What's Next After 2012's Big 'Avengers' Film? Go Bigger.

Where does Marvel Studios plan to go after releasing next summer’s Avengers pic?

They plan to go bigger, naturally. IGN got their hands on an interview with Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige that is going to be published in Disney’s magazine D23.

Feige hints at what is next on the horizon for Marvel after The Avengers. He says that the film will be a re-launching point for the established characters that inhabit the film, namely Captain America, Iron Man and Thor. It will be interesting to see what is thrown at the team in their first outing, because if it really is the Skrulls or Loki (as has been rumored), the world these characters inhabit would become steeped significantly more in the mystical and sci-fi.

With the right material, a Black Widow
film could work.

Feige is hopeful that characters such as Black Widow, Hawkeye, and even the agency S.H.I.E.L.D. will be featured in films of their own. I agree, with the correct teams on these films, these characters could carry exciting action-adventure films. Let’s look at these three properties:

First, Black Widow. I think Scarlet Johansson was a bit wooden in Iron Man 2 because there was little for her to do. I expect that audiences will respond more to her character in The Avengers because Joss Whedon specializes in strong female characters. I can absolutely see a fun espionage film featuring Natasha Romanov as long as she is given something more to do than spin around dramatically then stare into the camera.

Hawkeye is a favorite of mine, so I may be somewhat biased. I certainly also like the casting of Jeremy Renner in this role because he has enough charisma to carry a film. A Hawkeye film should also be an espionage film with sci-fi elements—and the filmmakers could introduce Mockingbird! My main recommendation would be to not make this a parade of C-list Marvel properties like X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Any appearances by ancillary characters should feel organic to the film and not cheap.

Bryan Hitch's original design for Nick Fury.
Look familiar?

I have never been excited by Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury because I have always felt like this is stunt casting (remember that Bryan Hitch’ Nick Fury was modeled after the actor in Mark Millar’s Ultimates). A S.H.I.E.L.D. film has a lot of potential though because it calls for big action set pieces and gadgets galore. Think Mission: Impossible amped up by about a thousand percent.

Wow. Joss Whedon has a lot riding on his shoulders. He has to deliver a rollicking fun summer event and one that serves as a launching pad for the possible half dozen films that follow!