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The little fanfiction writer nerd in me takes a look at Iron Man and wonders "What's Next?" Iron Man II's pretty much a go, and they've left plenty of windows open for storylines. So it's in-depth prediction time!
Iron Man II's going to fall into one of three categories:
1) Iron Man II which recognizes the epilogue
2) Iron Man II that ignores the epilogue
3) An entirely different movie set up by the epilogue
That "Entirely Different Movie" that I'm thinking of is an Avengers movie. It's probably the least likely of the three, and the only reason why it would hold any water at all is simply because Downey Jr's Tony Stark has a cameo in the upcoming Incredible Hulk movie (oh, oops, spoiler!). That suggests that Iron Man and Hulk exist in the same universe.
Grand outlandish conspiracy: Marvel Studio's first independently-produced movie is Iron Man. Second is Incredible Hulk. The conspiracy theorist in me wonders if they're setting up these, and other, characters independently in order to join them all together sometime down the line as The Avengers.
Think about it. WB was planning to do a Justice League movie with Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and others. However, they were planning on making it independent to Christopher Nolan's Batman, Bryan Singer's Superman, and Joss Whedon/Whoever's Wonder Woman: different actors, different continuity, tough idea for an audience to swallow.
Marvel's doing it the right way. By handing us Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., with a major name like Samuel L. Jackson playing him, and putting Downey into Hulk, they're setting up the potential to get all of these pieces of the puzzle together into one movie sometime down the line. Tack on Thor and Captain America, which are both in line for 2009 releases, and you have the potential for an Avengers movie with the big four by the time Iron Man II comes out in 2010 or at least by the time they think about a third Stark-centric picture in probably 2012 or 2013.
Go one step further. Take a look at Marvel's other movie properties. Spider-Man, either Tobey Maguire or re-casted as Insert Hot Actor Here, could be used in an Avengers movie, which would allow that franchise to continue without going stagnant. There's also the possibility of taking another swing at other Marvel characters that had unsuccessful movie careers, just like they're doing with this version of Hulk. Recast Daredevil or Elektra. Ghost Rider. The Fantastic Four. Hell, bring in Beast from X3; he had a successful run of many years with the group.
That one step further's probably one step too far. But the fact remains that Marvel is now in charge of their own characters for the first time, well, ever. They don't have to worry about rights being split between studios, nor do they have to worry about a bastardization of their characters by handing them off to other chefs.
Beyond, you know, the bastardization that they've already done to their own comics. But that's another argument.
So that'd be fun. And the more I write it the more plausible it feels, if not for Iron Man II then for somewhere down the line. Which would leave Iron Man II as a movie that still establishes Stark as a solo character with solo missions and being the same Snark that we loved in the first one. Only this time he'd be keeping S.H.I.E.L.D. on his radar, so to speak.
Which is just fine. With or without The Avenger Initiative, Iron Man II would be a hell of a movie. Without it, you still have that hit-you-square-in-the-junk foreshadow of Rhodes becoming War Machine, if not with the Mark II armor than with something else entirely new. You still have Pepper, and the non-Avengery S.H.I.E.L.D. ops. Plus you have plenty of other Marvel villains you could toss at him, like Mandarin, Crimson Dynamo, or Ultron. Enough to work as a trilogy, even if he doesn't have the rogue's gallery to go much beyond that.
But there is that pesky Avengers Initiative chestnut. Even if they don't go the Super Secret Conspiracy route that I talked about earlier, there's plenty of opportunity there. Simple premise that's been used in hundreds of movies before: crack team brought together to defend xyz, either decide that they're too powerful to take orders and follow their own way into badness or else end up being More Than Meets The Eye, some vast government conspiracy group meant to do badness from day one.
Jackson would still be on board as Fury, the leader of the group. Talks Stark into coming onboard. Maybe Rhodes, as well. Bring in some comic book Avengers that a) have some questionable moral background, b) are able to be placed in a real world setting (sorry, Wasp), and c) will never be able to carry their own movie, so we can do whatever the hell we want with them. How about, say, an Avengers group consisting of Iron Man and War Machine, with Hawkeye, Black Widow, The Vision, and someone like Iron Fist, U.S.Agent, Winter Soldier, or Luke Cage?
Would Marvel want to sully the Avengers name by going that direction? Because the problem with forming a team around Stark is that it'll take screen time away from Downey, who most critics agree is the movie. Put any other actor in the role and it'd be sub-par at best. The best way to handle an Avengers in that universe without mixing movieverses like I mentioned earlier is by putting them in an antagonistic role.
More answers might be available after Incredible Hulk is released. There's definitely the chance that we'll see Nick Fury at the end of that flick, as well. That might make things a little clearer.
In the meantime... Yeah. Can't wait to see what happens next.
1) Iron Man II which recognizes the epilogue
2) Iron Man II that ignores the epilogue
3) An entirely different movie set up by the epilogue
That "Entirely Different Movie" that I'm thinking of is an Avengers movie. It's probably the least likely of the three, and the only reason why it would hold any water at all is simply because Downey Jr's Tony Stark has a cameo in the upcoming Incredible Hulk movie (oh, oops, spoiler!). That suggests that Iron Man and Hulk exist in the same universe.
Grand outlandish conspiracy: Marvel Studio's first independently-produced movie is Iron Man. Second is Incredible Hulk. The conspiracy theorist in me wonders if they're setting up these, and other, characters independently in order to join them all together sometime down the line as The Avengers.
Think about it. WB was planning to do a Justice League movie with Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and others. However, they were planning on making it independent to Christopher Nolan's Batman, Bryan Singer's Superman, and Joss Whedon/Whoever's Wonder Woman: different actors, different continuity, tough idea for an audience to swallow.
Marvel's doing it the right way. By handing us Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., with a major name like Samuel L. Jackson playing him, and putting Downey into Hulk, they're setting up the potential to get all of these pieces of the puzzle together into one movie sometime down the line. Tack on Thor and Captain America, which are both in line for 2009 releases, and you have the potential for an Avengers movie with the big four by the time Iron Man II comes out in 2010 or at least by the time they think about a third Stark-centric picture in probably 2012 or 2013.
Go one step further. Take a look at Marvel's other movie properties. Spider-Man, either Tobey Maguire or re-casted as Insert Hot Actor Here, could be used in an Avengers movie, which would allow that franchise to continue without going stagnant. There's also the possibility of taking another swing at other Marvel characters that had unsuccessful movie careers, just like they're doing with this version of Hulk. Recast Daredevil or Elektra. Ghost Rider. The Fantastic Four. Hell, bring in Beast from X3; he had a successful run of many years with the group.
That one step further's probably one step too far. But the fact remains that Marvel is now in charge of their own characters for the first time, well, ever. They don't have to worry about rights being split between studios, nor do they have to worry about a bastardization of their characters by handing them off to other chefs.
Beyond, you know, the bastardization that they've already done to their own comics. But that's another argument.
So that'd be fun. And the more I write it the more plausible it feels, if not for Iron Man II then for somewhere down the line. Which would leave Iron Man II as a movie that still establishes Stark as a solo character with solo missions and being the same Snark that we loved in the first one. Only this time he'd be keeping S.H.I.E.L.D. on his radar, so to speak.
Which is just fine. With or without The Avenger Initiative, Iron Man II would be a hell of a movie. Without it, you still have that hit-you-square-in-the-junk foreshadow of Rhodes becoming War Machine, if not with the Mark II armor than with something else entirely new. You still have Pepper, and the non-Avengery S.H.I.E.L.D. ops. Plus you have plenty of other Marvel villains you could toss at him, like Mandarin, Crimson Dynamo, or Ultron. Enough to work as a trilogy, even if he doesn't have the rogue's gallery to go much beyond that.
But there is that pesky Avengers Initiative chestnut. Even if they don't go the Super Secret Conspiracy route that I talked about earlier, there's plenty of opportunity there. Simple premise that's been used in hundreds of movies before: crack team brought together to defend xyz, either decide that they're too powerful to take orders and follow their own way into badness or else end up being More Than Meets The Eye, some vast government conspiracy group meant to do badness from day one.
Jackson would still be on board as Fury, the leader of the group. Talks Stark into coming onboard. Maybe Rhodes, as well. Bring in some comic book Avengers that a) have some questionable moral background, b) are able to be placed in a real world setting (sorry, Wasp), and c) will never be able to carry their own movie, so we can do whatever the hell we want with them. How about, say, an Avengers group consisting of Iron Man and War Machine, with Hawkeye, Black Widow, The Vision, and someone like Iron Fist, U.S.Agent, Winter Soldier, or Luke Cage?
Would Marvel want to sully the Avengers name by going that direction? Because the problem with forming a team around Stark is that it'll take screen time away from Downey, who most critics agree is the movie. Put any other actor in the role and it'd be sub-par at best. The best way to handle an Avengers in that universe without mixing movieverses like I mentioned earlier is by putting them in an antagonistic role.
More answers might be available after Incredible Hulk is released. There's definitely the chance that we'll see Nick Fury at the end of that flick, as well. That might make things a little clearer.
In the meantime... Yeah. Can't wait to see what happens next.
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