Marvel Short Films?
film, movie, short, marvel, disney, speculation, theories
Introduction:
As any comic fan knows, there are a vast amount of characters in any given fictional universe that the general public is unaware of. While some of these characters could have a solid, unique, or awesome concept at their core, the lack of recognition by the general public means that they'll probably never get the full length motion picture that may very well deserve to have.
This creates an accumulating library of potential profit, which is currently, just gathering dust in a back issue shelf somewhere. However, if there is a way to slowly bring these characters to the attention of the general public, then there is a chance that the companies can profit from their lesser known properties.
There are a few ways to do this, one is that you partner up lesser known characters with some larger name ones in a format that is cheap to produce. DC and Warner brothers have already done that with their new show, the Brave and the Bold. Now lesser known characters such as Aquaman and the Blue Beetle will have their chance to get public exposure.
Another way of doing this is creating short films. With the rise of Pixar, short films going on before the main feature have started to creep back into the theatres. Sometimes, the shorts even outdo the feature film in terms of quality. Just look at the Goofy short about setting up a home entertainment system that was shown before National Treasure 2: The Book of Secrets.
On June 20th, LatinoReview.com announced that Marvel was considering Disney's re-emerging practice of putting a short film in front of the main feature. These short films would put a quick spotlight on characters, such as Luke Cage, Black Panther, Quasar, or Nova.
Marvel and Disney:
Look at the character of Nova (Richard Rider), he's a scientist that wears a big helmet, and flies at things really fast. He's produced a solid following, but he's doesn't have anyone screaming out for a movie about him. Now, Marvel can promote his existence, by featuring a short that highlights what makes the character unique and how his powers and visuals will seem on film.
This means that both Marvel and Disney can highlight characters, without producing a low budget movie about them. They can spend a twentieth of the same budget for a higher quality product.
There are many strengths that go with this plan. One, you're giving the audience more material for their dollars. Two, with a smaller budget, they characters can stay truer to their materials, and not moulded into a generic action cut-out character in hopes to get a larger audience. It also gives the general public a chance to see a lesser known character that they just might go and look up on Google afterwards. On top of that, having a short might entice more people to see a movie, or some fans to see the same movie more than once.
Advantages:
There are a lot of ways that using these shorts could also be implemented in. Take the Cosmic characters of Marvel, outside of the Silver Surfer and Galactus, most comic fans seem relatively unaware of who the characters are and what they do. So highlight each of them in a short or two, then later in the decade, when Space Opera's make a comeback, create a movie that stars all of them together and hype the crap out of it.
The idea pf short films before a main feature also lead the way to the potential return of another lost format/genre, the serial. If companies are going to promote a larger and larger amount of comic book films every year, they could tie the shorts in front of them together, making people eager to check out even a film that is under-hyped, or just not that good.
Potential Problem and How to Fix It:
Now for the problem that I see with the new shorts, at least according to what was mentioned. According to LatinoReview.com the shorts are only going to be 10 minutes each. To me, this seems like a missed opportunity, as those could easily turn into nothing more than extended trailers. My suggestion is to more than double that running time to 22 minutes. That way, it would be the length of a television episode, and a compact story would get some time to breath and accomplish more. Plus with the average comic book coming out to about 20-something pages that take a minute each to read, it would make fans feel like they just got through a single issue before starting a graphic novel. Also, with this format, the shorts could be turned into a television show a decade or two from now, once there are enough of them.
Before someone comments about how the average attention span has dwindled and no one wants to sit for more than two hours in a film, I'd like to point out that many of the highest grossing films of the last decade have passed the two hour mark by twenty or more minutes. These films include THE DARK KNIGHT, and film involving the LORD OF THE RINGS, and James Cameron's AVATAR. All of which have made money by giving the audience a top quality product for the length of time exceeding the Average film. If Disney and Marvel are smart with these shorts, they can continue this trend and rank in some large dollars.
Conclusion:
Adding characters who aren't widely known into a short presented before a huge blockbuster movie has almost no negative attributes to be added to it. Studios might even get top name directors, like Spielberg or Quinton Tarentino, or Kevin Smith to take a week off and film some of their favourite obscure characters. This format can also get the Superheroes inevitable origin story out of the way, so that if they ever get their own film, they can jump right into the action. Small crossovers, skits and experimental styles can be tried. As another bonus, the films might start to replace the annoying television commercials that are shown before the show.
Overall, the idea of adding shorts before a film seems like a good one. As long as studios don't try to do something cruel, like ask theatres to charge more for viewing them, or put the shorts in front of films that have nothing to do with them, than this idea has a chance of catching on.
Link to article: http://www.latinoreview.com/news/exclusive-marvel-wants-to-introduce-new-characters-via-short-films-10263
Views: 53 |
July 8, 2010
Author: Mike M. |
