There’s no denying that the MCU is in a bit of flux right now. Between the Kang Saga stalling out, Blade losing directors left and right, and how there is a sense of fatigue with the series and a desire for something new, Marvel has a lot to prove right now. Their San Diego Comic-Con panel this year focused on a few of their upcoming projects that have been mostly announced beforehand and a few surprises here and there. I am writing this article as someone who has mostly been detached in terms of interest in the MCU since I feel that both Endgame and Guardians 3 provided good ending points in terms of consistently following this series. However, I am still open to seeing projects that pique my interest and will keep an open mind regarding what the studio puts out.
First, was Captain America: Brave New World. While the reports of massive reshoots have made some wary about the state of the movie, some intriguing elements were discussed at the panel. We got official confirmation that Harrison Ford will become Red Hulk with a moment of him joking around onstage alongside some footage. Giancarlo Esposito’s mysterious character that was added in the reshoots was revealed to be Sidewinder, the head of The Serpent Society. While it’s cool that he’s here, it is a bit frustrating that yet another Marvel character is going to become just another generic mercenary rather than embracing the goofier elements of the original comic. I mean, The Serpent Society is a villain team made up of snake gimmicks and that could make for a lot of fun action scenes. Even so, the original plans for The Serpent Society were one of the elements that was cut out during reshoots to fix the convoluted plot so if this change results in a better film, so be it. Finally, it was confirmed that the film will focus on the frozen Celestial in the sea from the end of Eternals and that his body is made of Adamantium which will be a driving point of conflict in the film. Given that the MCU avoiding this topic has been a consistent joke around internet circles, it is cool it will be a major plot element as well as introducing an important element of the Marvel universe. Overall, the focus on this movie was mostly confirming some rumors and smaller details but it still could turn out to be something interesting if it properly leans into what made Winter Solider great since that seems to be the intended approach here.
There was also a brief focus on Thunderbolts* with the main plot details being revealed. The footage showed every member of the team being unknowingly recruited for the same assignment only to end up fighting each other and believing that someone wants them all dead. David Harbour got on stage in his Red Guardian outfit so I appreciate that he will bring some of the fun energy he had from Black Widow. Even so, we didn’t get much focus on this film compared to the others aside from the typical Comic-Con setup of bringing the cast and director on stage and talking about the movie for a bit. At this point, it feels like this movie could be potentially interesting, but it is more wait-and-see since we don’t have any trailer footage to judge.
Fantastic Four got a lot of attention with the confirmation of the official title of the movie: The Fantastic 4: First Steps. The film will have a 60s retro-futuristic look with a Jetsons-like Fantasticar that appeared onstage. The footage, which was shown in a 4:3 aspect ratio, showed The Thing on a retro dating show, Reed interacting with students in a classroom, and the team preparing for a space mission. Michael Giacchino will also be doing the score which is great since he has been involved with some of the best genre film musical scores of the past decade such as The Batman. The best piece of confirmation was that Galactus will be more comic-accurate as footage showed him looking both alien and less human-like, but still accurate to the classic comic look. Goodbye studio-mandated Cloud-actus. Director Mark Shakman and the cast have shown a lot of excitement and passion with this film. Of the things discussed at the panel, this is the one I am the most interested in seeing since it feels like it is taking more interesting risks in terms of its style and tone. This type of deliberate and somewhat risky experimentation is something that the MCU should be trying more often.
The last announcement, however, was the largest and the one that gave me the most mixed feelings. There’s no denying that Marvel needed to change course from their planned Kang storyline. The combination of Ant-Man 3 performing badly both critically and financially as well as Jonathan Majors getting into a lot of real-life trouble have resulted in a lot of re-assessment of what to do moving forward from Marvel. The panel has seemingly put things in order though and showed us what Marvel plans to do to course-correct this situation. Answering recent rumors, The Russo Brothers were confirmed to be returning to direct the next two Avengers films. The already announced Avengers: Secret Wars will still be coming out, but The Kang Dynasty has been replaced by Avengers: Doomsday. Following this announcement, it was revealed in grand fashion that Doctor Doom would be the replacement for Kang and that he would be played by Robert Downey Jr. himself.
Here is where I am torn. On the one hand, I agree with using Doom as the next logical step for the big MCU bad. He is arguably the most important and rich villain in the MCU and could be a great character to build up over time. However, that leads to my issue with this casting announcement. Doom should be a character treated with care and buildup like Thanos. Rushing him out to be the big bad of a phase he was barely involved with so quickly just feels like they are killing the golden goose. He could be the character people get invested in over time and stick around to see what he does. Not only that but while I love RDJ as much as anyone else, I just feel that Doom needs his own identity as a character in the MCU. It just feels like they brought Robert on board because it would get people nostalgic and not because he would embody the spirit of the character. Josh Brolin made Thanos into a recognizable icon with his performance and casting RDJ will only make me think of Iron Man rather than Doom. Maybe it could work in execution since the MCU has played fast and loose with many comic elements before. Even then, I just feel that Doom is a character that needs a bit more reverence given especially since we’ve never gotten an accurate or even good portrayal of the character on the big screen before. Even if this Doom isn’t a variant of Tony Stark (which would feel a bit cheap), I still feel that there are plenty of other actors that would fit the role better. Heck, since Doom is defined by the fact that he never takes off his mask, why cast a recognizable actor since the Darth Vader approach of an imposing physical actor and great vocal performance seems to be a better fit. Also, the fact that the character is Romani in the comic and that his heritage plays an important role in his origin makes this casting feel even more slapdash. Honestly, my first thought during the announcement was wondering how comic fans would take the news and yeah, they aren’t taking it well from what I’ve seen. It feels like a panic move to generate excitement in the short term when Doom done properly could be a long-term solution to what Marvel is dealing with. Instead of the convoluted and disconnected multiverse storyline, a story involving Doom and other villains feels like what the MCU should have done after Endgame since it would be more direct in focus with lower stakes and scope that still keeps up the intrigue and momentum.
As a whole, the Marvel panel was interesting and had some exciting stuff, but I am still a bit wary. The MCU needs that next big thing and I am unsure if nostalgia will be the answer. I know people have been excited for Deadpool & Wolverine or the prospect of seeing all the older Marvel actors in Secret Wars, but I just feel like I got my fill of nostalgia through No Way Home and that it just isn’t an engaging selling point anymore. I want something that feels new and distinctive and I haven’t gotten that from Marvel as of late. Will any of these movies from this panel be great, who knows? I am mostly cautious due to the recent spotty track record of the studio and that it just feels like they are pacing around trying out figure out what to do after Endgame. Even so, the MCU has always pulled unexpected things out of the unknown. Guardians of the Galaxy took a director more known for shock humor and a C-tier comic team and turned them into a beloved genre director and probably the best comic book trilogy of all time. Bringing on Robert Downey Jr. in the first place after all of his troubles to start this whole thing was a risk and it paid off handsomely. Even with my hesitations, I don’t think the MCU is truly done and I know there will be some good projects from it in the next few years. I just hope we get a bit more ambition because we can only go to the well of nostalgia so many times.
