Driver's EDitorial #16: Let's Get the Avengers Movie Going
Brad Sturdivant
January 5th, 2010
by: Brad Sturdivant
Our Driver’s EDitorial is a weekly column designed to express our opinion on something going on in Hollywood today. Sometimes we whine and complain about something we wish was different, other times we heap praise on the system for getting it right.
Now that Disney has purchased Marvel Studios, there are a lot of questions surrounding the state of some of the more lucrative Marvel franchises and the new movies they’ll produce. If the latest movie trailer we saw is any indication, we can assume that Iron Man will continue strong with Jon Favreau and Robert Downey Jr. continuing to be involved, but there should be growing concerns regarding every fan’s dream movie: The Avengers.
In order to do the film properly, Marvel and Disney are going to have to tread very carefully. To start with, they have to stay focused on telling a good story. This is probably the key point in making a film as ambitious as The Avengers. If they add too many characters and develop a convoluted plot, they risk under-using all of the characters and giving audiences a sense of disappointment. Reading a movie review for a recent comic book movie proves that audiences and critics alike prefer character driven comic book films.
Also, now is not the time to do origin stories. Any character appearing in an Avengers film must already have an origins film under his/her belt. This brings up another conundrum in that they can’t make an Avengers film without Captain America and his feature film seems to be the only one that hasn’t gotten the fast track. We learned a while ago that Joe Johnston is directing the film and they start in June, so this is a good thing. Now if only they could cast the lead…
Next, they have to make sure the same actors portray all the important heroes and villains. We have to have Robert Downey Jr., Edward Norton, Samuel L. Jackson and others come back and reprise their roles. Without them, the film will seem cheap and will lose a little luster. The last thing we need is to try and accept new actors in the roles we’ve already associated with other stars.
So now that we have a simple story and we know we only need five or so heroes, now we need a villain. This is a little tougher because every villain has to have a little bit of an origin story, so it would work best to focus on a villain that already has an origin story; The Hulk. They kind of already set him up to be a villain in the latest Hulk film, so it seems like a natural fit. Plus, how cool would it be to see Iron Man, Captain America and Thor battle The Hulk?
The Avengers film has the potential to be the greatest comic book film of all time, or the biggest comic book bust of all time. But if Marvel and Disney take the time and put in the effort, it could be something special. Say what you want about Disney, but they know how to take care of their franchises and aren’t afraid to spend money when necessary. Of course, sorting out all the rights to the various Marvel characters is a whole other issue…
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