The Gauntlet Has Been Thrown: The Future of Superhero Movies

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Melissa Benoist :  Kara Danvers
Dean Cain : Jeremiah Danvers - Kara's adoptive father, previously Superman in Lois & Clark
Helen Slater : Eliza Danvers  - Kara's adoptive father, previously Lara-El in Smallville and Supergirl in '84 movie
Laura Vandervort : Indigo, previously Kara Zor-El in Smallville.

So I'm expecting them to shoe horn in shot of the 3 Supergirl's together.
I was thinking more of Robert Downey Jr. he's 50 and Don Cheadle is slightly older so they're not going be right for all action heroes. Mark Ruffalo and Chris Hemsworth are great actors who won't want to get typecast. As for Benedict Cumberbatch, I think Dr. Strange is just another step in his quest for world domination. And then there is poor Scarlett Johansson, not exactly given a substantial role in the films and where Robert Downey Jr. *might* be able to go on for another 5 or 10 years there no way they cast a 60 year old woman to run around in a skin tight cat suit.

I'm not saying that replacing the actors\characters is a bad thing, just that it's inevitable as get older and think about career prospects beyond the limits of the MCU.

I don't think Hemsworth needs to worry about being typecast after Rush, but I guess I see your point. And the cast is so varied that while some do need to worry about their ages, others don't (yet). Makes me wonder how that's going to affect casting for Captain Marvel.

[SapphireStar]

As of the current lineup, there has been no mention of Robet Downey Jr. doing another solo Iron Man movie or appearing in future movies. Most appearances might depend on the outcome of the new Civil War they are doing. Which states a major character will die. And, it is looking to be Iron Man. Marvel wouldn't shoot themselves in the foot with the upcoming slate of movies. Plus, they are focusing on the new crop of characters slated for the movies. There is already a rumor dropping that Infinity war will potentially feature a new slate of characters including S.H.I.E.L.D. characters.

Age is a fickle thing in Hollywood. And, depends on how well a box office draw most stars are. There are some who defy age and look incredible for their age. Dina Meyer would be awesome in a Superhero role since she played Barbara Gordon/Batgirl/Oracle in Birds of Prey. Charlize Theron could pull off any number of roles. Cate Blanchett would be perfect for a role like Hela or other role. Scarlett Johansson's role may depend also on the outcome on the new Civil War. But, it isn't looking likely that she might appear in future movies. They've already been talking about a female Thor for future Thor movies. It all comes down to which actor is going to draw in the most money. And, push out those who are "fading".

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I've been questioning exactly how Jessica Jones managed to get as good of critical reception as it has. I mean, aside from not shying away from extremely sensitive and controversial subject matter and a superb villain, it should have overall been regarded as middling at best. I don't hear anyone defending anything about it other than those two aspects.

[SapphireStar]

I haven't seen the show yet, but from the few clips it looks good. But, then with most trailers and promos they only show the good stuff. Even the producers of Supergirl have come out and stated that the show has had problems. With the rate of super powers and such they are using on the show, it is easily the most expensive thus far.

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I haven't seen the show yet, but from the few clips it looks good. But, then with most trailers and promos they only show the good stuff. Even the producers of Supergirl have come out and stated that the show has had problems. With the rate of super powers and such they are using on the show, it is easily the most expensive thus far.

Well to be honest I didn't think much of Ritter's performance just from the trailer and it basically stayed that way throughout the entire run, just a dour one-note performance and frankly by the end there's zero character development. They really should have not utilized the woman behind the Twilight movies as a showrunner but more than that, they should have either gotten the Alias comic's creator Brian Michael Bendis to be more involved or at least try to have drawn more from the original story. At least then maybe there could have been more interesting subplots that didn't feel like bland filler.

[CaptainNexus616]

Hence why I feel Infinity Wars or after will be the reboot. Marvel has proven that an unknown comic book to the general public can make money on the big screen. They have only tapped into their slew of characters yet so I wouldn't be against having some guys retire and bringing in new characters to explore.

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Hence why I feel Infinity Wars or after will be the reboot. Marvel has proven that an unknown comic book to the general public can make money on the big screen. They have only tapped into their slew of characters yet so I wouldn't be against having some guys retire and bringing in new characters to explore.

I wouldn't imagine it would be a reboot in the way that Fantastic 4 and Rise of the Silver Surfer got rebooted as Fant4stic, but more in the way that the first four series of the new Doctor Who were rebooted from season 5 and onward. But there are going to be way too many dead folks during and after the battle with Thanos to continue the MCU without some kind of time-reversing or time-travel going on. But a soft reboot would give a fantastic excuse for the same characters to have a different actor portray them and not just gloss over how Terrance Howard and Edward Norton became Don Cheadle and Mark Ruffalo, respectively.

[SapphireStar]

There was an article which eluded to the possibility that at least 67 characters heroes and villains would potentially make an appearance in the Infinity War movies. They already stated recently that upcoming movies will focus on the new slate of characters and actors who have been introduced at least in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Which means Robert Downey Jr, Mark Ruffalo and others are being slowly pused out of the MCU.

There was a rumor or two circulating that Terrance Howard was difficult to deal with and there was friction between him and Robert Downey Jr and others involved which eventually led to the recasting.

Had a thought, Milia Jovovich who plays Alice from Resident Evil might make an interesting casting choice for Captain Marvel. She's got quite a few action movies under her belt and doing fight and stunts might not be that difficult.

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There was an article which eluded to the possibility that at least 67 characters heroes and villains would potentially make an appearance in the Infinity War movies. They already stated recently that upcoming movies will focus on the new slate of characters and actors who have been introduced at least in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Which means Robert Downey Jr, Mark Ruffalo and others are being slowly pused out of the MCU.

There was a rumor or two circulating that Terrance Howard was difficult to deal with and there was friction between him and Robert Downey Jr and others involved which eventually led to the recasting.

Had a thought, Milia Jovovich who plays Alice from Resident Evil might make an interesting casting choice for Captain Marvel. She's got quite a few action movies under her belt and doing fight and stunts might not be that difficult.

67? Well let's see if the ones we actually know about add up to at least half of that...I'll try to go in order of their appearances in the films (minus the ones who are confirmed dead, but including the ones whose films and/or casting haven't been released yet) AND assume that they're not going to cross-pollinate any of the TV show people. Also note it's only people who actually directly contribute to the fight and/or have powers, so no Nick Fury or Coulson.

Iron Man
Hulk
War Machine
Black Widow
Thor
Lady Sif
Volstagg
Fandral
Hogun
Odin
Hawkeye
Captain America
Bucky/Winter Soldier
Peter Quill
Gamora
Drax
Rocket
Groot
Yondu
Nova
Scarlet Witch
Vision
Ant-Man (Hank Pym)
Ant-Man (Scott Lang)
Wasp (Janet Van Dyne)
Wasp (Hope Van Dyne)
Black Panther
Spider-Man
Doctor Strange
Ancient One
Mantis (who will be appearing in Guardians 2)
Captain Marvel

Well, I'll be damned, that's just about half. But still, even if you include the TV heroes, that's not nearly enough (unless you count every Inhuman that will be appearing on Agents of SHIELD, but even then...)

Let's see if the TV shows add up to the other half, just in case.

Netflix:
Daredevil
Stick
Stone
Elektra
Punisher
Jessica Jones
Luke Cage
Iron Fist

AoS:
Daisy Johnson/Quake
Joey Gutierrez/Melter(?)
Lincoln

That only adds about 10. I think that talk of 67 is either extremely liberal in their definition of 'heroes' (like Pepper, Jane Foster, Darcy, etc.) or there's stuff that they're going to have to cram into each movie from now until part I of Infinity War to make that happen. But then there's also the boast that they're not going to have any heroes in common between parts I and II except for the Hulk. Curious.

Also, how old is Jovovich? They'll probably want someone late-twenties for Carol Danvers so she can be used for at least a decade. Of course at this point we're only looking at about 5 years before the strong possibility of a soft reboot that will require everyone to be recast.

[SapphireStar]

There is also

Lash (Inhuman currently in stasis)
Ward 2.0

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Grant Ward was taken over by the Inhuman from that barren planet

Loki
Sharon Carter (played by Emily Van Camp)

(Natalie Portman has apparently expressed displeasure about returning to play Jane Foster since they dropped a woman director from directing Thor 3)

(Gregg Clark who plays Coulson has expressed an interest in returning to the movies)

Baron Von Strucker
Zemo
Crossbones
Falcon/Sam Wilson
Mockingbird
Lance Hunter

(Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Most Wanted is officially a go)

Milla Jovovich is 41. So, she could still do a few movies. Robert Downey Jr, and few others were already in their forties when they started in the MCU.

There is also the new crop of characters being used for the upcoming Legion show on FOX based on Professor X's son, Legion.

Potential characters who have yet to appear:

Adam Warlock
The Echantress (her sister Lorelei already appeared on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.)
Crystal
Medusa
Black Bolt

[Ananym]

There's a really interesting article here about Marvel Comics and what it might mean for the future of the MCU and vice versa.  After reading it, I'm not a fan of what they are doing to the Marvel Universe as a whole.  It smacks to much of market positioning.  That's a sure fire way for executives to kill artistic freedoms.

There are some spoiler things in this for comic fans.
http://kotaku.com/secret-wars-finale-says-goodbye-to-the-marvel-comics-of-1752757161

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There's a really interesting article here about Marvel Comics and what it might mean for the future of the MCU and vice versa.  After reading it, I'm not a fan of what they are doing to the Marvel Universe as a whole.  It smacks to much of market positioning.  That's a sure fire way for executives to kill artistic freedoms.

There are some spoiler things in this for comic fans.
http://kotaku.com/secret-wars-finale-says-goodbye-to-the-marvel-comics-of-1752757161

I don't read the new stuff so it's not a big deal to me. Besides, the best stuff they can draw inspiration from for the movies is NOT the new stuff, and it's proving that the ones that are based on the new stuff do not make good movie adaptations.

Also, SapphireStar, I wasn't counting villains (even if they are redeemable) and non-powered humans who have not fought beside the other Avengers (so only Black Widow and Hawkeye counted), but even counting all those other characters, that still doesn't put the number high enough.

Doctor Strange certainly has the potential to introduce other helpful individuals, as does Black Panther, Guardians 2 (apart from Mantis, the only confirmed newcomer so far) and Thor: Ragnarok can bring in a bunch of other Asgardians or characters from other parts of the 9 Realms to pad the numbers. But it all feels so ridiculous, Age of Ultron was a bloated mess trying to stuff too many characters in, the first Avengers had just the right amount, six primary heroes, one mail villain and two main supporting cast. Going any further than that is just asking for trouble. If those characters are in it, they surely won't have speaking roles. Montage shots, maybe, or a big group shot showing just how many there are to stand against the villains, but they can't possibly cram a decent amount of everyone in to give them a significant role even if they expanded IW to 3 movies instead of 2.

[mia h]

..and Jessica Jones has been picked up for Season 2

[SapphireStar]

There is already reports circulating that there is potential plans to create a spinoff for The Punisher on Netflix.

[CaptainNexus616]

..and Jessica Jones has been picked up for Season 2

I will watch that on two conditions. They learn from their mistakes from last season. AND AS LONG AS ROBYN NEVER RETURNS

There is already reports circulating that there is potential plans to create a spinoff for The Punisher on Netflix.

I can get behind this without a doubt. The Punisher needs his own show.

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I will watch that on two conditions. They learn from their mistakes from last season. AND AS LONG AS ROBYN NEVER RETURNS

I can get behind this without a doubt. The Punisher needs his own show.

I'll add a few conditions: Make Jessica someone I would actually care about winning or losing in her conflict. She stays a mopey person who doesn't want to use the powers she has for good reasons. In the comics she at least had some redeeming qualities. Also make the story compelling enough to fill 13 episodes, otherwise cut the length by half. Seriously, quality over quantity.

If the Punisher gets his own series, I'd rather they put their resources behind THAT than a second season of JJ anyway. But I'd want Punisher's first season to happen prior to Defenders so he can be a bit more fleshed out beforehand. That way we get a developed Daredevil, Luke Cage, Iron Fist and Punisher, and we won't have too much to cry over if JJ stays bitchy and unlikable to 99% of the people she meets.

All this makes me wonder, though, is this slew of second series (or spinoffs...ha! Alliteration...) going to delay the Defenders series? Also I'm really hoping that it, if not any of the other solo series, will bridge the gap between Netflix shows and Agents of SHIELD. Having Coulson bring them in for a special task force sounds better to me than them just happening by chance to unite for whatever threat they're going to be facing.

I forget if I asked here before, is anyone on board with Blade (and by extension introducing vampires) getting a Netflix series and bringing a little extra supernatural goodness into the Netflix stuff? Most of Daredevil and JJ's abilities are science-based chemical gobbledygook (although DD's kind of on the supernatural side too with how he can handle pain and heal more quickly through meditation), as are Luke Cage's, so of them only Iron Fist really draws the majority of his power from mysticism and the supernatural. If you throw in Punisher and Elektra (and potentially Shang Chi somewhere in Iron Fist's show) then they could definitely use more of the fantasy rather than sci-fi to help balance out the team.

[CaptainNexus616]

I'm kinda hoping they will delve into the more supernatural aspects with Daredevil Season 2. Stick's coming back so we may learn more about his 'war' he mentioned in the first season. If Eleketra is a Hand Assassin like in the comics that is another thing to look forward too.

That said I would still love to have a Blade show.

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I'm kinda hoping they will delve into the more supernatural aspects with Daredevil Season 2. Stick's coming back so we may learn more about his 'war' he mentioned in the first season. If Eleketra is a Hand Assassin like in the comics that is another thing to look forward too.

That said I would still love to have a Blade show.

Hell yes, I am so looking forward to that. Nobu the red-clad ninja with the blade on a chain that was practically killing Matt was just one of many members of the Hand, and it's unlikely he was the strongest. So even with his new armor, character development and upgraded skills and experience, Daredevil is going to have a hell of a fight on his hands if they decide that, without Fisk and co. around to stir up trouble in Hell's Kitchen, the territory is ripe for the picking. I'd like to think that they are too much for him alone and that is why he'll need the assistance (although probably not his first choice) of both Elektra and Frank Castle. I'd like to see Punisher in a hand-to-hand scene just to get an idea of how he is when he's not relying on heavy firepower.

[CaptainNexus616]

I think I remember seeing some leaked screenshots of Berthnal in a hand to hand scene. The Punisher in the comics is heavily trained in multiple forms of Special Operations level hand to hand combat from many different branches of the military. In addition he knows multiple forms of martial arts. Nash Ryu Jujutsu, Ninjutsu, Shorin-ryu Karate, Hwa Rang Do, and Chin Na.

If the MCU Punisher has this level of skill with hand to hand combat....I would hate to be caught in close quarters with him.

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I think I remember seeing some leaked screenshots of Berthnal in a hand to hand scene. The Punisher in the comics is heavily trained in multiple forms of Special Operations level hand to hand combat from many different branches of the military. In addition he knows multiple forms of martial arts. Nash Ryu Jujutsu, Ninjutsu, Shorin-ryu Karate, Hwa Rang Do, and Chin Na.

If the MCU Punisher has this level of skill with hand to hand combat....I would hate to be caught in close quarters with him.

I just want to see how he stacks up against DD and Elektra, is all. I know his brand of 'justice' involves lethality and that usually means gunpowder and metal are involved. I don't want any particular hero to step on another's too much, so while I do hope to see Castle handling things with fisticuffs at least once, I would rather leave the melee stuff to DD and his unnaturally acrobatic style. But really, I want to at least see him using his sticks as a staff rather than as batons (apart from the throwing them and not being tasers, it's too reminiscent of Mockingbird on Agents of SHIELD) all the time so he can branch it out a little. I know I may have mentioned this but I also want him to be able to use a grappling hook feature with them too like in the Daredevil movie, because him running around on rooftops and scaling fire escapes like it's nothing is just a bit too unbelievable, especially when in pursuit of moving motor vehicles. Actually, it's extremely unbelievable even for a fantasy show.

[SapphireStar]

Okay. I had one of those double take moments where i was reading various news articles and was left wondering if this announcement was possibly a joke or if they might possibly be serious. Apparently, Stan Lee has stated he thinks it would be interesting, maybe even possible to do an Avengers/Star Wars crossover  :o 

What? I nearly hit the floor. I know Marvel has done some interesting crossovers with comic book titles in the past like X-Men/WildC.A.T.S., X-Force/Youngblood, Spider-Man/Batman, to name a few.

On another note, there was a Deadpool fan experience in both New York and Los Angeles recently. The fans were treated to a surprise. They got a free screening of the movie. So far most have been favorable reviews.

[Mathim]

Okay. I had one of those double take moments where i was reading various news articles and was left wondering if this announcement was possibly a joke or if they might possibly be serious. Apparently, Stan Lee has stated he thinks it would be interesting, maybe even possible to do an Avengers/Star Wars crossover  :o 

What? I nearly hit the floor. I know Marvel has done some interesting crossovers with comic book titles in the past like X-Men/WildC.A.T.S., X-Force/Youngblood, Spider-Man/Batman, to name a few.

On another note, there was a Deadpool fan experience in both New York and Los Angeles recently. The fans were treated to a surprise. They got a free screening of the movie. So far most have been favorable reviews.

I think Batman also crossed over with both Terminator and Predator (possibly both simultaneously) so who knows, the sky's the limit if everyone who owns the intellectual properties is willing to play ball. They can even cross the Evil Dead universe with Marvel which happened during Marvel Zombies.

I'd like to see some critic reviews of Deadpool too, but I'm still going to see it regardless (unless it gets as low a score as Fant4stic or something abysmal like that.) Only a month away-still too long! I know it's not exactly an ideal Valentine's Day movie but I do wish it would come out the week of instead of the week after.

[CaptainNexus616]

Okay. I had one of those double take moments where i was reading various news articles and was left wondering if this announcement was possibly a joke or if they might possibly be serious. Apparently, Stan Lee has stated he thinks it would be interesting, maybe even possible to do an Avengers/Star Wars crossover  :o 

What? I nearly hit the floor. I know Marvel has done some interesting crossovers with comic book titles in the past like X-Men/WildC.A.T.S., X-Force/Youngblood, Spider-Man/Batman, to name a few.

Makes sense. With them retconning the comics into one new universe they could say that the Galaxy Far Far Away is somewhere out there in a alternate Marvel Universe for a one shot series.  Plus since both Star Wars and Marvel on the Hype train its a real win win scenario.

On another note, there was a Deadpool fan experience in both New York and Los Angeles recently. The fans were treated to a surprise. They got a free screening of the movie. So far most have been favorable reviews.

Those...lucky F**K Mothering Vampires lol. (A cookie for whoever gets the reference)

[SapphireStar]

Hmm, gonna take a guess. Hannibal King from Blade Trinity  O:)

[Beorning]

New Suicide Squad trailer for you guys!

https://youtu.be/v3OZ0eOTLTU