Marvel
Formerly known by names including "Atlas" and "Timely", Marvel Entertainment is the publisher of comic books featuring iconic characters and teams such as the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, the Avengers, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor, Captain America and Daredevil. Currently owned by the Walt Disney Company, Marvel is one of the "Big Two" comic publishers along with DC Comics.
Off My Mind: Marvel Considers Ten Minute Introduction Films
Marvel has a lot of characters. With all the current movies leading to The Avengers, there's a chance for certain ones to appear on the big screen. It makes sense that Marvel/Disney would want to make more movies with other characters. The problem is, would characters that aren't already a household name do well at the box office?
According to Latino Review, Marvel may try doing ten-minute short films that would run in front of their bigger movies like The Avengers and Iron Man 3. This would serve as a way to introduce characters like Dr. Strange or Black Panther to the moviegoing public that might otherwise be unaware of who they are. This may be just a rumor but would it be a good idea?
== TEASER ==
The main thing is doing a shorter movie wouldn't cost much and would be less of a gamble. They could take more of a risk and play around with different characters to see what the reaction would be. They could try out characters like Iron Fist, Ka-Zar, Luke Cage or Dazzler to see what the public thinks. It would give the movie makers a chance to even test the waters with someone like Namor. Marvel knows what characters sell well in comics but that wouldn't necessarily translate into the same results on the big screen.
When I first heard this, I wasn't sure if it was a good idea. Giving it some thought, I do think it could work. My main concern would be coordinating things with the actor(s) involved. After the short movie was filmed and shown before another movie, how soon would they be able to start working on a major feature if the response is positive? Marvel would need some way to make sure those involved would be available immediately. I don't think this would be something you'd want to sit on. It's also not something they'd want to rush. Would they even need the same character if it were someone wearing a mask?
The other thing would be, what kind of introductory movie could be made in ten minutes? Would the movie feature the origin or just have the character jump straight into some action. Ten minutes doesn't seem long enough to do an origin justice, especially for those that may have never read or heard about the character. Would the short movie and the full production be completely related? In other words, would they be in the same continuity?
Whether or not this happens remains to be seen. It does sound like an interesting idea to play around with characters that might not be the obvious choice in getting their own movie. This could be a way to see if Taskmaster or Moon Knight or Brother Voodoo could carry their own movie. Do you like the idea of ten-minute movies in front of the "big" Marvel movies? What lesser known characters would you like to see get a chance on the big screen?
I think that characters that aren't well known would do well as films because they'd have a clean slate. As for having short films I think that they could work, but I'm a bit dubious about them only being able to be only 10 minutes long.
Yeah, I mean we already have previews for other characters in comics, why not do the same for movies? The only real issue I see is, like you said, the actors, but I'm sure that could be ordered out in the fine print, or whatever.
I think 10 mins might be a bit short to engage audience interest tbh. I mean for a superhero there isn't really much that could be covered in that space of time, unless it just goes straight to the action... show off the hero kicking ass for 10 mins lol
On a side note I'd love to see a Moon Knight movie
10 minutes is fine. Just look at the DC Showcase of the Spectre on Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths. That got me to like a character I hadn't heard of before, and I still go back and watch it since it's so short.
I'd love to see Marvel Showcases of Heroes for Hire, Cloak and Dagger, Namor, Blue Marvel, Moon Knight, Captain Marvel, Nick Fury, and Ronin.
Oh, and definitely Derek Morgan. Ult. X #3 was that awesome.
I think it could work especially after seeing the new mortal kombat short that was released last week, and that was only like 8 mins long...it got people stirring up for MK again...
Think about the shorts before the Pixar movies. They're shorter and tell a complete story. Not on the same level but it could probably be done.
i think thats a brilliant idea for boosting intrest of charecters and woudl feel like a ncie extra bonus before films always admired pixar for doing that myself.
It's almost like a Marvel Team Up comic. They're pretty much anthologies. I don't see why they couldn't tell a story in 10 minutes.
Pixar does it with their shorts.
Some could be origins, some could be straight out fighting or a big battle.
Like a Speedball movie could start with a bank robbery or something, he already has his powers (or just got them and doesn't know how to control them all yet) He realizes he must do his thing and stops the bank robbers. It's like his first issue or when he first appears with SpiderMan and Dare Devil.
It's how comics were back in the 80s. It could be done.
I said this would be a good idea too a while ago. I think though it depends on the character and the budget. We would mainly be looking at genre pieces that are less expensive. I would think things like Iron Fist, Luke Cage and other street heroes would be a good fit. It would be similar to how Pixar has other cartoons infront of their movies. The thing is you really need to tell a complete story, no cliffhanger, with them. I say jump right into the action and deal with an origin later.
Okay so if they were to make short films for these characters they would have to have a back up plan for positive reviews. This is a great move by marvel. These shorts could be some of the highest viewed shorts ever. My question is to how low budgeted it will be.I would like each character to be well casted if it has a possibility of making it to a full length film. And if it were a short film i cant imagine they would dive into the origin of the character. Maybe it would just be explained through words. Or it would only be the origin.
It sounds like a good idea to me. Kind of like the Pixar short films that appear. Pretty cool. I'd just show a small fight scene without an origin.
" Think about the shorts before the Pixar movies. They're shorter and tell a complete story. Not on the same level but it could probably be done. "That's actually what I was thinking... Pixar does this, why wouldn't it work for Marvel.
A 10-Min mini movie doesn't mean it has to be origins... it could just be Doctor Strange fighting a Demon for 10 minutes then a really good cliffhanger so people would want to see a full length origin
Well DC did the same thing with their Direct-to-DVD of 'Justice League Crisis on Two Earths' with the DC Showcase: Spectre, that ran for 12 minutes and I think that worked in introducing the character in that short a time, so I don't see why Marvel can't do the same in 10.
Marvel has nothing to lose with this. This is a fantastic idea. I am sure we will be seeing the likes of Hawkeye, Nova, Namor, Iron Fist, Black Panther, Ant-Man/Wasp, and DOCTOR STRANGE.
There is also no reason why these shorts could not start being shown before Thor and Captain America. They are both about a year away and that is plenty of time to make a couple 10 minute shorts.
Or they could do something in the nature of what they did for Starwars clone wars remember those 3min. shorts people (including myself) went crazy over those, they then made a movie for it and turn it 30min (22min) show that still runs today.
Im pretty sure marvel could come up with something much better then CloneWars, "off my mind" (sorry Tony) something like "Marvel Vs" 3mins of two random Marvel Character going at it no holding back! it could come on before or after the SHSS, as a way to introduce lesser known characters
MOON KNIGHT MOVIE PLEASE! :D :D :D :D :D Do an adaptation of "The Bottom" with flashbacks to his previous career! That'd be awesome!!!
I think this is a great idea, I loved the 'Mini Movie Trailer' thing from Tekken. So I'd be excited to see more like that.
I'd love to see a Cloak and Dagger movie, Dazzler would be generally good one, Luke Cage would be cool.
Ten minutes is fine. Give us a short introduction, and the let the characters show us their moves, wearing down some badies, with a snipet of monologue to give us a better idea of what they're about.
I've practically already got the Moon Knight movie figured out, just using that formula.
I totally support this. It sounds like a great idea and I think it would serve it's purpose well - introducing the masses to the Marvel Universe outside of Wolverine and Iron Man. It would be a great decision for Disney/Marvel
I think this sounds like a great idea. It'll really help people that aren't familiar with the character(s).
" Think about the shorts before the Pixar movies. They're shorter and tell a complete story. Not on the same level but it could probably be done. "And alot of those are just as good as the movie they showcase before. I could see something like this working. I don't think it would be a proper origin, usually you don't have those characters talk, you can have a narrator telling an abbreviated origin while the hero beats up the bad guy... or broods on the edge of a building listening to sirens and the city below before he/she jumps into action. I am not going to say these ten minute shorts are going to be Oscar worthy, but they do give Oscars for these shorts (although I don't know if there is a live action short category).
I could see this as a great way to promote less established characters (Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Black Panther, Black Widow, etc.). Using a ten minute short to focus on what makes a certain character unique to the Marvel Universe could be the key to deciding what projects to greenlight & which ones to pass on.
On a related note, I'd love to see a Heroes for Hire short film done in 70's "blaxploitation" style.
I think this would be a smart movie for Marvel. While it wasn't quite an "intro to the character," the opening sequence of Wolverine Origins was great and really established the history of both Wolverine and Sabretooth without dragging on. Non-comic fan audiences are really going to be lost when people start coming out of a left field, so I think some background would really help sell the movies. In fact, even compiling a DVD of those kind of shorts would be nice.
That being said, they shoudln't overdo it to a point that half of the MU has their own ten minute movie because people would lose interest fast.
Not sure how i feel about this. Could be cool I guess. I think though all they need is a good story and a sweet looking movie to sell a character. People don't know who characters in 95% of movies are, till they see the movie, how is this any different? Maybe it wont have that huge box office opening weekend, but if its good enough word of mouth will spread.
Brilliant idea!!! Taking the concept that DC had with the animated Batman DVD they released before Dark Knight to the NEXT level. I think this would work in sooo many ways. It's definitely a great way to build up hype for your upcoming projects, be they animated or live action... theatre release, DVD release or broadcast/cable television.
Luke Cage movie, STAT.
All well and good but how will they track which ones people want to see? If shown in a theater there is no way to guage general fan interest. DVD sales might bring a little more reliable data from sales figures. The for sale price for these would need to be under $6 per episode unless several are combined. Putting them on a dedicated Marvel Super Short internet site would again provide no real hard viewing data except gross numbers which would not be accurate.
Then you run into the problem of making them all different from one another so that they do not blur together. Five short movies in a row of superguy A, battling super baddy B, and for the general audience they are trying to attract they will all start to look the same.
Dont get me wrong I love the idea. Its just the bean counters will have to have a way for these to make money from more than just comic fans.
I would love to see that make it like a mini-shot where they show the characters doing a little mission Luke Busting up criminals, Dr. Strange looking for a scroll, Black Widow doing a mission right before meeting up with Tony sounds good.
I think it's an amazing idea, I mean how else am I going to see all the "obscure" marvel characters on film, it definitely seems like a disney exec idea for sure though.
I think it sounds interesting. Pixar shows a short animated film before each of their movies.
The only problem I think is the actors chosen, would anyone jump at the chance to play the character for only a 10 min film? Unless there is a guarantee of a full length film, maybe you wont get A list actors. Would that mater to anyone? What if it featured unknowns in a summary typ of story and the spinoff of that 10 min film had another actor playing it?
What if we saw some random guy with a mustache and red cloak playing Doctor Strange and in the actual full length movie it was a well known actor like Leionardo Dicaprio or something.
Would that bother anyone?
What if Pixar pitched in and did an animated 10 min short film before each superhero movie?
What if it was animated, CG or traditional? And featured the character. Would anyone like that?
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