General Discussion Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase 5 General Discussion (Spoilers discussed for All Films -- Please Read First Post) (1 Viewer)

[jayembee]

I’m 60 years old and have been a sci-fi fan all my life and I don’t recall SF ever being used. Weird.

Was it a matter of reading/watching it, or did you also join a club, go to conventions, read fanzines, and otherwise get involved in fandom? That might be the difference. I watched SF (and adjacent) movies and read SF books as soon as I was able to watch/read. My first convention was Boskone 6 in 1969, and I joined NESFA (New England Science Fiction Association) a year later. Been doing all sorts of fan activities since, though not so much in the last 30 years or so.

SFE: Boyajian, Jerry

Welcome to the fourth edition of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction.

sf-encyclopedia.com

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

The first post has been updated to reflect:

• The Marvels has been pushed back to November
• "What If...?" Season 2 has been pulled from the Disney+ schedule
• "Agatha: Coven of Chaos" Season 1 has been pulled from the Disney+ schedule
• "Ironheart" Season 1 has been pulled from the Disney+ schedule
• "Echo" Season 1 has been pulled from the Disney+ schedule

If/when the Disney+ series get new release dates, the first post will be updated again.

 

[TonyD]

Yeah. 6-10 episode seasons and every 2-3 years between now.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Probably a smart move. The summer is pretty crowded and Marvel will run over anything playing in November.

November is filling up too. The Marvels will now open a week after the next Dune and a week before the next Hunger Games. I would still bet on The Marvels being a huge hit, but it is going into a crowded window.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Ironheart" Season 1 has been pulled from the Disney+ schedule

This, in particular, feels like a weird choice to me. I know there has been talk of Marvel slowing down, which I actually think is a good idea because there has been a lot of stuff over the past couple years. However, I would think Ironheart should be a priority for them. She was just in Wakanda Forever, which was their best-reviewed and highest-grossing domestic film of 2023. They should strike while the iron is hot and get this show out soon to capitalize on the goodwill from her appearance in that movie.

 

[Sam Favate]

This, in particular, feels like a weird choice to me. I know there has been talk of Marvel slowing down, which I actually think is a good idea because there has been a lot of stuff over the past couple years. However, I would think Ironheart should be a priority for them. She was just in Wakanda Forever, which was their best-reviewed and highest-grossing domestic film of 2023. They should strike while the iron is hot and get this show out soon to capitalize on the goodwill from her appearance in that movie.

Ironheart will likely connect to Armor Wars, so that’s probably a justification for the delay. I believe Armor Wars is scheduled for 2025.

 

[Alex...]

Jeremy Renner No Longer Sees Hollywood Career As A Priority Following Recent Accident​

HAWKEYE Star Jeremy Renner No Longer Sees Hollywood Career As A Priority Following Recent Accident

Avengers: Endgame star Jeremy Renner is still recovering after sustaining a nasty injury earlier this year, and a new report suggests he might be considering a move away from acting altogether once better.

comicbookmovie.com

 

[TonyD]

Not surprisingly at all.

 

[Chuck Mayer]

It wasn't just that it was a lot of stuff. It was a lot of mediocre stuff and much of it felt like either filler or set-up for yet another product. If Ironheart is really 2025, then why did they overstuff Wakanda Forever with her character three entire years earlier? I am not asking as a fan, because I am no longer a completionist (which has been an enormous relief as the general quality has diminished), so I have no plans to watch any Marvel show on Disney+ unless the specific premise or characters genuinely engage or they get Andor-level reviews (fat chance of that). And once you feel comfortable skipping their stuff, it becomes really easy to just wait for the things that really click. Or wait to stream it. Or just not worry about it.

 

[Joe Wong]

Hopefully this doesn’t indicate broader issues at Marvel:

Shocker: Marvel Studios Veteran Victoria Alonso Exits (Exclusive)

She has served as executive producer on its titles since the first 'Avengers' movie.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

 

[Josh Steinberg]

17 years is a long time to do one job, and it may just be the case that she’s ready to move on. The other point that came to mind is that after 17 years, most people would want some kind of promotion or advancement, but her position was immediately under Keven Fiege, who isn’t reported to be considering retirement. There wasn’t a path for promotion at Marvel, it would seem, but through no fault of her own. Someone with Alonso’s experience and success should be able to find opportunities elsewhere - it’s an impressive resume.

 

[TravisR]

Every Star Wars lunatic YouTuber: "BREAKING: First Alonso, Kennedy Next!!!!"

 

[Lord Dalek]

Every Star Wars lunatic YouTuber: "BREAKING: First Alonso, Kennedy Next!!!!"

*puke*

 

[Alex...]

 

[Jake Lipson]

Edit: Joe beat me to posting this.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Jeremy Renner No Longer Sees Hollywood Career As A Priority Following Recent Accident

HAWKEYE Star Jeremy Renner No Longer Sees Hollywood Career As A Priority Following Recent Accident

Avengers: Endgame star Jeremy Renner is still recovering after sustaining a nasty injury earlier this year, and a new report suggests he might be considering a move away from acting altogether once better.

comicbookmovie.com

I'm glad we got the Disney+ "Hawkeye" series to hand the mantle off to Hailee Steinfeld in a respectful way. I'd be happy to see Clint pop up again in the future, but it doesn't feel as necessary as it would have before "Hawkeye".

Hopefully this doesn’t indicate broader issues at Marvel:

Shocker: Marvel Studios Veteran Victoria Alonso Exits (Exclusive)

She has served as executive producer on its titles since the first 'Avengers' movie.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

I think it speaks to one very specific issue, which is that all of the VFX houses hate working for Marvel, and Alonso was the exec responsible for overseeing VFX and postproduction.

Marvel has been the biggest VFX customer around for years now, so none of the VFX houses can afford to say no to them. And there have been complaints for years that Marvel has abused its market position to demand too much with too little turnaround time.

I don't think all of those problems can be blamed on Alonso, though.

Kevin Feige has long encouraged his filmmakers to chase the best ideas, and to not be afraid to pivot when they think of something better. That has helped the MCU be more nimble and creative than much of the blockbuster competition, but it's hell for postproduction work that relies on a fixed schedule with deliverables planned way in advance.

Since Disney bought Marvel, and especially since it rolled out Disney+, the pace and volume of content has increased substantially. For the first two phases, there were never more than two feature films (and no TV series) from Marvel Studios in any given year. Starting in Phase Three, that increased to three films a year (if you include the live-action Spidey movies co-produced with Sony).

Then, in 2021, amidst a global pandemic they released four feature films and five seasons of five different TV shows. There's no way that drastically expanded output doesn't come at a cost. There is a finite capacity for visual effects work in the industry, and once you hit that capacity you can't increase output without increasing work hours and significantly interfering with VFX artists' work-life balance.

The heads of the VFX houses are to blame, too; they keep accepting more and more jobs even though they know they're workload is already at capacity. They can blame the customers all they want, but at the end of the day, they should know when too much is too much.

 

[Ross Gowland]

After a run of underperforming films, they’ve had an outright flop with Ant-Man 3 (*). Maybe the shareholders needed a high up sacrificial lamb.

(*) A watchable enough 6/10 film. Muddled but never boring.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I’m not sure we can consider a film that had a domestic $100 million grossing opening weekend, which has grossed a cumulative hundreds of millions of dollars worldwide, to be an outright flop.

At best one might claim it underperformed, though realistically speaking, it has outperformed the two earlier films in the series.

 

[Sam Favate]

I don’t really think you can call Ant Man 3 a flop. It may not have the legs they hoped for, but it’s going to have a long life on D+ and Blu-ray.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Variety has new details about Alonso's exit and says she was indeed fired.

Inside Victoria Alonso’s Shocking Exit From Marvel Studios

At this year’s Academy Awards, Victoria Alonso was overwhelmed. The veteran Marvel Studios executive and producer of the nominated film “Argentina, 1985” was stopped on the red carpet, posin…

variety.com