What started life as a fleeting cameo at the tail-end of Jon Favreau’s Iron Man movie almost a decade ago has now gone on to become a dense movie universe – one that continues to evolve, shift and grow year after year.
That beast in question is the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and as the studio begins to ease into Phase Three with the release of Captain America: Civil War – doing so in style, no less – co-directors Joe and Anthony Russo have warned that Marvel films will no longer cater to newcomers.
That’s something that will no doubt be as much a relief to filmmakers as moviegoers, considering that, save for upcoming origin movies in the vein of Doctor Strange and Captain Marvel, directors will be building upon years of exposition and plot points; resulting in features that are laced with nine kinds of easter eggs and moments of fan service.
As such, it’s hardly surprising that Marvel is committing to the complex, multi-faceted nature of its universe moving forward, and here’s what the Russos had to share on the matter:
“We had to make a decision early that we were OK losing virgin audience member. If you don’t know some of these movies before you walk in you might be lost, but hopefully you’ll still be entertained. We can’t do a ‘previously in the Marvel Cinematic Universe,’ because it will take 25 minutes. [The MCU] isn’t a new thing, it’s an ongoing story that’s organically evolving movie to movie. In the beginning I think [Marvel] did operate as, ‘If this is your first one, it should be as fun as if it were your third one.’ Its a dense ongoing novel at this point.”
Next to tumble off the production line is Captain America: Civil War on May 6, followed quickly by Scott Derrickson’s Doctor Strange in November. Looking further afield, could a Black Widow solo movie be in the cards? Time will tell.
