Marvel: the Avenger Initiative
Marvel and Iron Man take Comic Book Movies to the Next Level
May 30, 2008
As ‘Iron Man’ continues to make millions at the box office in its fourth week, Marvel has announced its plans to launch an Avengers franchise of sorts to be released to the public in installments over the next two years. Nothing of this magnitude has really ever been attempted by a studio before, but if anyone can do it Marvel can. No one is better equipped to produce fan pleasing superhero films than the home of the original comic creators. Iron Man has proved that point in a big way.
The Plan
(‘IRON MAN’ SPOILER ALERT) Following the credits for ‘Iron Man’ was a short clip in which Samuel L. Jackson, as Nick Fury, told Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark he wanted to speak to him about the Avengers initiative. In the days following Iron Man’s release and massive success Marvel announced a string of Avengers related movies. 2010 will bring the ‘Iron Man’ sequel in April, the debut of Ant Man and the introduction of Thor in June. Summer 2011 will be the release of the keystone of the entire endeavor, Captain America. In addition Tony Stark will be making a cameo appearance in the Hulk relaunch coming to theaters June 13. If all this goes according to plan, 2011 will also be the release of the Avengers movie where theoretically all these heroes would join forces in a comic book movie the likes of which have never been seen.
Previous Attempts
There have been talks of cross over movies and superhero team movies for years now, ever since the recent success of films like the Spiderman trilogy, ‘Batman Begins’ and of course the X-men films. The public loves a good hero so it’s no surprise that studios have considered getting more bang for their buck as it were. There’s been talk of a Superman/Batman movie and a Justice League film. Neither of these films has ever really gotten past the idea phase although there was active casting going on for Justice League in 2007 that has since stalled.
Why It’s a Great Idea
Marvel has now taken its most active role in bringing its characters from page to screen. ‘Iron Man’ was the first step and it certainly proved to be a giant leap. The trick is that Marvel doesn’t plan on letting the public up for air anytime soon. Their schedule is now stacked through 2011 with highly anticipated movies. Up next is ‘The Incredible Hulk’ followed by a new Punisher installment, ‘Punisher: War Zone’ that hits theaters this December. 2009 will see the return of X-men favorite Wolverine in ‘Wolverine: Origins’. There’s no doubt that as long as Marvel keeps the pace going, the Avengers initiative and its cluster of films will likely be the most successful comic book/superhero film endeavor of all time.
