There was the sound revolution that came with Al Jolson’s “Jazz Singer”; the Easy Rider-Raging Bull revolution with the end of the Production Code; the blockbuster revolution borne of “Jaws” and “Star Wars”; and the independent revolution of the 90s. Now, for better or worse, the Marvel Revolution is official, and that’s good new for conservative movie lovers.
There is no getting around the fact that the Marvel Universe concept has, like previous film revolutions, changed almost entirely the way Hollywood does business; at least the business of blockbusters in the foreseeable future.
It is no longer just Marvel packing the blockbuster release calendar years in advance with its “universe,” it is also Warner Brothers (Superman, Batman), Disney (Star Wars), Sony (Spider-Man), and Fox (X-Men, Fantastic Four).
This is also a big win for conservatives who had grown tired of Hollywood’s attempt to mainstream nihilism, anti-Americanism, and sleaze.
Insanely expensive superhero universe franchises are aimed at pleasing the widest possible audience and therefore almost always embrace conservative themes of heroism, self-sacrifice, and human liberty. For the most part, these films are good for our culture: masculine men, nobility, good versus evil.
Except for what drives the villain, anti-human nihilism is nowhere to be found in successful superhero blockbusters. Parents can also relax without having to worry about excessive language and nudity. These films also tend to make noble the importance of the individual, duty, and what it means to be human.
Courtesy of Hitflix, here’s what your local cineplex will look like until the year 2020 — yes, you read that right, 2020!:
2015
May 1 – “Avengers: Age of Ultron” – (Marvel)
June 19 – “Fantastic Four” – (Fox)
July 17 – “Ant-Man” – (Marvel)
December 18 – “Star Wars: Episode VII – (Disney)
2016
March 25 – “Superman Vs. Batman” – (Warner)
May 6 – “Captain America: Civil War” – (Marvel)
May 27 – “X-Men: Age of Apocalypse” (Fox)
Summer – Untitled Star Wars Entry – (Disney)
August 8 – “Suicide Squad” (DC Supervillain Epic) – (Warner)
November 4 – “Doctor Strange” (Marvel)
November 11 – “Sinister Six” (Spider-Man supervillain epic) – (Sony)
2017
March 3 – Wolverine movie – (Fox)
May 5 – “Guardians of the Galaxy 2” – (Marvel)
Summer – “Star Wars: Episode VIII – (Disney)
June 23 – “Wonder Woman” – (Warners)
July 14 – “Fantastic Four 2” – (Fox)
July 28 – “Thor III” – (Marvel)
November 3 – “Black Panther” – (Marvel)
November 17 – “Justice League: Part One” – (Warners)
No date yet – Spider-Man Venom movie – (Sony)
No date yet – Female-driven Spider-Man movie – (Sony)
2018
March 23 – “The Flash” – (Warners)
May 4 – “Avengers: Infinity War part One – (Marvel)
May 4 – “The Amazing Spider-Man 3 – (Sony)
Summer – Star Wars Han Solo Movie – (Disney)
July 6 – “Captain Marvel” (Marvel)
July 13 – Unknown Fox movie – (Fox)
July 27 – “Aquaman” – (Warners)
November 2 – “Inhumans” – (Marvel)
2019
April 5 – “Shazam” – (Warners)
May 3 – “Avengers: Infinity War Part Two – (Marvel)
Summer – “Star Wars: Episode IX” – (Disney)
June 14 – “Justice League: Part Two – (Warners)
2020
April 3 – “Cyborg” (Warners)
Summer – Red Five Star Wars Movie – (Disney)
June 19 – “Green Lantern” – (Warners)
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What’s even more remarkable about how Marvel accomplished this is that they did it without their most popular characters: Spider-Man (Sony) and the X-Men (Fox).
John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC