Marvel chief creative officer Kevin Feige just gave a massive interview last Friday, laying out details about what to expect from the future of Marvel and what he thinks went wrong with the MCU in the past (h/t Variety).
Of course, "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" arrives this week, meaning Marvel was going to be in the spotlight this week no matter what (spoiler alert: early reactions are positive). But Feige's comments are significant enough that they are a must-read for any Marvel fan.
No Miles Morales in the MCU yet — 'We've been told to stay away'
In this long-ranging interview, Feige covered Marvel's plans for the MCU between now and 2032, as well as what's gone wrong since "Avengers: Endgame."
For me, though, the headline was this — don't expect Miles Morales in the MCU. That's coming from Feige himself, who said, “That is nowhere," when asked about the other Spider-Man entering the MCU, adding, "We've been told to stay away."
On the one hand, that's a bummer. Sony and Marvel have teamed up to great effect with Tom Holland's portrayal of Peter Parker, and "Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man" was a pleasant surprise on Disney Plus earlier this year. It stands to reason that they could produce similarly great stories with Miles Morales, who has become a fan favorite since his introduction to the Marvel universe.
On the other hand, it's tough to see where Miles would fit alongside Holland's Spider-Man in the MCU.
That's not to say it's impossible, and perhaps he could have been easily shoehorned into "Doomsday" or "Secret Wars," which are set to likely feature multiple iterations of the same character as the MCU careens towards a much-needed reset. But there's not a logical need for him to fill at present. Perhaps it's best that he wrap up his own story in 2027's “Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse,” and then Sony and Marvel can assess the future of the character.
Mahershala Ali's 'Blade' still lives — but 'Young Avengers' might not
While Miles Morales might not be joining the MCU anytime soon, Feige says that two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali is still on track to play the titular Daywalker in a "Blade" movie.
“We didn’t want to simply just put a leather outfit on him and have him start killing vampires,” Feige explained during his sit-down with the media (h/t Variety). “It had to be unique. It fell into the time when we started pulling back and saying, ‘Only accept insanely great.’ And it ['Blade'] wasn’t ‘insanely great’ at the time.”
But while things are still on track for "Blade," Feige was less forthright about a future "Young Avengers" property.
“Potentially,” Feige said, when asked about a future story centered around Marvel's young heroes. “In that case, it comes down to where’s the best story and where is the best strange alchemy. Who would be fun to see them with? Each other, because that’s what the Young Avengers are, but also mixing it up more.”
A new cast of X-Men is coming
We already know that many past "X-Men" stars are returning for next year's “Avengers: Doomsday.” Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, James Marsden and Kelsey Grammer were all confirmed in an hours-long casting announcement.
But once that movie is over, a new cast of X-Men will star in an upcoming untitled “X-Men” movie directed by Jake Schreier (of "Thunderbolts*" fame). They may even appear as soon as "Avengers: Secret Wars."
“We’re utilizing that ['Secret Wars'] not just to round out the stories we’ve been telling post-'Endgame,'" Feige told those in attendance on Friday (h/t Variety). "Just as importantly — and you can look at the ‘Secret Wars’ comics for where that takes you — it very, very much sets us up for the future. ‘Endgame,’ literally, was about endings. ‘Secret Wars’ is about beginnings.”
Expect Marvel to go on the younger side for casting these roles, too, as Feige noted that X-Men stories naturally tend to center around adolescents.
The X-Men aren't the only major Marvel characters being recast either. Feige indicated that Marvel will ultimately recast Tony Stark and Steve Rogers in the MCU — it's just a matter of when.
Expect less from Marvel — because less is more
Finally, the biggest news Feige dropped in this press conference was that Marvel will be putting out less content — because it needs to.
“We produced 50 hours of stories between 2007 and 2019,” Feige said, when discussing how Marvel shifted from a focus on quality to a focus on quantity. "We’ve had well over 100 hours of stories — in half the time [in the six years since 'Avengers: Endgame']. That’s too much.”
It's this that Feige blames for Marvel's flagging performance. “It’s clearly not superhero fatigue, right?” he said, referring to the fact that DC's "Superman" is doing just fine at the same box office where "Thunderbolts*" and other Marvel movies have struggled.
Speaking of "Thunderbolts*," Feige also blames the Disney Plus shows specifically for the movie's commercial failure.
“‘Thunderbolts*’ I thought was a very, very good movie,” Feige told those assembled. “But nobody knew that title and many of those characters were from a [TV] show. Some [audiences] were still feeling that notion of, 'I guess I had to have seen these other shows to understand who this is.'"
Feige wants to steer away from the importance of the Marvel shows in the MCU going forward, at least in regards to how they connect to the films. “I think allowing a TV show to be a TV show is what we’re returning to.”
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