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Welcome to the main discussion thread for the Marvel Cinematic Universe! This pinned post is here to establish some basic guidelines. All of the Media Forum rules still apply.

  • This thread is for talking about the live-action films, TV shows, animated works, and related content that use the Marvel brand, currently owned by Disney.
  • While mild digressions are okay, discussion of the comic books should go in this thread. Extended digressions may be thumped as off-topic.
  • Spoilers for new releases should not be discussed without spoiler tagging for at least two weeks. Rather, each title should have a dedicated thread where that sort of conversation is held. We can mention new releases in a general sense, but please be courteous to people who don't want to be spoiled.

If you're posting tagged spoilers, make sure that the film or series is clearly identified outside the spoiler tagging. People need to know what will be spoiled before they choose to read the post.

    Original post 
Since Thor and now Captain America came out this year, I wanted to get what Tropers thought of the concept and execution of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general. Personally I love the idea and wonder why this idea hasn't been seriously tried before. It sorta seems to me like the DCAU in movie form (And well, ummm, with Marvel), and really 'gets' the comic book feel of a shared universe while not being completely alienating.

Edited by Mrph1 on Jul 29th 2024 at 3:09:00 PM

Swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
#80751: Feb 19th 2018 at 12:52:59 PM

There is nothing weird about praising Feige for everything which happens in the MCU - at least regarding the film division. He is the one making the decisions after all, including which director gets a specific property.

And yes, having Black Panther in Civil War certainly helped with the hype. It's after all not just black people who feel represented who go to the theatres. Some people simply go because he looked cool and interesting in Civil War. And, I frankly admit, I'll partly go in the hope to learn more about the aftermath of Civil War (don't tell me anything).

AlleyOop Since: Oct, 2010
#80752: Feb 19th 2018 at 12:55:03 PM

A Black Widow movie can act as a pilot for several other superheroes and lore concepts they want to introduce to the MCU, since her strengths make her a better Supporting Protagonist.

BigBlackBangBro Time Stranger Since: Sep, 2016
Time Stranger
#80753: Feb 19th 2018 at 12:57:00 PM

[up][up][up][up]I mean they could also make a live action Miles Morales film.

edited 19th Feb '18 12:57:22 PM by BigBlackBangBro

35 year old white man.
Julep Since: Jul, 2010
#80754: Feb 19th 2018 at 1:01:54 PM

There is nothing weird about praising Feige for everything which happens in the MCU - at least regarding the film division. He is the one making the decisions after all, including which director gets a specific property.

Nothing wrong about praising Feige for the work he's doing, but doing so by picking him specifically just after BP is out can be interpreted like saying that the success of that black-led, black-directed, black-written, black-produced movie is because of a white guy.

Not saying that it's what you think, just that it's how it might look.

edited 19th Feb '18 1:02:12 PM by Julep

Swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
#80755: Feb 19th 2018 at 1:44:23 PM

[up] Only if you really want to see something negative in everything.

wisewillow She/her Since: May, 2011
She/her
#80756: Feb 19th 2018 at 2:10:57 PM

I mean... it’d kinda be like praising Snyder for Wonder Woman instead of Patty Jenkins.

Hodor2 Since: Jan, 2015
#80757: Feb 19th 2018 at 2:11:25 PM

Which plenty of assholes people actually do.

I mean Feige definitely deserves credit for being behind a great (and unprecedented) cinematic universe that is in stronger shape than the DCU, and arguably also the Star Wars movies, but in terms of the specific strengths of Black Panther, that's way more Coogler than Feige.

edited 19th Feb '18 2:13:20 PM by Hodor2

Swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
#80758: Feb 19th 2018 at 2:18:02 PM

[up] Well, I haven't seen Black Panther yet, so I can't comment on the quality of the directing. I can comment on Feige leading the studio to another success.

And WB is a different story. After all, they always emphasis that they are a director driven studio. But Marvel Studios and Disney in general is a producer driven studio.

Julep Since: Jul, 2010
#80759: Feb 19th 2018 at 2:24:43 PM

Black Panther is very much director-driven. From what I heard, Thor 3 was too, more than usual for MCU movies. Avengers 3 is going to be producer-driven because it's the flagship, but they might be shifting a bit (there is also Captain Marvel coming later-.

Whowho Since: May, 2012
#80760: Feb 19th 2018 at 2:38:27 PM

Well this pretty much ensures we're getting a phase 5 simply because Black Panther is certain for a trilogy now.

Swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
#80761: Feb 19th 2018 at 2:58:10 PM

[up][up] I actually suspect that Infinity War is writer driven.

[up] ???? They are able to put two movies of a trilogy in one phase.....

Currently it is not even clear if there will be a phase 4 or of Marvel stops doing phases from now on....

edited 19th Feb '18 2:59:03 PM by Swanpride

TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#80762: Feb 19th 2018 at 3:27:35 PM

Spider-Man: Homecoming got the same boost. It might not have done spectacularly, but it probably would have tanked due to Spider-Fatigue if Civil War didn't stoke the fires by sneaking him into Captain America's film.

To corroborate, it did really well. Beat the Amazing films in domestic gross. It also topped the Spider-Man chart in Worldwide sales, save for Spider-Man 3, the highest-grossing Spider-Man film of all time on the worldwide market. So, pretty good by Spider-Man's measuring stick.

For an MCU film it came in at #6, sandwiched between Guardians of the Galaxy and its sequel in domestic sales. It's almost in the same position worldwide, with the one difference being that it actually beat Guardians 2, coming in at #5; the highest-grossing MCU film to not hit the billion-dollar mark.

So, yeah. Despite the frequent complaints of Spider-fatigue, Homecoming did pretty f*cking good at the box office, and we can probably attribute at least part of that to the breath of fresh air that is him being in the MCU. The stellar writing probably also helped and, of course, there's the Tony Stark boost.

edited 19th Feb '18 3:29:28 PM by TobiasDrake

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
comicwriter Since: Sep, 2011
#80763: Feb 19th 2018 at 3:37:59 PM

Infinity War is probably producer driven. Unlike someone like Waititi or Coogler the Russos don't really have a distinctive directorial style or voice. That's not a dig; they made one of the MCU's best movies after all, but they're not the type of directors where you can instantly tell it's them just by looking at the film itself.

KarkatTheDalek Not as angry as the name would suggest. from Somwhere in Time/Space Since: Mar, 2012 Relationship Status: You're a beautiful woman, probably
Not as angry as the name would suggest.
#80764: Feb 19th 2018 at 3:40:20 PM

Having never seen a Ryan Coogler movie before, what would you say he specifically brought to Black Panther, in terms of directing style?

edited 19th Feb '18 3:40:27 PM by KarkatTheDalek

Oh God! Natural light!
Galadriel Since: Feb, 2015
#80765: Feb 19th 2018 at 3:54:16 PM

[up][up]

I found Winter Soldier pretty distinctively different from the rest of the MCU, especially as the first one to bring in broader political elements as a major theme, and in the quality and variety of the action scenes. Civil War was less distinctive, but still recognizably a Russo production.

I agree that Infinity War will likely be more producer-driven because that's the trend with the big Avengers films; I remember Whedon talking about things that the producers required him to include in Avengers and AOU. For example, the Iron Man-Thor-Cap fight in Avengers is there because the producers required that there be a scene where the three fight each other. AOU also seemed fairly heavily affected, as Whedon's initial idea for it pointed at it being a smaller and more character-driven piece than Avengers, and it ended up being the opposite (likely due to the studio requiring a lot of Infinity-Stones-related material).

edited 19th Feb '18 3:57:28 PM by Galadriel

Hodor2 Since: Jan, 2015
#80766: Feb 19th 2018 at 3:58:30 PM

Well, I don't know if they are directly responsible, but both Winter Soldier and Civil War have much noted amazing fight choreography, which seems to be distinctive, as characters are much better/more impressive fighters in Russo movies than they are in other movies.

I'd also describe the humor in the Russo movies as kind of Whedonesque, but sharper and avoiding what I guess I'd call the self-satisfaction.

wisewillow She/her Since: May, 2011
She/her
#80767: Feb 19th 2018 at 4:12:49 PM

[up]x3

Ryan Coogler only has three movies, Fruitvale Station, Creed, and Black Panther. I haven’t seen Fruitvale Station.

The one thing I remember being distinct in Creed is these sort of thoughtful little quiet conversations; very character driven and soft. I’m not sure how to describe it really; there’s a definite vibe I also got from Black Panther.

Swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
#80768: Feb 20th 2018 at 1:52:31 AM

The Russos have the strongest writing team of the MCU at their backs. BUT! I think it would be unfair to play down their directing abilities. As it is mentioned already, their movies have some of the best fight scenes in the MCU, the elevator fight, the fight on the bridge, the chase through the tunnel, the airport fight and the final fight between Cap and Iron-man are all memorable and legendary! They are also pretty good when it comes to "show, don't tell". A lot of what is happening in The Winter Soldier and Civil War isn't spelled out, but told through body language. The most obvious example: Vision sitting in front of the chess board is telling a whole story with one single picture. The dialogue scenes are very dynamic (which is btw a flaw in Whedon's work, they tend to be very static, with little thought behind how the characters are positioned).

What they do isn't flashy and on the nose, but it is certainly there.

And regarding the Humor: That one is different, too, though in this case I would praise the writers for it. There aren't many quips overall, most of the humour is more situational. Ie the interaction between Falcon and Bucky is to me one of the funniest things in the MCU, but what makes it funny isn't really quips, but the passive aggressive reaction of Falcon to Bucky, as if he is jealous that Cap has another "Bestie".

edited 20th Feb '18 1:55:16 AM by Swanpride

shatterstar Since: Apr, 2015 Relationship Status: I wanna know about these strangers like me
#80769: Feb 20th 2018 at 8:11:24 AM

With all of these big numbers couple with the success of Wonder Woman, it made me wonder what will be the box office for Captain Marvel and Black Widow movie.

edited 20th Feb '18 10:10:36 AM by shatterstar

Tuckerscreator (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Drift compatible
#80770: Feb 20th 2018 at 8:37:47 AM

The Russo MCU movies thus far also tend to have large ensemble casts. They’re pretty good at juggling multiple plot lines and character arcs.

comicwriter Since: Sep, 2011
#80771: Feb 20th 2018 at 9:30:57 AM

[up][up]That'll be interesting to see. It'll be a hit because it's the MCU but I wonder if Wonder Woman might've stolen the potential thunder it could've had for being the first big female superhero movie of the modern (post-Iron Man 1) superhero genre.

Unsung it's a living from a tenement of clay Since: Jun, 2016
it's a living
#80772: Feb 20th 2018 at 10:39:00 AM

I know the point of the scene is that it doesn't work, but there's something very satisfying about seeing that little rubber ball blow apart. Seems like they're going for anyone who didn't see the first season with this trailer.

Swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
#80773: Feb 20th 2018 at 10:46:07 AM

[up][up][up] Again, Marvel's best writing team (honestly, Marcus and Mc Feely deserve more love than they get). But they did a great job juggling all the characters in the airport scene.

Anomalocaris20 from Sagittarius A* Since: Sep, 2010 Relationship Status: Love blinded me (with science!)
#80774: Feb 20th 2018 at 12:02:57 PM

Can that really be called a Season 2 trailer when it's more of a Season 1 trailer? tongue

Anger management scene was pretty neat, though.

You cannot firmly grasp the true form of Squidward's technique!
ComicFan Since: Sep, 2016
#80775: Feb 20th 2018 at 12:25:48 PM

Black Panther made it on Rotten Tomatoes top 100 movies of all time[1]and top 100 action & adventure films[2]


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