Age of the Geek

The Golden Age 
     It's hard to believe how far Marvel Studios has come since 2008.
     Once upon a time, in the early 2000's, characters like Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor were b-list heroes that had long since been overshadowed by Spider-Man and the X-Men. Today they are household names that have formed the foundation of one of the most successful series of films ever crafted.
     Just ten years ago the idea of linking together a series of otherwise unrelated movies with an overarching storyline was little more than an ambitious pipe dream. Then it happened with "The Avengers" and Hollywood hasn't been the same since.
     Last week Marvel Studios released the first trailer for "Black Panther," their 18th entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
     "Black Panther" will be a landmark movie for many reasons, but the most important may not even be in the movie itself, but in the expected after-credits teaser. This is because "Black Panther" will be the last Marvel Studios movie to happen before "Avengers: Infinity War."
     Like the first Avengers movie, "Avengers: Infinity War" will be the culmination of a historic cinematic endeavor. Or, at least it will be the start of that culmination, since the movie is so big it's apparently being split into two parts.
     In May of 2019 more than a decade's worth of set-up will bring Marvel's Phase Three to a close.
     Which begs the question, where does Marvel Studios go from there?
     After all, the end of Phase Three won't just bring the ongoing story of the Infinity Stones to an end. It will also mark the end of Robert Downey Jr.'s contractual obligation to play Iron Man. Downey, the undisputed lead of the MCU, has scaled back his part in recent years. While he's taken part in ensemble movies like "Avengers: Age of Ultron" and "Captain America: Civil War," and will have a guest role in the upcoming "Spider-Man: Homecoming," it has been four years since the last Iron Man movie and there isn't another on the schedule.
     Likewise, Chris Evans, who extended his contract just to finish out Phase Three, is unlikely to return to the role of Captain America after that chapter comes to a close.
     The time is rapidly approaching where Marvel Studios will have to make some choices about how they want to continue with their universe.
     In the comics, characters are made of ink and pencil strokes. Tony Stark doesn't have contract negotiations and he hasn't aged a day in the last fifty years.
     In the movies, such logistical challenges are more difficult to deal with.
     So what will Marvel Studios do?
     The studio isn't likely to simply call it a day and shut down on a high note. For better or worse, they're going to keep making these movies until they can no longer afford to. The question is how they will approach the problem of facing a future without their most high profile characters.
     Recasting is an option. After all, it's not without precedent. Edward Norton was replaced with Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk and Don Cheadle replaced Terrance Howard as War Machine. But those re-castings happened pretty early in the establishment of the universe. It's hard to believe that simply replacing Robert Downey Jr. will be accepted by the masses.
     Another option would be to do something the comic books have never dared to do for long. Let their characters move on.
     Marvel Studios has lots of characters with cinematic potential. Even putting out three movies a year it's doubtful they'll ever run out of characters to use. Sure, it's unlikely that Moon Knight or Shang-Chi will reach the heights of popularity that Captain America and Thor have, but then again, Marvel Studios turned the Guardians of the Galaxy into a hit franchise so I suppose anything is possible.
     Finally, if all else fails, there's always a straight up reboot. Wipe the slate clean and start over. Superman did it. Batman did it. Spider-Man did it twice.
     I hate to think that we might be nearing the end of the Golden Age of Marvel Studios, but I suppose nothing lasts forever. Marvel Studios got to where they are by adapting the most appealing parts of comic books to the movie industry. One can only hope that adapting the worst parts of that business doesn't lead to their downfall.
     Travis Fischer is a news writer for Mid-America Publishing and hopes we at least get one good Nova movie before the end.