Film Industry : Marvel Cinematic Universe

1) How many films were there in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) at the time of this article?

At the time of this article, there were 22 films.

2) How much money have the MCU films made in total according to this article?

MCU films have made $18.2 billion (£13.7 billion) according to this BBC article.

3) Why did Marvel create the Avengers films?

Marvel was recovering from bankruptcy and had sold off the film rights to some of the company's most popular characters like the X-Men and Spiderman.

4) Who owns the rights to Spiderman and why is the character now appearing in Marvel films?

Sony owns the rights to Spiderman but have agreed on a partnership that allows Tom Holland's Spiderman to appear in MCU films, while Sony retains the rights to the character.

5) Which company owns the rights to the Fantastic Four and the X-Men?

The Fantastic Four series and the X-Men were sold to 20th Century Fox.

6) Look at the very end of the article. What has Disney announced regarding TV shows on their new streaming service Disney+?

Disney has announced plans for several new Marvel TV series, including one based on Loki, on Disney+.

Extension: 

1) Read this Guardian review of Black Widow to prepare for studying our first CSP. What did the Guardian think of the film?

Peter Bradshaw who wrote the Guardian review of the movie Black Widow described the movie as 'great fun'. Bradshaw described Florence Pugh's character, Yelena Belova, as entertaining.

2) Read this BBC feature on Marvel at 80 years old. How has it survived so long and why is the Marvel Cinematic Universe so important to the recent success of the brand?

The company nearly went bankrupt in the 1990's. Recent movies like Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame made more than a billion dollars each at the global box office. Part of the reason the company survived was due to reflecting social change taking place in America in the movies and relating their characters to the modern society. Chris Murray, a professor of comic studies at the University of Dundee tells the BBC 'There was an emphasis on quite important issues of the time, issues of social justice, fighting prejudice and characters like X-Men and the Black Panther were challenging issues of prejudice in a divided nation' The inclusive aspects of our society included in the movies and series engages the viewer to become a long-term Marvel fan and enjoy every project the company produces.