The Rebooted "Keep Hope Alive" (that the rights can revert back to Marvel) Thread - - Part 11

[Zarex]

Look, the writing is on the wall. Fox is intended on keeping the rights and developing more movies. Dr. Doom movie is coming, the kids movie is possibly coming too. Latcham is going to try and become Kevin Feige there, but with two distinct universes as opposed to one. Will it be a mess to keep up? Of course. But execs are thinking of money. We can deny and try to do some reasoning as to why they shouldn't do it, but there's mounds of evidence and implications and hints that they are going to keep at it. Only way to save it is Iger and the board.

There's lots of writing on the wall about lots of movies that never get made. Just looking at superhero movies alone we haven't seen Superman:Flyby, Batman Beyond, Justice League:Mortal, Spider-Man 4, Green Arrow:Supermax, Carnahan's Daredevil, Robert Smigel's Green Lantern or the Inhumans.

FOX is putting out feelers, but we're quite a ways away from an actual film. They may find out that the scripts are garbage or realize "Hey, we haven't given anyone a compelling reason to want to see Dr. Doom's backstory! And even if we did, those movies (Dracula:Untold, Hannibal Rising, the Star Wars prequels) are all terrible!" FOX execs may really want to hold onto the rights, but if there's no audience it may not be worth it to have to explain to the Murdochs how they just blew tens of millions of dollars more of the family fortune.

 

[Willie Lumpkin]

FOX is putting out feelers, but we're quite a ways away from an actual film.

Yeah, and if there was an enthusiastic fan response to the announcement, that might make it more likely, but the reaction ranged from "NO!!!!" to "eh, whatever" with few (if any) people I heard from expressing enthusiastic support.

A film like Doom needs a cult following to make it work, and Fox blew their chance to have people like me showing up for the midnight showing with three bad Doom/FF films.

 

[babykhris]

I believe the reason FOX has kept on to the Fantastic Four is for one reason and one reason alone. Fox's tent pole properties are on deaths door.

I was looking at FOX and have they and they are hurting in the franchise department. Besides Ice Age and X Men their top franchises are winding down. Planet of The Apes may be concluding, Predator just got rebooted,Aliens is in trouble, Die Hard and ID4 are dormant and don't get me started on Avatar.

I think that's why all these X Men films are being greenlit that's basically all they got excluding Kingsmen. Yeah Fox purchased a big chuck of Boom but that's building for down the road. I believe Fox will keep Fantastic Four but I think some villains will be auctioned off to keep Marvel happy. Like it or not Fox needs Marvel now.

 

[Zarex]

I believe the reason FOX has kept on to the Fantastic Four is for one reason and one reason alone. Fox's tent pole properties are on deaths door.

I was looking at FOX and have they and they are hurting in the franchise department. Besides Ice Age and X Men their top franchises are winding down. Planet of The Apes may be concluding, Predator just got rebooted,Aliens is in trouble, Die Hard and ID4 are dormant and don't get me started on Avatar.

I think that's why all these X Men films are being greenlit that's basically all they got excluding Kingsmen. Yeah Fox purchased a big chuck of Boom but that's building for down the road. I believe Fox will keep Fantastic Four but I think some villains will be auctioned off to keep Marvel happy. Like it or not Fox needs Marvel now.

Ice Age is on its last legs as well. The 2016 installment cratered at the domestic BO. X Men proper is not looking so great after the critical and BO disappointment of Apocalypse. And while FOX was only the distributor, the studio lost the DreamWorks Animation pics when Comcast bought the company.

So while FOX is not in Sony's shoes - The Deadpool sequel is pretty much a sure thing and the Avatar movies should do well when they finally make it into theaters - the studio is scrambling to keep up with the big boys. I just don't think that following Sony's lead with Marvel villain pics and supporting character spin-offs makes sense, especially with the bad taste of FFINO still in everyone's mouth.

 

[Willie Lumpkin]

I believe the reason FOX has kept on to the Fantastic Four is for one reason and one reason alone. Fox's tent pole properties are on deaths door.

I was looking at FOX and have they and they are hurting in the franchise department. Besides Ice Age and X Men their top franchises are winding down. Planet of The Apes may be concluding, Predator just got rebooted,Aliens is in trouble, Die Hard and ID4 are dormant and don't get me started on Avatar.

I think that's why all these X Men films are being greenlit that's basically all they got excluding Kingsmen. Yeah Fox purchased a big chuck of Boom but that's building for down the road. I believe Fox will keep Fantastic Four but I think some villains will be auctioned off to keep Marvel happy. Like it or not Fox needs Marvel now.

You raise a very good point, but at this point I can imagine them continuing to crank out many of the films you mentioned with at least some better results than Fantastic Four. If those properties are tired, Fantastic Four is exhausted.

And if they really are serious about doing Fantastic Four, the key will be to do it right. Hire the right director, spend the money that director will need, create a film that actually looks like Fantastic Four comic books and be ready for even a great FF film to lose money.


If they do everything 100% right, they may slowly turn people like me. But I haven't heard them even hinting they really intend to do that. They're playing games and trying to figure out gimmicks and alternate takes instead of simply making a great Fantastic Four film that captures the key elements.

We've all been telling them for the last 15 years what they need to do. It may not be easy and it may not be cheap, but it is possible if they listen to us.

But they seem to have very little interest in listening to us or doing it right, so without that, it is impossible for them.

 

[TheVileOne]

Where's this notion that Latcham is going to be the Kevin Feige of 20th Century Fox coming from?

 

[DyfeddRex]

Where's this notion that Latcham is going to be the Kevin Feige of 20th Century Fox coming from?

No one can be the Feige, but he might be a bridge between the studios. That is the hope. And the fear. Let's face it, while I'd rather have a joint MCU FF with faux over no movie, that might create the first Marvel Dud, or worse, one of those grenades that the Dark Elves tossed about, an implosion device that sucks the MCU into oblivion.

But, I doubt that Faux has a clue where to go with FF that would resonate with the fanbase, and given attendance at the local con out here (rivals SDCC in gate) and the popularity of the MCU with the GA, I think we can still hope. Just not much, and remember, Pandora let out all the bad stuff before she let out Hope.

 

[Zarex]

Where's this notion that Latcham is going to be the Kevin Feige of 20th Century Fox coming from?

The same notion that leads me to believe the Yankees are going to employ Sonny Gray in the role of "starting pitcher".

 

[TheVileOne]

No one can be the Feige, but he might be a bridge between the studios. That is the hope. And the fear. Let's face it, while I'd rather have a joint MCU FF with faux over no movie, that might create the first Marvel Dud, or worse, one of those grenades that the Dark Elves tossed about, an implosion device that sucks the MCU into oblivion.

But, I doubt that Faux has a clue where to go with FF that would resonate with the fanbase, and given attendance at the local con out here (rivals SDCC in gate) and the popularity of the MCU with the GA, I think we can still hope. Just not much, and remember, Pandora let out all the bad stuff before she let out Hope.

I mean he's no longer at Marvel. There's nothing to indicate that with his new gig it's his priority to bridge the two studios. He might want to do his own films and move away from superheroes for a little while for all we know.

 

[TheVileOne]

The same notion that leads me to believe the Yankees are going to employ Sonny Gray in the role of "starting pitcher".

I don't know who that is.

 

[Zarex]

I don't know who that is.

Baseball player who was traded today. Anyhoo, while I don't know for certain what role Mr. Latcham will be taking at FOX I suspect, given his history in the development of the MCU, it will involve FOX's Marvel licensed properties.

 

[Crimz]

I mean he's no longer at Marvel. There's nothing to indicate that with his new gig it's his priority to bridge the two studios. He might want to do his own films and move away from superheroes for a little while for all we know.

That's exactly what is said he will be doing, his own projects. Same with the Russo bros.

 

[DyfeddRex]

That's exactly what is said he will be doing, his own projects. Same with the Russo bros.

Which has hope back inside pandora's box, waiting for a couple of thugs to let it out, then try to mug Hercules.

 

[Willie Lumpkin]

If it were as simple as Latcham wanting to do different types of films, I'm sure Disney would have been happy to accommodate him.

The odds are far better than not that Fox wants him to do what he's good at. When someone has highly specialized and valuable skills and they move from one company to a competitor that has specific need for those highly specialized and valuable skills, they generally get a chance to continue using those skills.

As I mentioned earlier, a hospital can certainly hire a brain surgeon to clean toilets. And that brain surgeon is free to practice that new vocation... but it's far more logical to assume they'll continue to practice brain surgery.

 

[Crimz]

I get the brain surgeon analogy, but he probably doesn't want to work on the same type of movies all the time. He's likely burnt out at this point and wants to do many other types of genres, he may likely be back to doing comic book films eventually but from the sounds of it he's doing something else.

FOX likely want him to help with their cbm's eventually, but that was never mentioned as being a reason for him join that company. There'd be no reason to hide it, so I believe he is there to do his own original work first and foremost. Unlike brain surgeons, most producers don't want to work on one specific genre of film for most of their career.

 

[TheVileOne]

If it were as simple as Latcham wanting to do different types of films, I'm sure Disney would have been happy to accommodate him.

That doesn't mean that's what happened.

The odds are far better than not that Fox wants him to do what he's good at. When someone has highly specialized and valuable skills and they move from one company to a competitor that has specific need for those highly specialized and valuable skills, they generally get a chance to continue using those skills.

As I mentioned earlier, a hospital can certainly hire a brain surgeon to clean toilets. And that brain surgeon is free to practice that new vocation... but it's far more logical to assume they'll continue to practice brain surgery.

Unless the brain surgeon wants to go into a different field or area of medicine.

 

[Willie Lumpkin]

Sure it's possible he's taking a huge pay cut to work on non-comic book films. But I'd be surprised. Particularly with the autonomy Fox is reportedly offering him. They seem to be expecting a lot more from him than for him to disappear into some small films.

 

[DyfeddRex]

Sure it's possible he's taking a huge pay cut to work on non-comic book films. But I'd be surprised. Particularly with the autonomy Fox is reportedly offering him. They seem to be expecting a lot more from him than for him to disappear into some small films.

Unless he's taking over another of their 'franchise' sets. Which I doubt. who knows, until the smoke signals are more numerous, we have no clue what is up. Kinda like a wagon train in a western movie, we see the smoke, but still no hostile or friendly natives.

 

[DyfeddRex]

Or, in a more modern setting, we see more seismic activity at Rainier than at St. Helens, but that don't mean Rainier is more likely to have volcanic activity sooner. (And, yes, Rainier is more active seismically at the moment, but only at the moment.)

 

[Willie Lumpkin]

Unless he's taking over another of their 'franchise' sets. Which I doubt. who knows, until the smoke signals are more numerous, we have no clue what is up. Kinda like a wagon train in a western movie, we see the smoke, but still no hostile or friendly natives.

There's certainly more we don't know than what we do know, but it would be just as foolish to ignore the obvious as it would be to assume the obvious is exactly what's going on.

 

[TheVileOne]

Sure it's possible he's taking a huge pay cut to work on non-comic book films. But I'd be surprised. Particularly with the autonomy Fox is reportedly offering him. They seem to be expecting a lot more from him than for him to disappear into some small films.

How do you know what he's getting paid or making? Also, The Wrap report said he'd be making "original films."

He has his own production company that is looking to make its own films through Fox. That means he set up his own production company and probably has a first-look deal with 20th Century Fox. That means whatever projects he develops or make through his production company, 20th Century Fox gets first crack at all of them and right of first refusal basically. That doesn't mean they are handing him the keys to Fantastic Four. He's probably just developing and setting up new projects, and Fox will greenlight or finance them if they have interest.

I kind of feel like if this was a power play or move like Warner Bros. hiring Bryan Singer to direct Superman Returns, we'd know it.

 

[Stark Bauer]

Whatever is happening...I just hope that he is keeping in contact with his friends from Marvel and hasn't completely severed his relations with them. Things will work out. This has the potential to be the best thing that could happen regarding FF coming back to Marvel Studios simply for the reason that most likely communication will be better similarly to the Sony Marvel leaked emails between Feige and the Sony execs

 

[Willie Lumpkin]

How do you know what he's getting paid or making?

I have no idea what he's getting paid. I do know he would be paid a lot more to do work that is similar to what he has been successful with than to do something less lucrative and more common.

He may very well have taken a pay cut to do non-billion dollar films for the love of art (and less stress). He may also have gotten tired of Feige taking credit for his work and jumped at the opportunity to show everybody he's the real brains behind the MCU.

I've been saying all along "it could be this... or it could be this". You're latching on to one of the possibilities and acting like I said it was a certainty.

 

[Willie Lumpkin]

And I've been accused of "wishful thinking". My wishful thinking in this case is that this has nothing to do with Marvel films and Fox is still fumbling blindly and not figuring things out. And Latcham, in a non-competing role, would be in a perfect position to help his new employer and his old friends make a deal.

But common sense leads me to believe that's not the real situation.

 

[babykhris]

And I've been accused of "wishful thinking". My wishful thinking in this case is that this has nothing to do with Marvel films and Fox is still fumbling blindly and not figuring things out. And Latcham, in a non-competing role, would be in a perfect position to help his new employer and his old friends make a deal.

But common sense leads me to believe that's not the real situation.

Remember FOX did buy a big piece of Boom Studios. What if Latcham is there to develop those properties. Besides 2 Guns what does Boom have??