Spoilers Marvel Cinematic Universe spoiler-heavy speculation thread

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

It was tongue in cheek, but if the producers/writers would want to cast the shadow of a doubt on the integrity of his plot armor in Civil War, this would be the thing they could point to.

Never mind that he could die in the next movie and make a reappearance in a flashback or time travel story.

 

[Relayer1]

I think we've got to face up to losing Evans, Downey and probably most (if not all) of the early MCU cast in the next few movies.

Would we rather the charcters be retired or recast ? Ask yourself how you feel about a new Wolverine over in the X-Men movies...

 

[Venardhi]

6 picture deal doesn't actually mean he can't appear in fewer mind you. Sebastian Stan has a deal for 9 and I seriously doubt he will end up in near as many at this point unless he joins the Avengers roster by Infinity Wars.

I think we've got to face up to losing Evans, Downey and probably most (if not all) of the early MCU cast in the next few movies.

Would we rather the charcters be retired or recast ? Ask yourself how you feel about a new Wolverine over in the X-Men movies...

Retired, no question. The fewer recasts there are, the better. There are plenty of options for people to take up the names when Tony or Steve are gone.

 

[FPAlpha]

I think we've got to face up to losing Evans, Downey and probably most (if not all) of the early MCU cast in the next few movies.

Would we rather the charcters be retired or recast ? Ask yourself how you feel about a new Wolverine over in the X-Men movies...

Avengers 2 pretty much set up a change of the team, they're not even hiding it much and i think it's good that they are planning it so well in advance.

I believe the reason for this is twofold.. A listers like Downey Jr. (whom the MCU made an A lister) won't play the role forever as much as they like (and he turned 50 this year and it starts to show) and he's become way too expensive for Marvel's own liking (Downey even made jokes about his 50 million paycheck and how Marvel is surely pissed).

So even while Downey is very popular the MCU is more important than a single actor so they will be phasing him out, i doubt they will recast him anytime soon. The same will happen with Evans who's also become quite popular though not as expensive as Downey.

I think Infinity War will be the last movie(s) with the "old guard" after which they will either retire for in-continuity reasons or if Marvel has the balls they will be killed off. They have enough irons in the fire to keep the MCU going and certainly enough characters to choose from, it will just depend if they strike a chord with the viewers and be popular enough to be made an Avenger.

Since Marvel has had a pretty good run casting wise. Who has heard of Evans prior to Marvel? Most know of him only from Fantastic Four where he was admittedly one of the better parts in otherwise forgetful movies but who has also heard from Downey Jr. before he was thrust into the spotlight again with Iron Man (Downey Jr. was a hot thing in the 90s but sabotaged his own career so only a few people knew about him.

Maybe Marvel will also try to steer away from huge A list people and be content to have good actors for much less money (unless one of them breaks out again and becomes A list) and produce good movies, it certainly wouldn't be a bad step but then again it'll be around 5 years and after Infinity War concludes before anything has to be done about this.

 

[Rincewiend]

That's the beauty of making the Avengers the focus of the movies, you can move characters in and out of the line-up just like in the comics...

 

[Venardhi]

The only issue with that is how many people are going to go see "The Falcon" in 2018, or "Scarlet Witch: Silver Vengeance" in 2019? On some level they are still highly dependent on the name recognition of the big heroes.

 

[Grendelsbayne]

The only issue with that is how many people are going to go see "The Falcon" in 2018, or "Scarlet Witch: Silver Vengeance" in 2019? On some level they are still highly dependent on the name recognition of the big heroes.

If they do it right, then presumably about the same number (or maybe a little more) that are willing to go see "Ant-man" in 2015 or "The Guardians of the Galaxy" in 2014. Pulling out almost completely unknown characters and making fun movies about them is clearly a big part of Marvel's model at this point. It's the brand that's important more than the individual characters. After all, large chunks of the general audience had never heard of Iron Man before 2008, and although Captain America was well known, he wasn't exactly 'cool'.

 

[Venardhi]

Sure, but Guardians was a risk, and so is Ant-Man. Trusting the future of the entire brand on the C-list replacements who don't have nearly the iconic qualities of Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, etc. may not be the most successful of strategies, especially considering there are more than a few 'news' outlets already trying to convince their readers that "super hero fatigue" is beginning to set in. I'd much sooner see Bucky taking over the Captain America mantle in some way, shape or form, with Falcon as his foil or vice-versa. Likewise, having someone else take up the Iron Man name, or be found worthy of the Hammer of Thor, etc. Would offer both name recognition and history, but also a new take on the premise of a supersoldier, a genius in an armored suit, a flawed man(or woman) with the power of a god, etc.

 

[bbjeg]

Well I'd watch a Scarlet Witch movie. I also see her appearing in a few movies before she gets her own like the next Avengers movie or Doctor Strange or something.

 

[JoeZhang]

I'd love to see a marvel film bomb just to see what happens.

 

[bbjeg]

^Do you? Watch the first Fantastic Four movie (1994) and see if you can maintain that attitude.

[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_X5C6e3ZeY[/Yt]

 

[JoeZhang]

^Do you? Watch the first Fantastic Four movie (1994) and see if you can maintain that attitude.

seen it a number of times thanks.

 

[Star Wolf]

Sure, but Guardians was a risk, and so is Ant-Man. Trusting the future of the entire brand on the C-list replacements who don't have nearly the iconic qualities of Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, etc. may not be the most successful of strategies, especially considering there are more than a few 'news' outlets already trying to convince their readers that "super hero fatigue" is beginning to set in. I'd much sooner see Bucky taking over the Captain America mantle in some way, shape or form, with Falcon as his foil or vice-versa. Likewise, having someone else take up the Iron Man name, or be found worthy of the Hammer of Thor, etc. Would offer both name recognition and history, but also a new take on the premise of a supersoldier, a genius in an armored suit, a flawed man(or woman) with the power of a god, etc.

The counter argument is among your list only Steve Rogers was an iconic character. His story of the small 4-F guy from Brooklyn. The MCU made do with their B-list plus the Hulk in the first place

 

[The Old Mixer]

Would we rather the charcters be retired or recast ?

Retired! They have a big potential cast of characters to develop, and that seems to be the direction they're going anyway, with the likes of Dr. Strange, the Black Panther, and Captain Marvel getting their own films.

It would be great if surviving old characters could still pop up when it's appropriate to the story, though.

but who has also heard from Downey Jr. before he was thrust into the spotlight again with Iron Man (Downey Jr. was a hot thing in the 90s but sabotaged his own career so only a few people knew about him.

He was still pretty well-known when he was cast as IM, it's just that his career was dead. That's not the same thing as people not knowing who he was. I remember a lot of comments at the time about what a perfect casting choice it was, in the context that the people who were making those comments were already familiar with RDJ and his checkered history.

especially considering there are more than a few 'news' outlets already trying to convince their readers that "super hero fatigue" is beginning to set in.

--Not at you, but at the media commentators that you speak of. They've been wishfully predicting the demise of the superhero movie trend for years...and years...and years...from before the MCU even got off the ground with Iron Man. As long as superhero movies put massive numbers of butts in seats, studios will keep making them. Critics who've been wanting to see them go away for over a decade won't have a say in the matter. Even a relative flop like Green Lantern put an impressive number of butts in seats compared to most other films--It's just a matter of balancing that against the spending to keep the films profitable.

 

[Star Wolf]

especially considering there are more than a few 'news' outlets already trying to convince their readers that "super hero fatigue" is beginning to set in.

--Not at you, but at the media commentators that you speak of. They've been wishfully predicting the demise of the superhero movie trend for years...and years...and years...from before the MCU even got off the ground with Iron Man. As long as superhero movies put massive numbers of butts in seats, studios will keep making them. Critics who've been wanting to see them go away for over a decade won't have a say in the matter. Even a relative flop like Green Lantern put an impressive number of butts in seats compared to most other films--It's just a matter of balancing that against the spending to keep the films profitable.

We are also talking about the people who nominate ten Best Picture films and still manage to miss all the films people pay money to see.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Sure, but Guardians was a risk, and so is Ant-Man. Trusting the future of the entire brand on the C-list replacements who don't have nearly the iconic qualities of Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, etc. may not be the most successful of strategies, especially considering there are more than a few 'news' outlets already trying to convince their readers that "super hero fatigue" is beginning to set in. I'd much sooner see Bucky taking over the Captain America mantle in some way, shape or form, with Falcon as his foil or vice-versa. Likewise, having someone else take up the Iron Man name, or be found worthy of the Hammer of Thor, etc. Would offer both name recognition and history, but also a new take on the premise of a supersoldier, a genius in an armored suit, a flawed man(or woman) with the power of a god, etc.

The counter argument is among your list only Steve Rogers was an iconic character. His story of the small 4-F guy from Brooklyn. The MCU made do with their B-list plus the Hulk in the first place

I'd argue that not even Cap was an A-Lister. And I say that as a major Captain America fan.

 

[Grendelsbayne]

Sure, but Guardians was a risk, and so is Ant-Man. Trusting the future of the entire brand on the C-list replacements who don't have nearly the iconic qualities of Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, etc. may not be the most successful of strategies, especially considering there are more than a few 'news' outlets already trying to convince their readers that "super hero fatigue" is beginning to set in. I'd much sooner see Bucky taking over the Captain America mantle in some way, shape or form, with Falcon as his foil or vice-versa. Likewise, having someone else take up the Iron Man name, or be found worthy of the Hammer of Thor, etc. Would offer both name recognition and history, but also a new take on the premise of a supersoldier, a genius in an armored suit, a flawed man(or woman) with the power of a god, etc.

As has been mentioned, those 'iconic' characters really weren't that iconic 10 years ago. The average person had probably heard of Captain America and the Hulk and none of the others. And Cap and Hulk weren't exactly widely respected, either.

Plus, the characters that are already being lined up to replace these guys are a) already being put in the public eye through guest appearances in upcoming movies, and b) far from alone. Marvel's bringing out Black Panther and Captain Marvel, who are both guaranteed to get tons of media attention considering how long people have been complaining about there not being any good superhero movies about women/minorities, plus the Inhumans, Dr. Strange, and who knows who else. Some characters will be less popular than others, but they're bringing out more than enough new people for the audience to find someone they're interested in. Not to mention the continued possibility of building on the Guardians of the Galaxy, who are now almost as popular as the Avengers themselves...

 

[shapeshifter]

If it has MARVEL printed on the package,* it's a fair bet my butt is going to be in a seat for at least one showing.

Why? Because they generally are GOOD movies, imo. IM2 is the only one I wished I had waited for video.

*20th Century Fox/Marvel or SONY/Marvel are different story's.

 

[bbjeg]

^Do you? Watch the first Fantastic Four movie (1994) and see if you can maintain that attitude.

seen it a number of times thanks.

How'd you get through it? Mellow jazz? Bongo drums? Huge bag of weed?

If it has MARVEL printed on the package,* it's a fair bet my butt is going to be in a seat for at least one showing...

Same here.

 

[Turtletrekker]

How'd you get through it? Mellow jazz? Bongo drums? Huge bag of weed?

I bought the Corman FF movie on DVD at ECCC a few weeks back. As for how I got through it, post I-502 Washington state says "hello".