FilmSnobReviews

Now what a lot of people may have not of heard is that Marvel and Netflix signed a four series deal with the characters of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist. The shows will air on Netflix over the next few years and will at some point have all the characters cross paths. Now I know this may sound like we are getting an overload of Marvel characters coming at us from all directions but are we really? I say we can always have more as long as they’re done properly, and I’m going to give you my top 5 picks of characters that we should see movies for and deserve to be recognized with all the other awesome movies we are currently getting ready for. With that being said I will pull from all characters in the Marvel universe as well as any names that have already had a screen adaptation that I believe would do well with a stand alone movie, or a reboot all together. Here we go….

In my mind this should be everyone’s number one pick. The fast talkin, fourth wall breakin, merc with the mouth we all know as Deadpool. Wade Wilson is a mercenary taking on any job with targets that he thinks deserve to die. Contracting Cancer he eventually ended up in the Weapon X program where he was a test subject. After failing an assassination he went to Hospice, allegedly a government facility where failed superhuman operatives were treated. The scientist, seeing how long the subjects would last, tortured them and place bets in a “deadpool”. After killing his way out and escaping Wilson donned the name Deadpool along with his signature outfit and had made himself perhaps one of the biggest names in the Marvel universe. His powers include an accelerated healing factor, superhuman stamina, agility, flexibility and reflexes, Devices for teleportation, immunity to telepathy, and extended longevity amongst other things. Now this character has been portrayed in X-Men: Wolverine Origins but the overall depiction of him in that movie was easily a crowd displeasure. Although Ryan Reynolds, the actor portraying this character, did very well as Wade Wilson I think the overall feel and storyline for the character was nothing close to what the fans wanted. Now back in November there were talks that the movie is getting closer to being made and a greenlight is all that’s stopping them at this point. The movie however is currently at an R rating and Reynolds at the moment would come back to play the character as a Deadpool who knows the X-men movie was a let down to fans and poke fun at it, breaking the fourth wall. Now that would make an awesome movie, let’s just hope we can see it before another decade comes and goes.

Now next on my list pulls from X-Men: Wolverine Origins as well with a character every X-Men fan enjoys, and that is the Ragin’ Cajun himself Remy LeBeau A.K.A. Gambit. Now Gambit is a fast talking, woman loving mutant who was raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. In his early years he was a small time thief and pickpocket until he eventually gained notice from Jean-Luc LeBeau and was accepted into his family and the Notorious Thieves Guild. Becoming a master thief over the years he did numerous contracts for people including Dr.Sinister. Eventually he met Storm and helped her battle a few foes and in return for his aid she introduced him to the X-Men. Gambits powers include control and manipulation over potential and kinetic energy, enhanced physical abilities, and a hypnotic charm. His weapons of choice are a bo staff and his signature deck of cards he charges and throws as explosive projectiles. Now to be fair his onscreen portrayal was okay at best, but when we talk about Gambit we don’t want just okay, we want totally awesome. We all have it in our minds that Gambit needs to be just like he was in the 90’s animated cartoon show. The mutant embodiment of cool. I feel a fresh reboot for this character needs to be done. Now there is talk that X-Men Producer Lauren Shuler Donner wants Channing Tatum to star in the role and to me that just makes sense. Tatum has proven he can take on serious roles as well as comedy and have huge success with them, you slap a proper Cajun accent on the man and I feel you have what Gambit was originally intended to be.

With this next pick I’m stepping away from the hero aspect of things and going down a darker path and simply saying…..Carnage. Cletus Kasady is a psychopathic serial killer who as a child testified against his father, who killed his mother, just to see him get the electric chair. He also killed his grandmother by pushing her down a flight of stairs. He developed his murderous side very early in his childhood and after a huge killing spree he got caught and landed himself in prison. Now the Venom symbiote being hosted by Eddie Brock “birthed” a separate entity that found its way to Cletus during a prison outbreak. Once merging with the insane killer they created the being known as Carnage. Carnage’s’ abilities mimic and surpass that of Venom’s and Spider-Mans making him one of Spider-Mans most dangerous foes of all time. His powers include enhanced physical strength, shape shifting,projecting a web-like substance from any part of his body including the formation of weapons, and enables him to plant thoughts into a person’s head using a symbiote tendril, and much more. His weapons of choice are normally various weapons he can produce through the suit including swords, claws, axes, etc. as well as using his tendrils to overpower his enemies. Now the question here would be what rating to make the movie? An R would hands down be the way to go but would Marvel take that gamble of losing its Family Friendly reputation and its young viewers? Probably not, however, if we look at another just as notorious psycho killer like the Joker and see how awesome of a job they did with him at WB/DC I think it’s safe to assume that a PG-13 movie could easily be done. Now with the buzz that the new Spider-Man movies are getting multiple pictures and the already villain heavy line up its easily plausible that a Carnage movie could be down the pipeline, following perhaps a Venom movie? Now who to play are crazy killer? My first thought leads me to think Benedict Cumberbatch could easily fill the symbiotic shoes. Seeing as how he is know stranger to villainous roles the look and voice of the actor could be a fine addition into the Spidey universe.

Marvel has let it been known that “group team-ups” is where they are taking a lot of their most powerful heroes. With the awesome success and build up of the Avengers and the already constructed team of Guardians of the Galaxy why not start to build a new team for the silver screen, and my choice for that would be the Marvel Knights. Now Marvel Knights is not necessarily a team such as Avengers or X-Men, but an imprint Marvel Comics uses to deal with more mature readers and a bit darker characters. The name is easily recognizable to fans however and would be and awesome title for a picture. We have also seen a few of their members in movies and I think fans would agree a fresh reboot for these characters and placed in equal screen time like in Avengers just might be exactly what they need for a fresh start. The characters involved in the MK story lines include: Daredevil, Punisher, Ghost Rider, Elektra, Blade, Luke cage and Black Panther too name a few. Now what I think might be happening is that may be where the Netflix shows might be heading and that would be awesome too. However, I feel these characters could easily fit into their own movie as one solid team. With this cast of heroes we could get a much darker and realistic feel for our B line Marvel characters. These guys aren’t the ones out fighting aliens and defending the world from global terror they mostly deal with problem in New York City on a personal level and inside Hell’s Kitchen to be more direct. I would love a movie with characters you can relate to a bit more. Now I won’t go into each of their origins and powers I’ll leave that up to you guys. But can you imagine who could play each new role, I’m already excited thinking about my line up.

Last but not least, my final pick for a Marvel movie to be made goes to the Sorcerer Supreme himself, Doctor Stephen Vincent Strange or simply known as Doctor Strange. Strange knew from early on in his childhood he wanted to pursue something in the medical field, it wasn’t til after his sister drowned in a pool while swimming with her did he fast pace himself through medical school in record time. He soon became a famous, yet arrogant, renown neurosurgeon focusing on saving people as long as the fees were right. In his early thirties he got into a car accident that severely damaged the nerves in his hands, ending his surgical career. He searched the globe looking for cures and draining his fortune but did eventually come across a mystical being known to as the Ancient One. After being turned away from the Ancient One Strange learned his pupil was going to betray him and he went to warn him, not acting selfishly for the first time in years and willing to help someone in need the Ancient One took him on as his new pupil teaching him the art of magic, and eventually becoming Sorcerer Supreme. His powers include Mastery of Magic with aided abilities from artifacts including flight and extended longevity, while also possessing a genius level intellect. His weapons of choice include the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak that are used by Strange to entrap foes, also other artifacts such as the Winds of Watoomb, the Flames of the Faltine, and the Shield of the Seraphim. Now with where Marvel is going in the next Avengers movie its clear we are getting the Scarlet Witch, whose power is based on hexes and “spell-like” affects. So the writers could easily adapt Marvels heavily focused scientific explanation of everything and incorporate a magical based influence. Doctor Strange is a very important and respected character in the Marvel universe and is tied to so many different storylines, including the Thanos storyline, that it just makes sense to set him up with his own movie. I mean who else but Strange could give a character like Loki a run for his money with spells. Now there was a rumor floating around that Johnny Depp was attached to play the character which we should probably dismiss at this point in time but I do think he would do fantastic in the role. It would be nice to see him step out of his more eccentric roles of late and back into a character that has a lot of depth to it. Other characters I would like to see fill his shoes would be Aidan Gillen and perhaps even Karl Urban.

Alright guys that’s it for our Top 5 Marvel Character(s) That Need a Film! Go right ahead and use the comment box below to tell us what you think. That is after all the fun of this isn’t it? Maybe give us YOUR Top 5 Marvel characters you want to see and who you’d like to see immortalize them on screen. Hope you had as much fun reading it as I had writing it. Also don’t forget to vote in our poll or share us on Facebook and Twitter. In the immortal words of Stan the Man…Excelsior!