Weekend Q&A - April 20, 2019

2:55 Spencer Toycen

Hey there, Sean! In 2012, The Avengers blew up and ignited a love I had for Marvel that had been dormant for a while. That film was the start of something new and I think everyone knew that. That same year I started listening to you and Paul on Modern Myth Media. For me, it’s no coincidence these both happened on the same year. This journey, for me anyway, started with you guys and your discussions/speculation. You guys became just as routine as waiting for the after credits scene. So I ask, what’s been your favorite part of the journey so far? And has it hit you yet? Because I’m stressing over Endgame. Thanks and have an amazing weekend!

11:07 Hector Giovanni Navarrete
Hey Sean don't really have a specific question this week. Just wanted to wish you a great AE viewing experience! It has been a long journey, and I hope you enjoy it! Who, if anyone, do you hope to bump into from the MCU? Also, what feelings do you have now that you are so close to watching the end of the Infinity Saga? Lastly, to celebrate this momentous occasion have you decided on a celebratory meal before/after the movie? Lol. Thanks Sean!

16:15 Tom DeMichele
Hey Sean! Since this is the last Q&A before you see Avengers: Endgame, I figured it would be appropriate to ask this question. What would you say is the overall theme or message of the Marvel Cinematic Universe thus far? The individual films masterfully inspect a variety of specific themes, but if you had to boil the whole franchise down to one central idea, what would it be? As a culmination film, how do you think Endgame will embody this theme? Thanks as always for all the content throughout this journey, and have a great weekend!

20:08 Alex
What's your thoughts on the final Dark Phoenix trailer?  Does it move the needle for you  or it does it not  change your anticipation  level one way or another since as you've  said before the movie is a lame duck?  

20:57 Robert Klauser
What’s up Sean? I know it’s probably a forgone conclusion, but I hope you have a great time watching Endgame. Will you be able to post a non spoiler review or your thoughts on twitter or the Discord right after seeing the movie?

22:14 Alex
The early tracking for Dark Phoenix isn't looking very good. According to the Box Office Pro the movie is tracking to make a opening weekend debut between 45-55 million which will mark the lowest opening weekend for the franchise ever.   In fact its even expected to open second after Secret Life Of Pets   which have a opening weekend of between  70-90 million. If this does come to pass would this be  the first main X-movie to not open at number 1 at the domestic box office?  Would Disney see that as a disappointment and regret not shelving the film?

25:46 Alex
Sean, do you  know anyone in your circle of friends or in your family that's even remotely pumped  for Dark Phoenix?

26:09 Alex
Would 2019 be known as the year of endings in relation to long-running blockbuster franchises:  The Fox X-Men franchise is set to conclude its  20 year history with Dark Phoenix being the last installment in the Fox-era   and the MCU is set to conclude an era that started with 2008 with Endgame being the finale to over eleven years of storytelling and last but not least Rise Of Skywalker has been said to be the finale of sorts to over 42 years of Star Wars wrapping up the Skywalker saga.   Do you think its a bit coincidental that all these are coming out the same year? Granted in the case of Dark Phoenix it was never really made to be an ending from the start since it was written and shot before the Fox-Disney deal was  thing but I do find it a bit  funny that all these movies are coming out in the same year.

27:51 Paul Shearman
Hey Sean and everyone, hope everyone is doing well and is spoiler free!! I haven’t really got a question this week, but I couldn’t let the last Q&A pass before we see Endgame without acknowledging that we are now so close to the end of a journey that began 11 years and 21 movies ago.  Actually, it does beg a question: is your excitement for the movie more reflective of the journey we’ve had coming to an end, or is it just flat out excitement for this film only, now that we’re a week away (at time of posting) from the ending of this era of the MCU?
Thanks as always for your time, and for all patrons, I hope you enjoy the final last part of the countdown, and #dontspoiltheendgame

29:40 Alex Ward
Do you think that in Endgame, the surviving Avengers, especially Tony, will acknowledge the fact that Dr. Strange gave Thanos the time stone? Do you think they are frustrated or even angry that he did that, or do you think they have assumed he had a good reason? 

31:38 Woo S! Kim
I was talking about this with someone on April 18th could you see The Starjammers in a Guardians of The Galaxy film before an X-Men film, perhaps see Christopher Summers for those who don’t know  Cyclops father?  Related to this do you think The Starjammers could be rivals to The Ravagers that True Believers saw in the mid credit scene of “Guardians of The Galaxy Volume 2?”  Or even whatever version of The Guardians of The Galaxy that will be post “Avengers: Endgame.”

33:15 Alex Ward
I'm not sure if Tim Callahan is on discord but this message can apply to everyone: There's an app called "RunPee" that tells you good times to take a quick break. It can be mildly spoilery but it kinda has to be. The app is a little quirky but it works.

Speaking of the movie theater experience, just for fun, what snacks are you planning on having during Endgame, and at what point in the 3-hour movie are you planning to start/stop drinking your drink?

35:07 Alex
Do you think Star Wars alumni Oscar Isaac and Daisy Ridley would make a good Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman respectively? And do you think John Boyega would make a good Thing  or do you think race-swapping  a ethinically Jewish character is not a good idea?

38:06 David Rosen

Hey Sean and Fellow Patrons, I’ve been sitting on an idea for a few days that occurred to me while listening to your conversation with Paul about Rocket and Nebula being in the End Game. As far as all the Earth-based heroes are concerned (especially Rocket), they don’t know about Gamora dying in order for Thanos to get the soul stone. However, once they get back to earth, and Nebula tells Rocket about what happened to Gamora, I started thinking whether those two might set some conditions in exchange for their help. After all, we did hear in one of the latest TV spots about there being one last promise to fulfill. 

Do you think that promise could be that in exchange for Rocket and Nebula’s help finding Thanos and undoing the snap, the Avengers have to also help them try to bring back Gamora, since undoing the snap itself wouldn’t do that. I wonder if this could this be the impetus for them going into the quantum realm since saving Gamora would likely have to occur somewhere in the past (unless it’s through the soul stone, like you’ve been talking about). If a bunch of crazy stuff needs to happen in order to undo the snap, I feel like some even more crazy stuff needs to happen to bring back Gamora. The more I think about this, the more I’m starting to think that bringing her back could be a major plot point in this movie. After all, if the snap is undone, then Gamora’s death really would be for nothing. What are your thoughts?

43:36 Alex Ward

So I've been a Patreon donor since around the time the Road to Infinity War episodes were coming out, and I can't express how much I owe you, Paul, Marvel Studios News, and this whole community have contributed to rebuilding my Marvel fandom and getting me stoked beyond belief for Captain Marvel and now Endgame. And to be totally honest, last spring was also a really hard time for me personally and having all this content really help me focus on something more positive and fun (well, the snap wasn't fun, but you know what I mean). So I have to ask, what has been your favorite Patreon community moment leading up to Endgame? Maybe a question, discussion, or some type of other interaction. I think mine has just been when we started gradually referring to each other's questions each week, and how that eventually evolved, Jarvis-to-Vision style, into a full fledged Discord community. Anyway, thanks for all that you have done for us, and I hope you have an amazing time seeing the movie!

49:07 David Rosen

Considering some of the MCU deaths we've had so far, what would you say is the right vs. wrong way to handle a character death? In thinking about some of the more impactful character deaths we've had so far, such as Yondu and Gamora, vs a death like Quicksilver that honestly I don't think really impacted that many people, does it more or less come down to how much time we spend with a certain character before they die for it to matter, or is there more to it than that? What are some character deaths that feel were handled particularly well/not so well, either in the MCU or in the comic book movie genre in general?

55:33 Kerry Vanderberg

Hi Sean, only one week to go! Now that we have Disney+ coming out with it’s content lineup, plus all the other streaming platforms. Not too long ago Samsung announced that they will not be manufacturing blu-ray players anymore. So it seems like physical media is dying perhaps sooner than later (which saddens me, because I actually like owning the physical copies of my media, even if they remain on a shelf when it actually comes to me sitting down to watch anything). Even though I’m fine with the “streaming age” we are entering into, and I enjoy the accessibility of everything, I also know I love my physical blu-ray collection, and I love going to the theatre. So I have two major questions for you: 1) What are your feelings on the “death” of physical media? 2) What do you think is likely to happen with the theatre going experience in the coming years, and does that make you excited, sad, or indifferent?

1:08:09 Kerry Vanderberg

While I liked both Deadpool movies and Shazam, I think I’ve discovered why I don’t love those movies as much as so many others do. Compared to the MCU, Fox’s X-Men films, Nolan’s Batman trilogy, or most of the DCEU so far, Deadpool 1 and 2 and Shazam are very self-referencial of the superhero genre. They are having fun with the ideas of being a superhero and all the tropes and concepts that go with it, sometimes completely making fun of it. Whereas the characters in the MCU, Nolan’s Batman trilogy, etc. all take the idea of being a superhero much more seriously, and treat it at face value within their own world. GOTG or Thor Ragnorok while being very funny, are not making a point of making jokes about being in the world of superheroes (saying things like, “Oh, you’re like the bad guy, right?”). While there is nothing wrong with films like DP 1, 2, and Shazam being self-referential because it fits those characters, I’ve realized that it’s not my personal cup of tea. I’m not trying to be critical of those films for doing that. But I also know that the last thing I want is for characters like Cap, Batman, Superman, or Iron Man to break the fourth wall or talk about how exciting it is to be a superhero, or anything like that. Not that I expect that to start happening, but do you think that the responses to the Deadpool films and Shazam tell us that is what the audience wants? I can always count on the MCU for balance, but I worry that WB will take the wrong lessons from the success of the Deadpool films and Shazam, and start assuming that the general audiences want that from superheroes. What do you think about the self-referencial superhero and that affect within the genre?

1:13:29 Kerry Vanderberg

So I’ve been back and forth on this idea recently. I am super excited for Endgame. But I am debating on jumping off the hype train afterwards, so to speak. I’ll still go see most if not all of the Marvel films. But since the story that we’ve had since Iron Man will essentially be over, there’s a part of me that thinks I won’t connect as well with the main characters going forward. I liked Captain Marvel well enough, but it didn’t quite hook me like Cap or Iron Man did. I’ll certainly give the movies like Shang Chi and the Eternals a chance, and I’ll look forward to movies like Black Widow, Black Panther 2 or GOTG 3. But I may not have the bandwidth to really follow the hype and buildup to each MCU movie anymore after Endgame. Then again, announcements at this year’s SDCC, or whenever the MCU X-men films are announced may change that. But what are your thoughts on this? I hope you are doing well and have an amazing weekend, along with the rest of the patrons.

1:21:18 Giuseppe Vicaretti

Hello Sean, my question for you this time is which Xmen character is your favorite? Mine is Nightcrawler.

1:24:14 Alex Ward

In honor of Endgame being arguably the most secretive, guarded marketing campaign of all time, do you think Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is taking a similar approach, as they too are ending an epic saga of films? Or has the first trailer already shown too much?

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