I wonder if the folks at Warner Bros. just sit back and watch with envy how Kevin Feige makes running the Marvel cinematic universe look so damn easy. He's always making the rounds, asked at every turn about what's in store for the next big superhero film coming down the line, and he always manages to find answers that reveal nothing while also upping our hopes and expectations. Feige's been at it again, giving brief updates on Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
It's possible that Guardians of the Galaxy is going to be the breakout film from Marvel's second phase, as it's completely unlike anything they've done so far. The team, mostly made up of second-string heroes and anthropomorphic creatures like Rocket Raccoon and Groot, is quirky in a way The Avengers aren't. While discussing the cosmic aspects of the team, and their place in Phase 2 as a whole, Feige told SFX this....
Feige: "The Thor film and the Guardians Of The Galaxy film certainly are cosmic. Guardians and Thor will take the brunt of the cosmic side of the universe, particularly Guardians, which is 95% in space."
He then goes on to describe it as more of a "standalone" film, which makes me wonder about those rumors of Tony Stark flying off to meet them at the end of Iron Man 3. He adds that the Avengers won't necessarily be involved in the Guardians' space-faring adventures, which also has me wondering how the villain Thanos is going to tie-in to everything.
Feige also seemed really upbeat about the Captain America sequel, which sounds like it will be worlds different than the first film....
Feige: "What’s exciting to me about Cap – sort of about Iron Man 3 too if you look at it – is it’s tonally almost like a different genre. Shane Black’s described Iron Man 3 as a Tom Clancy sort of political thriller, which I like a lot. We hired our directors on Cap because they loved our explanation that we really want to make a ’70s political thriller masquerading as a big superhero movie. Just like with the first film – we got Joe Johnston because we said, ‘We want to do a ’40s World War Two movie masquerading as a big superhero movie.’ I love that we’re doing a sequel to a film that’s a completely different genre than the first film. I think that’s fun. And the comics do it all the time.”
I recall Feige saying this was his hope for the Captain America solo films back in the beginning, and it looks like that plan is coming to fruition. I still have my doubts about the Russo Brothers as directors, based solely on their past work which was less than inspiring, but Feige's confidence in them goes a long way.
Guardians of the Galaxy hits theaters on August 1st 2014, while Captain America: The Winter Soldier arrives that same year on April 4th.
