The Disney/Marvel marriage is still a strange and unknowable creation. There’s been a lot of talk of what might come of it, and what it means for both brands, but we haven’t seen anything yet. Many are dubious it could ever be good.
But one thing that seemed destined to born from this union was a Marvel/Pixar movie. The world of Marvel is pretty vast, and it feels like there are properties just waiting to be adapted by Pixar. Ant-Man. Doctor Strange. I could even see the Pet Avengers or the Power Pack turning to magic in their hands. (But I am a sucker for Lockjaw.)
But IGN talked to John Lasseter yesterday, and the Pixar chief squashed any hope of a collaboration: “No, not at Pixar. We have The Incredibles, so we’ve done superheroes here ourselves and so we have that kind of history with Brad Bird doing The Incredibles.”
Bummer. I can see their point. They managed to create an original superhero team and succeed. No one has done that in film or television. (Yes, Kick-Ass did all right, but not on a level of The Incredibles.) Adapting a Marvel story might feel like backtracking. But since Marvel Studios has shown themselves willing to expand and bend that cinematic universe, it seems like Pixar could take a character or two and really, really run with them. Given their troubling turn towards sequels of late, how can working with Marvel be any more of a creative retread?
But this is the answer now. Who knows what could happen in a few years? I know the Disney and Pixar forecast looms far, but decisions shift, and people trade jobs. I could see this changing. But for now, expect Ant-Man and Doctor Strange to be made the old-fashioned way.