MovieChat Forums > Avengers: Endgame (2019) Discussion > The next phase... can it keep up?

The next phase... can it keep up?

posted 4 years ago by [deleted]
7 replies | jump to latest

Any thoughts on how successful the next wave/phase of movies will be?

Some random thoughts, in no particular order:

i. We see Marvel is going to start introducing 'woke' characters in a big way... gay characters, trans characters, etc...

In real life, this group accounts for 5%? 10%? of the general population.

If they don't make their sexuality the focus of the story, I don't see it being an issue. But, if they go into contortions trying to pat themselves on the back for being so 'forward' thinking, while making it a major part of the story line, I suspect they'll alienate the other 90% of us who are plain vanilla heterosexual.

ii. Speaking for myself, I only catch every 2nd or 3rd superhero flick at the theatre nowadays. My interest is waning because too many of them feature a final over-the-top, Lord-of-the-Rings style, green screen slugfest for most of the final act. For me, it's getting boring.

On a different note, I grew up with the 'original' lineup of Marvel superheroes back in the 60s. I stopped reading comics in the mid-70s, so I'm unfamiliar with a lot of the characters that I've read about that will make up the next wave of heroes and villains.

So, will viewers stay away because they are weary of the same generic action, and/or don't have much knowledge of the characters?

iii. Foreign audiences... China/Asia is obviously a huge market for Hollywood. So much so that the foreign take can make up for a weak domestic performance. What will be the influence of that on these movies... the characters, storylines, cast, etc?

Can the studio successfully cater to two separate audiences with different histories and cultures?

For the inevitable trolls that will respond... at least be entertaining. Nothing worse in a thread than a dull troll who bores with the same standard phrases and arguments.

[–] LemmyLugosi (411) 4 years ago

All great points, and well-stated. I do hope that Disney can keep the MCU steamroller going; as a much older fan, this has been the cinematic journey of a lifetime (I've been reading and collecting comics since 1968).

Whatever happens, good, bad or ugly, I'm sure it will at least be interesting.

[–] alienzen (1929) 4 years ago

The only misstep so far has been Captain Marvel. Whenever I've seen Feige questioned on these things, he always says that the most important thing is the storytelling. I don't know why Captain Marvel went so wrong, maybe Feige was just overburdened with other projects and it was his lowest priority. Maybe he didn't want to step in and interfere for fear of being labelled sexist. But if you look at the Spider-man movies, those are a perfect example of how "diversity" can be done the right way. There are a lot of racially diverse characters in those movies, but it never intruded on the story. In fact the fact that Peter's crush in the first movie was black actually helped to throw you off from the fact that she was Toomes daughter.
Black Widow looks great. We will have to wait to see what comes next. Even though the female Thor thing in Thor 4 is a turn-off, I still trust Taika Waititi to do right. Other than that, Captain Marvel is the only concern. And that seems to have been put on the back burner. So no reason for major concern at this point.

[–] Kowalski (59697) 4 years ago

HOW DID DIVERSITY INTRUDE ON CAPT MARVEL?

[–] alienzen (1929) 4 years ago

The terribly written lead character was a direct result of the writers trying to make Carl Manvers a representative for all woman kind who is not allowed to have any flaws instead of an engaging character. They fell into the typical feminist trap of making a male character (Nick Fury) a bumbling idiot in order to prop up a female character. The "I'm just a girl" soundtrack for the final sequence was forced and cringey, the low point of the whole film. Oh and remember that scene when Manvers steals from a guy who was hitting on her, just because she can?(thankfully they cut out the even worse version of the scene where she abuses her superhuman power to bully a guy who cannot fight back and crushes his hand)
Imagine if The winter Soldier had written Black Widow as a incompetent fool who was only dead weight, ruining a character who had previously been mysterious and badass, and making her into comic relief. Imagine if every villain in the movie was a woman, who was protrayed as the worst version of a domineering female. Steve Rogers wins every fight easily and never seems to be in danger. At the end he becomes uber powerful just because he believes in himself and easily beats all of the bad guys, with "America! fuck Yeah!" playing in the background.

That would have been a great film, wouldn't it?

[–] Kowalski (59697) 4 years ago

LMAO...OK

[–] Otter (24464) 4 years ago

" I suspect they'll alienate the other 90% of us who are plain vanilla heterosexual."

Why are you assuming that vanilla heterosexuals can't enjoy or identify with the a character who isn't vanilla heterosexual?

People can like, identify with, or enjoy watching characters who aren't just like themselves. Because you firmly believe that people who aren't white male straight cis vanilla CAN love characters who are white male straight cis vanilla, don't you.

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

Hence my hedging phrase: "I suspect..." (if they make the movie an exercise in virtue signalling).

I think the intent and meaning of my original post is clear. Don't bother trying to twist it for the sake of an argument. I don't play that game.