Streaming Companies Seek to Copy Success of Captain Marvel

With the success of the groundbreaking film Captain Marvel, Marvel Studios and its parent company, Walt Disney Studios, are moving forward with multiple Captain Marvel sequels. As the current strategy for most major entertainment brands is to shamelessly copy whatever Disney is doing, its rivals are pursuing plans to create superheroes named after their parent companies. Studios with these plans include the following:

• Fox Studios. Prior to its acquisition by Disney, Fox planned to debut a superhero named “The Fox,” about a teenager who acquires the ability to become supremely annoying by uttering the chittering-like sounds featured in the viral song “What Does the Fox Say?” by Ylvis. With Disney’s acquisition of Fox, it is likely these plans have been shelved.
• NBC. NBC will be debuting a kung-fu television show titled “Master Peacock.” The title character will be portrayed on the small screen by David Schwimmer and will feature him defeating evildoers with his mastery of the ancient art of Unagi and its emphasis on the pivot attack.
• Netflix. All we know at this point is that Millie Bobby Brown has signed on to portray a character named “General Netflix,” and we are absolutely going to keep our private Netflix accounts just to watch this colonel of goodness.
• Hulu. Unfortunately for the television streaming giant, it chose to outsource the creation of its superhero, and our sources tell us that its executives were pitched a character with hula-hoop powers. The company has gone back to the drawing board, but with Hulu’s acquisition by Disney, we may be spared this franchise.
• DC Comics. The Zach Snyder/Christopher Nolan TV show DC Man is expected to premiere on the DC Universe platform in early 2020. After an acrimonious round of negotiations, Mr. Snyder and Mr. Nolan have reluctantly agreed to pare the run time of the weekly episodes down to five hours each. DC Comics also announced this week that it has cast Tobey Maguire as DC Man, citing his critically acclaimed, nuanced portrayal of superheroes flirting with their dark sides.
• CBS. While CBS has not announced the name of its themed superhero, our sources tell us that it has greenlit the development of such a project with Chuck Lorre at the helm and starring Jim Parsons.
• Apple. Justin Long is returning for a Neo-noire update to the iconic “I’m a Mac” commercials. The series will be written by Frank Miller and directed by Tim Burton.
• Amazon Prime. The streaming giant quietly purchased the film rights to the Transformers franchise. Our sources tell us that Michael Bay and Patty Jenkins will be co-directing a film tentatively titled Optimus Prime v. The Princess of the Amazons: The Two Days of Justice. The show will consist solely of a series of forty-eight hour fight scenes to entertain customers while they wait on their packages to arrive.

While these new heroes are unlikely to surpass the rich history of Captain Marvel, we here at Marvelous Movies will absolutely be watching anything that stars Justin Long and is directed by Tim Burton.

What’s the company likely to have the worst brand-themed superhero? We will be awarding an exclusive, autographed air-five to the best answer in the comments.