"Disney sees big bucks in Marvel unknowns"

[Aragorn]

Here's a new article about the status of Marvel Entertainment with Disney buying them up. It's much bigger than the stuff I'm clipping out, so you might want to read the whole thing if you want to get a better idea of it all.

Complete AP article via MSNBC


Disney sees big bucks in Marvel unknowns
Are second-string superheroes worth the $4.2 billion price tag?

LOS ANGELES - Moviegoers have shown a willingness to be entangled by Spider-Man's web over and over again. Now, as Disney prepares to buy the comic-book powerhouse Marvel, it faces the question of whether fans will also get attached to characters as obscure as Ant-Man and Iron Fist.

.....

Disney's biggest challenge will be to get enough people enthused about second-string superheroes to justify the price — about $1.2 billion, or 40 percent, more than what Marvel's stock was worth when the deal was announced Aug. 31.

The high price means Disney will have to find new ways to earn revenue from Marvel — perhaps by bringing Marvel-licensed toys to more store shelves around the world, and by digging deep into its comic vault for potential new blockbusters.

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Possibilities include classics such as Ant-Man, the alter-ego of mad scientist Dr. Henry Pym, and Dr. Strange, the mystical go-to guy whenever there's an extradimensional threat. Both are connected to The Avengers line of characters that Marvel had started developing for the big screen long before Disney made the deal; Iron Man and the Hulk are among the Avengers that Marvel already has tapped.

There are about 5,000 more characters, including obscure ones such as martial arts master Iron Fist from the 1970s and up-and-coming ones such as the Runaways, a street-savvy pack of teenagers that have become a recent Marvel comic-book hit.

Whoever is the next comic book movie star, Marvel has a track record of success: its "Iron Man" movie took in $572 million at box offices worldwide despite the character once being a B-lister in the pantheon of superheroes.

"They picked the right one and they did it the right way," said Gareb Shamus, whose company Wizard Entertainment Group runs several of the Comic-Con fan conventions around the nation. "When you do that you've got a franchise that could last forever."

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Disney would benefit the most from new characters that Disney and Marvel develop together because the company would own the franchises outright instead of simply receiving licensing fees from the movies that Sony Corp. and News Corp.'s Fox produce on their own. Those deals last until Sony and Fox stop making the movies.

New characters could also be a boon for fans who are tiring of sequels.

.....

 

[Mysterion]

Would love to see a Dr. Strange movie! Too bad Robert Downey Jr. is already playing Tony Stark/Iron Man. Would like to see Guillermo del Torro (sp?) direct a Dr. Strange flick.

 

[Mr Light]

They should have Pixar do a new Marvel CGI movie every year If this deal means a glut of well made Marvel comic movies I'll be very happy!

 

[Galactus]

Iron Man has never been a B lister in comic books. How can he be called a B list hero. Is it because the general public didn't know him. I guess that would make the Wonder Twins, Space Ghost and Dynomutt A listers.

 

[Kegg]

Well, honestly, what else does Disney have the right to make movies about aside from Marvel's catalogue of superheroes?

Iron Man has never been a B lister in comic books. How can he be called a B list hero. Is it because the general public didn't know him.

Bingo. I had no idea who he was before hearing about the Robert Downey Jr. movie.

I guess that would make the Wonder Twins, Space Ghost and Dynomutt A listers.

Who?

Clearly, A-listers are Spiderman, Batman, Superman, the like.

 

[Kelso]

When I was a kid (late 80's/early 90's), everyone knew who Iron Man was.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Would love to see a Dr. Strange movie! Too bad Robert Downey Jr. is already playing Tony Stark/Iron Man. Would like to see Guillermo del Torro (sp?) direct a Dr. Strange flick.

Agreed. Downey would have been more my pick for Dr. Strange than Iron Man. Bradley Cooper with dyed black hair could work, too.

When I was a kid (late 80's/early 90's), everyone knew who Iron Man was.

I dunno, I heard a lot of "who the heck is that" reactions to Iron Man on billboards before the movie came out.

 

[Aragorn]

Iron Man has never been a B lister in comic books. How can he be called a B list hero. Is it because the general public didn't know him. I guess that would make the Wonder Twins, Space Ghost and Dynomutt A listers.

So Iron Man is on par with Superman and Batman? And the Wonder Twins are even bigger than Iron Man?

 

[Starbreaker]

This is what Marvel needs. Unless they want to do another version of The Punisher

 

[OdoWanKenobi]

Iron Man has never been a B lister in comic books. How can he be called a B list hero. Is it because the general public didn't know him. I guess that would make the Wonder Twins, Space Ghost and Dynomutt A listers.

So Iron Man is on par with Superman and Batman? And the Wonder Twins are even bigger than Iron Man?

Certainly not. Superman and Batman are cultural icons. However, Iron Man is certainly on the same level as characters such as Captain America, Green Lantern, or The Flash.

 

[Kelso]

When I was a kid (late 80's/early 90's), everyone knew who Iron Man was.

I dunno, I heard a lot of "who the heck is that" reactions to Iron Man on billboards before the movie came out.

How many of the people saying that were under 30, though? Characters like Iron Man, Wolverine and Ghost Rider were big deals in my elementary and middle schools.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

C'mon, Iron Man had that theme song that everyone's heard. Though I was disappointed that the movie didn't have him turn to steel in the big magnetic field or travel time for the future of mankind.

Seriously though, if the general public (whoever the hell that is) doesn't know who Iron Man and etc. are then it bodes well that other "unknown" Marvel characters could be big a the Box Office.

The films that seem to do best seem to be the ones where the filmmaker has a real interest in the character in question. The challenge is to find such individuals to champion the different properties.

 

[CaptainCanada]

Iron Man has never been a B lister in comic books.

Depending on how you define "b-list", he could be said to be. He's kept his own title, but it's generally a moderate seller at most. And outside of comics, his profile is way, way lower than guys like Superman or Spider-Man.

Regarding the OP, logical approach. The idea that some people have that somehow a C-list comic character is unworthy of a film (versus the numerous films drafted completely from scratch) doesn't make sense to me; plenty of these concepts have enough juice (or enough potential) to work. I mean, this era in comics films was launched with Blade, and he's C-list at best.

 

[Dream]

Does this mean we will be getting an Avengers Origins: Ant-Man movie in the next few years?

 

[Obiwanshinobi]

Are some of the more obscure characters in the x-men universe licensed under Fox too? Or does that only count the main guys such as the x-men and/or magneto and the brotherhood? Like do they own all the rights to any use of mutants in the whole x-universe?

 

[Harvey]

Hasn't there been actual talk of Ed Wright directing Antman at some point? Not that I know anything about Antman, but I pay attention on and off to Ed Wright.

 

[CaptainCanada]

Are some of the more obscure characters in the x-men universe licensed under Fox too? Or does that only count the main guys such as the x-men and/or magneto and the brotherhood? Like do they own all the rights to any use of mutants in the whole x-universe?

They own (or, rather, lease) everything X-related.

Ant-Man's been in development for several years under Edgar Wright. Last word, I believe, was that he had written a few script drafts, but had other movies to make before he would get to it.

 

[Python Trek]

If done right, a Dr. Strange film could make a mint. They could tap into both the LOTR and the Harry Potter crowds. Could be huge!

I also think the time is right for a Guardians of the Galaxy movie. With today's technology, and the awesome characters available in the various incarnations of that title, that movie could be this generation's Star Wars. No, I'm NOT kidding!

Iron Fist could be a hit, too. And if it gets a sequel, you team him up with Cage. Casting would be tough for both of those guys, though.

 

[Galactus]

Iron Man has never been a B lister in comic books.

Depending on how you define "b-list", he could be said to be. He's kept his own title, but it's generally a moderate seller at most. And outside of comics, his profile is way, way lower than guys like Superman or Spider-Man.

If we are going by just the general public then the only A listers are Superman, Batman, Robin, Batgirl, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Spiderman, Hulk, and Captain America. Those are the only characters that just about everyone will know. Quite a few people in their 40's and younger will remember the people on the Superfriends and the Hanna Barbara cast of heroes like Space Ghost, Blue Falcon, etc.

And I would say that more people know who the Wonder Twins are than any Marvel character that has not been in a movie easily. In fact more people know who Captain Planet and the Thundercats are than just about any Marvel character.

 

[RoJoHen]

And I would say that more people know who the Wonder Twins are than any Marvel character that has not been in a movie easily. In fact more people know who Captain Planet and the Thundercats are than just about any Marvel character.

I'd agree with this.

If it wasn't in a popular cartoon in the 80s/90s, I have no idea who it is.

I had heard the name Ironman before, but I didn't know a damn thing about him.