Book review - "MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios" by Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales, Gavin Edwards

 Thoughts on MCU after reading book (was a good book)...

- What Feige did was amazing, very few producers have come close, maybe David O. Selnick from 30s to 40s before Benzedrine addiction and dumping his smart first wife wrecked his career.
- Other parallel is James Bond series which has been going since 1962 - this has interesting similarities... cultural phenomenon, many imitators but no one has surpassed it, has ability to reinvent, makes lots of mistakes but not fatal ones, isn’t afraid to go “small” (Bond films went from the big Moonraker to the small For Your Eyes Only, from the big Die another Day to the small Casino Royale), always be true to character (eg they always have a British or at least British Empire Bond)
- Main issues with MCU not actually their fault (a) no one else can make blockbusters as consistently successful (b) Disney keep wanting them to expand bc they make so much money
- If Marvel keep small, they will endure but if they keep expanding they are rooted
- I forgot how many dud Marvels there have been eg Thor 2 and 4, Ant Man 2 and 3... but historically there’s always been a classic around the corner eg Tom Holland Spiderman... it feels it’s been a while since a classic Marvel though - I actually feel Feige’s (a) run out of gas and/or (b) simply doesn’t have the same emotional connection to these new heroes as he did the original ones - but could be wrong
- I actually love though how Feige embraces all the history - even duds like Thorn 2 and the Garfield Spidermans, which have bad reps, get call backs - this has weird parallels to soap where previous “era” get overlooked - embracing dud eras I feel is something not nearly done enough in franchises or long serials
- Also amazing how bad and voluminous the corporate notes were even AFTER the films became successful - and the head of Marvel wanted to FIRE Feige... this was astonishing... and explains why so many Hollywood films are bad... that a great producer can produce great successful films and as a result the head of the company wants to fire him (not bc of a crime, but because of his success) - this is surprisingly common
- character is obviously king - (and casting so crucial to character) - problem with Captain Marvel (warning: mansplaining) us that Captain Marvel isn't much of character... but bc it made so much money that kind of got lost - Wonder Woman and Black Widow are great characters - problem Black Panther 2 IMHO was not fixing on a character - think there is so so much scope for female super heroes just make sure they have a good character and are well cast
- my predictions about what’s coming up
    - Thunderbolts - will tank bc it feels like leftovers
    - Captain America Brave New World - will tank bc no one will care and that director isn’t v good
    - Deadpool vs Wolverine, Blade, Fantastic Four - will go through roof bc Feige understands these characters
    -

Anyway lets see how I go