Superhero Cinematic Civil War - Part 58

[Iceman]

Sounds like a great idea that.

 

[Ninjablade]

So does this mean they’re going to CGI revive Stan The Man back from the grave via CGI?

Gross.

 

[metaphysician]

If only Hawkeye, who was basically like an older brother or even a father figure to Wanda through Age of Ultron, Civil War and beyond, had offered her to come stay with him and his family on the farm post-Endgame to clear her head so that she wasn't alone in the world. Probably could have done her some good, but then we wouldn't have gotten WandaVision or Multiverse of Madness that way.

This is true, but its a forgivable mistake. Both because Clint himself was not exactly in a good place at the time, and because Wanda seemed to be handling things fairly well, even from her own perspective. It was only after she discovered her own ability to subconsciously generate a giant Lotus Eater Machine that things went off rails. If she hadn't accidentally dropped herself into a dream world ( and forgotten how she even got there for an extended period! ), things would have likely went much better, and likely involved a visit to see Clint.

 

[KBX]

Wong is the new Stan Lee in the MCU

 

[metaphysician]

On the matter of Dr Strange vs Batman. . . honestly, even though I am not thrilled about some creative decisions in MOM? I still like Dr Strange better. The Batman was extremely well made, but ultimately I just don't *want* more "DARKNESS! NO PARENTS!" Even if it is matched up with actually being a detective story for once.

 

[mclay18]

Gross.

I agree. It's a slap in the face of Lee's legacy by incorporating him in future MCU projects when he's no longer living.

I'd rather Disney and Marvel option the comics Lee did with POW! and Boom for film development instead.

 

[Shinobi Shaw]

It's just downright creepy too.

I don't know why Hollywood has this fixation of having deceased stars/celebs/singers be brought back with holograms and CGI.

 

[Snow Queen]

Gonna sell my soul to the devil so I never have to see a horrifying AI-generated copy of an actor or dead person again. Luke haunts my nightmares.

 

[kguillou]

I wouldnt have been totally opposed to maybe a one time time thing, like a goodbye "finale appearance" tribute or something like they did with Harold Ramis in Ghostbusters last year. but this is implying they want to create a series of appearances from Stan...thats just wrong IMO.

 

[Ninjablade]

The whole thing just makes me uncomfortable. People shouldn't be treated like IPs. Stan Lee isn't Mickey Mouse.

I also quite frankly don't trust anyone involved in the Stan Lee camp/his people. Not with the stories about how awful he was being treated towards the end of his life. Bunch of blood sucking money grabbers. I can't imagine what the financial terms of that deal are. Whole thing is nasty.

 

[Zarex]

Is Marvel planning on using post mortem Stan Lee as a mascot? Yeesshh!!
I am now dreading his first digitalized MCU appearance.
If Raimi really wants to amp up the horror in Strange 3, that would be one way to do it.

 

[Ninjablade]

Get ready. I wouldn't be surprised if we see a CG Lee in Love and Thunder at this point. One of this year's projects is gonna have it. If the No Way Home script is anything to go by, they write them into the film.

 

[henzINNIT]

Deepfake Luke Skywalker was creepy. The CGI Harold Ramis ghost was haunting. The prospect of eternal Stan Lee cameos is sickening.

 

[kguillou]

To be honest, I thought the way they handled Ramis was...respectful. I totally understand anyone who was against that but i personally felt they handled that tastefully. But this sounds like a cheap distasteful gimmick.

 

[Sithborg]

I just hate how people think Stan Lee IS Marvel. And so much of the belief is from his own self promotion.

 

[Spider-Fan]

Harold Ramis in Afterlife was also icky to me. I am not a fan of the post mortem uses of someone's likeness. It is weird and creepy

 

[Sithborg]

I liked how tried to pass of stalking as a form of loving your child in that movie.

 

[henzINNIT]

The sickly sentimentality of Afterlife combined with the weirdness of the post-demise reprisal is just too off-putting for me. A shame cause I really liked Phoebe and was with the film for quite a while, but the ending was just ick. I'm sure those involved had reasonably good intentions, however the saccharine tone was completely unfit for the series, pandering to the nostalgic audience and not to the characters or the story. Carrie Coon embracing her dead-beat ghost dad was cringe-worthy. She spent the entire film complaining about how awful a parent he was, but I guess all she needed was a hug.

When John Belushi died he became Slimer. I don't think Ramis, a very smart and funny guy, would have chosen to be used the way he was.

 

[Zarex]

I just hate how people think Stan Lee IS Marvel. And so much of the belief is from his own self promotion.

Yes, but that salesmanship is what got folks reading the creations of Kirby, Ditko and all the rest. If Stan wasn't selling the crap out of these creations, it's likely few would have read them. By embracing his audience as True Believers, maintaining a tight continuity (with frequent editorial updates to let comic book fans know what was going on in other mags) and both supporting a progressive perspective for the time and targeting an older audience, he pushed Marvel heroes past the Distinguished Competition in both sales and public awareness despite the latter's multi decade head start.

And while I give Kirby in particular most of the credit regarding their joint efforts - the Silver Surfer, Galactus, Dr. Doom, the FF, Thor and the Asgardians, the Hulk and the Inhumans are all clearly Jack's babies - Lee's verbiage was a big asset in getting them recognition. Though Jack's creativity was world class, his writing - and especially his use of dialogue - was often subpar. King Kirby needed Funky Flashman.

 

[mclay18]

So I finally saw the Corman Fantastic Four movie. It's cheap but rather charming and the cast and crew did their best with the threadbare budget allowed (acting is still sketchy in places). It doesn't overstay its welcome, it's faithful to the comics and the score is wonderful. Would love to see an official CD release of the score.

It does some things better than the Fox movies. Whoever directs the MCU version should take a few pointers from this movie.

 

[Pennywise]

 

[Detective Conan]

Also from that same Wall Street Journal article cited in tweet above:

Mr. Zaslav's team is undoing some of the previous
regime's programming strategy, specifically plans to
make original movies for HBO Max, people familiar with
the matter said. The team scratched "The Wonder Twins"
a live-action film based on the Warner Bros.-owned DC
Comics superhero duo, because Mr. Zaslav deemed its
estimated $75 million-plus budget too high and its return
too limited for a made-for-streaming movie, the people
said.
Instead, Mr. Zaslav wants Warner Bros. to focus on
increasing its number of theatrical releases to between
20 and 25 a year, a person familiar with his thinking said.
Theatrical movies also tend to perform better on HBO
Max than movies made exclusivelv for the service. Last
year, Warner Bros. released 17 movies.

Sounds like Batgirl will get a theatrical release after all. That’s good. I think Discovery is already making smart moves with WB so far.

 

[kguillou]

So I finally saw the Corman Fantastic Four movie. It's cheap but rather charming and the cast and crew did their best with the threadbare budget allowed (acting is still sketchy in places). It doesn't overstay its welcome, it's faithful to the comics and the score is wonderful. Would love to see an official CD release of the score.

It does some things better than the Fox movies. Whoever directs the MCU version should take a few pointers from this movie.

THIS. It is charming, right?! Make no mistake, its a mess, but you can tell the cast and filmmakers did they best they absolutely could with the pennies they had. And the score is legit GOOD.

 

[Ninjablade]

Eek, I don't know how I feel about that. A little red flagy to me in terms of his business model that has been talked about since the start. Not that I care about the Wonder Twins or anything, but canning the project instead of lowering the budget? I don't know.

 

[Snow Queen]

Budget thing feels a little concerning for projects I might care about more, but I admittedly do very much like the decision to undo direct to HBO Max DC movies. Just make lower budget movies for the big screen. You don't need a $150-$200 million budget for everything.