Every day on the Marvel news rollercoaster provides some unexpected turns. Loki season two having its release date changed! An underrated MCU gem getting stripped of its USP! Today has really delivered some doozies, though. First of all, while the jury’s still out on whether it’s going to blow up the box office and earn strong reviews, The Marvels is already heading for a surprising MCU low — and I mean that in its most literal sense. Allow me to explain…
The Marvels might be the joint-cheapest MCU movie ever made
Wait, wasn’t The Marvels just rumored to be the shortest MCU movie ever not so long ago? That’s correct, it was, but now the latest intel indicates that it’s also the cheapest Marvel production of the lot. In an interview with director Nia DaCosta (more on her in a moment), Vanity Fair reported that The Marvels has a budget of a mere $130 million — which would make it equal to Ant-Man‘s inexpensive price tag. There’s a good chance this isn’t the final figure, as it’s possibly based off numbers Forbes provided mid-production, but in any case, the evidence suggests Marvel pinched some pennies on this one after blowing out the bank with Secret Invasion.
Chris Evans thinks Quentin Tarantino is right about Marvel movies… kinda
There’s a sentence you didn’t expect to read today. One of Marvel’s biggest stars and mascots agreeing with Quentin Tarantino, one of the many in Hollywood’s old guard who have spoken out against superhero cinema? Say it ain’t so! Well, OK, it ain’t so, but it also kind of is so. Chris Evans has specifically stated that he agrees with Tarantino’s statement that “Captain America is the star” of his movies and not him. While that’s a negative for the Pulp Fiction director, though, that’s a plus for Evans who still loves the character of Steve Rogers as much as he always did. Don’t do that to us, Chris, we thought you’d taken a turn to the Scorsese side for a second there.
Nia DaCosta is predicting a wave of woman-hating backlash to come once The Marvels releases
Of course, aside from high-falutin’ Hollywood types the other most common source of hate for the MCU comes from a very different subset of people who Samuel L. Jackson memorably once described as “incel dudes who hate strong women.” Sadly, anything Brie Larson does in the Marvel universe seems to draw the ire of this mutant strain of MCU fandom, so it’s no surprise to hear that director Nia DaCosta is already preparing herself for an onslaught of negativity come The Marvels‘ release in November. Honestly, the film could turn its low budget and short runtime around and be better than Avengers: Endgame and certain folks would still find something to complain about, so this is an unfortunate but intelligent prediction from DaCosta. Seeing as she’s a self-admitted “sensitive soul,” though, with any luck it won’t be another Quantumania.
And that’s not even mentioning a mind-blowing X-Men-teasing Easter egg from 2015! Hop back on tomorrow for another ride of the Marvel news rollercoaster.