Our Tour of Marvel Studios
Some like the MET, others favor the Guggenheim. But for major comic movie fans like us, our museum of choice is the Marvel Studios in Burbank. Full disclosure, it’s not really a museum but with all of the comic book and movie art we saw it might as well be.
The Process of Making a Marvel Movie
Executive Producer, Brad Winderbaum led the tour through the studio and provided us with a sneak peek into the development of some of Marvel's past, present and upcoming films. From the early development stage, to viewing dailies, we felt the collaborative spirit and enthusiasm from the artists and producers who bring these stories to the big screen.
Producer and assistant director, Louis D'Esposito showed us dailies from The Black Panther and also Visual Effects footage for the upcoming Spider-Man: Homecoming, which releases July 7. We can’t say much about what we saw but we can say that both films are going to be EPIC!
Inspiration
Within the halls of the Marvel Studios is a library of source materials and some really awesome movie props. During our tour, we learned that the artists, writers, directors and producers use these materials as inspiration for their work. Take a close look at the featured comics. Wonder if they are trying to tell us something?
Coming Soon
Director, Peyton Reed and artist Andy Park, shared key frames and suit designs for the shrinking and larger than life Ant-Man and Wasp characters. Peyton, discussed the nuances of the suit design to showcase the actor’s emotions and the continued evolution of the suits from the original film to the sequel. The movie Ant-Man and Wasp is set to release in July of 2018.
Artist, Andy Park also revealed some initial suit designs for the female led superhero movie, Captain Marvel –which will star Brie Larson as Carol Danvers. As you may have heard, Marvel Studios recently announced that the film will be helmed by directors, Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck.
Classic Costumes
In the lobby of Marvel Studio is a display of the superhero who started it all – Iron Man. There along the wall, encased in a chamber are three Iron Man suits. Sleek, strong and realistic, each one took us back to some truly marvelous Iron Man movie memories. Across from the Tony Stark masterpieces, were a few pieces from Star-Lord and Gamora’s closets. The galaxy must be chilly because they both have a thing for long leather jackets. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 opens on May 5 and we can’t wait to see the costumes for the guardians, both new and old.
Character Development
Thor: Ragnarok director, Taika Waititi and producer Victoria Alonso opened their doors to the Visual FX studio and we got a sneak peek at the creative process involved in developing a couple of CGI characters. Most notably, Korg, the member of the Kronan race who fights alongside the Hulk during “Planet Hulk” comic book series. Waititi and Alfonso shared that a lot of attention to detail goes into the development of this character to make him relatable and likeable, but watch out, as Taika mentioned, “He is a slugger!”
Touring Marvel Studios was truly a treat we wish we could bottle up and share with everyone. Seeing the inspiration, costumes and behind the scenes footage reminds us of why we love seeing Marvel movies on the big screen.