In
Marvel
, rather than holding their heads, they are slicing their brains to find a solution to the debacle, both artistic and at the box office, of what was the most successful film franchise in the history of Hollywood.
With a problematic 2023 - the new
Ant-Man
did not work, and ejected the Argentine Victoria Alonso from one of the Marvel Presidencies;
The Marvels
was the lowest-grossing Marvel film in history - for 2024, which started with the weak
Madame Web
and is expected to gross this weekend in North America up to a ceiling of $20 million, which would be surpassed by
Bob Marley, the legend
, only one premiere is announced:
Deadpool & Wolverine
.
It is clear that the replacements that Marvel made have not worked.
The early, in my opinion, disappearances of Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man and Chris Evans as Captain America, brought more nostalgia than replacement.
Add in Chris Hemsworth taking sabbaticals, and the deaths of Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow and, tragically, Chadwick Boseman's Black Panther, plus the closure of Guardians of the Galaxy, and what's left?
Dakota Johnson in "Madame Web," released this week.
UIP Photo
Spider-Man, obviously.
But the new film, in which the villain to be defeated will be Morlun, is still in the script writing stage.
Christopher Nolan wasn't wrong when, as
Variety
recalls , he proclaimed that hiring Robert Downey Jr. to play Tony Stark in
Iron Man
was "one of the most consequential casting decisions ever made in the history of the movie business." ".
Iron Man
powered the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the next 11 years, with Downey Jr. appearing in 10 films that grossed $12.5 billion, before Stark died in
Avengers: Endgame
in 2019.
Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, the character who launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
And, in one of those, the recent hiring of the performers of the new
Fantastic Four
could add to that statement by the
Oppenheimer
director (for which Robert Downey Jr. is a candidate for the Oscar for best supporting actor).
The 4 saviors
Let's see.
Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, like Downey, were all in big-budget films or series that were mega hits: the Chilean Pascal with
The Mandalorian
and
The Last of Us
, Kirby appeared in the two most recent
Mission: Impossible
films , Quinn in
Stranger Things
and Moss-Bachrach in
Andor
.
Another point in common: None of the four headlined their own blockbuster action film before signing with Marvel.
Pedro Pascal and Vanessa Kirby, two of the new Fantastic Four.
Photos Clarín Archive
Stan Lee and Jack Kirby first
imagined
The Fantastic Four in 1961, launching the Marvel universe as we know it today.
And there are those who dare to suggest that these 4 characters come to replace 4 other Marvel characters, who are no longer there: Reed Richards (Pascal) instead of Stark;
Johnny Storm's Human Torch as the warrior that was Captain America.
The Invisible Woman (Kirby) would take Captain Marvel's place, if she fell out of favor.
And, of course, Ben Grimm (Moss-Bachrach) is a monster like The Hulk, but without the uncontrollable rage.
Marvel announced the hiring of the four performers on Wednesday, February 14, Valentine's Day.
He showed them in an illustration in which they appear in a living room, like their characters.
There's something retro there: the furniture and the
Life
magazine Ben is reading.
Could it be that the actions are transported to the '60s?
Nothing is known other than the release date (2027: an eternity) of
Avengers: Secret Wars
, but it is to be imagined that the Fantastic Four will join the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which would involve multiple parallel universes.
Is it an indication that a new Marvel Cinematic Universe is being born, with the Fantastic Four and the X-Men, as suggested by the post-credit scene of
The Marvels
?