I've said this many times, Marvel has not done anything (too) wrong up to now, especially after Avengers, that I will always give them and Kevin Feige the benefit of the doubt. Whatever they want to try out, I will always be more positive than negative when looking at their decisions.
Test Number 1
For example, they have been so successful with their decisions on all the Marvel properties that if they want to try and sell the audience an absolutely unknown property like Guardians Of The Galaxy, they can.
But here's how risky this project is - Not even comic book readers know who Guardians Of The Galaxy are! And Marvel wants to invest millions of dollars into this project! And for the first time, this story is set in space! It's going to be a very different movie. Even the tone is slightly different from the other Marvel projects as can be seen in the trailers.
So if Marvel can hit this out of the park, then there will be no restrictions to any other titles under the Marvel banner. This opens up so much possibilities!
Test Number 2
Just like life, nothing ever go as planned. Things change, circumstances change, and it's all about adapting.
Edgar Wright fell off the bandwagon with Ant-Man. That's a huge blow. Especially when Wright has been attached to the project and overseeing it from day 1, years ago. And without flinching the release date for the movie, Marvel and Feige decide to march forward without losing a beat. Is that a right decision? Or would it have been better to delay it?
But I do get where they are coming from. Delaying it would have a big blow to their plans. All the pieces are already in place. The script is done, the actors are attached, production is ready to begin; they just had to replace a director with one that shares their vision (and of course rework that script a little to fit with the new director - in this case, Peyton Reed). Easy? No. Almost impossible if you look at the release date set.
But if Marvel pulls this off, it means that Feige's team is so in control of their projects and so clear with their vision that nobody from the outside can dictate or demand anything. Case in point, saying goodbye to the fan-favourite Edgar Wright!
Test Number 3
This comes in the heels of the most recent news about getting Jon Spaihts to do rewrites for Doctor Strange, and my apprehensions from that decision.
At this point, we have no idea how heavy is Spaihts responsibility for the overall screenplay. Or if Marvel will have anyone else come in to do touch-ups after Spaihts. But what I do know is Spaihts track record has been discouraging for me. Both Prometheus and The Darkest Hour suffered from bad scripting. And giving him this very opportunity, to me, is risky.
Moreover, Doctor Strange, too, is a risk. From what I can see now with Scott Derrickson attached as director, this will be Marvel's first foray into a thriller-horror story.
But if successful, this will mean Marvel can tackle any genre. And because they have such a good understanding of every single property they have, even a bad writer can become good under their guidance.
Whatever happens though, the future is very bright for Disney. I don't believe that any screw-ups that may come from any of the above or from any other projects of Marvel will be so bad that it will halt all plans for Marvel's phase 4 and so on.
There is another property out there that is under a lot of scrutiny at the moment, not to mention some backlash. Fantastic Four, although a Marvel property, is currently sold to Fox. So I can't include those decisions made for Fantastic Four in here because I believe Marvel has very little say as to how Fox wants to tell that story.
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