Columbia Pictures has begun moving forward with the Ghost Rider sequel and brought on David Goyer to create the story and supervise writers. Goyer last directed The Unborn but is probably better known for writing the Blade trilogy as well as Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. The plans are to apparently base the sequel on a Ghost Rider script that Goyer wrote years ago.
Fox apparently has several Marvel projects in the works, including: Fantastic Four with writer Michael Green and producer Akiva Goldsman, a Wolverine sequel and several X-Men spinoffs, a reboot of of Daredevil and a Silver Surfer film that they’re “quietly working” on. While none of these projects are new, this is being reported as new confirmation that all of these projects still exist and are currently in some stage of pre-production.
Sony recently set James Vanderbilt to write the fifth and sixth installments of “Spider-Man,” and Universal continues work on “Sub-Mariner.” Paramount continues as distributor for “Iron Man 2” and several others expected to include “Thor” and “Captain America.”
The activity is necessary for those studios to keep the superhero properties. If the properties atrophy, they can be reclaimed by Marvel Entertainment, which happened with such properties as Dr. Strange, Black Panther and Iron Man, the latter of which languished at New Line before Marvel turned it into the self-financed blockbuster.
Those properties were repossessed by Arad when he ran Marvel from 1993-2007, when he left to start a film company with son Ari just after Marvel locked in its $525 million credit facility. Arad said he left because he was exhausted, and because he was convinced that his number two, Kevin Feige, was ready to take over. That belief is reinforced by Feige’s emergence as a possible replacement for Disney film topper Dick Cook, because he made a strong impression on Bob Iger during the Marvel deal making talks.
Arad—who is producing both Marvel’s “Ghost Rider” and “Spider-Man” at Columbia—said that on films that Disney doesn’t distribute, Marvel gets lucrative first dollar gross fees, and is well compensated for the use of its characters in the Universal theme park. The acquisition’s real upside, the library of Marvel characters, can be mined for decades, Arad said.
The Goyer-scripted “Blade” trilogy, Marvel’s first film success, is a good example.
“The character was virtually unknown, didn’t even have his own comic book, and had been part of `Tombs of Dracula,’” Arad said. “It tells you what can happen if you unleash a library with the right creative partners.”
Arad mentioned Dr. Strange, Nick Fury, Power Pack, Guardians of the Galaxy and The Avengers as prime movie properties.
“I had this poster of the Marvel universe, with these beautifully drawn characters, and we used to say you could throw a dart, hit a character and make a hit movie under the Marvel brand,” Arad said. “There is long list yet to be unleashed. I think this will look like a smart deal over time, because Disney is a company that knows how to exploit a brand.”
[Source] Variety
