X-Movies…

Updated on December 1, 2008 By Ken Begg 11 Comments

There’s been a LOT of Marvel news lately, which I basically never got around to commenting on/noting.  I’ll probably cover some of that this week, so I apologize if I mention things that are old news at this point.

Although Marvel is putting out their own movies now, several studios still retain the live action film rights to some of Marvel’s hottest properties, as with Sony having the right to make Spider-Man movies.  Fox owns X-Men (and, sadly, the Fantastic Four), and since the licence will eventually lapse if it remains dormant until 2012, they have a good motive to keep moving on that.

I think most people liked the X-Men movies, but didn’t really love them.  Certainly the bar has been raised substantially since the X-Men series started, what with really good, even great, superheroes like Spider-Man 2, Iron Man and The Dark Knight having come out.  Certainly the X-Men movies didn’t pretty much suck (unlike Fox’s two FF films), but they really need to improve future ones if they want to draw audiences expecting better stuff.

Fox is following an interesting strategy, actually, which is to focus on offshoots.  Next year Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine gets his own movie; while Magneto is being mulled for a solo picture as well.  Also on the slate is an adaptation of the comic book X-Men: First Year, which chronicals the very early days of the nascent superhero team.  Presumably this would focus on the original teen X-men, although Fox might be worried about contradicting the continuity of their first three films, wherein some of the original X-Men, like Ice Man, are actually younger than the people then in the team.

Frankly, I don’t think movie audiences care as much about continuity as these people think.  Just announce that it’s a relaunch, and go to it.  If I had my choice, we’d indeed get the adventures of the teenage versions of Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Angel, Ice Man and the Beast.  Chances are that isn’t going to happen, though.

I’ll tell you what, though, Fox.  Just make ’em good, and you can do whatever you want.  And your plans to relaunch Daredevil?  Okey-dokey. 

But please, let that FF option lapse.  Please!  

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  • Plissken79

    So Ken, not exactly knocking on Sony’s door for Ghost Rider 2, are you? :)

    Let’s hope Marvel’s winning streak continues for years to come

  • Ghost Rider was pretty lame (Cage was the worst part). The thing is, a lot of the visuals were quite cool. However, they already used all of GR’s neatest tricks, like riding up buildings and across water. So not much left, really.

    Now a Champions movie…

  • Plissken79

    Given the fact it has been almost two years without any news, it is safe to assume another Ghost Rider film is not happening. It was, as you correctly stated, a very silly film, with nearly every actor overplaying their part.

    I am sure you will post on this, but lineup for The First Avenger: Captain America, looks great so far, although they could screw it all up with casting the wrong actor as Cap, a certain often-mentioned Texas actor comes to mind….

    But I think they are certainly on the right track by making the Captain America movie a WWII film with Cap fighting the Nazis. As terrific as Iron Man was, I would have loved to have seen Marvel’s greatest Cold Warrior fighting the Soviets in the 1960s, perhaps they will do an animated film on those lines.

    Come to think of it, if Cap gets frozen in a block on ice in 1945 and then is thawed out in 2010, that is long time to be frozen in the artic, over sixty years compared to the fifteen or so in the original comics. It will be interesting to see how the Avengers film addresses that

    Loved the Dracula’s Dog review, by the way

  • fish eye no miko

    Fox is following an interesting strategy, actually, which is to focus on offshoots. Next year Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine gets his own movie

    Because we didn’t see nearly enough of Wolvie in the three X-Men films… [rolls eyes]
    I’m more curious to see what they do with Deadpool.

  • Come to think of it, if Cap gets frozen in a block on ice in 1945 and then is thawed out in 2010, that is long time to be frozen in the artic, over sixty years compared to the fifteen or so in the original comics. It will be interesting to see how the Avengers film addresses that

    Super serum, Plissken. It explains EVERYTHING! (And sorta canon … at least as long as The Ultimates continuity is concerned.)

    I’m sorta liking Cap more the further we get from WWII. His reunion with an aged Bucky in the Ultimates line was one of the best parts.

  • Plissken79

    I know about the super serum, El Santo, I was thinking more of the lines on culture shock. Making a transition from 1945 to 1960 would be difficult enough, I cannot imagine how a person, even a super-powered one such as Steve Rogers, could adjust from American in 1945 to 2010, even if Tony Stark works really hard to keep him up to speed.

    To build on a point Ken Begg made, I hope the Red Skull and the Mandarin are not messed up the way Doctor Doom was

  • jason hyde

    A Champions movie would be all well and good, but personally, I’m holding out for the Defenders. Especially if it features an Elf with a gun cameo, which it really should. I probably shouldn’t get my hopes up too high, I guess, so I’m willing to settle for Brother Voodoo.

  • The good news is, I’m pretty sure these days Wesley Snipes would be glad to play Brother Voodoo.

  • Grumpy

    “…I cannot imagine how a person, even a super-powered one such as Steve Rogers, could adjust from American in 1945 to 2010…”

    Oh, the possibilities! Archie Bunker with a shield, anyone?

  • Nah, Steve was an FDR progressive. Hardly an Archie Bunker type. I’d say the pace of life and the complete lack of personal space would be much bigger issues for them.

    On the other hand, he adapted quickly to the war. And in this discrete version of the Marvel universe–the one made up of these films–the Secret Soldier serum also increases brain power. (See the creation of the Leader.) So it’s possible that alone would help Steve adapt.

  • BA

    If continuity is that important, just swap out Iceman with a young Storm.