Edited by Robert Beach
In case you haven’t heard, Marvel has made a major announcement. After making a bundle of cash at the box office (more than Captain America: The First Avenger incidentally), Ant-Man is officially getting a sequel. This is a big victory lap for Marvel, turning a troubled and public production history on a C-list hero into a financial hit and a real cultural connection with audiences. The sequel, entitled Ant-Man and The Wasp is slotted to come out July 6, 2018. This has lead to some pretty major shake-ups.
Black Panther will now be released in February 2018 to coincide with Black History Month and Captain Marvel has been pushed back yet again, this time to 2019. Though I’m glad we’re getting more Ant-Man because I was a big fan of the first film, I don’t think it was really worth the price. Captain Marvel is getting so continually delayed it only feels like a matter of time before Marvel delays it into oblivion, and I certainly don’t like that Ant-Man 2’s title frames Wasp as his sidekick.
I don’t want to judge too quickly too soon. Marvel still has 3 years to hammer Ant-Man 2 into something great, and it’s possible Wasp will get to take more of the center stage she deserves in this follow up. The Marvel announcement also came with the date of 3 new, unnamed Marvel releases: May 1, July 10, and November 6 all in the year 2020. This mysterious update is what we’ll be discussing today. It’s time for some wild speculation with 10 guesses on Marvel’s secret projects.
BLACK WIDOW
At this point, guessing Marvel is planning a Black Widow film
is basically the free space on the speculation bingo card. I’ve heard rumors that the removal of
the old executive roadblocks has opened things up at Marvel for a Black Widow
film, so it’s possibly 2020 will be the time she finally gets to shine. I honestly don’t know why Marvel has
been so hesitant to make this movie given how incredibly popular Black Widow
has proven in all of her appearances.
What’s more, her unique role as a rogue super spy and former soviet assassin provide plenty of fertile ground to flesh out the Marvel cinematic universe. Even if Marvel didn’t want to spook foreign box office markets with Russian villains, there are plenty of other great villains to throw Black Widow against. Scarlet Johanson has proven herself as a box office draw time and again. It's clear there’s major demand for her film; it’s about time Marvel just made one already.
What’s more, her unique role as a rogue super spy and former soviet assassin provide plenty of fertile ground to flesh out the Marvel cinematic universe. Even if Marvel didn’t want to spook foreign box office markets with Russian villains, there are plenty of other great villains to throw Black Widow against. Scarlet Johanson has proven herself as a box office draw time and again. It's clear there’s major demand for her film; it’s about time Marvel just made one already.
WAR MACHINE
This one’s a bit less likely, but still pretty close to that
free square on the bingo card. War
Machine has been flirting around the periphery of the Marvel universe for 3
films now, and it’s clear he’s not going away any time soon. If Age
of Ultron was any indicator, he’s got a big role to play in Captain America: Civil War as well as Avengers: Infinity War parts 1 and
2. Given all that, and Robert
Downey Jr.’s increasing reticence about playing the role of Tony Stark, the
logical next step would be to swap him out for an Iron Man-shaped
character.
War Machine could easily fill the role of Iron Man in a new film plus would take the movie in a new direction given his position in the military. Marvel could easily produce a taught, military thriller starring War Machine in no time. It would fit with the early Iron Man mission statement of a more contemporary superhero film. Additionally, Rhodey has worn the Iron Man armor on many occasions in the comics, so it wouldn’t be that much of a stretch to just have him take up the mantel, perhaps in a story following up on the Mandarin tease from the end of Hail to the King.
War Machine could easily fill the role of Iron Man in a new film plus would take the movie in a new direction given his position in the military. Marvel could easily produce a taught, military thriller starring War Machine in no time. It would fit with the early Iron Man mission statement of a more contemporary superhero film. Additionally, Rhodey has worn the Iron Man armor on many occasions in the comics, so it wouldn’t be that much of a stretch to just have him take up the mantel, perhaps in a story following up on the Mandarin tease from the end of Hail to the King.
HULK
I know, this isn’t the kind of wild and unrealistic
speculation I usually offer, but don’t worry that’s coming. I’ve heard a lot of conflicting reports
as to why Marvel have been dragging their feet so thoroughly a new Hulk movie
from rights issues to contract problems. Given the lack of any definitive statement, I’m slotting the Hulk into
the same position as Black Widow in terms of blindingly obvious choice for a
film that Marvel is just too stubborn to adapt. I get the sense with both these characters a big part of
Marvel’s reluctance to make a film out of them is that they’re quasi-villains.
Black Widow is an ex-assassin, and the Hulk is essentially a man-sized Godzilla; they’re characters that require a much more deft handling than is usually afforded by Marvel’s phase 2 formula of talky villain, legions of henchmen, ticking clock, and doomsday weapon. Still, it’d be a shame for that to truly deter them from making a Hulk movie because the Hulk has such an amazing roster of additional characters and villains. He almost demands a film. I wouldn’t even demand a Planet Hulk film; you could get great material out of just staging Hulk-level monster mash adventures throughout the Marvel universe. Seriously, if Marvel basically ripped off Destroy All Monsters with the Hulk, I’d be the first in line to buy a ticket.
Black Widow is an ex-assassin, and the Hulk is essentially a man-sized Godzilla; they’re characters that require a much more deft handling than is usually afforded by Marvel’s phase 2 formula of talky villain, legions of henchmen, ticking clock, and doomsday weapon. Still, it’d be a shame for that to truly deter them from making a Hulk movie because the Hulk has such an amazing roster of additional characters and villains. He almost demands a film. I wouldn’t even demand a Planet Hulk film; you could get great material out of just staging Hulk-level monster mash adventures throughout the Marvel universe. Seriously, if Marvel basically ripped off Destroy All Monsters with the Hulk, I’d be the first in line to buy a ticket.
WINTER SOLDIER
If Marvel really does
see Black Widow and Hulk as being too villainous and weird to turn
into solo films, I don’t see why Winter Soldier would be somehow more
heroic. I do at least understand
their obsession with Winter Soldier as he’s essentially the Venom of the
Captain America universe. Something marketing departments and executives tend to really pick up on
is that “darker, edgier, moodier” versions of heroes sell very well to the disaffected moderately older fans grown disillusioned with the
earnest genuineness of the original characters. That idea seems to be Marvel’s thinking with Winter Soldier. The idea that he can be the troubled, brooding anti-hero version of Captain
America: all of Cap’s powers and most of his mythos and visuals only with a
dark secret life instead of a firm moral compass and resolute identity. This strikes me as the most likely possibility, but the one
I’d be the least excited for.
GHOST RIDER
I have exactly no reason for suspecting Marvel is planning
to bring back Ghost Rider, and even less reason to suspect they’d do so in film
form; although, I still think this is actually a pretty decent bet. A big part of this speculation comes from
the blossoming aspects of the Marvel universe that will emerge through phase
3. Phase 3 is going to feature a
major role by Dr. Strange, and I’ve also heard that the Netflix Iron Fist show
will have a major emphasis on similar mysticism. Given that and recent rumors of a Blade revival, it seems
like Marvel is headed towards a much more magical future.
It’s a smart move given how much Thor stumbled at the second hurtle and hasn’t found much traction through Age of Ultron or in the growing build up to Ragnarok. Given all that and the growing popularity of ‘90s nostalgia, I would not be at all surprised if Marvel pulled Ghost Rider out of mothballs for a new film. Ghost Rider is a character with an awesome enough visual to sustain any real tarnishing, and with the right handlers, I think you could get a great movie out of him, especially given how much Mad Max: Fury Road and Furious 7 proved that car movies and geeky nonsense go together.
It’s a smart move given how much Thor stumbled at the second hurtle and hasn’t found much traction through Age of Ultron or in the growing build up to Ragnarok. Given all that and the growing popularity of ‘90s nostalgia, I would not be at all surprised if Marvel pulled Ghost Rider out of mothballs for a new film. Ghost Rider is a character with an awesome enough visual to sustain any real tarnishing, and with the right handlers, I think you could get a great movie out of him, especially given how much Mad Max: Fury Road and Furious 7 proved that car movies and geeky nonsense go together.
NOVA
After Guardians of the
Galaxy established the Nova corp, pretty much every geek worth their salt
began anticipating a Nova movie.
Though initially a fairly obscure space hero from the ‘70s, Nova exploded
onto the main stage of the Marvel universe during the boom years of the
mid-2000s. While the rest of the
Marvel canon were busy fighting the Civil War, Nova was involved in a massive
space opera saga called Annihilation
that stands as one of the best stories of Marvel’s cosmic stable.
Since then, Nova has been a persistent aspect of the Marvel universe and a real power player on the cosmic circuit in a good way. Given that DC has already confirmed a Green Lantern film for 2020, Marvel slotting a Nova film into that year would be a good way to keep the competition on. Additionally, given that we know the Nova Corp currently possesses the Power Gem (and Thanos is undoubtedly coming for it), a Nova film would be a great way to help frame phase 4 as the true aftermath of the Infinity War.
Since then, Nova has been a persistent aspect of the Marvel universe and a real power player on the cosmic circuit in a good way. Given that DC has already confirmed a Green Lantern film for 2020, Marvel slotting a Nova film into that year would be a good way to keep the competition on. Additionally, given that we know the Nova Corp currently possesses the Power Gem (and Thanos is undoubtedly coming for it), a Nova film would be a great way to help frame phase 4 as the true aftermath of the Infinity War.
S.H.I.E.L.D.
By the time 2020 rolls around, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. could be concluding its 7th season. That’s a lot of TV between then and now. Given how much the Marvel Cinematic Universe is already going to change
next summer, and the growing popularity of spy films, I wouldn’t be surprised if Marvel
tried to force its S.H.I.E.L.D. franchise into a film down the line. I doubt we’d see Samuel L. Jackson’s
Nick Fury leading S.H.I.E.L.D., and I also doubt we’d see Clark
Greg’s Coulson in the driver’s seat either.
What strikes me as the most likely outcome would be Colby Smulder’s Maria Hill taking over the reigns of S.H.I.E.L.D. for a film focused on some classic enemy like Hydra or the Zodiac. I admit, a S.H.I.E.L.D. film is pretty unlikely given that Captain America, Winter Soldier, Falcon, War Machine, Iron Man, and Black Widow could all simply act as the central hero for a S.H.I.E.L.D. storyline to emerge around. I still think it’s a possibility. If the rumors of major death and destruction in the Infinity War are true, Marvel’s phase 4 could find the Earth with a severe lack of heroes, so it’d be cool to see S.H.I.E.L.D. try to pick up the slack.
What strikes me as the most likely outcome would be Colby Smulder’s Maria Hill taking over the reigns of S.H.I.E.L.D. for a film focused on some classic enemy like Hydra or the Zodiac. I admit, a S.H.I.E.L.D. film is pretty unlikely given that Captain America, Winter Soldier, Falcon, War Machine, Iron Man, and Black Widow could all simply act as the central hero for a S.H.I.E.L.D. storyline to emerge around. I still think it’s a possibility. If the rumors of major death and destruction in the Infinity War are true, Marvel’s phase 4 could find the Earth with a severe lack of heroes, so it’d be cool to see S.H.I.E.L.D. try to pick up the slack.
VENOM
If you don’t think Marvel immediately started planning a
Venom film as soon as they got a shared custody agreement with Sony, then you
don’t know the suits at either company. Venom will now and forever be “the profitable” character of the
Spider-Man ethos, for essentially all the reasons I already cited about Winter
Soldier only turned up to 11.
We already know that Marvel is scrambling to wedge Peter Parker into their cinematic universe as quickly as possible and, on the comics side, they’ve developed a massive universe of spider-powered heroes. I wouldn't be surprised if they’re already working towards a micro-verse of Spider-Man stories and characters. Venom would be the easiest first step, especially since you could have Peter pick up the alien symbiote during the events of Infinity War.
We already know that Marvel is scrambling to wedge Peter Parker into their cinematic universe as quickly as possible and, on the comics side, they’ve developed a massive universe of spider-powered heroes. I wouldn't be surprised if they’re already working towards a micro-verse of Spider-Man stories and characters. Venom would be the easiest first step, especially since you could have Peter pick up the alien symbiote during the events of Infinity War.
HOWARD THE DUCK
This one actually isn’t as weird as you might think. It’s obvious from Marvel’s bizarre
smattering of other late phase 3 releases that they’re basically planning to
use phase 4 as a soft reboot/test kitchen for whatever random heroes they might
throw at the screen. Given that
and the surprisingly positive audience response to both Howard’s cameo in Guardians of the Galaxy and his recent
comic book series, I wouldn’t be surprised if someone at Marvel was currently
working out a way or reason to give him his own movie.
I’d personally love to see a new Howard the Duck movie that avoids falling into the previous trap of forcing Howard to be a superhero type. Howard is at his best when he’s an angry little curmudgeon more or less stomping his way through the Marvel universe with a gigantic chip on his feathers. Knowing how big the shared cinematic universe is going to get by 2020, just having a talking duck go on a walking tour of its most ludicrous elements could actually be a viable comedy.
I’d personally love to see a new Howard the Duck movie that avoids falling into the previous trap of forcing Howard to be a superhero type. Howard is at his best when he’s an angry little curmudgeon more or less stomping his way through the Marvel universe with a gigantic chip on his feathers. Knowing how big the shared cinematic universe is going to get by 2020, just having a talking duck go on a walking tour of its most ludicrous elements could actually be a viable comedy.
DEVIL DINOSAUR
Hey, anything can happen right? In all honesty, this is most likely never going to happen. But
hey, they were never all going to be credible anyway. Despite my best advice and all the billions made by Jurassic World, the chances of Marvel
actually pulling the trigger on a Devil Dinosaur film are slim to null. There’s just none of the required
machinery to achieve a Devil Dinosaur movie in place. No indication of when
you’d have it take place, or how it’d connect to the overall universe, or any of
a dozen other questions that would plague an adaptation.
It’s possible that if Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur comic takes off, they might go for an adaptation of that; that’s a big "if." Even if Marvel was desperate to get a person of color superhero on screen, I don’t really see why they’d twist and bend themselves out of shape to force a Devil Dinosaur film instead of just making Ms. Marvel or Miles Morales. Even so, hope springs eternal and I would watch the hell out of a Devil Dinosaur movie. Also, we already know the Time Gem is going to be popping up as a big part of Infinity War, so who knows. Maybe a T-rex will end up transported to modern-day Manhattan, and this will be the aftermath…well, I can dream, can’t I?
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It’s possible that if Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur comic takes off, they might go for an adaptation of that; that’s a big "if." Even if Marvel was desperate to get a person of color superhero on screen, I don’t really see why they’d twist and bend themselves out of shape to force a Devil Dinosaur film instead of just making Ms. Marvel or Miles Morales. Even so, hope springs eternal and I would watch the hell out of a Devil Dinosaur movie. Also, we already know the Time Gem is going to be popping up as a big part of Infinity War, so who knows. Maybe a T-rex will end up transported to modern-day Manhattan, and this will be the aftermath…well, I can dream, can’t I?
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