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.
Edited by Mrph1 on Jul 29th 2024 at 3:09:00 PM
I've also got a feeling that Shang-Chi might redeem his father. I could be wrong, though.
He/His/Him. No matter who you are, always Be Yourself.The spoiler bars are there as a courtesy for people who don't want to know the plot details explained in things like featurettes pre-release - while they're official, that sort of thing tends to go into more detail than things like trailers, and not everybody is down with that so I spoiler tagged the initial plot point to be on the safe side.
Everyone else is spoiler tagging their speculation about that plot point.
Edited by KnownUnknown on Jul 30th 2021 at 9:36:25 AM
Anyway, I have a general question: who are your favorite MCU composers and directors? Least favorite?
Edited by gjjones on Jul 30th 2021 at 2:26:38 PM
He/His/Him. No matter who you are, always Be Yourself.Favorite? Erm... I don't have much idea who most of the composers are except maybe Alan Silvestri. He did the first two Avengers films, right? Those both have pretty good scores.
Favorite directors? I dunno. The Russo Brothers seem to be holding their own pretty well.
Least favorite? Probably whoever directed The Incredible Hulk, cause that film is boring AF.
Like creepy stories? Check out my book!That would be Louis Leterrier.
He/His/Him. No matter who you are, always Be Yourself.Seconding the Avengers scores being awesome, that central theme is burned into my brain from every time it and permutations of it are used for the biggest moments and end credits. The Portals scene is amazing on its own, but hearing that remixed Avengers theme behind it elevated it to legendary status.
Outside of the Avengers films (and Guardians, for obvious reasons), the soundtrack that stuck with me most is Black Panther. Some great sounds and rhythms in that soundtrack.
Fave directors? Taika Waititi and Ryan Coogler. Used to include the Russos, but while they are good as directors, they're not exceptional, and some of their choices as storytellers are truly baffling. I do wonder how much of Infinity War and Endgame was truly them and not the second unit, though. It's possible having all those hands in the pie could've caused problems that are not really their own fault.
Worst director? Conflicted, as most of my actual least favorite MCU films had issues where the main problems came from terrible writing or backstage drama, whereas the directing was usually still adequate. Age of Ultron being wholly Joss Whedon's baby means he's damn pretty low on the list, though. Some good moments but by and by the film was a slog.
For composters it's Ludwig Goransson on BP and Henry Jackman on the latter two Captain America films. Silvestri is fine but I guess too conventional for my tastes, and that's also my big problem with Brian Tyler. Effective but bland.
Edited by AlleyOop on Jul 31st 2021 at 5:46:32 AM
Favourite directors are Waititi and James Gunn. Least favourite? Not sure really. Whoever it was who made Thor 2 so incredibly dull I remember approximately none of it except Loki "dying"... Again.
"These 'no-nonsense' solutions of yours just don't hold water in a complex world of jet-powered apes and time travel."I really like Silvestri's score for the Avengers films, which have been iconic in their own right. I should point out that he didn't do the score for Age of Ultron though. That was Brian Tyler and Danny Elfman, and I thought they did fine work for that film.
I also tend to get the Ant-Man theme by Christophe Beck stuck in my head at random intervals.
Edited by chasemaddigan on Jul 31st 2021 at 9:22:05 AM
That's a fair point about there being a lot of behind the scenes hassle on Thor 2, which definitely didn't help so it might be a bit harsh on the director to blame him.
That said, it was indubitably a very bland, beige and boring film so my vote still goes to him as least favourite even if by default.
"These 'no-nonsense' solutions of yours just don't hold water in a complex world of jet-powered apes and time travel."My favorite composer for the MCU has to be Natalie Holt. I've liked all the MCU scores in the past, but hers was the first to make me feel "Holy shit, there's so many electronic elements!", which I relate to as a producer. Ludwig Görannson is probably my backup tho, especially with what he's contributed to Black Panther, Community, and the Mandalorian. It helps that one of my professors in my college taught him!
As for directors...I think I'm going to go for a darkhorse and say Peyton Reed. I love the little world he's built for Ant-Man, and he's made Scott Lang and his family/friends some of my favorite characters. My backup is the Russo Brothers though, since they've proven to be quite flexible in terms of doing small scale and large scale films.
"I'm Mr. Blue, woah-woah-ooh..."

That depends on the contract. A lot of legal disputes arise because the precise wording of a contract isn't sufficiently clear, resulting in different interpretations.