With Marvel already having brought their A-list comic characters to the big screen, culminating in next springs mega-team-up “The Avengers,” the big question is where they will go next. Of course, “Thor,” “Captain America” and “Iron Man” still have standalone sequels coming, but the company has been looking at their B-list titles for a while now, trying to figure out where to go next. So far this year we’ve learned that “Guardians of the Galaxy” is a possibility,” Doctor Strange” and “Ant-Man” had scripts handed in, a tease that “Black Widow” and “Hawkeye” could get their own spinoffs, and that “Black Panther” had a writer assigned to it. So, certainly, no shortage of options. But alas, there appears to be more on the table.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly (via FirstShowing) who just put “The Avengers” on the cover of their most recent issue, Marvel honcho Kevin Feige confirmed rumors that cropped up this spring that “The Inhumans” was a superhero group being looked at for a big screen incarnation. Without getting to far into the mythology, The Inhumans are essentially an alien race of superheroes (though with a strong human connection) who connect with rest of the Marvel world as they have often teamed up with The Avengers and Fantastic Four to help defeat common foes. So you can see why bringing this group to the big screen is an attractive proposal. Indeed, Feige tells the magazine that if it were to happen, fans should expect “an X-men style ensemble a la The Avengers.” But as far we know, no writer has been assigned yet so this is still just a kernel of an idea.
Of course, we’re guessing we should hear about at least one new franchise soon, right? Remember, Marvel has blocked off two release dates in 2014 for two still-to-be-announced films. One of them we figure is for the inevitable “Captain America 2,” which Chris Evans recently told us was a date being eyed by the studio. But that leaves one big blank space to be filled.
Equally compelling are the projects not mentioned or put into doubt. Feige tells EW that even though Edgar Wright “developed an excellent draft recently,” the project is still “nebulous” at this point. There is no mention of the delayed “The Runaways” which writer Drew Pearce recently said he was hoping would start filming in 2012. Nor is there any talk about Dazzler, Iron Fist, Ka-Zar, Power Pack and Luke Cage, all rumored last year for their own mid-budget movies.
Clearly, Feige and Marvel are collecting scripts and seeing what will work best to move forward with and taking a prudent approach. Which isn’t a bad idea at all. But essentially the question comes down to whether they roll the dice on another ensemble movie (Guardians of the Galaxy, Inhumans) or try and turn one of their B-level standalone heroes into a big screen success. Time will tell, and 2014 is a long way away, so Feige and co. have some space to figure it out.
