Spoilers Marvel Cinematic Universe spoiler-heavy speculation thread

[Reverend]

I mean, that may be their excuse, but the real reason is also in the link: it's part of a massive new McDonald's marketing campaign and merchandising partnership with Disney.

You're not wrong, but so far as product placement goes at least it's a creative application of it. I'll take something playful like this over awkward lingering shots of say a Seiko watch, or needlessly cramming in the virtues of whatever latest model of RV Ford are flogging.

 

[1987SpaceGuy]

Q: I read somewhere that Echo is no longer coming out this year. Can you confirm? –Dale

A: There was rampant, Don’t-Bother-to-Pick-Up-a-Phone speculation about the Hawkeye offshoot’s fate when it was not included among “Key Upcoming Disney+ Releases” on an earnings call chart that was, mind you, clearly labeled “not exhaustive” — but I am told that its Nov. 29, binge-style drop date remains unchanged as of press time.

Source: https://tvline.com/lists/the-good-wife-spinoff-spoilers-elsbeth-matt-czuchry-cary/

 

[JD]

Frog Thor aka Throg aka Simon Walterson (yes, apprently Throg has a real name and it comes from his creator's name, which I didn't know until today) is a really goofy character but I'd be lying if I said I didn't like seeing him when he shows up.

I legitimately think that Walt Simonson was the best Thor writer ever. I wish his run had been more of an inspiration to the MCU version, especially in terms of characterization. Sure they used a few elements that he added to the Thor mythos, but they were generally done badly (Malekith being the biggest example of this). I mean, the guy invented The Time Variance Authority and Mobius (which I didn't even know until today), which you could argue are his only creations that the MCU has used well.

I'm still waiting on Beta Ray Bill to show up in the MCU, I honestly think he'd be a great Thor replacement, although he'd probably need to be a totally CG character, so they couldn't really use him as a lead unless he had some lame human alter ego to save money for non-action scenes with him.

They could always use a guy in a suit if they really didn't want to go the mo-cap route.

I mean, that may be their excuse, but the real reason is also in the link: it's part of a massive new McDonald's marketing campaign and merchandising partnership with Disney.

I can't remember where I read it to provide a link, but I read an interview with one of the writers who said that they came up with the idea to have Silvie work at McDonalds all on their own, and asked the people in charge of Marvel's partnerships to approach McDonalds to see if they'd be willing to let them do it.

 

[Turtletrekker]

Frog Thor aka Throg aka Simon Walterson (yes, apprently Throg has a real name and it comes from his creator's name, which I didn't know until today) is a really goofy character but I'd be lying if I said I didn't like seeing him when he shows up.

I legitimately think that Walt Simonson was the best Thor writer ever. I wish his run had been more of an inspiration to the MCU version, especially in terms of characterization. Sure they used a few elements that he added to the Thor mythos, but they were generally done badly (Malekith being the biggest example of this). I mean, the guy invented The Time Variance Authority and Mobius (which I didn't even know until today), which you could argue are his only creations that the MCU has used well.

I'm still waiting on Beta Ray Bill to show up in the MCU, I honestly think he'd be a great Thor replacement, although he'd probably need to be a totally CG character, so they couldn't really use him as a lead unless he had some lame human alter ego to save money for non-action scenes with him.

Mark the date! You and I are in 100% agreement!

 

[wayoung]

They could always use a guy in a suit if they really didn't want to go the mo-cap route.

I can't remember where I read it to provide a link, but I read an interview with one of the writers who said that they came up with the idea to have Silvie work at McDonalds all on their own, and asked the people in charge of Marvel's partnerships to approach McDonalds to see if they'd be willing to let them do it.

Uh huh. It is purely an artistic decision. Merely a coincidence that McDonalds is launching a major ad and merchandise campaign featuring the cross promotion and a new "As seen on Loki" meal at the same time!

 

[JD]

I just assumed that they put all that in motion after the Marvel people approached them about it.

 

[Nerys Myk]

today i learned frog thor is a thing.

Throg.

 

[wayoung]

I just assumed that they put all that in motion after the Marvel people approached them about it.

I mean, no one here is ever going to know the truth of it, but writers and producers lie to protect their art/income. It's something that we see all the time. They're not going to come out and say "Hey, our corporate overlords and the McDonald's corporate overlords entered into a marketing agreement worth hundreds of millions of dollars so we had to make a big deal of one of our characters working at a McDonald's and McDonald's in turn is heavily promoting our show my naming a meal after us, putting our logo on their cups, and selling a bunch of our Loki themed merchandise, so Sylvie works in a McDonald's now".

Wherever the idea originated, a writer saying "Hey, we could have Sylvie working fast food in the 80's", a Disney exec, a McDonald's exec, I dunno, but cross promotions like this don't come about just by having a scene set in a fast food restaurant. They're the result of a lot of time and money and market research.

So me, I'm always going to lean on the cynical interpretation when it comes to deals like this involving companies like Disney and McDonald's. To me, it's the more logical/likely case. But I could be wrong.


Edit: lol this reminded me of an exchange on a different forum when another Marvel show came out and some users were talking about the products in it and how they were 100% for character development, because Disney would never be so crass as to accept money for product placement

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Q: I read somewhere that Echo is no longer coming out this year. Can you confirm? –Dale

A: There was rampant, Don’t-Bother-to-Pick-Up-a-Phone speculation about the Hawkeye offshoot’s fate when it was not included among “Key Upcoming Disney+ Releases” on an earnings call chart that was, mind you, clearly labeled “not exhaustive” — but I am told that its Nov. 29, binge-style drop date remains unchanged as of press time.

Source: https://tvline.com/lists/the-good-wife-spinoff-spoilers-elsbeth-matt-czuchry-cary/

What, you're telling me the rampant source less hate-mongering rumor is completely untrue.

I'm not even Fry shocked.

I can't remember where I read it to provide a link, but I read an interview with one of the writers who said that they came up with the idea to have Silvie work at McDonalds all on their own, and asked the people in charge of Marvel's partnerships to approach McDonalds to see if they'd be willing to let them do it.

That claim is in the article I posted.

 

[JD]

I mean, no one here is ever going to know the truth of it, but writers and producers lie to protect their art/income. It's something that we see all the time. They're not going to come out and say "Hey, our corporate overlords and the McDonald's corporate overlords entered into a marketing agreement worth hundreds of millions of dollars so we had to make a big deal of one of our characters working at a McDonald's and McDonald's in turn is heavily promoting our show my naming a meal after us, putting our logo on their cups, and selling a bunch of our Loki themed merchandise, so Sylvie works in a McDonald's now".

Wherever the idea originated, a writer saying "Hey, we could have Sylvie working fast food in the 80's", a Disney exec, a McDonald's exec, I dunno, but cross promotions like this don't come about just by having a scene set in a fast food restaurant. They're the result of a lot of time and money and market research.

So me, I'm always going to lean on the cynical interpretation when it comes to deals like this involving companies like Disney and McDonald's. To me, it's the more logical/likely case. But I could be wrong.


Edit: lol this reminded me of an exchange on a different forum when another Marvel show came out and some users were talking about the products in it and how they were 100% for character development, because Disney would never be so crass as to accept money for product placement

Yeah, you're probably right.

 

[kirk55555]

They could always use a guy in a suit if they really didn't want to go the mo-cap route.

Bill does have a human(oid) form.

Which could be done with prosthetics.

I've thought about that, and its possible but the MCU doesn't seem to do much makeup that needs a lot of prosthetics, and Beta ray Bill's non powerered form would kind of be Odo taken to the extreme (a completely bald head, with a face devoid of a noise, with sharp cheeks and maybe an extended brow/eye ridge. Its completely doable, but I'm sure it would be really uncomfortable for an actor and its a bit more make up then even, say, the Guardians movies had on any of its live action characters (especially because of the nose being completely hidden).

That said I certainly hope something gets worked out, because I really want Beta Ray Bill in the MCU. The fact that the MCU Asguardians are treated more like aliens then gods makes him an even better fit, and they could even keep Sif around and give her something to do (if the actress was up for doing more) because they have a long association. Imagine, a Thor supporting character not named Loki, Jane or Odin actually being given something substantial to do

 

[Rich Watson]

So what? Everything you watch has product placement in it whether you know it or not.

 

[Christopher]

So what? Everything you watch has product placement in it whether you know it or not.

But there are more and less intrusive ways of doing it. For instance, when Eureka's first couple of seasons had a lot of Cisco Systems logos on their video phone screens, it wasn't intrusive and made sense. But when they devoted an entire half-season arc to the scientists working to improve Degree antiperspirant, and the climax of the arc relied on using the experimental antiperspirant in the nonsensical way depicted in its commercials (as a protective layer shielding people from extreme heat, which is the opposite of what an antiperspirant would actually do, since it blocks the pores that allow sweat to cool the body), that was just taking product placement to an obnoxious extreme.

 

[Tosk]

So what? Everything you watch has product placement in it whether you know it or not.

Yeah, but sometimes it's done so subtly and so smoothly that it's a pleasure to watch...

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[Christopher]

Of course, not everything has product placement. You don't see people in Star Wars driving Honda speeders, or characters in Game of Thrones going into a tavern and ordering a Miller Lite.

On the other hand, there are shows and films where product placement is built into the premise, like Barbie, or the Viper TV series built around the sportscar of that name. I figure the reason Knight Rider has been revived four times is because there's always a car company willing to underwrite a new remake in exchange for the publicity.

 

[Set Harth]

Game of Thrones had accidental Starbucks placement.

or was it...

 

[The Wormhole]

Product placement is of course a necessary evil these days. I only groan over it when it's blatantly obvious, like in I Robot, a movie set in the 2040s or 50s or whatever, released in 2004, which conveniently is the year all the vintage stuff Will Smith's character owns is from. Or in The Walking Dead: World Beyond, when a character finds a bottle of Mountain Dew that's been sitting in an abandoned store for over a decade, but it still tastes Amazing.

Incidentally, I find it amusing when watching a movie, show, music video, whatever set in a store where all the products on the shelf are positioned in a way so that their labels can't be seen, unless it's the sponsored product, which will have its label facing the camera.

 

[Christopher]

Product placement is of course a necessary evil these days.

Always has been. In early radio and TV, sponsors were so dominant that shows were actually named for them; for instance, Jack Benny's radio show was officially The Jell-O Program. Commercials would be inserted directly into the shows, delivered by the characters. For instance, the Sherlock Holmes radio series that Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce did in conjunction with their movie series was framed with the present-day Dr. Watson (who must've been incredibly old) dropping in on the show's narrator to reminisce about his adventures with Holmes, and before and in between the flashbacks, Watson and the narrator would extol the virtues of the sponsor's wine. Then there was Fibber McGee and Molly, which made a metatextual joke of it; announcer Harlowe Wilcox was also a character in the show, and the other characters were annoyed by his insistence on turning every conversation into a sales pitch for Johnson Wax.

 

[theenglish]

Product placement is of course a necessary evil these days. I only groan over it when it's blatantly obvious, like in I Robot, a movie set in the 2040s or 50s or whatever, released in 2004, which conveniently is the year all the vintage stuff Will Smith's character owns is from. Or in The Walking Dead: World Beyond, when a character finds a bottle of Mountain Dew that's been sitting in an abandoned store for over a decade, but it still tastes Amazing.

Incidentally, I find it amusing when watching a movie, show, music video, whatever set in a store where all the products on the shelf are positioned in a way so that their labels can't be seen, unless it's the sponsored product, which will have its label facing the camera.

These days? It has always been like that--it's been like that since radio days. In my youth (a little later than that) I recall the blatant advertising in Superman II being the first movie that a youthful me recognized it was advertising placed into the movie itself. And, of course, there is the great gag/actual product placement in Wayne's World. Which reminds me that SNL often does paid ads on its program which are actually real advertisements.

 

[Christopher]

And, of course, there is the great gag/actual product placement in Wayne's World.

See also Return of the Killer Tomatoes four years earlier, which had a fourth-wall-breaking running gag where the main character's older brother, played by a young, pre-fame George Clooney, kept making blatant product placements to help pay for the movie.