RUMOR: Marvel to Produce Short Films of Lesser Known Characters

Over at LatinoReview.com, they're claiming that there's truth behind the rumor that Marvel plans on making short, live-action films of their lesser known characters.  Maybe you'll see a short Luke Cage film prior to the start of Avengers 3: What the Hell is an Ultron?. Who can say?  It's a way for the studios to expose these characters and get some recognition, but without spending tens of millions of dollars and coming up with Elektra or Ghost Rider.

Personally, I love this idea. It goes back to the comic book roots of backup stories, and maybe no one wants to see a 3 hour Hank Pym movie.  But with 10 minutes, you can experiment in all sorts of ways.  It's less of a monetary commitment, as well as with the cast and crew.  They can hire and up and coming director without the risk, or a veteran can take a swing without agreeing to 2 years on a single project.  Plus, Nic Cage has been itching to play Gilgamesh from what I hear.

Comments

  1. What is the rumored venue for showing these films to people? I mean, in my day, you got a feature, three shorts, a cartoon and a newsreel for a nickel, but as far as I know we don’t do things that way anymore.

    I just don’t see them casting actors worth their salt and then saying, "Good news! You’re about to be a Youtube superstar."

  2. @Jimski: The answer is in the artile Josh linked to.

  3. I am more than okay with this concept.  Although I still want a full feature length film for Luke Cage.  Didn’t they have a director for that like 2-3 years ago?

  4. This is brilliant. 

  5. Short films? Like Ant-Man?

  6. Sound like a good idea to me. I hope this works out.

  7. Too good to be true but it’s a slow news day so let’s play…

    What if Marvel made it a contest where folks can submit their own 3-5 minute short of a licensed property to win a chance to create it for the big screen? Entries could be hosted on Marvel’s website Zuda-style and fans can vote for them.

    Cross between Project Greenlight and How to Draw the Marvel Way.

  8. I actually want a big and meaty Ant-man film simply because it looks like Edgar Wright is directing it, and I think I am in love with him.

    Really like this idea though, if they can pull it off. Bringing lesser known characters into people’s minds can only be a good thing, assuming they are done well. 

  9. love the idea. Would be really cool if they put them as bonus shorts on animated and live action DVD’s and Blu’s. Seems like they’re taking a page from DC to an extent…they are trending this way too especially after seeing how well received The Spectre short on the recent Crisis animated DVD was. 

  10. Sounds pretty cool, but it’s bound to upset hardcore fans of Z-list characters. But then, pandering to those guys is never a good idea.

  11. I want to see a 3 hour Hank Pym movie!

  12. I respectfully disagree. 

    This guy would LOVE to see a three hour movie about Hank Pym!

  13. All these movies need to prefaced with a one minute Mini-Marvels skit

  14. I like this idea.  You could almost use it as a test screening of sorts once they’ve decided on who will play their main character.  I wonder if this means that they will be using more no-names and perhaps known actors who really want to play the character as I assume they’d sign some kind of multiple movie deal even at that point just in case.

  15. Great idea. Characters that would have never had a chance at a full length film will get at the very least 10 minutes and hopefully a shot at creating enough buzz and excitement to justify a full length film. You can’t blame Disney for not wanting to take the risk of a full length movie. Look at Jonah Hex. Maybe if WB had done a short first WB would have realized what worked and what didn’t, which may have lead to scraping the project or possibly making a decent film instead of making what most have called a disaster. 

  16. This could be a lot of fun. Hope it works out.

  17. Not a bad idea. What better way to test audiences out by showing a short tease to them?

    If people like Luke Cage or ROM (please god let me see at least a ROM short!) then maybe a full fledge film will be produced. 

  18. This is a GREAT idea – if executed properly.  The risk is negligible and really, not every short film would need to be a hit.  Just maybe one breakout in every 3 and Marvel would still have a great RoI. 

  19. Cool idea. I love the concept of putting shorts back in front of feature films, and Marvel the right type of company to do it — they’ve got a huge catalog of characters they own, and as others have said, this is a great way to test the market. I’d imagine that even if they don’t end up in front of the features, these shorts are something that could find a market on Hulu or iTunes or some other digital model.

    Fingers crossed. Fun to think that many of these properies we grew up with have a chance of finding a new voice. I didn’t ever imagine I’d say the day I’d own a Spectre animated short, but I do. 😉 And that’s cool.

  20. SO guys and gals. Which one would would you most love to see? Most the ones I want are at DC but I can think of a few at Marvel.

    Alpha Flight for instance.

    What? I like Alpha Flight.

  21. I wanna see a Doop short from Pixar.

  22. Power Pack, written and directed by Matthew Vaughn.

  23. NOVA directed by James Cameron

  24. Sounds like a good idea, kind of like the way Pixar does shorts for their features. @Crippler is right though, a good short needs the same care as a good feature – ie, a compelling story & a production team that cares enough about the material to give it their best shot. Anything less & that sound you hear in the distance will be me blowing a giant raspberry.

  25. …and personally, I’d like to see Dr Strange directed by Christopher Nolan.

  26. A friend of mine’s father is a Eurpoean film critic who was passed along a promo booklet from Marve; Studious with a BUNCH of Dr. Strange pin-ups from numerous artists, a "Who’s Who" section featuring a bio on every major player in relation to Dr. Strange’s Universe, a re-print of Strange’s first appearance, and the entire "The Oath" series from BKV & Marcos Martin. Apparantly, this is what Marvel is sending screen-writers to see if they have any interest in submiting a script for the feature. There was a write-up long with it saying how Marvel wants to start building their "Super Natural" side of things, or whatever. I wonder if Dr. Strange would be one of these Short Films. If they’re pulling from Brian K. Vaughn’s "The Oath" that’s a good sign, right? Anyways, I’m hammered, so I hope this makes sense tomorrow!

  27. Hammered or not, that’s still pretty damn cool!

  28. Jenna Jameson is Emma Frost.

    Just watch!

  29. @Unoob: Gross. Have you seen recent pics?