Casting/potential Plot Spoilers for Captain America 3 are out
So there were already some rumors and in reddit's AMA last week he kind of hinted something like this might be announced soon and for once, those rumors were apparently true: RDJ to join cast for Cap 3 for a Civil War adaptation.
I had seriously hoped they wouldn't go there and I have no idea how they even think they can manage that, having cut the comic universe into so many neat little contractual pieces. How to manage something that affected ALL super heroes in some shape or form when you're probably only allowed to use a handful of them? For it to be a thing of beauty, everyone would have to be in there somehow. Not even touching the subplots of the X-Men or the Fantastic Four (the freaking Hulk is in SPACE during this), how can you exclude the other Avengers? And they will have to exclude them, otherwise it wouldn't be a Captain America movie but just another Avengers part. If they wanted Cap vs. Stark then why not do the Armor Wars? That would work brilliantly and wouldn't have Cap on the run from SHIELD again. If they really plan to re-release the comics for this, then they don't seem to plan on changing that much? I don't know, at least Spidey would have to turn up.
For this to work as a Captain America movie, Cap has to be the protagonist - the good guy. On the one hand, that wasn't so clear in the comics (seriously, the Punisher issues were stellar for getting some perspective), on the other hand that means for the plot to work Stark will be the bad guy. No funny quips to make him likeable, no on-screen chemistry with everyone (well, they might make an exception for Maria Hill), because that's not how it works with the antagonist. Which he also apppeared to be in the comics and that was so sad. He mostly seemed to be plain evil, what with all the lacklustre explanations thrown in here and there for why he did what he did. Which can be mostly boiled down to
a) dealing with Registration from a (former) alcoholic's point of view
b) Extremis and
c) a futurist's fear of the future (and that part needs far more appreciation for Stark's motives than it gets)
ALL OF WHICH THEY CUT OUT OF THE MOVIE UNIVERSE ALREADY* (and/or will probably deal with in Age of Ultron). We even already got a severely hurt Happy as a story catalyst in Iron Man 3, so to do it again would be stupid. So what's left?
With the lacklustre comic reasons gone, it will boil down to "Fuck you Rogers" -"Fuck you, Stark," and then a 15 minute CGI montage of them bashing their heads in. Because if you can't properly transport the message in a comic, I don't think a movie will do any better. Did they think (because we'll apparently get the Hulkbuster Armor in Avengers 2) 'Hey, which other friend could Iron Man fight to the death?' Feels like the Godzilla franchise.
Plus, you know, just like in the comics they will have to reset their scorched Earth sooner rather than later, because my guess for Avengers 3 is (finally) fighting Thanos (his cameos begin to bore me) with Iron Man and Captain America (and I mean Steve Rogers, even though Bucky was introduced for a reason there... still, Evans is signed for the third movie afaik, so there has to be a resurrection in there somewhere. And ending Cap 3 on a cliffhanger would boost comic sales right into orbit).
How do they even dream to manage that? Technically they would need another movie before Avengers 3, you can't handle Civil War without Steve's assassination/resurrection story and Tony's Brain Delete Tour to redemption. And you seriously can't fit all of that into one movie. Not so fond of Cap's Reborn anyway, but together with Extremis Stark's Manhunt and Disassembled were the best Iron Man comics in a decade if you ask me. So I might finally get a collector's edition out of this, so I got that going for me, which is nice.
Maybe what could work is if Thor 3 would be an adaptation of The Siege... what a heap of characters that would need to work is just as bad as adapting the Civil War, though. But I liked Siege. It would give us another chance to see Loki die, too. And naked Stark on a horse. Let's not forget naked Stark on a horse.
* I'm still hoping Avengers 2 will reveal Tony kept Extremis for himself (I imagine a scene where he's mortally wounded, everyone freaks out, he knits back together, says "surprise" and everyone freaks out again).
I AM SCARED because Civil War was a really great series, but it made me so damn depressed to see all those friends fighting each other. I don't want to watch an entire movie about people ruining their friendships and getting into bed with villains to achieve their goals. I'm not that deep, I don't read comics for that.
TL;DR: Dune bawls about Marvel comics. If my Comic Book Shop Guy knew this he would smile even wider at me, I might've made his day when I had a debate about the new Sandman comics... In other news, this will not help getting the BF to read said comics, he hates it when I try to badger him into reading something.
I had seriously hoped they wouldn't go there and I have no idea how they even think they can manage that, having cut the comic universe into so many neat little contractual pieces. How to manage something that affected ALL super heroes in some shape or form when you're probably only allowed to use a handful of them? For it to be a thing of beauty, everyone would have to be in there somehow. Not even touching the subplots of the X-Men or the Fantastic Four (the freaking Hulk is in SPACE during this), how can you exclude the other Avengers? And they will have to exclude them, otherwise it wouldn't be a Captain America movie but just another Avengers part. If they wanted Cap vs. Stark then why not do the Armor Wars? That would work brilliantly and wouldn't have Cap on the run from SHIELD again. If they really plan to re-release the comics for this, then they don't seem to plan on changing that much? I don't know, at least Spidey would have to turn up.
For this to work as a Captain America movie, Cap has to be the protagonist - the good guy. On the one hand, that wasn't so clear in the comics (seriously, the Punisher issues were stellar for getting some perspective), on the other hand that means for the plot to work Stark will be the bad guy. No funny quips to make him likeable, no on-screen chemistry with everyone (well, they might make an exception for Maria Hill), because that's not how it works with the antagonist. Which he also apppeared to be in the comics and that was so sad. He mostly seemed to be plain evil, what with all the lacklustre explanations thrown in here and there for why he did what he did. Which can be mostly boiled down to
a) dealing with Registration from a (former) alcoholic's point of view
b) Extremis and
c) a futurist's fear of the future (and that part needs far more appreciation for Stark's motives than it gets)
ALL OF WHICH THEY CUT OUT OF THE MOVIE UNIVERSE ALREADY* (and/or will probably deal with in Age of Ultron). We even already got a severely hurt Happy as a story catalyst in Iron Man 3, so to do it again would be stupid. So what's left?
With the lacklustre comic reasons gone, it will boil down to "Fuck you Rogers" -"Fuck you, Stark," and then a 15 minute CGI montage of them bashing their heads in. Because if you can't properly transport the message in a comic, I don't think a movie will do any better. Did they think (because we'll apparently get the Hulkbuster Armor in Avengers 2) 'Hey, which other friend could Iron Man fight to the death?' Feels like the Godzilla franchise.
Plus, you know, just like in the comics they will have to reset their scorched Earth sooner rather than later, because my guess for Avengers 3 is (finally) fighting Thanos (his cameos begin to bore me) with Iron Man and Captain America (and I mean Steve Rogers, even though Bucky was introduced for a reason there... still, Evans is signed for the third movie afaik, so there has to be a resurrection in there somewhere. And ending Cap 3 on a cliffhanger would boost comic sales right into orbit).
How do they even dream to manage that? Technically they would need another movie before Avengers 3, you can't handle Civil War without Steve's assassination/resurrection story and Tony's Brain Delete Tour to redemption. And you seriously can't fit all of that into one movie. Not so fond of Cap's Reborn anyway, but together with Extremis Stark's Manhunt and Disassembled were the best Iron Man comics in a decade if you ask me. So I might finally get a collector's edition out of this, so I got that going for me, which is nice.
Maybe what could work is if Thor 3 would be an adaptation of The Siege... what a heap of characters that would need to work is just as bad as adapting the Civil War, though. But I liked Siege. It would give us another chance to see Loki die, too. And naked Stark on a horse. Let's not forget naked Stark on a horse.
* I'm still hoping Avengers 2 will reveal Tony kept Extremis for himself (I imagine a scene where he's mortally wounded, everyone freaks out, he knits back together, says "surprise" and everyone freaks out again).
I AM SCARED because Civil War was a really great series, but it made me so damn depressed to see all those friends fighting each other. I don't want to watch an entire movie about people ruining their friendships and getting into bed with villains to achieve their goals. I'm not that deep, I don't read comics for that.
TL;DR: Dune bawls about Marvel comics. If my Comic Book Shop Guy knew this he would smile even wider at me, I might've made his day when I had a debate about the new Sandman comics... In other news, this will not help getting the BF to read said comics, he hates it when I try to badger him into reading something.