Fox (left), Marvel Studios (center), Sony (right)
The last year was an amazing one for superhero movies, with flicks like Captain America: The Winter Soldier and X-Men: Days of Future Past coming out stronger than anyone expected and Guardians of the Galaxy demonstrating that Parks and Recreation actors and classic rock apparently are all you need to get butts in seats come summertime. But that’s all in the past, and it’s time to look ahead. What does 2015 have in store for the cinema genre that not only refuses to die, but goes from strength to strength despite the odds?
We, um, well … we don’t know. What, you think there’s a crystal ball around here? We do, however, know what we’d like to see happen in the coming year. Below are five simple hopes for things that could come to pass and, if we’re lucky, will. Really, we’re not asking much with any of them … except, perhaps, for the last one, but we think you’ll understand. Here, then, is the Cape Watch Wish List for 2015.
SUPER IDEA: Marvel Breaks Out Of The Mold
If there’s one thing that Marvel Studios knows how to do well, it’s make Marvel Studios movies. So far, that’s only been a good thing—who doesn’t like a slick, fast-moving action movie with some funny lines?—but now that we’re six years into the Marvel age, the formula is beginning to look … a little formulaic. 2015 offers up a risky slate for the studio: expectations for Avengers: Age of Ultron might be so high that anything short of the greatest superhero movie ever (or, at least, the most profitable) will be taken as a disappointment, while Ant-Man runs the risk of actually being a disappointment considering the circumstances surrounding its creation. After years as the superhero upstart, Marvel’s now officially the biggest game in town. How will it manage to deal with what the world expects from it now? Hopefully, it’ll deliver something unexpected—and amazing.
SUPER IDEA: Warner Bros. Firming Up Its DC Plans
With Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice not out until March 2016 (meaning that there’s still time to change that title, by the way), Warner Bros. finds itself in a weird position in 2015. There’ll be nothing finished for people to judge, but the studio will nevertheless be at the center of all manner of speculation regarding every single piece of news about what it’s doing with its DC properties. So far, what little we’ve seen—casting and directing choices for Wonder Woman and Suicide Squad—seem promising enough, but next year will see the release of the first footage from BvS, and maybe even Suicide Squad. Will everything stand up to scrutiny? If Warners delivers only one thing in 2015, it’d better be a clear vision of the DC superhero movie future.
SUPER IDEA: Sony Getting Its Spider-Act Together
Let’s be polite: when it comes to its superhero properties, Sony has had a terrible 2014 (that’s true in so many other ways, but this is Cape Watch). The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was successful, but less so than most people anticipated and it definitely fell short on the critical front. Plans for spin-off movies Sinister Six, Venom, and an unnamed female-led movie with the working title Glass Ceiling went worryingly quiet after they were announced, and the Sony leak revealed all manner of uncertainty between studio executives about just what to do with the Spider-Man franchise as a whole (including a mooted deal that would essentially give the character back to Marvel). If there’s one thing to wish for from Sony for 2015, it’s this: Stop screwing up movies based on one of the most popular superheroes ever created, please.
Oh, and keep Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker, too. He’s great.
SUPER IDEA: Fox Announcing New X-Men Movies That Go Outside Their Comfort Zones
We know that Fox, emboldened by the success of this summer’s X-Men: Days of Future Past, will be ramping up its X-Men slate of movies over the next few years, with X-Men: Apocalypse, an unnamed Wolverine movie (because of course), and Deadpool all scheduled, and an X-Force movie in development. But wouldn’t it be nice to see them go further…? There was a time when the X-Men comic book franchise was a wonderfully diverse thing with series that included screwball comedy (Excalibur), teen drama (New Mutants), and straightforward superhero (X-Factor). Wouldn’t it be great to see the movie franchise follow suit and move beyond “Oh, look, it’s Xavier and Magneto and Mystique, I wonder if Wolverine will show up?” every single time? Deadpool and X-Force are steps in the right direction, but with X-Men, Fox has the potential to do genre-splicing in superhero movies like no one out there. Come on, Fox. Make 2015 the year you take some chances.
SUPER IDEA: Somehow, Fantastic Four Doesn’t Suck
No, really, that’s about it. We like the cast a lot, but that whole “Doctor Doom is a blogger” thing is just … worrying. Please, please. Be better than we think. That’s all
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