Marvel Studios has been a powerhouse within the entertainment sphere by producing hit after hit movie and expanding the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Several of the authorize marvel films have faced the axe through the years for one reason or another, and left the fans with a ‘what if.’ So, in this post, we shall delve into some of these accomplished attempts, the reasons for their failure, and how these failed ambitions redirected the plans of the MCU as a whole.
The Early Ambitions and The Rise Of Marvel Studios
The risk-taking ability of the company is well known, for instance, the MCU has gone well beyond comic book adaptations. At an early stage in the MCU, ambitious character-based movies were promised by Marvel Studios, with fans expecting several lesser-known characters to get the silver screen treatment. Several of these projects were announced, but subsequently canceled as a result of various reasons which included but were not limited to, differences in vision and the state of the film industry at the time.
1. Inhumans (TV series)
In the outset, Inhumans was a film in the works, before it was transitioned into a TV show on ABC, and it was expected to be one of the main highlights in the MCU. The show was supposed to revolve around the Inhuman Royal Family, which included Black Bolt and Medusa, high powered characters. Many were optimistic with this team of superheroes but following the release of the series in 2017, it got quite poor ratings.
As the plot was interesting, many did not bother to watch Inhumans as it lost its audience and ended after just a season. Due to the failure of the show, Marvel seemed to dissociate from the Inhumans storyline. Even as early as it was made apparent that Inhumans was not going to see the same treatment as most characters in the MCU did, it became clear that Marvel was focused on other concepts.
2. Fantastic Four hit the Resonating Dome (The Marvel Cinematic Universe)
Since fans there were clamoring for Marvel Studios to integrate the Fantastic Four into the MC universe, particularly after the studio Disney took over the 20th century Fox. Although, Marvel first avoided any formal statements revealing there would be a Fantastic Four movie. It’s believed that Marvel would try and come up with a movie depiction of the Fantastic Four which fits into the Marvel movie universe.
In 2020, Marvel made it explicit that Fantastic Four will be a part of MCU, just not before a couple of redundant reboots. The last of these was the 2015 Chris Trank movie that saw the Fantastic Four cast as a reboot finding a new dynamic and expanding drafts movie focusing the whole cast and surfing in hot water. Straight away, they set out to create a long where emphasis and compassion would be apparent. Although domains are barred from publication, it is not that Fantastic Four is permanently shelved. They have received more time slots. They have time now as to when they are looking to bring out any movies focusing on the fan cast.
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3. The Sinister Six (Ferris of Spider-Man villains movie)
Sony Pictures eyed a Sinister Six film which would pit Spider-Man against his fiercest foes who join forces to defeat the web-slinger. The film was made by Sony and was supposed to release in the same universe as the The Amazing Spider-Man series after the premier of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 in 2014.
Nevertheless, because of the discontent sparked by The Amazing Spider-Man 2, the entire Spider-Man universe at Sony was completely restructured. As a failure of the aforementioned film, The Sinister Six was shelved, and Sony shifted its gears in a completely new direction with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man in the MCU. A villain-focused Sinister Six film was never made, but the introduction of these renowned characters after a long gap has left many fans restless as to when they might see the feared Sinister Six on-screen again after their cameo in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
4. Thor: The Dark World sequel (untitled)
In the light of Taika Waititi’s success with Thor: Ragnarok, a considerable number of fans were hoping that he would maintain the humorous and action-packed storyline in its sequel. But before this significant change in tone could occur, Marvel had already begun development of a sequel to Thor: The Dark World which had a considerably darker and serious storyline focus.
That sequel got cancelled in the end due to certain conflicting creative ideas. And out of that really turned out Thor: Ragnarok, which turned the character on its head and became one of the favorites in MCU. Marvel realized that Thor is portrayed too dark and decided to change to a more lighthearted approach.
5. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (Alternate Plotlines)
There were also various other plot directions conceptualized by Marvel Studios before this movie was titled as Doctor Strange in Multiverse of Madness. One of the variants of such movie promised to go further down the darker areas of the multiverse, potentially even featuring the evil doppelganger of Doctor Strange, who appeared in the more recent What If…? series.
In the end, however, other developments and events within the MCU setting changed and led to that multiverse storyline which we are shown in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. While the movie’s other variations were never completely made, they were teasers unlike Marvel’s original idea of dark and intricate story lines which did not pan out when the chaotic multiverse that was captured in 2022 was released to the fans.
6. “Black Widow” Stand Alone Movie (Preceding Materials)
Black Widow is one of the most awaited MCU films that fans have hoped for over the years. After Natasha Romanoff made her first appearance in Iron Man 2, fans looked forward to her definitely getting a solo movie. Still, we never got to see what the previous versions of the script for Black Widow ended up looking like compared to its eventual completion.
Black Widow was reportedly scheduled to come out relatively sooner in MCU history, and its narrative was most likely to be that of a realistic spy thriller. Because of the development of this MCU, however, the plan for the film changed. The movie, which finally came out in 2021, focused on Natasha’s past history and the significance of her sacrificing herself during Avengers: Endgame.
Effect of Unfinished Projects on the MCU Story Universe
These veered off films and television series show that regardless, Marvel is not afraid to try out new concepts, and even though these ideas don’t always settle with the audience, they state what potential future plots can be like. Click here for the source
