Marvel Cinematic Universe

With both the worlds of film and television being such an exciting time for fans of Marvel, I thought it was about time v2 had it’s own thread to discuss all things MCU.

Beit upcoming films, casting speculation, reviews/chat about the latest show episodes or just general comic book chat this is the thread to do it in.

Just to give you all a flavour (if you didn’t already know) of what to expect from the MCU here’s a rundown of the confirmed upcoming films & shows you can expect to be hitting your screens in the near future!

Marvel Studios
MCU Phase 2:

Avengers: Age of Ultron 1st May 2015
Ant-Man 17th July 2015

MCU Phase 3:

Captain America: Civil War 6th May 2016
Doctor Strange 4th November 2016
Guardians of the Galaxy 2 5th May 2017
Spiderman (Marvel Reboot) 28th July 2017
Thor: Ragnarok 3rd November 2017
Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 4th May 2018
Black Panther 6th July 2018
Captain Marvel 2nd November 2018
Avengers: Infinity War Part 2 3rd May 2019
Inhumans 12th July 2019

TV Series

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Marvel's Agent Carter
Marvel's Daredevil starts 10th April 2015
Marvel's A.K.A. Jessica Jones starts late 2015

Other Marvel Productions (outside of the MCU)

Despite not being part of the same ‘universe’ as the likes Iron man, Cap or Hulk there are still a number of Marvel characters ‘owned’ by other studios that have upcoming releases:

Fox Studios

Fantastic Four (Reboot) 7th August 2015
Deadpool 12th February 2016
X-Men Apocalypse 27th May 2016
Gambit 7th October 2016

Sony Studios

The Sinister Six 11th November 2016

So as you can see between now and 2019 there is a huge amount to get through…

What are you most looking forward to?
How do you see the Avengers storyline for instance progressing through to Infinity Wars?
How does Spiderman fit into the MCU and in what other films might he make an appearance (Civil war for instances)?
Who should play some of the unconfirmed roles such a Carol Danvers- Captain Marvel?
Was Benedict Cumberbatch the best option to play Dr Steve Strange?

Discuss all things Marvel below…

I was never a comic reader as a kid nor a particular super hero film fan either. (Although I will admit Marvel top trumps were awesome)
But having watched Avengers, the Iron Man, Cap America and Thor films all very recently I am a converted Marvel fan. The films are fantastic, particularly for me Cap America and Avengers, so really looking forward to the next installments of those coming up soon.

Was pleased to see Spiderman will be included in the films soon although I heard it won't be until Infinity Wars? Was never really blown away by Spiderman before so will be good to see him done the MCU way as I'm sure they'll pull that off well too.

Morning MIG

Fully agree with the you on the Avengers and Cap America films... Winter solider was particularly excellent, I really enjoyed the espionage element to it and the action scenes were off the chart! Its sets up age of ultron brilliantly.

I would highly recommend Civil War as one not too miss... the comic was one of the best 'Avengers based' in recent times and Spiderman features heavily along with Iron man and Steve Rogers... Its heavily rumored that Spiderman's first appearance in the MCU will be in Civil War as he was such a pivotal character in that story... that's why Marvel went all out to get the deal done with Sony in time for when filming starts.

Thats interesting that Iron Man and Spiderman may be used heavily in a CA film as they only seem to have brief mentions of one another in their solo films and only really collaborate in the Avengers.
Although I think CA2 and Avengers are probably the best of the lot I really enjoyd CA1 and how it all got started with him. Especially the effects used at the start making him look pathetic!
As I haven't read the comics I have no idea of future story progression and I kind of like that for the surprise element.
One thing though, I would hope Loki is involved in future films as he is a fantastic character. He makes the Thor films imo.

Without spoiling anything (even though the comic universe does differ somewhat from the cinematic) the whole premise of Civil War is basically Iron man vs. Cap and the other 'heroes' picking sides... you can tell from the 1st Avengers film that their is tension between the two and a split in ideologies, I think Age of Ultron will expand on this further building to Cap 3.

Marvel have confirmed that Loki will return for Thor 3 and that promises to be a huge film for how the future landscape of the MCU will look post Ragnarok (which basically means 'the end of all things'.

Agree though that Loki is a fantastic villain, Tom Hiddleston is a brilliant actor.

I'd like to see a Venom film with him as the central role of the anti-hero involving some of the other symbiotes such as Carnage and Toxin etc.

MtotheC wrote:Without spoiling anything (even though the comic universe does differ somewhat from the cinematic) the whole premise of Civil War is basically Iron man vs. Cap and the other 'heroes' picking sides... you can tell from the 1st Avengers film that their is tension between the two and a split in ideologies, I think Age of Ultron will expand on this further building to Cap 3.

Marvel have confirmed that Loki will return for Thor 3 and that promises to be a huge film for how the future landscape of the MCU will look post Ragnarok (which basically means 'the end of all things'.

Agree though that Loki is a fantastic villain, Tom Hiddleston is a brilliant actor.

Wow,  (although I should have picked up on that purely cause of the name Civil War) I am surprised they'll go up against each other.  That will be very interesting to see how that goes.  I pick Captian America!  
Great to hear Loki will be back.  Really looking forward to all these films, Avengers 2 can't come soon enough!

M, perks of being English. May 1st is the US release date, we get it April 23rd over here

I actually can't wait for it, they had a new trailer on before Kingsmen and I were salivating, and thats before you even get a glimpse of Black Widow lol

That's awesome Gaz! Didn't realize we get it early!

I was actually hoping we might get a black widow stand alone film in phase 3 after her performance in Winter Solider. Marvel have said tho that she will play a very big role in Age of Ultron which I wouldn't have expected.

In regards to Spiderman... it appears Marvel/Sony want to take the character back to his high school days and cast a young actor maybe even a teenager... what are peoples thoughts? I was kind of hoping for an older Peter Parker... don't think I can stomach another Spiderman origin film, we've had 5 already to get to know who he is and what he's about. If he is in Civil War hopefully they can involve him as a known hero rather than have to fill 30 mins with who he is!

If they're going with another origin version of Spidey then I'd prefer them to go with the Miles Morales version.

Hero wrote:If they're going with another origin version of Spidey then I'd prefer them to go with the Miles Morales version.

Now that would be interesting, I don't see it happening tho, at least not in phase 3. Miles's powers differed slightly to that of Peter Parkers so would be great to see a different spin on the character.

Hero you must be excited for Doctor Strange? I cant wait to see that film and then him link up with the Avengers during the infinity gauntlet story... he was always one of the more interesting character imo

Hope they deal with the end of Civil War better than they did in the comics, such a massive story and so little change :sigh:

The films have been done really well and am hoping there's no origin story at all for spiderman, we've had enough now.

Am really looking forward to the Jessica Jones show and hope they stick quite closely to the comic (Alias - go get it now, you won't be disappointed.)

I'm more excited for Daredevil to be honest, the Netflix trailer looked quality and I'd love to see him join up with the avengers come infinity war... Such a great character, hopefully this series can undo the damage done by the film. That shot of him trying to lift himself up from the ground with blood dripping from his mouth looked epic... Check out the trailer if you haven't already:

Im by no means a big comic reader but im acutally quite interested to see Gambit.
He's the type of character (with a dark past) that if done correctly could make a very good movie.

The big storyline I want to see and for it to be done well is the death of Steve Rodgers, the Stark becoming an Alcholic side story would be very interesting as well.

You could get your wish Hero

http://www.gamesradar.com/rumor-marvels-new-spider-man-wont-be-peter-parker/

Brilliant!!!!

Would be nice if they ran through the Ultimates Story with how it got passed on too him and what happened with Ultimate Pete.

Not sure if I'm happy about this... I by no means want to see another Peter Parker origins storyline even if it is done by Marvel, but I do want to see Parker in Civil War as an already established Spiderman.

I think Miles would be a good alternative to what we've see already but not until later on in the MCU, maybe post Infinity War with Parker being killed... we could then have a Miles origin story in a standalone film in phase 4.

hampo171 wrote:The big storyline I want to see and for it to be done well is the death of Steve Rodgers, the Stark becoming an Alcholic side story would be very interesting as well.

Me too! The death of Rodgers was an important part of the Avengers arch, especially Tony Stark and how his character evolved. I don't see it happening in Civil War though... Chris Evans is signed to a 6 movie deal, three of which we've seen so far, add Age of Ultron and Civil War to that and he still has one more to go (Infinity War part one maybe?).

I can certainly see Bucky (The Winter Solider) taking over the Cap mantle (as he did in the comics) once Rodgers does bite the dust... this was teased nicely in Cap 2 when he grabbed the adamantium shield during their fight on the freeway... the shot frames it nicely and pauses for a second before the action continues (nice little Easter egg their maybe?)

The interesting thing for me is how the 'Avengers' team may/or may not evolves over phase three... with the forthcoming introductions of Spiderman, Dr. Strange, Black Panther, Captain Marvel and the Winter Solider, I can almost see a nearly completely different cast for Infinity Wars (and that's not even mentioning the guardians of the galaxy who will be involved in some capacity against Thanos). Add all of that to the fact the 'old guard' of earths mightiest heroes will be reaching their sell by dates in the cinematic universe. Iron Man, Thor and Rodgers will all have appeared in 5/6 movies by the end of phase 3.

Infinity wars being a two parter, I can see his death right at the end of part one, if it happens at all. So many characters to bring in to the universe as well. Have to feel DC are trying to rush theirs with Superman vs Batman, and I feel they've made a mistake not linking it to the tv shows Arrow and The Flash.

As long as they leave off the stupid bits about bringing him back though (To be fair though i'm never totally happy when they bring 'em back)

Spoiler on current comic storyline

Spoiler:

Am really looking forward to Civil War as they have to have a better ending than the comics did and(hopefully) it will ripple through all the shows

Did you guys enjoy Agent Carter by the way? I found it a lot more enjoyable than AOS, and I'm glad they've set up a second season.

I'm just not that excited at all for Superman vs. Batman... From what I've read this will be the sequel to Man of Steal (which was ok but didn't blow me away at all), I would rather see this as a continuation to Nolan's Dark Knight films which are classics. The sub title for this film is 'The Dawn of Justice' so I can see the likes of Arrow and The Flash joining up with the aforementioned two to form the Justice League.

Yeah that's what will happen, just seems a shame to change the actors when the ones playing them on TV have gathered such a following.

I haven't seen it yet Hampo, I try not to get into any shows until there's at least a second season as I got sick of watching something, there being a cliffhanger and us never finding out what happens.

I'm not as excited about SvB as I am for the Marvel films but i'll still watch it. Think they needed to move away from Nolans films because as good as they were, the rest of the DC universe can get a bit mental and doesn't quite fit into that vision.

Derbymanc wrote:As long as they leave off the stupid bits about bringing him back though (To be fair though i'm never totally happy when they bring 'em back)

Spoiler on current comic storyline

Spoiler:

Am really looking forward to Civil War as they have to have a better ending than the comics did and(hopefully) it will ripple through all the shows

The comics have always had this precedence for brining people back from the dead... you can never really expect anyone to stay dead for too long... It generally involves time travel or alternate universes but I have faith in Marvel Studios to do these things in the right way. There has always been this rule that the only characters that stay dead are Uncle Ben, Gwen Stacey and Bucky... there was 'uproar' (lol) online when he eventually returned as the Winter Solider, everyone else you should expect them to return at some stage!

However imo the MCU is different, the characters need to keep evolving and new ones need to come in to freshen things up... you also need those big emotional threads in cinema of 'loved' characters meeting their demise... I think Rodgers snuffing it at the end of IW part 1 would be perfect way to have that cliff hanger moment leading into part 2 and also allows Bucky to step up and bring something fresh to Captain America.

At least that's how I hope it goes down, I don't want to see Falcon as Cap in the MCU... he never really cut the mustard for me in that role.

The bringing Bucky back Storyline was fantastic though. I think your correct in that the films/tv shows will have to do it in a different way as you can't just go meh we'll bring them back in this flimsy way

Xmen comics spoiler:

I'd like to see Marvel bring a rule in stating that if you kill a charachter then they have to stay dead for at least 5 years as it gets ridiculous. a writer changes and they decide to go with a certain story either way and just bring them back (w@nkers I invested time in that story where they went) RANT over.

And that is why Marvel need to tread carefully with the cinematic universe, Avengers did such a great job of drawing people in... fans of the comics loved it as it brought all those loved iconic characters together on the big screen and the non comic fans loved it because it was a great movie with great characters... that film attracted a new generation of Marvel fans who wont necessarily buy into the way the comics flaunt the characters mortality... these fans expect logically written (to a point- these are based on comic books after all) stories that 'make sense'.

Certain members of the MCU will need to pass on in the coming films, but as I said before I have faith in them to do this in the right way.

Derby- how do expect them to deal with the absence of Hank Pym in AOU... as Ultron was his creation after all?

Reading an interview with Wheldon the other day it sounds like they've changed it so Stark creates Ultron with no mention of Pym.

Must be Stark or one of his competitors who found an old suit/part of a suit etc. Or (and i'd love this to happen) he builds a suit for Jarvis and that becomes Ultron after realising he doesn't have to be anyones 'thing'

I think Stark seams like the logical solution, I may be wrong but in Civil War didn't he create a robotic replica of Thor that turned bad?

I can see this idea being expanded on with Stark creating Ultron to be the next Avenger only for him to go nuts and rebel against them... I like that Jarvis idea, that would be quality.

I know AOU will introduce The Vision as well... he was originally created by Ultron so I'm guessing Vision will start off as evil in this movie before being converted to the good side by Stark and the other Avengers.

Interested to see how close to the comics they keep the vision (and his relationship with Scarlet Witch) as he was essentially Wonderman's consciousness embodied within a robot...

Yup, him and Mr Fantastic did that, brought up some of the moral elements that have continued through to some of the storylines today (Illuminati in particular)

********* Marvel News Update*********

So here's what's been happening:

The 3rd Age of Ultron trailer was released and it didn't disappoint!



Ben Hardy of Eastenders fame has been announced as the newest cast member of the 2016 X-Men Apocalypse film, it is still yet to be confirmed which role he will play but my money is on Angel or even arch angel

Marvel have also been releasing character art of each Avenger since last Wednesday, the first was posted by RDJ with the comment that we should expect 'big' news in 8 days time... well its day on and I'm yet to get a big announcement... god knows what this will be????!!!!!, spiderman casting news maybe?

I posted this in the AOS thread, if anyone wants to catch it you can watch the latest episode online with a little tinker of your IP address (very simple)

We got a glimpse of three inhumans in this weeks episode, can't wait for that story to tie in with the films.

Can't wait for Age of Ultron! I love the ending showing a glimpse of Vision.

I must admit I think the first trailer is better, the song "no strings on me" (from Pinocchio) made it feel dark and Ultron look badass!

Just watched the ultron 3 trailer. really can't wait to drag my son along to watch this . hope its Peter Parker . spiderman man is Peter Parker

Sorry meant when spiderman joins the avengers it's Peter Parker and not a 13 year old kid miles

I read a really interesting article on the MCU today... Find it here if you have the time or inclination: http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/marvel-cinematic-universe/34354/marvel-cinematic-universe-post-infinity-war-recast-or-reboot

in essence it covers off the potential problems Marvel will have in the coming years as phase three and more specifically Avengers Infinity War comes to it's conclusion. Unlike the comic universe where characters and personas have the ability to be timeless (or more adapt 'ageless') the MCU will have to deal with the decay of time to its establish boxes office stars... The article nicely references that "no amount of yoga" will help RDJ still look the part as Iron Man in 2020 (he's about to turn 50)... So how does Marvel work it's magic in the cinematic universe to not only keep it's box office draw (potentially problematic without the big hitters of RDJ, Evans or Hemsworth) but also maintain it's continuity?

Wells there's a few options:

Recast- have new actors take up the roles and step into the suit of stark or carry of the shield of Rodgers when contract negotiations fail or time takes it's inevitable toll... Will loyal fans of the actors accept this or are the characters more important than the box office stars that play them?

Pass the torch- Phase 2 will introduce the likes of Steve Strange, Spiderman, Captain Marvel and Black Panther into the MCU... Will this new breed of heroes step up and take the focus away from the either retiring or sadly departed old guard?

Reboot- as the article states Infinity Wars will see the culmination of the infinity gems being brought together... Powerful stones that have the ability to alter time, space and reality among others! Could Marvel soft reboot characters to tell newer stories from different times and realities?

7 billion at the box office in ten years means this train ain't stopping anytime soon... so what are your thoughts? What would be the best way forward and ultimately the most successful for Marvel and the fans?

I can see them killing off Rodgers in the first half of Infinity Wars. It's a two parter so what better way to end the first half than something like that? Downey JR has already admitted himself his time as Iron Man is running out, I think it's likely we'll see a replacement come to the fore.

In the comics and the cartoons (that I watch with my kids, honest ) Sam Wilson seems the obvious replacement, tech minded and already used to the flying aspect due to being Falcon. I think the problem with studios will have is that the characters they have now are the most iconic, any avengers cartoon always focusing on these guys. Take them out completely and the films don't do as well in my opinion.

in the comics cap America dies in the end of civil war sorry spoiler alert

Yeah, Evans has a contract until Infinity Wars though Jimmy so it's more likely they'll kill him off during that, if at all. Evans is young enough to play the role for a while.

Can't see them killing off Cap in the Film world, The story was a bit convuluted and once you do it the first time it affects the impact of killing off big characters in the future

I really don't like killing characters off for the sake of it , so can't he just say I'm hanging up my shield and off on holiday .hero you go falcon see you when I get back .

Would like to see him age like in the comics, you then get to really see it was never just about the brawn. Will be interesting to see how they go about the aging thing though, (I've always thought people should age faster in the comics too)

I like the graphic novel return of the dark knight just for that , an aging batman

Old Man Logan's a good one as well Jimmy. Wouldn't mind seeing a film about the effects of aging on Wolverine actually.

Just for fun on a boring Tuesday, rate the 7 x-men films in order best to worst:

Here's my opinion:

1. First Class
2. X-men 2
3. Days of Future past
4. X-men 1
5. The Wolverine
6. X-Men 3: The Last Stand
7. X-Men Origins: Wolverine

1. Days of Future past
2. First Class
3. X-men 1
4.X-Men 3: The Last Stand
5. X-men 2
6. The Wolverine
7. X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Derbymanc wrote:Old Man Logan's a good one as well Jimmy. Wouldn't mind seeing a film about the effects of aging on Wolverine actually.

I ve heard of this book but not read it so I take it he loses his regeneration powers and becames old