through Loki.

 

Same with Star Wars - I’m like 3 TV series behind if you count Visions.  My priorities are way elsewhere.  If they released Andor Season 2 tomorrow though, I’d be in.

[GerateWohl 4,373]

Another issue for me, the two great animated Spiderman movies, A New Universe and Across the Spiderverse showed for me everything what could be interesting about this Multiverse topic in a very brillant and smart way.

MCUs contributions to that topic are comparably lame. 

[Mephariel 451]

5 hours ago, Tallguy said:

 

But instead you saw Wakanda Forever.

 

I actually quite like the film. I thought the music was superb, it was my #2 favorite score of the year before Rings of Power. The acting was quite good and all the weaknesses of the story is because of the Marvel formula. Take the same film, get rid of Ironheart (why the heck was she even in the film?), all her dumb humor, and get rid of the subplot with the two agents and you have a pretty good film. I don't think think the film was too slow or exhausting. I prefer drama over action, especially in a franchise full of mindless stuff.

[Edmilson 7,474]

Marvel Visual Effects Workers Unanimously Vote “Yes” to Unionize

IATSE aims to form a national VFX Local by year's end.

[JNHFan2000 2,969]

 

 

[GerateWohl 4,373]

1 hour ago, JNHFan2000 said:

 

 

 

Probably published with an initial edition of 100.000 CDs.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,554]

On 11/09/2023 at 7:04 PM, mstrox said:

 Gone are the days of 1-2 movies a year, and even when it’s fun, it can start to feel like work.

If anything, the massive amount of stuff, variable quality, increased weirdness quotient, stupid crossovers, everything leading to the next event - make it feel like the comics the movies are based on to me in a way that the MCU didn’t in the last decade.

 

It's The Ludovico Technique, in action.

Maybe people have just had enough of endless mass destruction, casual violence, empty and meaningless spectacle, two-dimensional characters, and being force-fed the same dross for 15 years. They desperately want something else. They want Fillet Mignon, but they've had so many Big Macs shoved down their throats, they wouldn't know what a Fillet Mignon is, let alone how it tastes.

I look forward to 20 years' time, when audiences, critics, and social commentators look back at the MCU, the DCEU, and what The Mouse has done to Star Wars and Indiana Jones, and think "What the fucking hell was that all about??!!!".

[A24 4,346]

2 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

 

I look forward to 20 years' time, when audiences, critics, and social commentators look back at the MCU, the DCEU, and what The Mouse has done to Star Wars and Indiana Jones, and think "What the fucking hell was that all about??!!!".

 

Don't forget, they are also going to mouse up the Alien franchise.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,554]

"Mouse up":

(verb) to take something perfectly good, and ruin it.

e.g: "Star Wars was ok until you moused it up".

 

We've found an expression that rivals "jumped the shark", and "nuked the fridge"

 

 

Well done, Alex.

[Yavar Moradi 2,604]

1 hour ago, AC1 said:

Don't forget, they are also going to mouse up the Alien franchise.

Prey was the best Predator film since the original. The Alien franchise was absolutely bungled and destroyed by Fox after the second film Aliens (even if the workprint cut of Alien3 was interesting). I’m 100% fine with Disney having a go at it with a different approach because the franchise hasn’t been good in decades.

 

Yavar

[Sweeping Strings 2,364]

4 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

 

It's The Ludovico Technique, in action.

Maybe people have just had enough of endless mass destruction, casual violence, empty and meaningless spectacle, two-dimensional characters, and being force-fed the same dross for 15 years. They desperately want something else. They want Fillet Mignon, but they've had so many Big Macs shoved down their throats, they wouldn't know what a Fillet Mignon is, let alone how it tastes.

I look forward to 20 years' time, when audiences, critics, and social commentators look back at the MCU, the DCEU, and what The Mouse has done to Star Wars and Indiana Jones, and think "What the fucking hell was that all about??!!!".

A feminist take on Barbie and a 3-hour biopic of the 'father' of the atomic bomb being the year's 2 biggest box-office hits so far would certainly suggest that audiences have had enough of 'superhero saturation'. 

[A24 4,346]

1 hour ago, Yavar Moradi said:

Prey was the best Predator film since the original.

 

I didn't know that, but okay, if you say so.

 

Oh, right, Predator, for a moment I thought we were talking about Alien, but yeah, Disney also has the rights to the Predator franchise. 

[Edmilson 7,474]

1 hour ago, Sweeping Strings said:

A feminist take on Barbie and a 3-hour biopic of the 'father' of the atomic bomb being the year's 2 biggest box-office hits so far would certainly suggest that audiences have had enough of 'superhero saturation'. 

I feel like 2021 was the last time (and also the first after the pandemic began) where a MCU blockbuster would be the biggest movie of the year, or at least among the biggest who grossed more than a billion. 

 

Since then, 2022 was dominated by Top Gun: Maverick and Avatar 2, and 2023 is the year of Barbie, Mario and Oppenheimer, who outgrossed every superhero movie from this year globally. Spiderman No Way Home was the last time a MCU movie grossed over a billion dollars, and I don't think this will happen again until the next Avengers movie - and that's only if the next batch of MCU stuff in theaters and streaming doesn't destroy any goodwill left from fans.

[Sweeping Strings 2,364]

Interesting how Maverick was huge, but Dead Reckoning Part One (the latest in a reliably successful franchise) wasn't. 

[Edmilson 7,474]

3 hours ago, Sweeping Strings said:

Interesting how Maverick was huge, but Dead Reckoning Part One (the latest in a reliably successful franchise) wasn't. 

Oppenheimer is to blame. Dead Reckoning was supposed to be the big "you have to see this on the biggest possible screen!" adult blockbuster from the summer. But one week after its rather disappointing opening, no one cared about it anymore and people were flocking to the theaters to see Oppenheimer in IMAX (and Barbie in regular sized screens).

 

Paramount was incredibly stupid to open such an expensive summer blockbuster one week before Oppenheimer. Sure, back then no one knew how big the Nolan movie would be, but they sure as hell knew that it would take their IMAX screens away. I'm pretty sure that, had M: I 7 opened in August, September or October, it would've performed much better than it did.

[JNHFan2000 2,969]

2 hours ago, Edmilson said:

Spiderman No Way Home was the last time a MCU movie grossed over a billion dollars, and I don't think this will happen again until the next Avengers movie - and that's only if the next batch of MCU stuff in theaters and streaming doesn't destroy any goodwill left from fans.

 

I'm kinda expecting Deadpool 3 to gross 1 billion. With Wolverine and everyone coming back

[Naïve Old Fart 9,554]

2 hours ago, Edmilson said:

M: I 7...

 

"M: 17"?! There's seventeen of these things???!!! 

[Faleel 5,363]

6 minutes ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

 

"M: 17"?! There's seventeen of these things???!!! 

Sig Sauer makes them

[Bayesian 1,364]

5 hours ago, Sweeping Strings said:

Interesting how Maverick was huge, but Dead Reckoning Part One (the latest in a reliably successful franchise) wasn't. 

I was going to blame the composer and his hot mess of a score for that one, but I guess edmilson’s explanation makes more sense.

[Jay 37,374]

Disney has announced that it will be releasing a special version of the Marvel Studios Special Presentation, “Werewolf By Night”, which will be available in vibrant colours and will be released on Disney+ on Friday, 20th October 2023.

[GerateWohl 4,373]

20 hours ago, Sweeping Strings said:

A feminist take on Barbie and a 3-hour biopic of the 'father' of the atomic bomb being the year's 2 biggest box-office hits so far would certainly suggest that audiences have had enough of 'superhero saturation'. 

People try to blame the tv shows or a general superhero fatigue for the low numbers of the lates marvel movies, so they don't need to consider that the new movies are just bad.

Somehow it seems, every franchise hase some period of invention where more or less by accident they seem to discover more and more a formula out of their stories. Then, when they think, they have found the formula the eara of reproduction starts, the application of the found formula. And how do you do that? Just application of the formula no longer needs to be done by the creative mastermind, simple application you can handover to the intern or the newbie or you keep the mastermind, but that has more or less already said everything on the topic that it had to say and now meanders around it and becomes terribily uncreative because they are not good at reproduction as well. Some kind of late Roman decadence.

[Tallguy 3,402]

11 minutes ago, GerateWohl said:

People try to blame the tv shows or a general superhero fatigue for the low numbers of the lates marvel movies, so they don't need to consider that the new movies are just bad.

 

Yeah. That's going to have to be the takeaway. Ant-Man was my most anticipated Marvel movie this year. And it just wasn't great.

 

My favorite MCU movie since Endgame has been Shang-Chi. And I haven't rewatched it.

 

If it was just "superhero fatigue" I wouldn't have rewatched any number of MCU movies. (And the Snyder Justice League.) But I have.

[Gabriel Bezerra 303]

10 hours ago, Jay said:

Disney has announced that it will be releasing a special version of the Marvel Studios Special Presentation, “Werewolf By Night”, which will be available in vibrant colours and will be released on Disney+ on Friday, 20th October 2023.

Stupidest thing they could ever done. Since Scott Derrickson had no idea the IMAX version would go to Disney+, I'm not sure they even talked about it with Giacchino... because it just makes absolutely no sense to convert something that was meant to be a throwback...

[JNHFan2000 2,969]

It seems like Giacchino was a part of this decision.

 

 

[Smeltington 1,441]

Translation... we thought it would be cute to make this in black and white, but not enough people watched it, so now we're trying it in color?

[Alex 2,835]

I think Marvel should have given James Gunn the top job. Peacemaker is better than any of the shows they’ve made.

[JNHFan2000 2,969]

 

 

[Naïve Old Fart 9,554]

"Series"? Yes. "Original"? I very much doubt it