MarvelBlog News for June 25th, 2023

What if we held Comic-Con, and nobody showed up?

That’s the question we’ll ponder in the latest MarvelBlog News update.

Disney (and Everyone Else) Will Skip Comic-Con

Several times recently, I’ve indicated that Marvel will likely hold off major project announcements until July’s Comic-Con.

I’d like to formally extend an apology to those of you who believed me, as I’m dead wrong here.

Marvel will skip a formal Hall H presentation at Comic-Con this year, which you may take a certain way at first blush.

That decision certainly hints at turmoil behind the scenes at Marvel that has caused executives to decide not to appear.

While that could play a factor, it’s not the deciding one here. Instead, Disney has liaised with Marvel and chosen to pass on a presentation this year.

The reason why is that the ongoing Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike would cause optics concerns for Disney.

Several of Marvel’s recent projects have gone on hiatus due to the WGA strike.

So, the studio has no way of knowing when those titles will finish production.

Productions like Daredevil: Born Again, Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts, and Wonder-Man remain in flux at the moment.

In addition, talking about the work of writers while those same professionals bemoan their salaries isn’t a tasteful strategy.

Other Studios Follow Suit

Marvel/Disney aren’t the only organizations to recognize this fact, either. On Friday, Variety reported the following:

“Marvel, Netflix, Sony, HBO and Universal to Skip SDCC as Fest Faces Another Existential Threat.”

The headline included another phrase: “Comic-Con Crisis.”

I must admit I don’t even consider that clickbait. It’s an accurate summary of what’s happened.

Comic-Con had canceled in-person attendance for two years during the pandemic.

Now, only one year after its big comeback, the beloved fan event faces another impactful setback.

If you’ve got tickets to the event, you’ll still enjoy the proceedings, as all your favorite merchandise and actor/character interactions will remain.

The only thing lacking will be television series and movie presentations. That’s become the core of Comic-Con lately, though.

The Secret Invasion Controversy

We’ve got two new Marvel-related controversies this week.

Unlike other recent ones, these aren’t anti-Marvel inasmuch as…odd.

The first of them involves the new Disney+ series, Secret Invasion. I’ve watched the premiere and am biting my tongue about spoilers.

As usual, MarvelBlog will post a weekly recap/discussion of each episode.

One subject I avoided is the one that has attained the most online conversation thus far. Well, second-most.

Those of you who have seen the episode know what the seminal topic is.

Another one has garnered plenty of dissent, though. Marvel used AI to create the opening credits for Secret Invasion.

As a reminder, one of the reasons why the WGA is striking is a fear that budget-conscious studios will employ AI rather than people.

So, the timing here is…less than ideal. In truth, some are perceiving Marvel’s actions as a bit of an FU to creators.

Wired has an article describing the defense of human employment as “oddly hopeful”.

However, Variety counters that Marvel didn’t do this per se. Instead, the company outsourced the opening credits to Method Studios.

As you might imagine, Method has grown defensive about its AI usage. Studio representatives have since claimed that no human lost work over this.

Here’s the official statement:

“AI is just one tool among the array of tool sets our artists used. No artists’ jobs were replaced by incorporating these new tools; instead, they complemented and assisted our creative teams.”

I read that as, “We’ve ticked off Marvel, and they’ve told us to deal with it. We screwed up but aren’t quite ready to fully own that fact yet.”

Your mileage may vary.

The Other Marvel Controversy

Remember all the accusations about Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania?

As a reminder, a Vulture writer suggested that Marvel had created a toxic work environment for its special effects team.

That story gained so much heat that Victoria Alonso eventually took the fall for Marvel.

Now, the same author has returned with another scapegoat piece regarding Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.

I’ll editorialize just a bit before delving into the piece. I’ve also written an article that earned millions of views and then tried to create a follow-up.

Generally, the second story lacks the meat of the original. It generally loses its freshness and originality as well.

In that regard, reporting works similarly to any kind of storytelling. And I feel that’s the case with this article.

This piece describes working on Across the Spider-Verse as “death by a thousand paper cuts.”

However, most of the complaints fall into the same bucket that special effects teams work long hours and sometimes lack work.

That statement proved true with Across the Spider-Verse because the production team used a unique creative process.

Phil Lord (especially) and Chris Miller would request changes as they came up with new ideas for the project.

This style of direction caused 100 people (out of a staff of more than 1,000) to quit due to the frustration of repeated lost work.

The difference with the conversations is that these animators will splash Across the Universe on their resumes for the rest of their lives.

We’re talking about an instant classic movie. It’s harder to argue with these kinds of results as opposed to the Quantumania debacle.

As such, I doubt this story gains anywhere near the traction the Quantumania one did.

In fact, the only subject of note is that Beyond the Spider-Verse may face delays.

The Sony Stories

I won’t sugarcoat this one. Sony’s Spider-Man Universe has suffered through a tough week. It’s been pretty brutal.

First, the trailer for Kraven the Hunter debuted. Here it is:

You’re, uh, you’re making a face right now, aren’t you? If so, you’re not alone.

Many responses to this trailer included some variation of “It’s Morbin’ time!” to reflect the *ahem* lackluster quality of the dialogue.

These are professional actors, some of them Academy Award winners, throwing under performances you’d watch in a 7th-grade play.

Adjust your expectations for the film accordingly. Then again, at least we’re sure Kraven will happen.

That’s no longer the case for El Muerto, which Sony has removed from its movie schedule.

As a reminder, Bad Bunny, arguably the most popular musician/celebrity on the planet today, specifically picked El Muerto for his Spider-Verse film debut.

Now, some outlets are reporting that Bad Bunny has dropped out of the project entirely.

These sources aren’t ones I entirely trust, but I’m honestly just awaiting confirmation from a more reliable publication.

Everything else about the rumor aligns. Bad Bunny’s brutal touring schedule and recent fixation on the WWE have siphoned his time.

As I said during the project’s announcement, I struggle to envision a time when he can set aside four months to film El Muerto.

Sony built an entire film franchise around Bad Bunny. Now, it cannot pin him down to appear in the film. And El Muerto without Bad Bunny is like a Taylor Swift concert without Taylor Swift.

Sony has proven it can make exceptional Spider-Man movies. The rest of the Spider-Verse is in shambles, though.

Marvel Miscellany

I’m running long, but let’s cover two other quick stories.

First, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will debut on streaming services on July 7^th.

However, that’s not the date the film will appear on Disney+. Instead, it’s the digital sales date on Vudu, Amazon, and Apple.

Disney has reestablished the release schedule window. So, GotG3 will probably debut on Disney+ at some point in August.

At the box office, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse has absolutely shredded expectations, which ties back to what I was just saying.

After this weekend, the film has grossed $317.1 million domestically and $560.3 million worldwide. It’s objectively one of the biggest hits of the decade.

Finally, I’ve got one more tip for you. If you go to Marvel’s official website here and enter the code, SKRULLS, you’ll get a free digital copy of the Secret Invasion comic book.

 

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