Earlier this month saw the Captain Marvel movie released which caused lots of controversies and divided the audience, however, there is no doubt the flick is a box office success, which may be an indicator for things to come in Phase 4, unfortunately, regarding Kevin Feige’s X-Men.
Captain Marvel is a different MCU film than any other as it vastly changed course from the comics, and for the first time, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige told his audience they had to accept the character and actress Brie Larson. In a statement fit for the animated Disney movie Pinnochio, Feige even said Captain Marvel is “one of the most popular characters in our comics” and that “she’s one of the most powerful characters in the comics.” It’s obvious Feige is spinning things to sell the character to the general public.
Do Comic Book Fans Matter?
This past Wednesday at 12:02 am saw the Disney-Fox deal officially go through, which means the X-Men and Fantastic Four characters are back at Marvel, and it is confirmed they will come under Kevin Feige. While some fans are celebrating, others are seeing cause for concern: With his “Captain Marvel” approach being a box office success, will Feige follow a similar route with the X-Men characters? Will Kevin Feige continue to deviate from the comic books, thinking the comic fans a minority, while he continues to cater to his Marvel zombie “normie” audience? A simple fact that this could be possible is due to the success of the Captain Marvel movie, but the lack of success for the comic book. It’s no secret the so-called fans of Captain Marvel don’t support her comic book (essentially pozers), which has been relaunched at least a half dozen times in order to “sell” the character to its audience, with each time the comic book failing completely.
The “Captain Marvel” Approach
Evidence that Kevin Feige might be doing a “Captain Marvel” approach to the X-Men comes in an interview Feige did with MTV back in January, where he said, “I’m excited, and it’s not just the marquee names you know. There are hundreds of names on those documents, on those agreements.” From Feige’s statement, it seems he could be going with X-Men characters that are unknown to the general public – eerily familiar to Captain Marvel – which means Feige thinks he can do whatever he wants with those characters on screen. That is exactly what he did with Captain Marvel.
Sure, while Captain Marvel is a box office success, does that mean it will be a long term success? We could argue because of the controversy and just the fact the movie isn’t any good, those reasons could have stopped it from hitting a billion dollars or more at the box office. We can argue that most fans were simply curious, so they went to see the movie, but now that they got a taste of Feige’s MCU NOW, they could turn their backs (similar to Last Jedi and Han Solo) down the road. What is guaranteed is that Feige’s “Captain Marvel” approach isn’t going to stop, at least not until fans wake up and stop supporting the product, which admittedly, could take a year or two, as the MCU does have ten years of the successful movies behind it — a big reason for this new MCU NOW approach.
RIP MCU As We Know It
I think Kevin Feige is making a big mistake by not catering to the comic book crowd. I always thought if you could please the more hardcore of fans, the zombie audience would be able to be pleased the easier. The Russo brothers have done it with their MCU movies: They are intellectual adaptations of the comic book stories that take a fresh approach without spitting on the source material or the fans; however, Feige’s “Captain Marvel” approach is the exact opposite. Interestingly enough, Feige’s “Captain Marvel” approach comes prior to the last movie by the Russo brothers, The Avengers: Endgame, another flick following Captain Marvel thought to have mandates on it placed by Feige. The Russo brothers will be greatly missed.
A leaker also claims that fans may not like what Feige is going to do with the X-Men, as the leaker claims about possible MCU X-Men films: “Some that are gonna be new ones we’ve never seen for diversity.” Another potential red flag has to do with Wolverine. Hugh Jackman recently retired from the role, with many fans hoping that Feige comes through with a more classic comic book version wearing the yellow costume. If we go by Feige’s “Captain Marvel” approach, that won’t be happening. The leaker seems to corroborate: “…your definitely not gonna like Fiege’s plans INCLUDING Wolverine.”
