By Josh Wigler
While "The Dark Knight" was certainly the film to beat last summer, there's no question that Marvel Studios has their ducks in a row with the mega-hit "Iron Man" and even the less profitable "Incredible Hulk." Marvel's unprecedented move to cross-link their films has laid the groundwork for crossover continuity from the likes of Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury and more, culminating in 2012's superhero team-up flick "The Avengers."
Now, Marvel is pioneering yet another unprecedented initiative. (No, not a real-life Avengers Initiative.) According to Variety, Marvel Studios will take a cue from television by assembling groups of writing staffs to work on their various film properties. These writers can include, but are not limited to, many of the writers that fans already love in the comic book industry.
As Variety reports, "gathering of scribes will help Marvel come up with creative ways to launch its lesser-known properties, such as Black Panther, Cable, Doctor Strange, Iron Fist, Nighthawk and Vision."
Some of these films have been rumored for quite a while -- whispers of a Ray Park-starring "Iron Fist" date back to the early 2000s. Others, such as "Cable" and "Vision," are rather obscure properties for a mainstream call-out, though it's nonetheless an excellent day in geekdom to hear news about a "Nighthawk" feature from a Hollywood trade paper.
It's hard to imagine any downsides for a writer in this equation -- the report mentions that selected scribes could earn as much as $100,000 a year -- but Deadline Hollywood Daily has managed to find some holes in the project.
"Before the writers are even allowed to come in and meet, they must sign a non-disclosure agreement and a 70-page, non-negotiable contract," reports DHD's Nikki Finke. "Among other things, the contract gives Marvel ownership over everything the writers create during the one year term of [the] deal, plus a first look and last refusal to any and all projects the writers have previously written or will write for 24 months in the future."
No doubt a hefty price, but for the right comic book minded scrivener, it could be well worth the cost. Just imagine a Brian K. Vaughan-penned adaptation of "Doctor Strange: The Oath" as part of this new directive. The possibilities are endless!
What Marvel properties do you want to see emerge as part of the new writers program? Are there any characters that you wouldn't like to see on film? Let us know in the comments!