Congratulations, true believers! By reaching this point, you
now know enough about superheroes to hold your own in a casual conversation
about comics! (Unless this is your first time reading the blog, in which case
you have some back issues to catch up on.)
With all the current franchises out of the way, we look now
to the future, and because I like you all so very much, I present you with this
parting gift: a handy field guide to the next three years of superhero cinema.
Each entry includes the studio making the film, the (US) release date, and a
summary of any noteworthy information. Not every announced project is represented,
but in most of those cases, little is known beyond the title and date anyway.
To all of you who’ve been reading along these past two
months – if any of you exist – I want to sincerely thank you, and I hope that
the knowledge I’ve shared in that time will help guide you along the path to
enlightenment. Or at least to a good time at the movies.
Excelsior!
What’s Next?
Who’s Making It?
Marvel Studios
When Does It Come
Out?
Today! Go see it right now!
Why Should I Care?
Do you like Star Wars?
What about Chris Pratt? Maybe Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana, Batista,
John C. Reilly, Glenn Close, Karen Gillan, Lee Pace, Djimon Hounsou, Benicio
Del Toro, or Merle from The Walking Dead
will strike your fancy? Honestly, if there wasn’t at least one name on that
list that got you excited, I don’t think you actually enjoy entertainment.
In addition to its stellar cast*, Guardians is the first big-budget movie directed by James Gunn, an
indie director who, up until now, was known mostly for his brilliantly insane
genre films like Slither and Super. From the sound of things, Marvel
didn’t inhibit him at all in the making of this movie, meaning that it’ll be
just as out-there as his other work, but with a lot more special effects and
explody things.
The movie also has a giant tree man and a pissed-off,
homicidal raccoon as two of its main characters. You know you want to see this.
* Ba-dum tss
Who?
Disney, based on a Marvel property
When?
November 7, 2014
Why Should I Care?
Quite simply, Disney has been on a roll for the last few
years. Even though I’ll always prefer Wreck-It
Ralph to Frozen, most other people
will tell you – justifiably – that ever since The Princess and the Frog, each new movie they’ve put out has been
better than their last. Big Hero 6 is
the latest project from the House of Mouse, and will depart pretty heavily from
its source material, but it certainly looks promising.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Who?
Marvel Television
When?
January 2015
Why Should I Care?
Old-timey spy show? A (genuine) strong female protagonist?
Two female showrunners? Captain America spinoff? MORE DUM DUM DUGAN!?
What’s not to like?
_________________________________________________________________________________
Who?
Marvel Studios
When?
May 1, 2015
Why Should I Care?
If the projected box office is any indication, you probably already have a ticket.
Daredevil (TV
Series)
Who?
Marvel Television/Netflix
When?
May 2015
Why Should I Care?
The simplest answer is “because Daredevil is cool,” but if
you need more reason than that, just know that this show will be the start of a
kind of second tier within the MCU, in which Daredevil, Luke Cage, Iron Fist,
and Jessica Jones all get their own 13-episode series on Netflix. These shows
will cross over mostly with one another, but will also exist in the same
continuity as the other MCU films.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Untitled Fantastic
Four reboot
Who?
Fox
When?
June 19, 2015
Why Should I Care?
I know what you’re thinking: with a name like that, the
movie practically sells itself!
I genuinely don’t know what to say to make someone excited
about this movie, other than reminding you that the Fantastic Four are, and
have always been, some of the most important Marvel characters of all time.
Even then, that’s really more of a reason for Marvel to reacquire the group’s
film rights, something this reboot can only stand in the way of.
The actors playing the titular quartet – Miles Teller, Kate
Mara, Jamie Bell, and Michael B. Jordan – are all talented enough, even if half
of them are much too young to play their roles believably. Casting Jordan and
Mara as interracial siblings might shake things up in an interesting way, but
none of it is enough to pique my interest, let alone most of yours.
Also, there are rumors that the film and its inevitable
sequels will share a continuity with Fox’s other Marvel holdings, namely the X-Men series. Because two universes of
interlocking superhero franchises just wasn’t enough, am I right?
_________________________________________________________________________________
Who?
Marvel Studios
When?
July 17, 2015
Why Should I Care?
This question would have been much, much easier to answer a few months ago. You see, this project is
actually one of Marvel’s oldest, dating back to 2006, when the studio teamed up
with Edgar Wright – one of the best comedy directors working today, and the man
behind Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, The
World’s End, and Scott Pilgrim vs.
the World. Wright spent the next 7 years working on Ant-Man on and off, but in late May of this year, only a few weeks
before shooting was scheduled to begin, it was announced that he would be
leaving the film due to creative differences. Since then, Ant-Man has become the Internet’s new favorite punching bag, with
some people calling for the film to be cancelled altogether. It’s understandable;
most interested parties didn’t care about an Ant-Man movie so much as they cared
about Edgar Wright’s Ant-Man movie,
and the character himself sounds pretty stupid on paper (he can shrink and talk
to ants).
At this point, any new Ant-Man
news is quickly declared blasphemous and blamed on post-Edgar studio
meddling, because the Internet is petty and awful and apparently doesn’t
realize how much effort actually goes into rewriting a script. Even with three
new writers hired since Wright’s departure (one of whom is frequent Will
Ferrell collaborator Adam McKay), there’s no way that a shooting draft could be
put together from scratch before filming begins later this month. Edgar Wright
will retain, at the very least, a story credit for Ant-Man, and if he doesn’t, I’ll eat my hat collection.
On top of that, the film
still has a lot of other things going for it: Paul Rudd and Michael Douglas
will be playing the two leads, new director Peyton Reed (Bring It On, Yes Man) has firmly established credentials as a comic
book fan, and Wright presumably finished a lot of pre-viz before leaving the
project, meaning that the action scenes should still contain a decent amount of
his distinct visual flair.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Who?
Warner Bros.
When?
March 25, 2016
Why Should I Care?
The only thing better than watching Superman and Batman
fight is watching Superman and Batman be best friends (PROOF). Despite its
title, I remain hopeful that this movie will give us both of those things. It’s
also the first live-action film to feature Wonder Woman and Aquaman, yet
another element that the name utterly fails to convey.
_________________________________________________________________________________
X-Men: Apocalypse
Who?
Fox
When?
May 27, 2016
Why Should I Care?
The X-Men franchise
is apparently harder to kill than Wolverine, and even though I still haven’t
seen Days of Future Past, it sounds
like the series is entering into a new groove here. Apocalypse is certainly a
noteworthy villain, and worth getting excited over, but if you want a true
recommendation, I’m afraid you’ll have to ask someone else.
Doctor Strange
Who?
Marvel Studios
When?
July 8, 2016
Why Should I Care?
Ignoring street-level folks like the aforementioned
Daredevil, the Marvel Universe is split roughly into thirds: science-based
heroes, cosmic heroes, and mystical heroes. We were introduced to those first
two groups by Iron Man and Thor, respectively, but Doctor Strange will be our
guide into that fabled third gate. Plus, he may be played by Joaquin Phoenix.
How awesomely insane would that be?
The Sinister Six
Who?
Sony
When?
November 11, 2016
Why Should I Care?
Aren’t you at least a little curious to know what six
villains would do if they had to work together and didn’t have a Spider-Man to
fight?
Justice League
Who?
Warner Bros.
When?
May 2017
Why Should I Care?
Next Week: A bonus entry about a bunch of A-holes.
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