Marvel Studios has successfully managed to create a universe on screen that millions of people have been craving to visually experience since 1940. With the utmost secrecy, Marvel Studios has planned out 2 phases of Super Hero flicks into the future and they hope to create an abundance of unified story telling for many years to come.
The after credits sequence, although now synonymous, with this particular movie genre was not really a thing until the world got to see the end of Iron Man. In Iron Man we were revealed Samuel Jackson in a black trench coat and an eye patch; whom the die hard fans understood was Nick Cage the leader of S.H.I.E.L.D. otherwise known as the man to unite The Avengers. This was the quintessential moment in defining what Marvel was planning to do and how they were deciding to manage their properties. This was a huge leap when it came to the movie business as we’ve never seen an intertwining of such hugely successful properties before.
All of these plans are based in secrecy as the blogs are a huge element to the hype and criticism of each Marvel film released to the public. With the giant enthusiasm by fans breeds very high expectations for film creators. The strategy for Marvel is to find the best talent in the business in order to appease the vision all fans have shared of visual spectacles with heart.
Marvel strategically reveals their plans for the future by way of Comic Con as extremely eager comic books fans await to see if their favorite super hero will be played by the caliber of actor they desire or if the film will be in the right hands of a suitable director. They often listen to fan opinion in the blogs when it comes to their hiring choices and are highly motivated by fan desires. This relationship between the studio and their audience is fairly unique as Marvel relies on anticipation for much of their success. Blogs, big reveals from comic conventions, events in the comic books, and after credit scenes add fuel to the immense burning fire Marvel Studios masterfully sustains.
POSTER FOR AVENGERS II: AGE OF ULTRON
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Kevin Feige, the architect of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Marvel Studios have had immense success. Avengers alone gained $1.5 Billion worldwide (http://www.boxofficemojo.com/franchises/chart/?view=main&id=marvelcomics.htm&sort=studio&order=ASC&p=.htm) and Avengers II: Age of Ultron is expected to surpass that with the incredible amount of anticipation behind the upcoming film. The studio has crafted a sophisticated formula to build an audience even before the trailer for the movie is released and we can all see it’s paying off.
There are clearly a lot people invested in the planning of this cinematic universe; from the fans to those behind the scenes creating the film. Knowing this, do you believe the super hero genre is here to stay? Why/Why not?
Marvel Studios is creating programs for Netflix featuring heroes like Daredevil and Luke Cage; would you like to see the Marvel Cinematic Universe continue to expand or do you feel there is a ceiling to the genre?
http://www.wired.com/2013/08/kevin-feige-marvel-dc-movies/all/
This was a great post that really captures what Marvel is about in regards to their strategic planning. The after-credit scenes are some of the most talked about topics of each new movie. It’s a great way to get people to see the movies while they are in theaters–each ending really makes you anticipate the next film. I think Marvel has the ability to grow this genre much further. They definitely have the chance to expand beyond the movie/television platform to reach further outlets. I’m looking forward to see how they continue their success, especially with the second Avengers film.
As a big Marvel fan myself, I really enjoyed this post! You did a great job of explaining how these franchises began and how they became so successful. It really is a testament to Marvel’s strategic planning. This was not something they quickly came up with; these took years of planning before they became a reality. Marvel studios was created to make the first Iron Man with the hope of eventually creating the Avengers. There are hints throughout all the movies leading to the Avengers, including the end scene credits. These little extras in their movies demonstrate how much thought was required to build a hugely successful movie franchise. If their movies keep progressing the way they are, I believe Marvel has plenty of successful years ahead of them.
Marvel really isn’t the first movie studio to have ending sequences that foreshadow the next movie. Older movies used to do this all of the time. However, Marvel was smart by putting a hook on every single one of their movies. Now people do wait in the theaters until the very end of the credits to see what is in store for them next. This is great management and marketing.
I believe this superhero genre is here to stay because quite frankly, everyone wants to see a hero. Both Marvel and DC Comics are putting out new movies about their different heroes, and they also do crossovers which is great. Comics are still being issued, and some are even reissued, so I don’t feel like this genre is going out of date.
I think the Marvel Cinematic Universe will continue to expand, especially if they add in new heroes, they explore new villains, and they delve into new plot lines. I don’t see a ceiling to this genre yet, but I think once all of the options are exhausted, there will finally be an end.
I enjoyed reading your post. I myself am a fan of the Marvel movies, though not so much the comics. I also love how well planned out the Marvel cinematic universe is especially with the tie in to Agents of Shield (ABC).
I believe the super hero genre is here to stay for a long time. Mainly because there will always be kids who look up to super heroes and this has been true for many generations. Kids will want to go see the movies and therefore there will be money in it for studios. What I think generates the most money is the intense action that brings in the teens and young adults. We have seen even small time super heroes (Thor and Captain America) become big box office hits mainly propelled by the success of The Avengers and Iron Man.
I do not want Marvel to string its resources too far and wide promoting minor characters. Netflix shows do not feel like Marvel will put much effort behind them and they might end up doing poorly. I hope they don’t and with what Marvel was able to do with Guardians of the Galaxy I believe they can make nearly any super hero into a hit. So I look forward to how the new Netflix shows go.
I am a huge fan of comic books you name it Marvel, DC comics growing up I had tons of comic books my favorite use to be Iron man and of course X-men. It so surprising how mainstream comic based movies have become so popular. It used to be a tight community but now these movies are multimillion dollars revenue blockbusters. I haven’t had the opportunity to go to any comicon event but I agree these events are designed to create huge buzz and spread the word and create anticipation for the upcoming feature.
I think the super hero genre will be in trouble down the road, but not right now. Superhero movies like The Hulk or The Avengers are cool because they are based on old comics, stories we have known for a while. We have thought about these heros and are very excited to see them brought to life when we see a movie is coming out. The problem is these comics creating new heros are growing far less slowly than movies are being made about them. As soon as the film industry runs out of old heros, we have known, to make movies about, I think they could be in trouble.
Great post! I am a huge fan of of Marvel Movies. I really do not think kids will watch it in the movies as nowadays, you can download it thought the internet. As far as I remember, they created more heros everyday year. I believe that it would be really hard to be a successful one as there is so much competition in the market. Not only you have to create an interesting hero, but also, really depends your connections.