Marvel’s Kevin Feige: Black Widow movie with Scarlett Johansson planned

Last night, we were able to join a virtual roundtable interview with Marvel Studios head honcho, Kevin Feige. The interview was promoting the upcoming DVD and Blu-ray release of Iron Man 2, and, from what Feige was saying, there’s going to be plenty to look forward to there.

However, inevitably he was pushed on some other Marvel projects, and here, we bring you a collection of things that he was asked about. Questions were coming in from across the globe, from what we could tell, and here were the best of them….

On making Iron Man 2…

Can you talk about the balance between real effects and CGI … how critical is that to the success of a superhero film?

The combination of practical and visual effects is very important. Jon [Favreau] is very sensitive to shots in which the camera work is done at impossible speeds and impossible angles. Our CGI vendors became very astute at what we call ‘favreauvean’ shots, which contain those imperfections that make even a full CGI shot seem practical.

Jon Favreau mentioned that Mickey Rourke spent time in a Russian prison to research his role. What did you think when you heard that? I was glad he didn’t ask us about it, because I’m not sure we would have let him, but he did pick up some great ideas about his character, particularly his tattoos and his wardrobe.

What were some of the avenues and challenges the final moment of the first film set up that were different from what we’ve seen in other superhero films? The ‘I am Iron Man’ moment at the end of Iron Man 1 was intended to be the perfect finale to that story, whether there was a sequel or not. We knew we were locking ourselves into avoiding any secret identity plots in subsequent movies, which we were okay with, because the secret identity trope was never part of what made Iron Man interesting.

Much of the history of Iron Man comics was combed for these films. How much has Matt Fraction’s Invincible Iron Man series been considered for material since it is the most contemporary story yet? We’re huge fans of the Fraction run. It was a big part of our discussions for part two, and continues to be part of our conversations of how the character will be moving forward.

Why did you decide to drop the scene where Natasha shoots Iron Man’s cast?

We were always big fans of that scene and it played a big part in the trailers but, ultimately, we decided it went against her character to seemingly push Tony to be so irresponsible with his tech.

On other Marvel projects…

How hands-on are you with the Marvel films when they are in production? For example, are you active on the Captain America set right now and taking a little ‘break’ for this roundtable? Or do you more watch and provide feedback from afar?

I’m as active as my schedule allows. I just returned from being in the UK for three and a half months on Cap, and have returned to Los Angeles for Thor editorial and, of course, for this virtual round table.

And then arguably the most interesting question and answer of the night…

Has there been any more talk of a Black Widow solo movie? We’ve already started discussions with Scarlett [Johansson] about the idea of a solo movie and have begun putting together concepts, but The Avengers comes first.

So, there you have it. Which just leaves us to tell you that Iron Man 2 arrives on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK on 25th October.