Marvel Universe (Thar be spoilers ahead.)

[Velorath]

Well Guardians of the Galaxy is arguably a different genre. But yeah, if you mean that they aren't going to do a political thriller in the respect that they won't do a movie that's 2 hours of dialogue involving real world politics, of course they aren't. I'm not sure that Cap 2 is particularly far off of some of Tom Clancy's stuff though (from what admittedly little I know of it).

[Khaldun]

I think there's been some pretty decent genre/style range between different MCU films. Is Cap 2 completely a "political thriller"? Well, no, but then no superhero story could be, really. Does it invoke/borrow from political thrillers? Yes. Could another MCU film eventually do the same? Sure. Etc.

The point about the BP film, if they do one, is that they need to have it NOT be primarily set in Wakanda, because the urge at that point to trot out a billion dumb tropes about Africa will be irresistable. This was what happened recently when DC did an "African Batman" book--the idea was fine but every single fucking story was a "What I read in the newspaper last week about Africa" kind of thing.  When Wakanda shows up, it needs to be a place that the plot touches base for just a while, establishes the Panther in his own setting, and then moves on. It's why Priest's semi-reboot of the Panther was so good--it put him outside of Wakanda but made use of the African background to tell some good stories.

[Lakov_Sanite]

Also showing an accurate portrayal of modern day Africa might be too fucking depressing for a comic book movie.

[Khaldun]

Iron Man has a significant amount of action set in pseudo-Afghanistan, which I wouldn't exactly think would be an uplifting, fun choice for a superhero movie, and yet...

[NowhereMan]

I could see the whole thing touching off with an international incident/terror attack in Wakanda and BP going to the UN in response. Also when I said political thriller I was thinking far more along Cap 2 lines, having some sort of political intrigue and an isolated character trying to break the conspiracy. Although in that case I think you could split it quite well with T'Challa doing the talking and plotting parts and then donning the BP costume for sneaky-sneaky, fighty-fighty parts with the last act being a big action set piece maybe involving shootouts in the UN building and stuff getting blown up a lot.

[Khaldun]

Works for me.

The big question they'd have also if they want him solo is how to develop his supporting cast and enemies. Ulysses Klaw as a kind of Tiny Rowland-style corporate villain desperately trying to get his hands on vibranium works fine, plenty of good but also comic-book resonances with real-world stories. Could be tied into Stark Industries in some way so that there's an interesting link to either Howard or Tony Stark by the time the whole plot is done. I think they have to stay away from the Wakandan-origin bad guys like Killmonger and Madame Slay.

Could also be a chance to introduce the "real" Mandarin and the Ten Rings organization, which might fit into a vibranium-centered plotline pretty well.

I also love Christopher Priest's idea in the comics that the Black Panther originally joined the Avengers to spy on them, worrying about what a group of superhumans might do vis-a-vis Wakanda's independence and secrecy, but that the more he saw of them, the more comfortable he became with their moral character.

[jgsugden]

I am wondering where the Mandarin payoff will be... I keep coming back to either MAoS or Avengers 3 (if Master of Evil themed).

[Lakov_Sanite]

They are setting Thanos up big time for avengers3 so there is simply no room for Mandarin in the same movie and if they do try and cram him in it will be a terrible disservice to both those villains.  Considering RDJ has not ruled out iron man4 completely they are likely going to reserve Mandarin for that franchise.

[jgsugden]

They are setting Thanos up big time for avengers3 so there is simply no room for Mandarin in the same movie and if they do try and cram him in it will be a terrible disservice to both those villains.  Considering RDJ has not ruled out iron man4 completely they are likely going to reserve Mandarin for that franchise.

They are setting up Thanos.  There is no guarantee it will pay off in Avengers 3.  It certainly could, but they could also keep him in the background for a decade before the big payoff.  He reportedly signed a contract for a lot of films. 

[Velorath]

I am wondering where the Mandarin payoff will be... I keep coming back to either MAoS or Avengers 3 (if Master of Evil themed).

And I'm still fairly sure it will not happen at all because China is way too big a market for them now.

[Evildrider]

Marvel past and future video.

[jgsugden]

...And I'm still fairly sure it will not happen at all because China is way too big a market for them now.

And there are a lot of ways to do the Mandarin that would not be offensive.

[Lakov_Sanite]

They are setting Thanos up big time for avengers3 so there is simply no room for Mandarin in the same movie and if they do try and cram him in it will be a terrible disservice to both those villains.  Considering RDJ has not ruled out iron man4 completely they are likely going to reserve Mandarin for that franchise.

They are setting up Thanos.  There is no guarantee it will pay off in Avengers 3.  It certainly could, but they could also keep him in the background for a decade before the big payoff.  He reportedly signed a contract for a lot of films. 

Deep breaths man, we love marvel too but think rationally.  They aren't gonna tease Thanos now to have him be the main bad guy a decade from now.   So far Marvel has been pretty consistent in how their movies operate with regards to teasers and releasing information.  It's the same reason we haven't heard an official word on dr strange and are just now barely getting shots of antman which hasn't even been filmed yet.  Avengers 3 is a couple years away as it is and Thanos will need pay off before moviegoers forget him.

[Velorath]

...And I'm still fairly sure it will not happen at all because China is way too big a market for them now.

And there are a lot of ways to do the Mandarin that would not be offensive.

It's not a matter of offensive.

[jgsugden]

...Deep breaths man, we love marvel too but think rationally.  They aren't gonna tease Thanos now to have him be the main bad guy a decade from now.   So far Marvel has been pretty consistent in how their movies operate with regards to teasers and releasing information.  It's the same reason we haven't heard an official word on dr strange and are just now barely getting shots of antman which hasn't even been filmed yet.  Avengers 3 is a couple years away as it is and Thanos will need pay off before moviegoers forget him.

Why would they forget the background bad guy they keep building towards, whether it is 4 more years of build or 10?  When I read Feige interviews, it always seems to me that he still thinks of Thanos as a long term plan... and 4 years is starting to look more near than far. 

All I'm saying is I would not assume Thanos MUST be the main conflict of Avengers 3.  It could just as easily be a Masters of Evil, Kang, Civil War, Kree, or something else story...  Only a small group of people know what the plan is right now.

[Velorath]

They've revealed half the Infinity Gems already and two of the Phase 2 movies took the time to establish what they are. Between Avengers 1 when Thanos was revealed and Avengers 3, there will have likely been 6 years and a dozen movies. It's already assuming a lot to think that the audience is going to maintain interest in the story through Phase 3. Pushing the resolution out to 9 years and 20 movies later would be insane, especially considering there's a good chance that a large amount of the cast will have left by the time Avengers 4 rolls around. I'd rather see them do the Infinity Gauntlet while the still have RDJ, Evans, and the rest.

[Maven]

It wouldn't be hard for them to insert elements of a larger plot line through after-credits or several minute scenes inserted into the personal / individual stories of the movies. That's pretty much what shows like X-Files did.

There are a smart bunch of people behind the scenes. Whatever comes out is going to 'look right', because there are so many things creatively that would 'work' for what they're doing.

[Ironwood]

Marvel past and future video.

Oh yeah.

[Velorath]

Actually, the more I think about it, the more I think they'll want to split up Infinity Gauntlet into two movies filmed back to back (like the last Harry Potter, Twilight, Hunger Games, etc...). They'll probably want to get the Guardians involved, and given the number of characters that would make, and the fact that the Guardians would likely just be coming off a movie the previous year, I would expect an Avengers focused Part 1 with the Guardians coming into play more in Part 2. My slightly revised thinking on the schedule is this:

May 1, 2015 - Avengers 2: Age of Ultron

July 17, 2015 - Ant Man

May 6, 2016 - Captain America 3

July 8, 2016 -  Doctor Strange

May 5, 2017 - Hulk

July 28, 2017 - Guardians of the Galaxy 2

November 3, 2017 - Thor 3

May 4, 2018 - Avengers: Infinity Gauntlet Part 1

July 6, 2018 - Ant Man 2 (They'll at least want to keep the possibility open in case of a surprise hit, like with GOTG and it would be less jarring to have a solo Ant Man movie going on during Infinity Gauntlet rather than Cap or Iron Man).

November 2, 2018 - New series (would guess either Black Panther or Inhumans, but could be any number of things)

May 3, 2019 - Avengers/Guardians: Infinity Gauntlet Part 2

[jgsugden]

Katie Sachoff posted some tweets of her getting molded for a super hero role - and the pictures are in line with Carol Danvers Captain Marvel outfit. 

If she is going to tbe the rumored 4th female main character from Avengers (Scarlet Witch, Black Widow, Maria Hill, ??) that Whedon mentioned, I wonder if they'll start her off with a guest spot on S.H.I.E.L.D.  Given the origin of Captain Marvel in the comics, and the reported storyline in Age of Ultron, I don't see room to do an origin story for the character as part of that movie.  On the other hand, if they use the last few episodes of MAoS to introduce Carol Danvers and then give her super powers in the season finale... (so they only have to do a few expensive shots for TV before handing her off to the movies)... that would make more sense.

[Khaldun]

I think she might almost be better launched fully in Guardians of the Galaxy 2, with the connection to the Kree. But then the SHIELD show has already had a dead Kree in a box, so Earthside/SHIELD works fine too. Given how much GotG has a sort of Farscape vibe at times, they could even have Carol Danvers travel accidentally in an experimental shuttle to the other side of the galaxy...

[Ironwood]

Oh, is that confirmed now ?

Edit;  the Blue Alien, I meant.

[Hutch]

https://twitter.com/kateesackhoff/status/496351654564753408

Clue #4 Secret Project NOT a @Marvel project. Xoxo

Doesn't mean she can't be in a Marvel movie later on 

[Khaldun]

Nope. Sackoff has been hinting but nobody else has really. [edit: ah, and it seems like the hints aren't even about Marvel!] Whedon dropped some statement about how there are "four" strong women in Avengers 2, which has everyone scratching their heads and saying, "Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, Maria Hill (maybe), and ?". Feige has given interviews about how much Marvel wants to have more female characters. That all could be misdirection, or be another female character entirely, who knows?

[Furiously]

Nope. Sackoff has been hinting but nobody else has really. [edit: ah, and it seems like the hints aren't even about Marvel!] Whedon dropped some statement about how there are "four" strong women in Avengers 2, which has everyone scratching their heads and saying, "Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, Maria Hill (maybe), and ?". Feige has given interviews about how much Marvel wants to have more female characters. That all could be misdirection, or be another female character entirely, who knows?

So Eliza Dushku or Summer Glau will be playing X-23 is what I am hearing...

[Evildrider]

Melissa McCarthy as Big Bertha?   

[DraconianOne]

If she is going to tbe the rumored 4th female main character from Avengers (Scarlet Witch, Black Widow, Maria Hill, ??) that Whedon mentioned,

Here's a clue: Hayley Atwell has said she will be in Avengers 2.




Edited because of fat fingers and not enough coffee syndrome.

[Ironwood]

An excellent recap of that post.

 

[DraconianOne]

An excellent recap of that post.

 

I thought so.

[eldaec]

...And I'm still fairly sure it will not happen at all because China is way too big a market for them now.

And there are a lot of ways to do the Mandarin that would not be offensive.

It's not a matter of offensive.

If people are allowed to be offended by poorly written national stereotypes used as hollywood or comic book villains then I'm off to demand billions in reparations on behalf of Blighty.

[Ironwood]

Start with The Rocketeer.   

[Evildrider]

[Nevermore]

For a second there I was wondering what Ron Howard had to do with the Avengers.

[HaemishM]

If she is going to tbe the rumored 4th female main character from Avengers (Scarlet Witch, Black Widow, Maria Hill, ??) that Whedon mentioned,

Here's a clue: Hayley Atwell has said she will be in Avengers 2.

Most likely the other female is Agent 13, i.e. Sharon Carter.

[Evildrider]

If she is going to tbe the rumored 4th female main character from Avengers (Scarlet Witch, Black Widow, Maria Hill, ??) that Whedon mentioned,

Here's a clue: Hayley Atwell has said she will be in Avengers 2.

Most likely the other female is Agent 13, i.e. Sharon Carter.

This is my guess too, as her and Cap will probably be bumping uglies in Cap 3.