Ghost Rider 2, Deadpool 0

I was sitting on the toilet recently and figured out why GH2 didn't work as well as it should have:

The character didn't match the storyteller.

This dynamic worked wonders so far with Marvel Studios. Iron Man: John Favreau, Captain America: Joe Johnston, Thor: Kenneth Branagh. Even Louis Leterrier did a good job with Hulk. This is because Marvel knows their characters inside out, upside down and sideways. They know a good fit when they see it.

When Marvel sold film rights of some of their characters, the creative control over who directed what was out of their hands. Sure, they had some say in what went on, and they made money from the deals, but in the end all Marvel could do was watch from the sidelines.


Ghost Rider 2 was directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor - the guys behind both Crank films. Ghost Rider is also one of the characters Marvel does not currently own the film rights of.

Now, I love both Crank movies, and Neveldine/Taylor are very talented storytellers...but they were not the right storytellers for this character.

Ghost Rider deals with isues like Christianity, demons, demonic possessions, the Devil and religious ceremonies. Rather serious stuff. Putting their brand of humor into this mix made the character seem...immature.

In fact, most of Marvel's characters handled outside Marvel Studios were mismatched. Ang Lee's Hulk is a prime example of this. So was Tim Story's vision of the FF. (Bryan Singer's X-Men and Sam Raimi's Spider-Man were lucky hits, but it could have gone the other way *cough* see sequels *cough*)

Now what does this mean? Not that Marvel Studios is doing it right and everyone else is doing it wrong (although that argument could be made), just that Marvel Studios is doing it better.

It also means that despite the lackluster results of GH2, Neveldine/Taylor could still make a fantastic movie featuring a Marvel character - whether Marvel Studios does it or not.

They just have to find a character that shares their warped sense of violence and humor...whimsy and mayhem...chaos and jest...


DEAD and POOL...

By the way - Joss Whedon is a perfect fit for Avengers because he does a great job working with multiple lead characters *cough* Firefly/Serenity *cough* and his desire to present strong female leads could mean great things for Black Widow. PLUS: Marvel completely owns the Avengers, and hired Joss in the first place. Meaning that even if someone dies in the movie, Marvel has a plan...

In Marvel Studios I trust!