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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

HailMuffins Since: May, 2016 Relationship Status: Shipping fictional characters
#108901: Sep 6th 2019 at 7:54:19 PM

He'd probably be attracted to the Punisher more.

I mean Frank was Raised Catholic, and the worst of humanity seem to be where Scorsece finds some of his best protagonists.

Gaon Smoking Snake from Grim Up North Since: Jun, 2012 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
#108902: Sep 6th 2019 at 9:08:53 PM

I agree Scorcese would probably be most at home with Daredevil, with the weapons-grade themes of Catholicism, urban crime and morally ambiguous men of violence.

A Scorcese Punisher movie could be intriguing in the sense Scorcese would probably sideline Castle to the background treat him more like a force of nature wreaking divine havoc upon the actual main characters, the mobsters. Scorcese is the kind of guy to end said hypothetical film with Castle dying, though, just to drive home the bleakness of the mafia world for all involved.

Scorcese is a funny choice because he's also bordering on the Last of His Kind when it comes to the New Hollywood legend: all his other contemporaries have died (Peckinpah, Romero, Altman), retired (Carpenter, Lucas, Landis) or sunk into mediocrity (Coppola, Ridley Scott, De Palma), and he's basically the last man standing still delivering absolute classics with aplomb.

If we're still on living legends of New Hollywood, John Carpenter trying his hand at someone like Man-Thing would be interesting, though Carpenter hasn't made a good movie since 1998 and hasn't made a truly great movie since 1994. Still, I'd love to see Carpenter back in the saddle in something comic-based and doing his full synth soundtracks.

Speaking of "the classics" of directors in filmmaking, I'd be very intrigued by Sergio Leone (resurrected from the dead, somehow) doing a take on the superhero film. In life, he reportedly was seriously interested in doing takes on The Phantom and Mandrake that'd just be wild.

"All you Fascists bound to lose."
RavenWilder Since: Apr, 2009
#108903: Sep 6th 2019 at 10:09:54 PM

Spielberg was New Hollywood, and he's still working. Not at a career high point or anything, but reactions to his recent movies seem more mixed than outright negative.

chasemaddigan I'm Sad Frogerson. Since: Oct, 2011
I'm Sad Frogerson.
#108904: Sep 6th 2019 at 10:29:46 PM

I remember that Spielberg was in talks to direct a movie based on Blackhawk for Warner Bros a while ago, so we could at least have a DC film from him in the near future.

Of course, I haven't heard any news on the project since the initial announcement, so who knows what's gonna happen with that film.

Edited by chasemaddigan on Sep 6th 2019 at 1:31:06 PM

TargetmasterJoe from Velocitron Since: May, 2013 Relationship Status: I like big bots and I can not lie
#108905: Sep 7th 2019 at 7:39:12 AM

I remember that Spielberg was in talks to direct a movie based on Blackhawk for Warner Bros a while ago, so we could at least have a DC film from him in the near future.

Of course, I haven't heard any news on the project since the initial announcement, so who knows what's gonna happen with that film.

I have a sneaking suspicion that if (when?) the new Joker movie makes money when it comes out in theaters, it'd bring more incentive to have that Blackhawk movie from Spielberg.

But then again, this is the MCU thread, so maybe we should take the conversation elsewhere?

alliterator Since: Jan, 2001
#108906: Sep 7th 2019 at 10:54:37 AM

Interview with the Ashley Bradley, the head writer of What If?

I love this bit:

Ashley: We’re all big fans of the comics and we do use those to a degree. Our first weeks there I very strongly pitched doing The Mighty Thor- Jane Foster Thor. Jane wielding the hammer, I believe first happened in a What If comic. I was very poignantly told that was never going to happen. I got a little angry and thought, “Why, because they don’t want a woman holding the hammer?”. I was very politely told, “No we’re doing it”. I was like what? “We’re doing it in the movies. You can’t do it.” I was like, seriously? They responded with, “Please don’t tell anyone. We’re with you on it, it’s an amazing idea. Taika Waititi wants to write it”. At that point, you just go “Then Taika Waiti can write it”!

Also a clarification from what Kevin Feige stated: all 23 episodes will have twists on the movies, but they won't each be about the specific movies. "Kevin said that we will be exploring every movie in a new way, but not every episode is about one movie if that makes sense."

About Uatu the Watcher:

Ashley: It was actually fairly early and that first conversation with Brad Winderbaum. He mentioned The Watcher, which kind of surprised me because he was a Fox character technically because he first appeared in Fantastic Four. He said “no no no, he’s coming back” and I was like “okay…”. We had a lot of conversations. It was really important to me that the watcher wasn’t an old white man in the spec. I don’t want him to be Santa Claus. I don’t want him to be this Western white version of God. That was not who the character should be and it can very easily go that way.

DF: Yeah, that’s not exciting.

Ashley: He’s above everything else. He’s above everyone, but there should almost be a gleefulness watching these stories. I keep using this metaphor, which I’m not too sure if anyone likes, but I always compare it to the pizza rat meme that went around a few years ago. Someone next to the subway recorded this video of a rat dragging a slice of pizza across the platform. I think that’s what The Watcher is- he’s a guy watching a rat drag a slice of pizza across the platform. He has no interest in becoming friends with the rat, living amongst the rat, or doing rat things. He just goes, “Man, this is remarkable. Look at the little guy go”! That is The Watcher’s relationship with humanity. It’s like he’s watching this weird theater and stories unfold around him and he doesn’t know always if he should be watching. He doesn’t intervene because that’s not the point. The point is for him to watch and observe. When it came to finding the voice, the casting directors gave us a list of names. I can’t remember if Jeffrey Wright was on it, but we very quickly got to Jeffrey Wright because his voice is just so powerful and his presence, while charismatic, can address authority. He’s also a friend. He has such a warm personality. It’s a nice mixture. You don’t feel like you’re being lectured by your high school principal. You feel like you’re talking to your best friend’s husband and that was the feeling we wanted. The Watcher shouldn’t feel like a god. He should feel like almost another viewer. We’ve been very lucky with Jeffrey. He’s amazing.

Edited by alliterator on Sep 7th 2019 at 11:00:33 AM

Tuckerscreator (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Drift compatible
#108907: Sep 7th 2019 at 11:03:26 AM

“I am inevitable.”

“And I am Pizza Rat.”

alliterator Since: Jan, 2001
#108908: Sep 7th 2019 at 11:04:50 AM

Jonathan Igla is the showrunner of the Hawkeye series. Igla previously wrote for Mad Men, Masters of Sex, and Shut Eye. He also was a producer for Sorry For Your Loss, the Facebook Watch show starring Elizabeth Olsen.

Edited by alliterator on Sep 7th 2019 at 11:06:18 AM

Ultimatum Disasturbator from the Amiga Forest (Old as dirt) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Disasturbator
#108909: Sep 7th 2019 at 11:05:30 AM

Facebook Watch show?

have a listen and have a link to my discord server
alliterator Since: Jan, 2001
#108910: Sep 7th 2019 at 11:12:11 AM

Facebook has its own streaming platform called Facebook Watch. Yes, I know.

Beatman1 Since: Feb, 2014 Relationship Status: Gone fishin'
Soble Since: Dec, 2013
#108912: Sep 7th 2019 at 12:15:48 PM

We had a lot of conversations. It was really important to me that the watcher wasn’t an old white man in the spec. I don’t want him to be Santa Claus. I don’t want him to be this Western white version of God. That was not who the character should be and it can very easily go that way.

I am... relatively sure he's never been that in any depiction of him that I've seen.

The Watcher shouldn’t feel like a god. He should feel like almost another viewer.

Guess these guys didn't get the memo.

I'M MR. MEESEEKS, LOOK AT ME!
Weirdguy149 Former King from Lumiose City Since: Jul, 2014 Relationship Status: I'd jump in front of a train for ya!
Former King
#108913: Sep 7th 2019 at 12:35:14 PM

I don't know why, but every time I have seen the Watcher, he's pretty much always saying "I should do something! Should I do something? I should do something!"

The legend has returned.
fredhot16 Don't want to leave but cannot pretend from Baton Rogue, Louisiana. Since: Jan, 2015 Relationship Status: Too sexy for my shirt
Don't want to leave but cannot pretend
#108914: Sep 7th 2019 at 12:44:21 PM

Uatu the Indecisive.

Trans rights are human rights. TV Tropes is not a place for bigotry, cruelty, or dickishness, no matter who or their position.
Soble Since: Dec, 2013
#108916: Sep 7th 2019 at 1:09:23 PM

There was that time he got eaten by zombies.

I'M MR. MEESEEKS, LOOK AT ME!
HailMuffins Since: May, 2016 Relationship Status: Shipping fictional characters
#108917: Sep 7th 2019 at 1:34:33 PM

Just a re-check, but all the episodes of What If are gonna be animated, right?

Do we have confirmation on which studio(s) are gonna work on it? Is it all gonna be traditionally animated, CG animation, or are they gonna mix it up like in Love Death Robots?

SonOfSharknado Love is Love is Love Since: Oct, 2013 Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
Love is Love is Love
#108918: Sep 7th 2019 at 1:36:07 PM

I'm guessing that it'll be either the Avengers Assemble house or the Marvel's Spider-Man house. So... get ready for entirely uniform body designs and muted colors. Huuraaaaaaaahh....

My various fanfics.
comicwriter Since: Sep, 2011
#108919: Sep 7th 2019 at 1:46:23 PM

No, the animation is being handled by someone else. There's already footage out there.

Soble Since: Dec, 2013
#108920: Sep 7th 2019 at 1:47:21 PM

I already lost enthusiasm when I saw that shot of T'Challa Star Lord.

Here for the plot not for the art.

I'M MR. MEESEEKS, LOOK AT ME!
Tuckerscreator (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Drift compatible
SonOfSharknado Love is Love is Love Since: Oct, 2013 Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
Love is Love is Love
#108922: Sep 7th 2019 at 2:20:15 PM

It looks more like the Iron Man Armored Adventure jazz.

My various fanfics.
comicwriter Since: Sep, 2011
#108923: Sep 7th 2019 at 2:34:23 PM

Since they went to the trouble of getting a well known actor like Jeffrey Wright to voice the Watcher, I have a feeling the plan is for him to reprise the role in the movies as well. Maybe the Fantastic Four reboot.

JoLuRo075 Since: Jan, 2019
#108924: Sep 7th 2019 at 3:35:50 PM

I hope that "What If" is not just a cheap excuse to kill characters.

What bothered me about the original is that many times it was just that.

Andrei_Bondoc Since: Jan, 2019
#108925: Sep 7th 2019 at 3:45:54 PM

Finally watched Marvel's The Avengers!note 

Summary: Avengers Assemblenote ... to stop Loki (who is once again a Magnificent Bastardnote ) and the Chitauri from destroying Earth!

Stan Lee cameo: A random citizen who is interviewed by the news about the Avengers and says "Superheroes in New York? Give me a break!".

Observations:

  1. Loki is once again (one of) the main villain(s).
  2. Guess I really needed to watch Iron Man 1, The Incredible Hulknote , Iron Man 2, Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger.
  3. Maria Hill debuts here.
  4. Why do you look different, Bruce? Were you Terrence Howard'd too?note  But nah, I liked new Bruce here. Also, Mark Ruffalo is the first actor to portray both Bruce Banner and the Hulk!
  5. "Puny god!". Ruffalo solely said it.
  6. Why, Coulson, why did you die? I guess he was Too Cool to Live after all. Or maybe he didn't die after all.note 
  7. First big crossover movie of the MCU.
  8. Selvig returns.
  9. That old guy who stood against Loki is one of my faves! It must have taken a great deal of courage to stand against him amd call him out!
  10. Also, I like Galaga guy!
  11. So much action, characters, and fun! I like it!
  12. Ashley Johnson portrays a waitress who is saved by Cap. She was very grateful. What a nice person!
  13. Powers Boothe appears in this film.
  14. Tony wears a Black Sabbath T-shirt. Nice.
  15. It was titled Avengers Assemble in the UK to avoid confusion with the 1961 British TV series and its 1998 film adaptation.
  16. Last Marvel Cinematic Universe film to have Paramount's involvement and also the first to be distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Picturesnote .
  17. The end of Phase One: Avengers Assembled of the Infinity Saga (out of three).

The Stinger: Two this time!

  1. Chitauri boss tells to a mysterious big guy, his real boss, that the Earth is really powerful against alien invaders. Said mysterious guy turns out to be... Thanos! (Mid-credits)
  2. The Avengers eat shawarma. (Post-credits)

10/10!note 

I will now proceed to Phase Two.

Edited by Andrei_Bondoc on Sep 7th 2019 at 1:53:09 PM

"Scooby Dooby Doo!"

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