Feige: "more than half of [heroes] will be women."

[MasterCat]

Kevin Feige's recent comments about Marvel heroes becoming majority-female has left me scratching my head.
Let's look at the status quo once James Gunn is done with "this version of the Guardians of the Galaxy" in summer 2020:

1. Captain America (Sebastian Stan): 4 films on his contract after A4.
2. Ant-Man. 2 films left for Paul Rudd.
3. Doctor Strange. 3 films left after A4.
4. Spider-Man. We know there'll be an MCU Spider-Man 3.
5. Black Panther. Chadwick Boseman only contracted for 5 films, but BP2 won't even be out at this point.
6. Hawkeye. 1 film for Renner after A4.

1. Black Widow. ScarJo's contract is over. I would think they'd have better things to do after her solo film than keep paying her what she'd demand.
2. The Scarlet Witch. Elizabeth Olsen would have 2 films left if she's more than a cameo in A4.
3. The Wasp. 4 films left if A4 is legally a cameo.
4. Carol Danvers. 4 films left.
5. Mantis. Originally an Avenger in the 1970s; Pom will have 2-3 films on a standard Marvel contract after GotG3, depending on whether her A4 appearance is a cameo.

So I guess they could have a majority-female Avengers 5 if they let Renner go and cast a Kate Bishop. Sadly that would require getting rid of the Hulk! (Thor can be balanced by Valkyrie) But then Jack Kirby's Eternals are mostly male. So are the Fantastic 4.
I'm baffled how he plans to keep men from being a majority while introducing new solo heroes after 2021. Ms. Marvel and Tigra to balance out Nova? Literally who to balance out Ghost Rider? Blade? No adding Wonder Man to the Avengers?

 

[HBarnill]

This is gonna end well...

 

[Bach]

"The more waifus, the better."

 

[Hammer!]

He’s talking about this in terms of the future, more than half will be women in Phase 4, not overall counting everything they did. I’d wager half the Erernals will be women, they quite possibly bumped Nova for Ms. Marvel now, and half the solo films will be about women. That’s possibly if they green light Ms Marvel, Widow, Cap Marvel 2, Ant Man/Wasp 3 to Strange, Panther, and Spider-Man.

 

[Shinobi Shaw]

Low key way of telling us to expect to see Jean Grey, Storm, Psylocke, Rogue, Invisible Woman and all the other mutant women I'm forgetting right now.

 

[HBarnill]

Low key way of telling us to expect to see Jean Grey, Storm, Psylocke, Rogue, Invisible Woman and all the other mutant women I'm forgetting right now.

If it happens, which I hope it won’t.

 

[NotNickFury]

Now which character will Daisy Ridley audition for, I wonder? Whoever it ends up being would have to be a flawless character in her eyes.

 

[MadVillainy]

Stop using diversity for your movie rollouts

 

[Iceman]

Low key way of telling us to expect to see Jean Grey, Storm, Psylocke, Rogue, Invisible Woman and all the other mutant women I'm forgetting right now.

That is one way his statement would make sense.

 

[MasterCat]

That is one way his statement would make sense.

No, it doesn't add up. Xavier's student body is usually 50% female (and it only makes sense that mutant births are 50-50).

4 X-Women + Carol + Invis Woman = 6
4 X-Men + Xavier + rest of F4 = 8
Not taking the Eternals into account, they would need to introduce 3 more heroines and 0 other heroic men.
So how would they do that? Ms Marvel, Tigra & ??? Before Nova, Moon Knight or any other man?

 

[Laderlappen]

Sounds like Kevin Feige is getting some tips from Kathleen Kennedy.

 

[Abudefduf]

"But, as the plan goes forward I think frankly we'll be ... you know, eventually I think we're going to reach a time where it's not just ... listen, it would be amazing to see all of our female characters the way we have seen ... most, never all male, but primarily male. I think we're getting to the point soon where we have so many great female characters that those are just our heroes as opposed to when are they all female, all male. It's just the Marvel heroes, more than half of which will be women."

I won't lie... I'm of the opinion that Feige was just talking out of his butt.

"The more waifus, the better."

This, but unironically.

 

[honestbharani]

He just said "It's just the Marvel heroes, more than half of which will be women". I just took that to mean he meant the current run in the comic books where many of their current heroes are women right?

Either way, he has earned my trust with the past 19 movies. If he sees good movies built around these characters, I am willing to see that. But again, folks over reacting in this thread without any context for the actual comments or indeed any actual reason for said over-reaction. Awesome. *slowclap*

 

[MbJ]

Sounds like Kevin Feige is getting some tips from Kathleen Kennedy.

Except he's actually put women and non-white directors behind the camera, while she's just given lip service.

 

[Bayne]

Kevin Feige's recent comments about Marvel heroes becoming majority-female has left me scratching my head.
Let's look at the status quo once James Gunn is done with "this version of the Guardians of the Galaxy" in summer 2020:

1. Captain America (Sebastian Stan): 4 films on his contract after A4.
2. Ant-Man. 2 films left for Paul Rudd.
3. Doctor Strange. 3 films left after A4.
4. Spider-Man. We know there'll be an MCU Spider-Man 3.
5. Black Panther. Chadwick Boseman only contracted for 5 films, but BP2 won't even be out at this point.
6. Hawkeye. 1 film for Renner after A4.

1. Black Widow. ScarJo's contract is over. I would think they'd have better things to do after her solo film than keep paying her what she'd demand.
2. The Scarlet Witch. Elizabeth Olsen would have 2 films left if she's more than a cameo in A4.
3. The Wasp. 4 films left if A4 is legally a cameo.
4. Carol Danvers. 4 films left.
5. Mantis. Originally an Avenger in the 1970s; Pom will have 2-3 films on a standard Marvel contract after GotG3, depending on whether her A4 appearance is a cameo.

So I guess they could have a majority-female Avengers 5 if they let Renner go and cast a Kate Bishop. Sadly that would require getting rid of the Hulk! (Thor can be balanced by Valkyrie) But then Jack Kirby's Eternals are mostly male. So are the Fantastic 4.
I'm baffled how he plans to keep men from being a majority while introducing new solo heroes after 2021. Ms. Marvel and Tigra to balance out Nova? Literally who to balance out Ghost Rider? Blade? No adding Wonder Man to the Avengers?

Contracts can be renegotiated (and half of these contracts aren't public anyway in terms of what the exact details are), and if the Black Widow movie is a big success, marvel absolutely will want to keep ScarJo on board. You completely left out Valkyrie and Nebula and you're making wild assumptions about male characters needing to be balanced out when they're not even likely to appear - Ghost Rider is on tv, Blade doesn't fit the marvel studios demographic and Wonder Man was already passed over (he was supposed to be in Guardians 2 and they cut him out). Plus there are other female characters in Marvel comics besides Ms. Marvel and Tigra.

IOW, that is one hell of a BS rant based on absolutely nothing.

 

[Abudefduf]

So, with the help of Wikipedia I've compiled a list of relatively major female and male superheroes that Marvel Studios still haven't used in their movies.

Female heroes:
She-Hulk
Spider-Woman
Ms. Marvel
Spectrum
Elsa Bloodstone
Ms. America
Hawkeye
Stature
Tigra
Phyla-Vell
Moondragon
Angela
Silverclaw
Clea
Jocasta
Sersi
Other female Eternals, whoever they are

Male heroes:
Adam Warlock
Nova
Blade
Hercules
Wonder Man
Accidental Rapist Starfox
Moon Knight
Uncool male Quasar
Captain Britain
Shang-Chi
Superman Knock-Off #1
Superman Knock-Off #2
Blue Marvel
Hulkling
Wiccan
Ares
Beta Ray Bill

From these two lists it's beyond obvious that, even without the X-Men rights, MS still have plenty of awesome female heroes to use, while quite a few of their remaining male heroes are suckass characters that no one in their right mind should want to see on the big screen.

So yeah, the idea of a female-dominated MCU is not that far-fetched, if you ask me... but I still don't believe it'll ever happen.

 

[Big Bang]

Sounds like Kevin Feige is getting some tips from Kathleen Kennedy.

I'd say at least Feige loves Marvel, while Kennedy purportedly wasn't a big fan of Star Wars.

Except he's actually put women and non-white directors behind the camera, while she's just given lip service.

I'd add the word talented to that sentence. He's not just throwing people into those roles. He actively seeks out individuals with the necessary talent to make a successful product. Putting Ryan Coogler into the director's chair for Black Panther right after he had done Creed is a great example of that. He showed he was the right person for the job.

Low key way of telling us to expect to see Jean Grey, Storm, Psylocke, Rogue, Invisible Woman and all the other mutant women I'm forgetting right now.

If that's the case, I don't see why any one will have any issues with it.

He’s talking about this in terms of the future, more than half will be women in Phase 4, not overall counting everything they did. I’d wager half the Eternals will be women, they quite possibly bumped Nova for Ms. Marvel now, and half the solo films will be about women. That’s possibly if they green light Ms Marvel, Widow, Cap Marvel 2, Ant Man/Wasp 3 to Strange, Panther, and Spider-Man.

To that point, we shouldn't forget that Marvel Studios has a knack for striking balance with their product. They have managed to put out films that appeal to large groups of people and still put together something the core audience enjoys.

I think he is trying to be diverse organically, which is a major contrast to what Lucasfilm did unsuccessfully.

 

[Flash525]

1. Captain America (Sebastian Stan): 4 films on his contract after A4.
2. Ant-Man. 2 films left for Paul Rudd.
3. Doctor Strange. 3 films left after A4.
4. Spider-Man. We know there'll be an MCU Spider-Man 3.
5. Black Panther. Chadwick Boseman only contracted for 5 films, but BP2 won't even be out at this point.
6. Hawkeye. 1 film for Renner after A4.

1. Black Widow. ScarJo's contract is over. I would think they'd have better things to do after her solo film than keep paying her what she'd demand.
2. The Scarlet Witch. Elizabeth Olsen would have 2 films left if she's more than a cameo in A4.
3. The Wasp. 4 films left if A4 is legally a cameo.
4. Carol Danvers. 4 films left.
5. Mantis. Originally an Avenger in the 1970s; Pom will have 2-3 films on a standard Marvel contract after GotG3, depending on whether her A4 appearance is a cameo.

Allow me to start by laughing at the notion that Stan will take over as Captain America within the MCU; that's a pipedream. Sorry.

I further find it ... odd that Lilly has two more contractual films than Rudd; surely they'd want to keep these two characters together moving forward? I'd agree with Black Widow (and Hawkeye come to think of it); I can't see what else they could do with them short of a good sendoff. Mantis, I suspect, will be a member of the Avengers (somehow - she's an empath) moving forward - unless she's in the second group of Guardians for the sequel trilogy that's been rumoured.

 

[TheVileOne]

So, with the help of Wikipedia I've compiled a list of relatively major female and male superheroes that Marvel Studios still haven't used in their movies.

Female heroes:
She-Hulk
Spider-Woman
Ms. Marvel
Spectrum
Elsa Bloodstone
Ms. America
Hawkeye
Stature
Tigra
Phyla-Vell
Moondragon
Angela
Silverclaw
Clea
Jocasta
Sersi
Other female Eternals, whoever they are

Male heroes:
Adam Warlock
Nova
Blade
Hercules
Wonder Man
Accidental Rapist Starfox
Moon Knight
Uncool male Quasar
Captain Britain
Shang-Chi
Superman Knock-Off #1
Superman Knock-Off #2
Blue Marvel
Hulkling
Wiccan
Ares
Beta Ray Bill

From these two lists it's beyond obvious that, even without the X-Men rights, MS still have plenty of awesome female heroes to use, while quite a few of their remaining male heroes are suckass characters that no one in their right mind should want to see on the big screen.

So yeah, the idea of a female-dominated MCU is not that far-fetched, if you ask me... but I still don't believe it'll ever happen.

Don't forget Jolt and Songbird (formerly Screaming Mimi) from the Thunderbolts. You might want to technically throw in Karla Sofen (Moonstone/Meteorite) as well, though Moonstone tends to switch back and forth between hero and villain.

I mean you could do a Thunderbolts movie. But it's sort of tough because we've never met or had backstories with any of these characters before other than Zemo, who was Lame Zemo.

One thing you could do though if you did do a Thunderbolts movie, you could make Songbird at the center of it. And you could make it about how she's this ex-con who gets this opportunity to pretend to be a superhero and starts to like it, but ultimately has to turn on her leader (Zemo/Citizen V).

 

[Abudefduf]

For some reason I was convinced that Songbird was a mutant. Weird. I also forgot Noh-Varr, Genis-Vell and that blonde dude who I assume is the protagonist of the Eternals comics (Icarus?), but I won't even pretend to be sorry about it. It's what they deserve.

Oh, and then there's Namor, of course, but Namor is actually cool so he doesn't help my argument.

 

[Flash525]

For some reason I was convinced that Songbird was a mutant. Weird. I also forgot Noh-Varr, Genis-Vell and that blonde dude who I assume is the protagonist of the Eternals comics (Icarus?), but I won't even pretend to be sorry about it. It's what they deserve.

Oh, and then there's Namor, of course, but Namor is actually cool so he doesn't help my argument.

I always thought Namor was portrayed as more Arrogant than Cool.

I do wonder whether they'll ever do him though, and how they'd differenciate between him and Aquaman; DC have the lead (by a good margin) with the Atlantis stuff. I'm not convinced we'll see him (Namor) anytime soon, and in the same breath, I'm not expecting we'll see an MCU Ares either cause it'll conflict with the DCEU one.

 

[MasterCat]

Allow me to start by laughing at the notion that Stan will take over as Captain America within the MCU; that's a pipedream. Sorry.

You mean a pipedream of mine, or of Marvel Studios? Because there's no sensible reason they'd offer Sebastian Stan a 9-film contract unless they had a plan for him to replace Evans. It wasn't to have him make 4-5 appearances as "White Wolf".

I further find it ... odd that Lilly has two more contractual films than Rudd; surely they'd want to keep these two characters together moving forward?

Rudd was in Civil War without her and she said "I'm in Avengers 4... not very much", so I'm guessing that's legally a cameo. There have been a whole bunch of Avengers lineups with the Wasp and no Ant-Man/Pym, so I don't see why not.

I'd agree with Black Widow (and Hawkeye come to think of it); I can't see what else they could do with them short of a good sendoff. Mantis, I suspect, will be a member of the Avengers (somehow - she's an empath) moving forward - unless she's in the second group of Guardians for the sequel trilogy that's been rumoured.

I wonder if they'll have her become a world-class martial artist between GotG3 and Avengers 5, or if comics Mantis is too obscure for them to bother.

I mean, I'm all for gender equality if it happens organically (as it does with the X-Men), but it's baffling how it would.
GotG3 could bring in Drax's daughter Moondragon. It's predictable that Captain Marvel 2 will include Ms. Marvel. I can't see how the Eternals won't have men significantly outnumber women (the only female Eternals I can remember as Sersi and Thena).
I can't see Tigra happening organically unless she gets a solo film, which seems like a longshot ahead of Nova and Moon Knight (who James Gunn apparently wants to do next).
She-Hulk cannot happen organically without the Hulk film distribution rights.
"Spectrum" is actually Marvel's second Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau). I'm actually hoping we don't see her until Brie Larson's contract is about to run out: not using her as the next Captain Marvel feels like bad long-term planning. Likewise I expect to see Stature only in the long term, after Cassie's actress (born 2008) turns 15.
Angela I'd be OK with if there's a Thor 5. Too many Kirby/Lee Thor characters left to shove her in otherwise.
I have no idea what Elsa Bloodstone or Ms. America's stories are. Jocasta is a robot Ultron created to be his wife and Silverclaw is a girl adopted by Edwin Jarvis, so maybe, but only under specific circumstances (like a second Ultron film). Clea is really Doctor Strange's girlfriend, not a superhero.

 

[Flash525]

You mean a pipedream of mine, or of Marvel Studios? Because there's no sensible reason they'd offer Sebastian Stan a 9-film contract unless they had a plan for him to replace Evans. It wasn't to have him make 4-5 appearances as "White Wolf".

Yours I think - I'm of the belief that we don't need Legacy Characters. Bucky wont become the next Captain America. Mark my words. We'll have Captain Marvel before long, and two characters with the same title? Yeah, that's not going to happen.

Bucky may not remain as the White Wolf, but he isn't going to become Captain America either.

I wonder if they'll have her become a world-class martial artist between GotG3 and Avengers 5, or if comics Mantis is too obscure for them to bother.

She's going to have to do something; thus far, all she's really capable of is jumping on people and putting them to sleep; that's going to get tired, and quick. She's an Avenger in the comics (I think?) and if Vol 3 is the end of the current team (with or without Gamora) it'll stand to reason that some of those characters may transition into the Avengers, or even another film - if Thor 3 is a cosmic journey, there's nowt to stop Rocket & Groot going along for the ride!

I think they've got to be a little careful who they introduce too, especially earthbound characters - Tigra for example is one of an entire species - where have they been all this time? Where have the F4 been all this time (assuming they currently exist and aren't due to get their powers later..?)

I'm not seeing She-Hulk either, not only for the example you gave (Universal) but because - do we need another Hulk? More Hulk Smash - I'd rather other, different characters be introduced. Moonknight (that's Draxs' daughter, right?) is a good shout, preferably in Vol 3, but we'll see what Gunn has planned for that.

 

[MasterCat]

Yours I think - I'm of the belief that we don't need Legacy Characters. Bucky wont become the next Captain America. Mark my words. We'll have Captain Marvel before long, and two characters with the same title? Yeah, that's not going to happen.

Bucky may not remain as the White Wolf, but he isn't going to become Captain America either.

"They want Bucky to become the second Captain America" is the best theory for why they offered his actor a 9-film contract. I won't believe that's a pipe dream without a better theory.

I'm not seeing She-Hulk either, not only for the example you gave (Universal) but because - do we need another Hulk? More Hulk Smash - I'd rather other, different characters be introduced. Moonknight (that's Draxs' daughter, right?) is a good shout, preferably in Vol 3, but we'll see what Gunn has planned for that.

Moondragon is Drax's daughter. Moon Knight is Batman with less money and multiple personalities.

 

[Abudefduf]

Okay but why are you guys acting like Marvel has never changed things from the comics before.

Jocasta doesn't necessarily have to be Ultron's wife (I mean, MCU Ultron wasn't even created by Pym. That's a huge change), Tigra doesn't necessarily have to be a Cat Goddess or whatever she is... and so on and so on. What I'm saying is that if Feige wants to introduce one of these characters in the MCU, he'll find a way to do it.

As for She-Hulk, I'm fairly sure MS are free to do whatever they want with her except making a movie centered around and/or titled after her. But no one's stopping them from using her in as a supporting character.

Clea is really Doctor Strange's girlfriend, not a superhero.

Not really, Wikipedia says she's a sorceress just like her magical boyfriend.

More Hulk Smash

Oh yeah, that's true, Shulkie sure does like to smash.