With Avengers and GoT ending, what鈥檚 next for Hollywood?
Outside a Boston cinema, Jeffrey McNamara and Brian Antonelli are huddled in mutual support. Co-hosts of a pop-culture podcast titled 鈥淢ac & Gu,鈥� they鈥檝e just finished watching 鈥淎vengers: Endgame.鈥�
鈥淚 cried a little bit,鈥� admits Mr. McNamara, a millennial clad in a Spider-Man T-shirt.
As with two other immensely popular series, 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� and 鈥淕ame of Thrones,鈥� this year marks the end, of sorts, for the Avengers. All three sagas are regular subjects of discussion on the geeky podcast, which discusses TV and movies as if they were sports. For the duo that hosts it, 鈥淎vengers: Endgame鈥� is the superhero version of an all-star game. The culmination of 22 movies with interlinked storylines, it features among others Captain America, Captain Marvel, Hulk, Iron Man, and Thor. Plus a talking raccoon from outer space.聽
Why We Wrote This
What was once the domain of marginalized groups 鈥� sci-fi, fantasy, comic books 鈥� is now all anyone talks about, forcing much of pop culture to have a similar feel. Can Hollywood break free, or is more of the same on the way?
鈥淲e had butterflies in our stomachs,鈥� says Mr. McNamara, 鈥渁lmost like a sporting event, like you鈥檙e gonna watch your favorite team play.鈥�
A few generations ago, grown men might have been ridiculed for expressing more interest in the heroics of Ant-Man than Tom Brady. But fare that was once deemed purely adolescent and nerdy 鈥� science-fiction, fantasy, and comic-book series 鈥� is not just mainstream but all-pervasive. That鈥檚 reflected by the staggering global record $1.2 billion for the opening weekend of 鈥淎vengers: Endgame.鈥� Even after such lucrative franchises end, observers say 鈥渘erdy鈥� fare will continue to drive society鈥檚 shared cultural experiences. The challenge for Hollywood is how to keep what comes next fresh.聽
鈥淭he thing that鈥檚 different now is just how well major corporations have been able to capitalize on that sort of transition from geek culture to mainstream 鈥� and also of nostalgia,鈥� says film critic Lindsay Ellis, whose YouTube channel has more than 600,000 subscribers.聽
The seeds of today鈥檚 all-encompassing geekdom were planted a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. In 1977, a Boomer generation of parents who loved 鈥�2001: A Space Odyssey鈥� and 鈥淭he Lord of the Rings鈥� books took their kids to see 鈥淪tar Wars.鈥� Just as Beatlemania inspired a generation of kids to pick up guitars, 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� inspired the next one to pick up toy lightsabers.
Directors such as George Lucas and Steven Spielberg changed Hollywood by ushering in the modern blockbuster and with it the attendant sequels, prequels, spinoffs, merchandising, and theme parks. But as recently as the turn of the new millennium, adults would sooner admit to building model railroads in their basement than to reading 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� spinoff novels such as 鈥淟ando Calrissian and the Starcave of ThonBoka.鈥�
鈥淔or a really long time, being a nerd or being into nerdy things was seen as something kind of embarrassing or culturally taboo,鈥� says Sam Maggs, author of 鈥淭he Fangirl鈥檚 Guide to the Galaxy: A Handbook for Girl Geeks.鈥� 鈥淭he advent of social media and online culture really solved that problem because suddenly all of the people who liked this stuff felt that they could form their own communities and find their people online.鈥�
By 2007, the greater visibility of geek culture was reflected by the debut of 鈥淭he Big Bang Theory,鈥� a sitcom about four lovable nerds whose hobbies included games of 鈥淩ock-paper-scissors-lizard-Spock.鈥� The CBS show, which takes its final bow in May, exemplified how entertainment conglomerates had ramped up marketing for related products. Produced by Warner Bros., which owns DC Comics,聽鈥淭he Big Bang Theory鈥� included numerous tie-ins to brands such as Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman.
鈥楾hey have to move forward鈥�
The acknowledged leader of the Hollywood business model is Marvel, whose expanded universe has made more money than Stark Enterprises. It has hewed close to established comic-book storylines so as not to upset the existing fanbase.
鈥淚t鈥檚 basically just stories they鈥檝e already read before, but people don鈥檛 want to disappoint the fans by telling them a different way. So they just basically copy-paste it instead of making something different,鈥� says Stephanie Marceau, a writer for Screen Rant and Nerd Bastards.
But even the most durable franchises eventually have to change. The Transformers have mutated more often than Optimus Prime, most recently shifting from Michael Bay鈥檚 five movie series to last year鈥檚 reboot in the form of 鈥淏umblebee.鈥� Tampering with established properties can be a commercial liability. When auteur director Rian Johnson usurped established norms in 鈥淪tar Wars: The Last Jedi,鈥� it created a disturbance in the fan force.
鈥淩ight now we see this tension between content creators and fans. And if the fans feel, as happened with the last 鈥楽tar Wars鈥� movie, that it wasn鈥檛 made the way they wanted, they鈥檙e going to fight back. And there鈥檚 this discussion out there, 鈥榃ho owns these properties?鈥欌�� says Ty Burr, film critic of The Boston Globe. 鈥淏ottom line is the corporations own the properties.鈥�
Jason Bischoff, former director of Hasbro鈥檚 Global Franchise Creative team, compares franchises to monorails. There鈥檚 a constant tension between those in the front trying to drive the monorail forward and those at the back who want to pump the brakes.
鈥淭here鈥檚 people constantly getting on, and there are people constantly getting off,鈥� says Mr. Bischoff, who gave a 2017 TED Talk titled 鈥淭he Rise of Geek Culture.鈥� 鈥淏ut if we want them to stand the test of time, they have to move forward.鈥�
Marvel has made cautious adjustments to its series, which will continue with a new phase after 鈥淎vengers: Endgame,鈥� by slowly diversifying the gender and race of its lead characters. It has also changed up the tone and genres of each entry. For example, 鈥淏lack Panther鈥� plays like a spy movie, and 鈥淭hor: Ragnarok鈥� is like a sci-fi road trip comedy. But there鈥檚 a limit to just how far Marvel will innovate. It鈥檚 not about to reboot 鈥淗oward the Duck鈥� anytime soon.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e risky in their way, but they鈥檙e not artistically strange,鈥� observes Ryan Britt, author of 鈥淟uke Skywalker Can鈥檛 Read: And Other Geeky Truths.鈥� By contrast, he observes, Tim Burton鈥檚 鈥淏atman鈥� movies were remarkably quirky in a way that modern blockbusters wouldn鈥檛 dare emulate. 鈥淵ou know, Christopher Walken is running around with giant penguins, and Michelle Pfeiffer is licking from a bowl!鈥�
Small-screen innovation
But if big-screen movies cater to fan service in a bid to maximize global audiences, the smaller screen allows for riskier approaches to lower-budget escapist stories. That鈥檚 why Marvel鈥檚 short-lived series on Netflix, including 鈥淒aredevil鈥� and 鈥淛essica Jones,鈥� were more tonally and narratively audacious than their big-screen cousins.
Similarly, the character-driven and thematically rich 鈥淕ame of Thrones鈥� has often been compared to the works of Shakespeare. (That said, it鈥檚 hard to imagine the Bard putting a zombie on a flying dragon.)聽Indeed, the most complex characters and most challenging drama are often on television, says Mr. Burr of The Boston Globe. That鈥檚 where many of the most creative writers and directors have set up camp. An example of that is Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Michael Chabon's upcoming Star Trek series, with Patrick Stewart reprising his role of Captain Picard.
Another reason to be optimistic: Hollywood is always looking for innovative creators of a geeky disposition. The next breakout storyteller may emerge from traditional publishing. That鈥檚 why Netflix recently snapped up the rights to numerous young adult books, says Ms. Maggs, who also wrote Marvel鈥檚 鈥淔earless and Fantastic!鈥� The goal? Find the next Harry Potter.聽
鈥淭hey sometimes wait until something is proven already to have a market in publishing before it moves into movies,鈥� says Ms. Maggs. 鈥淭here will always be an appetite for fresh stories.鈥�
