Is Marvel Studios Dropping the Ball?

[NoirMan82]

Hey guys. Lately I've really been feeling like Marvel isn't doing their best to capitalize on the market. After the huge success of Iron Man, they seem to be resting on their bums. First off, the drama with re-signing Jon Favreau to direct Iron Man 2 is troubling. The guy only made one of the biggest movies ever, why is Marvel so stagnant on agreeing to a new contract with him?

Second, Marvel isn't as focused on their other characters as they should be. They didn't re-up with Matthew Vaughn to direct Thor, and any news of a new director or casting has been mum on what many believe is a terrific script. Captain America is still without a finished script or director as well. Marvel is as interesting now as stale bread, while not long ago they were the talk of the town. What gives? Especially after The Incredible Hulk was under-marketed and underperformed, Marvel should be on top of things more.

Allowing the Iron Man 2 drama to play out, dragging their feet on other films, and not really taking charge of the market has people feeling pretty "meh" about things in the near future. The nation being swept in Batman Fever and a lengthy wait for the next Marvel property (Punisher: War Zone in December, which is just a licsenced character under control of Lionsgate Films) people are all too easily forgetting about Marvel's "upcoming" slate of films. Is Marvel Studios really just dropping the ball after having it firmly in grasp? Is the big business of movie making starting to stifle the upstart studio?

 

[Kirk Langstrom]

Hey guys. Lately I've really been feeling like Marvel isn't doing their best to capitalize on the market. After the huge success of Iron Man, they seem to be resting on their bums. First off, the drama with re-signing Jon Favreau to direct Iron Man 2 is troubling. The guy only made one of the biggest movies ever, why is Marvel so stagnant on agreeing to a new contract with him?

Second, Marvel isn't as focused on their other characters as they should be. They didn't re-up with Matthew Vaughn to direct Thor, and any news of a new director or casting has been mum on what many believe is a terrific script. Captain America is still without a finished script or director as well. Marvel is as interesting now as stale bread, while not long ago they were the talk of the town. What gives? Especially after The Incredible Hulk was under-marketed and underperformed, Marvel should be on top of things more.

Allowing the Iron Man 2 drama to play out, dragging their feet on other films, and not really taking charge of the market has people feeling pretty "meh" about things in the near future. The nation being swept in Batman Fever and a lengthy wait for the next Marvel property (Punisher: War Zone in December, which is just a licsenced character under control of Lionsgate Films) people are all too easily forgetting about Marvel's "upcoming" slate of films. Is Marvel Studios really just dropping the ball after having it firmly in grasp? Is the big business of movie making starting to stifle the upstart studio?

I'd say yes, to some extent. I was expecting a BUNCH of announcements at SDCC this weekend, based on the way Marvel was thumping it's chest after Iron Man's opening weekend.

Instead, we got zip.

Not good, imo. They seem to be losing momentum.

 

[NoirMan82]

I'd say yes, to some extent. I was expecting a BUNCH of announcements at SDCC this weekend, based on the way Marvel was thumping it's chest after Iron Man's opening weekend.

Instead, we got zip.

Not good, imo. They seem to be losing momentum.

I agree. I was expecting something from them, but instead there was no news whatsoever. I'm starting to wonder if Kevin Feige has his head in the game. Avi Arad seemed much more business savvy than he does. The guy knew how to market and move projects. All we have on the pipeline from Marvel is some low quality cartoons. I'm just not excited about my favorite brand right now.

 

[Scooter]

I was worried they were moving too fast, gearing up an assembly line of sub-par, money-grabbing popcorn flicks, like The Incredible Hulk. Maybe slowing down will let creators with genuine vision and enthusiasm find their way to the projects.

 

[Spider-Fan]

I don't think they are dropping the ball. I think they have a smart plan.l I question these being out by the release dates they established, but I think they'll be released pretty much in this order, and it will rock!

 

[[A]]

Is Avi Arad still around..?

 

[marcvader]

I've seen his name attached to non Marvel movies and I think he's no longer with them. As far as Marvel dropping the ball I don't mind them taking their time producing their films as apposed to rushing and coming out with turds. I was a bit surprised at how low key they were at the SDCC though. I was expecting them to atleast give us some new info.

 

[Mister J]

The lack of news at SDCC was a little disheartening, but the momentum they had post-Iron Man is easily recaptured with a couple of announcements.

It was smart to clear 2009 to allot a bit more development time and Thor, Cap, IM2 and Avengers are still all in sight. Not re-upping with Favs immediately after Iron Man stuck a repulsor ray in the box office's ass sucked, but he's on board. They've got plenty of time to add to the cinematic universe that's being created.

The recent developments (or lack thereof) may not be optimal at the moment, but we're still a way off from truly having something to worry about.

 

[cerealkiller182]

Marvel got too ahead of themselves. Their schedule was very aggressive. The hype surrounding Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk made them over confident. Films are big investments, going fast is rarely the right thing.

They need focus and care. They need to take their time, get out as many kinks, and sign the right cast and crew. This has to be stressed. THe RIGHT PEOPLE FOR THE JOB, not just A-listers signed on for good measure.

 

[kyuubijavi1]

if they dont have directors scripts or actors yet then they just got to ahead of them selfs so at worst the movies will be delayed

 

[[A]]

Avi (or Ari, as he's sometimes listed) should handle more projects--though he greenlit some crap in the past, I see him like a big huge businessman who got along pretty well. Like a Marvel villain, indeed.

 

[Asteroid-Man]

Avi Arad should be replaced by someone with not only passion for the comics but also RESPECT and KNOWLEDGE

 

[marcvader]

He's no longer with Marvel, Feige took his place.

 

[marcvader]

Isn't Arad responsible for giving away Spiderman, Xmen, Fantastic Four, the Punisher, Daredevil to all the other studios?

 

[[A]]

Feige, that's the guy! I couldn't remember the name..

 

[WarBlade]

Isn't Arad responsible for giving away Spiderman, Xmen, Fantastic Four, the Punisher, Daredevil to all the other studios?

Spider-Man rights sold in 1985

Avi Arad Joins Marvel in the '90's (reacquires some of the rights previously sold)

Add a Wikipedia search engine to the Firefox search bar.

 

[Bubonic]

Arad still strikes me more as a business man then someone who gives two ****s and a **** about the properties themselves.

I just hope Marvel Studios keeps handling their properties with the care and respect that other studios don't provide.

IMO it has worked for both IM and TIH, even though they need to learn from their marketing mistake with TIH.

 

[chiefchirpa]

They don't have money to begin new projects and under-experienced in getting talents. It's time to negotiate with Paramount on a 50/50 venture.

Oh yeah, no news on films progress during SDCC 08 was a poor showing. David Self has like 4 years to create the Cap script, and Protosevich also has his share of 4 years. Where are the result? Should Marvel East interject them with Ed Brubaker (Cap) and J Michael Straszynski/Matt Fraction (Thor) as co-writers?

Can't expect Iron Man 2 to have any news, but hell either Thor or Captain America should have some progress by now!

 

[roach]

Just because we havent heard anything doesnt mean things arent being done

 

[chiefchirpa]

Nope, I think it's a huge missed opportunity.

They let WB/DC take the glory with TDK and Watchmen. Looks like the momentum is in WB/DC now although they're started GL & Flash projects years before Marvel announcing Thor and Captain America.

 

[roach]

What glory are you talking about???
Everyone and their brother went to see TDK...what should have Marvel done???

 

[chiefchirpa]

At least give some updates on the movie projects announced first since 4 years ago. It looks as if that Marvel Studios are catatonic and can't come up with any news of their own.

 

[cerealkiller182]

Some stuff takes time. You cant expect them to have a movie every 6 months. You say DC has momentum but they have been in and out of projects since X-Men and Spiderman were in theaters.

 

[Heretic]

Under the criteria, marvel has "dropped the ball" and I'm glad that they did. Rushing out a steady stream of superhero movies will eventually kill the genre. Now that DC is starting to look at doing more superhero films, the smart idea is to sit back while preparing the Iron man and TIH DVDs and gauge what DC is planning. You have a bunch of movies lined up, so instead of rushing for more, just see what DC has planned, and then release news accordingly.

What you dont want is to end up having 8 superhero movies in a year, so all of the companies have to start being smart about what gets made and when.

 

[Chewy]

This thread is ridiculous. It's not as though they are going to have an announcement every week two years out. They are actively working on Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America and Ant-Man and they didn't make any official announcements because there are currently no announcements to make. I'm sure we'll be hearing a Thor director announcement before too long as well as official resignings of Downey and Favreau.