Marvel Cinematic Universe
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Marvel Cinematic Universe | |
|---|---|
Marvel Cinematic Universe intertitle from Marvel Studios: Assembling a Universe (2014).
|
|
| Creator | Marvel Studios |
| Original work | Iron Man (2008) |
| Print publications | |
| Comics | Marvel Cinematic Universe tie-in comics |
| Films and television | |
| Films | Marvel Cinematic Universe films |
| Short films | Marvel One-Shots |
| Television series | Marvel Cinematic Universe television series |
| Television specials | See below |
| Miscellaneous | |
| Live attractions | See below |
The first film released in the MCU was Iron Man (2008), which began the first phase of films, culminating in Marvel's The Avengers (2012). Phase Two began with Iron Man 3 (2013), and is set to conclude with Ant-Man (2015). Marvel is also preparing Phase Three, beginning with the release of Captain America: Civil War (2016). The universe began to expand with the release of the first official tie-in comics in 2010, and saw further expansion with the Marvel One-Shots direct-to-video short films in 2011 and the TV series Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the 2013–14 season. Marvel has multiple films and television projects in various stages of development.
The franchise as a whole ranks as the highest-grossing film franchise both in the United States and worldwide, and has inspired other film studios with comic book character film rights to attempt to create similar shared universes.
Contents
Development
"It is daunting but it's fun. It's never been done before and that's
kind of the spirit everybody's taking it in. The other filmmakers aren't
used to getting actors from other movies that other filmmakers have
cast, certain plot lines that are connected or certain locations that
are connected, but I think... everyone was on board for it and thinks
that it's fun. Primarily because we've always remained consistent saying
that the movie that we are making comes first. All of the connective
tissue, all of that stuff is fun and is going to be very important if
you want it to be. If the fans want to look further and find
connections, then they're there. There are a few big ones obviously,
that hopefully the mainstream audience will able to follow as well.
But... the reason that all the filmmakers are on board is that their
movies need to stand on their own. They need to have a fresh vision, a
unique tone, and the fact that they can interconnect if you want to
follow those breadcrumbs is a bonus."
—Kevin Feige, President of Production for Marvel Studios, on constructing a shared film universe.[1]
Kevin Feige was an early visionary for the franchise, realizing a shared
media universe could be created with properties Marvel owned.
On expanding the characters in the universe and letting individual films breathe and work on their own, as opposed to having Avenger team-ups outside of those films, Feige stated, it’s about "Teaching the general movie going audience about the notion of the characters existing separately, coming together for specific events and going away and existing separately in their own worlds again. Just like comic readers have been doing for decades and decades... People sort of are accepting that there's just a time when they should be together and there’s a time when they’re not."[18] In April 2014, Feige revealed that Edgar Wright's pitch for Ant-Man in 2006 helped shape the early films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, saying, "We changed, frankly, some of the MCU to accommodate this version of Ant-Man. Knowing what we wanted to do with Edgar and with Ant-Man, going years and years back, helped to dictate what we did with the roster for Avengers the first time. It was a bit of both in terms of his idea for the Ant-Man story influencing the birth of the MCU in the early films leading up to Avengers."[19]
In October 2014, Marvel held a press event to announce the titles of their Phase Three films.[16] The event, which drew comparisons to Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference,[20] was done because all the information was ready. As Feige explained, "We wanted to do this at [San Diego] Comic-Con this year. Things were not set... So the plan has been, since a few weeks before Comic-Con when we realized we weren’t going to be able to do everything we wanted to do, is to decide 'let's do either something we haven’t done in a long time, or something we've never done.' Which is a singular event, just to announce what we have when it's ready. I thought that might be early August, or mid-September, it ended up being [at the end of October]."[17]
Business practices
Marvel Studios developed specific business practices to create its shared universe. For example, when the studio hired Kenneth Branagh and Joe Johnston to direct Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger, respectively, it made sure both directors were open to the idea of a shared universe, and that they would have to include Avengers set-up scenes in their films.[5] Joe Russo, one of the directors of Captain America: The Winter Soldier added, "That's the exciting component of [incorporating references to the larger universe]. 'What can we set up for the future?' You're constantly pitching out ideas that not only affect your movie, but may have a ripple effect that affects other films... It's a weird sort of tapestry of writers and directors working together to create this universe that's sort of organic."[18] Joe's brother and co-director, Anthony, added, "The great thing about the Marvel [Cinematic Universe], just like the publishing [arm], it’s a very vast, inter-connected universe, where characters will have their rise and fall, so to speak, and hand off to other characters. As the cinematic universe moves forward, you may start to see the cinematic universe adopt that same pattern, as the publishing has, where there’s closure with some characters and new beginnings with other characters. How those hand-offs are made is always part of the fun.”[21] Anthony also said, that in order for directors to "fit" in at Marvel, they must "understand how [to] take a larger story and wrangle in [sic] into a moment, yet keep [it] connected."[18] On allowing directors and writers to work within Marvel's shared universe concept, Joe Russo said, "I think the way Kevin [Feige] does it is there are big pieces that he knows he wants to build towards, but the way that you get there is open to interpretation and improv a little bit. That’s defined by who gets involved with the project, the writers and directors involved in the project." For the Russos in The Winter Soldier, they had to deal with the idea of S.H.I.E.L.D. being infiltrated by Hydra and thus subsequently falling, with Joe saying, "how we get there is all up to us. And I think why Marvel has been so successful is because it’s been such a clear plan, that everything is interconnected and they’re building emotional capital with each movie that you can then trade off of in the next film."[22]The studio chose filmmakers that were considered "out-of-left-field", given their previous work. Feige remarked, "You don't have to have directed a big, giant visual-effects movie to do a big, giant visual-effects movie for us. You just have to have done something singularly sort of awesome,"[23] adding "It's worked out well for us when we've taken people [such as Jon Favreau, Joss Whedon, Branagh and the Russo brothers,] that have done very, very good things. Very rarely are one of those good things a big giant blockbuster superhero movie."[24] Marvel also began contracting their actors for multiple films, including signing actor Samuel L. Jackson to a then "unprecedented" nine-movie contract.[25] In July 2014, Feige said that the studio has all actors sign contracts for multiples films, with the norm being for 3 or more, and the 9 or 12 film deals "more rare".[26] In August 2014, Vincent D'Onofrio, Wilson Fisk in Daredevil, said, "The thing about Marvel is that they’re not–they’re into real acting. They’re looking for artists that are willing to take chances and are willing to create characters, even if that character has been around for years and years in comic books, they still are depending on us to create something and take it somewhere else."[27]
In August 2012, Marvel signed Joss Whedon to an exclusive contract through June 2015 for film and television. With the deal, Whedon would "contribute creatively" on Phase Two of the MCU.[28] In March 2013, Whedon expanded on his consulting responsibilities, saying, "I understand what Kevin [Feige] is going for and where he’s heading, and I read the scripts and watch cuts and talk to the directors and writers and give my opinion. Occasionally there could be some writing. But I’m not trying to get in anybody’s soup, I’m just trying to be helpful. Every time you work on a project it’s a little vacation from the project you’re working on the other 23 hours. That’s the thing – it replenishes you to do something else. And they’re very aware that if I’m too tired or busy to help with anything, that’s fine. But if I can help and not get in the way of the actual filmmakers, that’s what I’m going to do."[29] Whedon later elaborated that "Since the story has already been approved and everybody knows what we're doing with Avengers 2, we can really lay it out. It's not like anyone's saying "well I don't know, what if I need that?" It's like "doing this is troublesome for us, whereas doing this will actually help us." It's a dance, but I had to do it on [The Avengers] too. You want to honor the events of the last movie but you don't want to be beholden to them, because some people will see Avengers[: Age of Ultron] who did not see any of the movies inbetween or even Avengers 1." He also found working in television and script doctoring to be "great training ground[s] for dealing with this ... because you're given a bunch of pieces and told to make them fit - even if they don't."[30]
Distributors
Over time, the distribution rights to Marvel Studios' films changed hands on multiple occasions. In November 2006, Universal Pictures announced that it would distribute The Incredible Hulk,[31] in an arrangement separate from Marvel's 2005 deal with Paramount deal, which was distributing Marvel's other films.[2] In September 2008, after the international success of Iron Man, Paramount signed a deal to have worldwide distribution rights for Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, and The Avengers.[32] In late December 2009, The Walt Disney Company purchased Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion. In October 2010, The Walt Disney Studios bought the distribution rights for Marvel's The Avengers and Iron Man 3 from Paramount Pictures,[33] with Paramount's logo remaining on the films, as well as for promotional material and merchandise.[34][35] (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures is the only studio credited at the end of these films.)[36] Disney has since then distributed all subsequent Marvel Studios films.[37] In July 2013, Disney purchased the distribution rights to Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger from Paramount.[38] The Incredible Hulk was not part of the deal, due to an agreement between Marvel and Universal, where Marvel owns the film rights and Universal owns the distribution rights, for this and any future Hulk film.[39] In February 2015, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Marvel Studios announced a licensing deal that would allow Spider-Man to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with the character first appearing in Captain America: Civil War.[40][41] Marvel Studios will also explore opportunities to integrate other characters of the Marvel Cinematic Universe into future Spider-Man films financed, distributed and controlled by Sony Pictures.[40]Expansion to other media
Marvel is complicated in that we’re part of the Marvel Cinematic
Universe, and so after [running something by Jeph] Loeb we’ll run it
through New York, Joe Quesada, Dan Buckley and those guys. We pitch our
stuff to Kevin Feige and his movie group to see if there’s something we
can tie into, to see if they’re okay about us using a character, or a
weapon or some other cool thing. Everything is interconnected, and
that’s really what we have to pay the most attention to. It’s
challenging but fun as we try to lace some Easter egg in, something that
ties into a movie or, if not, at least the comics so fans can find
those little things that nobody else knows about.
—Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. executive producer Jeffrey Bell in September 2014, explaining the process of working in with the MCU[42]
In August 2011, Marvel announced a series of direct-to-video short films called Marvel One-Shots. Co-producer Brad Winderbaum said "It's a fun way to experiment with new characters and ideas, but more importantly it's a way for us to expand the Marvel Cinematic Universe and tell stories that live outside the plot of our features."[44] Each short film is designed to be a self-contained story that provides more backstory for characters or events introduced in the films.[45]
By July 2012, Marvel began considering expanding to television after the positive response to Marvel's The Avengers, with the series that eventually became known as Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.[46][47] By September 2013, Marvel was once again developing another series due to positive reception from one of their properties, this time due to the Agent Carter One-Shot,[48] eventually becoming the series Marvel's Agent Carter.[49] In November 2013, it was announced that Marvel and Netflix would air the series Marvel's Daredevil,[50] Marvel's A.K.A. Jessica Jones,[51] Marvel's Luke Cage,[52] and Marvel's Iron Fist, leading to a crossover miniseries, Marvel's The Defenders.[53][54]
In March 2015, Marvel's Vice President of Animation Development and Production, Cort Lane, stated that animated tie-ins to the MCU were "in the works".[55]
Films
Main article: List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films
| Film | U.S. release date | Director(s) | Screenwriter(s) | Producer(s) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phase One: Avengers Assembled[56] | |||||
| Iron Man | May 2, 2008 | Jon Favreau[57] | Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby and Art Marcum & Matt Holloway[57][58] | Avi Arad and Kevin Feige | Released |
| The Incredible Hulk | June 13, 2008 | Louis Leterrier[59] | Zak Penn[60] | Avi Arad, Gale Anne Hurd and Kevin Feige | |
| Iron Man 2 | May 7, 2010 | Jon Favreau[61] | Justin Theroux[62] | Kevin Feige | |
| Thor | May 6, 2011 | Kenneth Branagh[63] | Ashley Edward Miller & Zack Stentz and Don Payne[64] | ||
| Captain America: The First Avenger | July 22, 2011 | Joe Johnston[65] | Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely[66] | ||
| Marvel's The Avengers | May 4, 2012 | Joss Whedon[67] | |||
| Phase Two[17][56] | |||||
| Iron Man 3 | May 3, 2013 | Shane Black[68] | Drew Pearce and Shane Black[68][69] | Kevin Feige | Released |
| Thor: The Dark World | November 8, 2013 | Alan Taylor[70] | Christopher Yost and Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely[71] | ||
| Captain America: The Winter Soldier | April 4, 2014 | Anthony and Joe Russo[72] | Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely[73] | ||
| Guardians of the Galaxy | August 1, 2014 | James Gunn[74] | James Gunn and Nicole Perlman[75] | ||
| Avengers: Age of Ultron | May 1, 2015 | Joss Whedon[76] | |||
| Ant-Man | July 17, 2015[77] | Peyton Reed[78] | Edgar Wright & Joe Cornish and Adam McKay & Paul Rudd[79] | Post-production | |
| Phase Three[17][80] | |||||
| Captain America: Civil War | May 6, 2016[16] | Anthony and Joe Russo[81] | Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely[81] | Kevin Feige | Filming |
| Doctor Strange | November 4, 2016[16] | Scott Derrickson[82] | Jon Spaihts[83] | Pre-production | |
| Guardians of the Galaxy 2 | May 5, 2017[16] | James Gunn[75] | In development | ||
| Untitled Spider-Man film | July 28, 2017[40] | TBA | Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal | ||
| Thor: Ragnarok | November 3, 2017[84] | TBA | Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost[85] | Kevin Feige | |
| Avengers: Infinity War – Part 1 | May 4, 2018[16] | Anthony and Joe Russo[86] | Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely[87] | ||
| Black Panther | July 6, 2018[84] | TBA | Mark Bailey[88] | ||
| Captain Marvel | November 2, 2018[84] | TBA | Nicole Perlman & Meg LeFauve[89] | ||
| Avengers: Infinity War – Part 2 | May 3, 2019[16] | Anthony and Joe Russo[86] | Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely[87] | ||
| Inhumans | July 12, 2019[84] | TBA | Joe Robert Cole[90] | ||
Television series
Main article: List of Marvel Cinematic Universe television series
| Series | Season | Episodes | Originally aired/streamed | Showrunner(s) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||||
| ABC series | ||||||
| Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. | 1 | 22 | September 24, 2013 | May 13, 2014 | Jed Whedon, Maurissa Tancharoen and Jeffrey Bell[91] | |
| 2 | 22 | September 23, 2014 | May 12, 2015 | |||
| 3 | 22[92] | September 2015[92] | TBA | TBA | ||
| Marvel's Agent Carter | 1 | 8 | January 6, 2015 | February 24, 2015 | Tara Butters, Michele Fazekas and Chris Dingess[93] | |
| 2 | TBA | Early 2016[94] | TBA | TBA | ||
| Netflix series | ||||||
| Marvel's Daredevil | 1 | 13 | April 10, 2015 | Steven S. DeKnight[50] | ||
| 2 | TBA | 2016[95] | Doug Petrie and Marco Ramirez[95] | |||
| Marvel's A.K.A. Jessica Jones | 1 | 13[96] | 2015[51] | Melissa Rosenberg[97] | ||
| Marvel's Luke Cage | 1 | 13[96] | 2016[98] | Cheo Hodari Coker[98] | ||
| Marvel's Iron Fist | 1 | 13[96] | TBA | TBD | ||
| Marvel's The Defenders | 1 | 4–8[96] | TBA | TBD | ||
Short films
Main article: Marvel One-Shots
| Film | U.S. release date | Director | Screenwriter | Producer | Home media release |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Consultant | September 13, 2011 | Leythum[44] | Eric Pearson[99][100] | Kevin Feige | Thor |
| A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer | October 25, 2011 | Captain America: The First Avenger | |||
| Item 47 | September 25, 2012 | Louis D’Esposito[99][100] | Marvel's The Avengers | ||
| Agent Carter | September 3, 2013 (Digital) September 24, 2013 (Physical) |
Iron Man 3 | |||
| All Hail the King | February 4, 2014 (Digital) February 25, 2014 (Physical) |
Drew Pearce[101] | Thor: The Dark World | ||
Comic books
Main article: Marvel Cinematic Universe tie-in comics
Recurring cast and characters
Further information: Marvel Cinematic Universe film cast members, television series cast members, and One-Shot cast members
List indicator(s)
- This table includes cast members and / or characters who have appeared in multiple MCU media.
- A dark grey cell indicates the character has not appeared in that medium.
- A P indicates a new appearance in onscreen photographs only.
| Character | Films | Television series | Short films |
|---|---|---|---|
| Felix Blake | Titus Welliver[99][123] | ||
| Peggy Carter | Hayley Atwell[124][125][126] | ||
| Phil Coulson | Clark Gregg[127] | ||
| Timothy "Dum Dum" Dugan | Neal McDonough[125][128][129] | ||
| Nick Fury | Samuel L. Jackson[130][131] | ||
| Justin Hammer | Sam Rockwell[132] | Sam Rockwell[133] | |
| Maria Hill | Cobie Smulders[134] | ||
| List | Henry Goodman[135] | ||
| Jim Morita | Kenneth Choi[128][129] | ||
| Sif | Jaimie Alexander[136][137] | ||
| Jasper Sitwell | Maximiliano Hernández[138][139][140] | ||
| Trevor Slattery | Ben Kingsley[141] | Ben Kingsley[101] | |
| Howard Stark | Gerard SandersP [142] John Slattery[143] Dominic Cooper[144] |
Dominic Cooper[125][145] | |
| Anton Vanko | Yevgeni Lazarev[146] | Costa Ronin[147] | |
| Arnim Zola | Toby Jones[148][149] | ||
Reception
Jim Vorel of Herald & Review called the Marvel Cinematic Universe "complicated" and "impressive" but said, "As more and more heroes get their own film adaptations, the overall universe becomes increasingly confusing."[151] Kofi Outlaw of Screen Rant, stated that while The Avengers was a success, "Marvel Studios still has room to improve their approach to building a shared movie universe".[152] Some reviewers criticized the fact that the desire to create a shared universe led to films that did not hold as well on their own. In his review of Thor: The Dark World, Forbes critic Scott Mendelson likened the MCU to "a glorified television series", with The Dark World being a "‘stand-alone’ episode that contains little long-range mythology."[153] Collider's Matt Goldberg considered that while Iron Man 2, Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger were quality productions, "they have never really been their own movies", feeling that the plot detours to S.H.I.E.L.D. or lead-ups to The Avengers dragged down the films' narratives.[154]Following the conclusion of season 1 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Mary McNamara at the Los Angeles Times praised the connections between that series and the films, stating that "never before has television been literally married to film, charged with filling in the back story and creating the connective tissue of an ongoing film franchise ... [Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.] is now not only a very good show in its own right, it's part of Marvel's multiplatform city-state. It faces a future of perpetual re-invention, and that puts it in the exhilarating first car of television's roller-coaster ride toward possible world domination."[155] Terri Schwartz of Zap2it agreed with this sentiment, stating that "the fact that [Captain America: The Winter Soldier] so influenced the show is game-changing in terms of how the mediums of film and television can be interwoven", though it was noted that "the fault there seems to be that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. had to bide time until The Winter Soldier 's release", which lead to much criticism.[156]
In response to the first Ant-Man trailer, Michael Doran of Newsarama and Graeme McMillian of The Hollywood Reporter had a "point-counterpoint" debate regarding how the trailer should be viewed in the context of the already established universe by Marvel. Doran stated, "Marvel has raised the bar sooo high that as opposed to just allowing another film to finish under the Avengers/Guardians of the Galaxy bar, we're all overly and perhaps even eager to overreact to the first thing that doesn't clear it, and in the case, the first trailer that doesn't". McMillian responded, "at this point, Marvel's brand is such that I'm not sure it can offer up something like [the trailer] without it seeming like a crushing disappointment. Without buying into the hype, I think part of Marvel's brand is that it doesn't offer the kind of run-of-the-mill superhero movie that you're talking about, that it's, if not better, then at least different enough to tweak and play with the genre somehow: doing it bigger, doing it funnier, doing it... different... It really all comes down to expectations. The fact that there's such upset about this trailer being... well, okay - it's not that it's bad, certainly, it's just not very good, either - suggests to me that the audience is expecting something to knock their socks off." Doran concluded, "That does seem to be the point here – the expectations fans now have for everything "Marvel Studios." It’s the same reason Thor: The Dark World is now looked upon in hindsight in some circles as some sort of major misfire when the film was perfectly well-received during its release... Marvel is going to eventually falter. It's not a matter of if, but when."[157]
Impact on other studios
After the release of The Avengers in May 2012, Tom Russo of Boston.com noted that aside from the occasional "novelty" such as Aliens vs. Predator (2004), the idea of a shared universe was virtually unheard of in Hollywood.[5] Since that time, the shared universe model created by Marvel Studios has begun to be replicated by other film studios that held rights to other comic book characters. In April 2014, Tuna Amobi, a media analyst for Standard & Poor’s Equity Research Services, stated that in the last three to five years, Hollywood studios began planning "megafranchises" for years to come, opposed to working one blockbuster at a time. Amobi added, "A lot of these superhero characters were just being left there to gather dust. Disney has proved that this [approach and genre] can be a gold mine."[158] However, with additional studios now "playing the megafranchise game", Doug Creutz, media analyst for Cowen and Company, feels the allure will eventually die for audiences. "If Marvel's going to make two or three films a year," he says, "and Warner Brothers is going to do at least a film every year, and Sony's going to do a film every year, and Fox [is] going to do a film every year, can everyone do well in that scenario? I'm not sure they can."[158]DC Entertainment and Warner Bros.
Main article: DC Comics' shared universe films
In October 2012, following its legal victory over Joe Shuster's estate for the rights to Superman, Warner Bros. announced that it planned to move ahead with its long-awaited Justice League film, uniting such DC Comics superheroes as Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman.
Warner Bros. was expected to take the opposite approach of Marvel
Studios by releasing individual films for the characters after they have
appeared in team-up film.[159] The release of Man of Steel in 2013 was intended to be the start of a new cinematic universe for DC, with that film "laying the groundwork for the future slate of films based on DC Comics."[160] In July 2014, DC CCO Geoff Johns confirmed that the universe present in the publisher's television series, Arrow and The Flash, is separate from the one being built in their films with Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.[161]
In August 2014, Warner Bros. and DC announced a slate of nine dates for
untitled films, similar to Disney and Marvel claiming dates for films
years in advance,[162] with the titles revealed in October 2014.[163] In October 2014, Johns explained DC's difference in approach to Marvel, saying "We look at it as the multiverse.
We have our TV universe and our film universe, but they all co-exist.
For us, creatively, it’s about allowing everyone to make the best
possible product, to tell the best story, to do the best world. Everyone
has a vision and you really want to let the visions shine through ...
It’s just a different approach."[164]20th Century Fox
In November 2012, 20th Century Fox announced plans to create their own shared universe, consisting of Marvel properties that it holds the rights to including the Fantastic Four and X-Men, with the hiring of Mark Millar as supervising producer. Millar said, "Fox are thinking, 'We're sitting on some really awesome things here. There is another side of the Marvel Universe. Let’s try and get some cohesiveness going.' So they brought me in to oversee that really. To meet with the writers and directors to suggest new ways we could take this stuff and new properties that could spin out of it."[165] X-Men: Days of Future Past, released in 2014, may be Fox's first step towards expanding their stable of Marvel mutant properties.[166] However, in May 2014, Simon Kinberg, screenwriter for Fantastic Four, stated that the film would not take place in the same universe as the X-Men films. "None of the X-Men movies have acknowledged the notion of a sort of superhero team--the Fantastic Four--and the Fantastic Four acquire powers, so for them to live in a world where mutants are prevalent is kind of complicated, because you’re like, 'Oh, you’re just a mutant. What’s so fantastic about you?' No, they live in discrete universes," said Kinberg.[167]Sony Pictures
In November 2013, Sony Pictures Entertainment Co-Chairman Amy Pascal announced that the studio intends to expand their universe created within the Marc Webb Amazing Spider-Man series, with spin-off adventures for supporting characters in the Spider-Man franchise, in an attempt to replicate Marvel and Disney's model. She stated, "We are going to access Marvel's full world of Spider-Man characters."[166] Sony Pictures Entertainment chief Michael Lynton added, "We do very much have the ambition about creating a bigger universe around Spider-Man."[168] Director Marc Webb has stated that the announced fourth film "may not just be a Spider-Man movie," and "there are so many ancillary characters, that have enormous, cinematic potential," echoing Pascal and Lynton's statements for expanding the Spider-Man universe.[169] In December 2013, Sony announced Venom and Sinister Six films, both set in the Amazing Spider-Man universe. With the announcement, IGN stated that the spin-offs are "the latest example of what we can refer to as "the Avengers effect" in Hollywood, as studios work to build interlocking movie universes."[170] Sony is choosing not to replicate the Marvel Studios model of introducing individual characters first before bringing them together in a team–up film, instead making the Spider-Man adversaries the stars of future films.[158]In February 2015, Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios announced that the Spider-Man franchise would be retooled once again, with a new film co-produced by Feige and Pascal releasing on July 28, 2017. The film comes after the character will be integrated into the MCU. Sony Pictures will continue to finance, distribute, own and have final creative control of the Spider-Man films.[40] With this announcement, sequels to The Amazing Spider-Man 2 were cancelled, and spin-off films based on the Sinister Six, Venom and female characters in the "Spider-Man" universe were "still moving forward", though without Feige's involvement.[171]
Cultural impact
In September 2014, the University of Baltimore announced a course beginning in the 2015 spring semester revolving around the Marvel Cinematic Universe, to be taught by Arnold T. Blumberg.[172]Other
Television specials
Marvel Studios: Assembling a Universe (2014)
On March 18, 2014, ABC aired a one-hour television special titled Marvel Studios: Assembling a Universe, which documented the history of Marvel Studios and the development of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and included exclusive interviews and behind-the-scenes footage from all of the films, One-Shots and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and sneak peeks of Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy, unaired episodes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,[173] and Ant-Man.[174] Brian Lowry of Variety felt the special, "contains a pretty interesting business and creative story. While it might all make sense in hindsight, there was appreciable audacity in Marvel’s plan to release five loosely connected movies from the same hero-filled world, beginning with the cinematically unproven Iron Man and culminating with superhero team The Avengers. As such, this fast-moving hour qualifies as more than just a cut-and-paste job from electronic press kits, although there’s an element of that, certainly."[175] The special was released on September 9, 2014 on the home media for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 1.[176]Marvel 75 Years: From Pulp to Pop! (2014)
In September 2014, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. executive producer Jeffrey Bell stated that in order to meet production demands and avoid having to air repeat episodes, ABC would likely air a Marvel special in place of a regular installment at some point during the first ten episodes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 's second season.[42] In October, the special was revealed to be Marvel 75 Years: From Pulp to Pop!, which was hosted by Emily VanCamp, who portrays Agent 13 in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and aired on November 4, 2014.[177] The special features behind the scenes footage from Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant-Man, as well as footage from the Agent Carter television series previously screened at New York Comic-Con.[178] Brian Lowry of Variety felt an hour for the special did not "do the topic justice" adding, "For anyone who has seen more than one Marvel movie but would shrug perplexedly at the mention of Jack Kirby or Steve Ditko, Marvel 75 Years: From Pulp To Pop! should probably be required viewing. Fun, fast-paced and encompassing many of the company’s highlights along with a few lowlights, it’s a solid primer on Marvel’s history, while weaving in inevitable self-promotion and synergistic plugs."[179] Eric Goldman of IGN also wished the special had been longer, adding, "Understandably, the more you already know about Marvel, the less you'll be surprised by Marvel 75 Years: From Pulp to Pop!, but it's important to remember who this special is really made for – a mainstream audience who have embraced the Marvel characters, via the hugely successful movies, in a way no one could have imagined."[178]Live attractions
After the acquisition by Disney in 2009, Marvel films began to be marketed at the Innoventions attraction in Tomorrowland at Disneyland. For Iron Man 3, the exhibit, entitled Iron Man Tech Presented by Stark Industries, features the same armor display that was shown at the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con, with the Marks I-VII and the new Mark XLII. In addition, there is a simulator game, titled "Become Iron Man," that uses Kinect-like technology to allow the viewer to be encased in an animated Mark XLII armor and take part in a series of "tests,” in which you fire repulsor rays and fly through Tony Stark's workshop. The game is guided by J.A.R.V.I.S., who is voiced again by Paul Bettany. The exhibit also has smaller displays that include helmets and chest pieces from the earlier films and the gauntlet and boot from an action sequence in Iron Man 3.[180] The exhibit for Thor: The Dark World is called Thor: Treasures of Asgard, and features displays of Asgardian relics and transports guests to Odin's throne room, where they are greeted by Thor.[181] Captain America: The Winter Soldier 's exhibit, Captain America: The Living Legend and Symbol of Courage, features a meet and greet experience.[182]In May 2014, the Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. (Scientific Training and Tactical Intelligence Operative Network) exhibit opened at the Discovery Times Square center. The exhibit features replica set pieces, as well as actual props from the films, mixed with interactive technology and information, crafted through a partnership with NASA and other scientists. Titus Welliver also provides a "debrief" to visitors, reprising his role as S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Felix Blake. Created by Victory Hill Exhibits, Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. cost $7.5 million to create, and is expected to run through January 2015.[
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