A lot of news came out in regards to Marvel this week.

According to Collider.com, Joaquin Phoenix is said to be in final talks to play Doctor Strange on the big screen. Doctor Strange is currently in development and will be a part of Phase 3 in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Right around this year’s San Diego Comic Con, there were rumors that Joaquin Phoenix was being sort after to play the role of Doctor Strange in the MCU. Prior to him, such names as Jared Leto, Johnny Depp and Benedict Cumberbatch had been mentioned. To add fuel to the fire, while Phoenix was filming the newest Woody Allen film in New London, Connecticut, he stopped by a local comic book store and purchased several Doctor Strange comic books. Very strange. Lol Colldier is reporting that the contract is being finalized and we should hear something soon. The delay may have to do with a multi-picture deal, since Phoenix is not an actor inclined to do sequels. In the comics, Dr. Stephen Strange is a brilliant neurosurgeon who cared very little about people and was mostly concerned about wealth. After a car accident leaves him unable to perform surgery, he looks for a way to restore his abilities and purpose. He comes across an ancient mystic who sees good in the Doctor and he teaches him to become Sorcerer Supreme, who protects Earth against magical and mystical threats.

 

Avengers: Age Of Ultron wrapped up filming this month and according to Badassdigest.com, Captain America will lead a new team of Avengers at some point in the movie. What this most likely means is that Captain America will form the West Coast Avengers, which will include Vision, played by Paul Bettany, Quicksilver played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Scarlet Witch, played by Elizabeth Olsen, as well as some unknown heroes. In the Avengers comics, the Avengers eventually were split between the core Avengers and the West Coast Avengers. This could lead to a battle between the Avengers, lead by Iron Man, and the West Coast Avengers, lead by Captain America at some point. With Fox owning the movie rights to X-Men and the Fantastic Four and Sony owning the rights to Spider-man, this could lead to Disney/Marvel’s version of Civil War, which forced super heroes to choose side as to whether or not to register their identity’s due to the Governments Superhero Registration Act. A huge battle ensues, they call each other names and doesn’t necessarily end with them all hugging it out.

 
Last month Fox wrapped up filming for it’s Fantastic Four reboot and GeekPride.com got their hands on some leaked photos of the villain Dr. Doom. If this is any indication of what they are doing with the characters, hopefully Disney and Marvel will be getting the rights back to the Fantastic Four. It’s obvious that the director Josh Trank and the writers do not understand the Fantastic Four. Michael B. Jordan, who plays the Human Torch, recently talked about the reboot and said, “We’re more or less a bunch of kids that had an accident and we have disabilities now that we have to cope with, and try to find a life afterwards – try to be as normal as we can.” The Fantastic Four never had disabilities. They had super powers which they embraced, except maybe the Thing. I heard that they basically filmed their scenes and wrapped up filming in 2 months. That is not a good sign and more of a sign for a rush job. Fox has owned the rights to the Fantastic Four movies since the 90’s. They produced two movies, Fantastic Four and Fantastic Four Rise Of The Silver Surfer. After being disappointed with the reviews and box office from the sequel, Fox put all future FF movies on hold. One of the clauses that Marvel had in its negations for the movie rights with Fox is that if a Fantastic Four movie is not made every 7 years, the rights go back to Marvel. This recently happened with another Fox owned Marvel property, Daredevil, which now Disney and Marvel own and will have its own Netflix series next year. Fox wants to retain the rights to the series but they also do not want to be producing movies that generate a loss. If this bombs at the box office, it could lead to negotiations between Fox and Disney/Marvel where the rights could go back to the Disney MCU. From what I have heard of the script, casting and character design, there is a strong possibility that this will not do well. Fingers crossed.

 

Robert Downey Jr. recently named his favorite Marvel Movie. During an interview with the Toronto Sun, Downey was asked what did he feel was the best Marvel movie and he replied Guardians Of The Galaxy. “In some ways, Guardians Of The Galaxy, is the best Marvel movie ever. It’s odd for someone with—on occasion—an ego the size of mine to actually say that,” said Downey.

 

This may have to do more with the DC Movie Universe but it does show how the MCU does differ with their approach to super hero movies. According to Hitflix.com, Warner Brothers has enforced a “no jokes” policy for the entire DC Cinematic Universe. This apparently stems from the failure at the box office of the Green Lantern movie. “DC treats their superhero characters more like gods, fighting battles that we simply can’t comprehend or participate in because of our natures. Even Batman, who has no superpowers, is treated like he is a legend, an icon that he’s nurtured as a symbol of fear. Marvel characters are more flawed, more human, struggling to live human lives while still dealing with their powers and their responsibility to the world. And if DC finds a way to try to play their films on this larger, operatic, hero-as-myth level storytelling, I’d be excited to see that. I’d want to see that.” Personally I enjoy the DC movies, especially the Dark Knight Series. But to me, the only character in the DC Cinematic Universe who should ever be dark is Batman. Man Of Steel had some great moments but you can tell that they used the dark and brooding story that originated in the Dark Knight series as a template for the Superman reboot. Marvel’s equivalent to Superman is Thor and even though the sequel was titled Thor Dark World, it was one of the funniest Marvel movies until Guardians Of The Galaxy came along. Even Superman’s costume was dark. Humor is put into action movies to lighten things up and give you a break from all of the action. It should be embraced, not banned.

Well that’s it for this week. :)

 

Joe Hogarty