March 9.
The proposal to create a cinematic universe that would unite thousands of actors and bring new legends to life—new stars behind the project—was bold. The issue is this: many people have talent, and in the eyes of a few, many roles seem easily replaceable. For instance, characters like the Wasp, Ant-Man, low-level villains, Hawkeye, and Maria Hill—they could all be portrayed by talented newcors with just a minimum of good looks, and it wouldn’t matter, because as long as we maintain a strong cast of talent, the film will hold up. Even Bruce Banner can be recast. The sa applies to the X-n—they could be reimagined with different kinds of actors. Sure, so roles are phenonal with certain actors, like Michael Fassbender as Magneto, but characters like Beast or Mystique could be given to actors eager to break through.
-No more low-quality series. From now on, every character will undergo a rigorous developnt process. We need to use our ti to align various scripts. I’ll use the connection between different films, so with darker tones, to breathe life into the universe. And when the actors age, we’ll shift to animation, - said Billy.
-How many characters are you planning to use? - asked Avi Arad.
-All of them. We’ll use everyone—and we’re going to wage a true cinematic war, - Billy replied.
-Spider-Man, X-n, Captain Arica, Thor, Nick Fury, the Fantastic Four, the Inhumans, Namor, Moon Knight, Hawkeye, Blade, Doctor Strange, Vision, Black Widow, Ms. Marvel, Luke Cage, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Punisher, Captain Marvel, Daredevil, Hulk, Black Panther—and all of their villains, - Billy declared, his vision driven more by ambition, blending the animated universe into certain series, while using live-action for others. The idea was to create sothing entirely new.
-That’s very ambitious, - Avi Arad comnted.
-That’s exactly why we need to be ambitious. We’re talking about twenty years—twenty years that will start to unfold across our universes. And we’ll even continue into the ones yet to co, - Billy responded. He could make four traditional Spider-Man films, then four more, aging the character slightly to join the Avengers, while using the multiverse to bring various Spider-n to life. In so films, he’d include two or three villains; in others, he’d use the ti to develop the villains with complex stories—Green Goblin, Doctor Doom, Kingpin, Red Skull—giving those villains their arcs.
-What do you need from us then, dear boy? - asked Stan Lee, observing the bold plan. The investnt would be astronomical, especially with all the locations involved.
-Keep making comics. I’ll hire so writers to assist, but I want you to focus on the villains we already have. Bring them to life. I want each of them to have a cruel, gothic look. I want a real world, one where heroes suffer fighting these villains. We’ll launch an adult comics division. I don’t care how long it takes—I want quality comics, solid stories, and strong design. Each issue should be at least 40 pages, with linear storylines spanning a minimum of three volus, - Billy said.
-You want those to be the rules? - asked Zuma.
-Yep. The minimum rules. If soone wants to go longer, they can. Each project will have a two-month window, with regular updates. For now, there are fifteen teams of five to six people each, not counting letterers and colorists. Stan Lee will receive the reports from the most advanced teams, and Isaac Perlmutter from the others, - Billy explained.
-It’ll be tough, but doable. We’re already producing nearly one volu a month. If you give us two months, the quality could improve, - said Stan Lee.
-There’s no deadline. As long as the story progresses and it’s good, I can wait six months. What matters to is quality over quantity. We’ll hire more teams. Everyone will be paid the daily minimum wage of New York, with overti calculated strictly by office work, not from ho. They’ll also have health insurance, paid vacations, and each team will earn a 10% cut of the sales, increasing to 30% after the breakeven point—about 100,000 copies sold, - Billy added.
Stan Lee’s eyes lit up. That was a lot of money. No one had ever received 30% unless they were working independently. These would be the golden children of comics.
-We’ll publish an announcent... Mr. Carson wants to hire at least 100 more workers, - said Zuma, sending out the job flyers. The ad was dazzling—black-and-white with Marvel motifs—and boasted impressive benefits: $5 per hour, social security, dicare, unemploynt insurance, workers’ comp, dental and family insurance, paid vacations, maternity leave, life insurance, and a cut of the comic sales.
Billy was paying a total of six million a year for these benefits, slowly climbing to seven million—and sotis even more due to unforeseen issues.
-It’s a very good contract, - Stan Lee comnted. Isaac Perlmutter whistled beside him. He had an expensive cavity, but with dical insurance, everything changed. It was amazing how a good boss fixed everything.
-Can you sustain this cost? - Isaac Perlmutter asked.
-I can. It’s not as expensive as it should be. But yes, profits will take a hit... Gentlen, I don’t expect to make money off Marvel—I want to make it great. Marvel represents Arica. And now, it’s my company, - said Billy.
It was a silky way of aligning himself with the employees and gaining the favor of writers, screenwriters, and artists. With their support, he could avoid future disputes when revenue surged past ten billion, continuing with rchandising. The work contracts had a clear transfer of rights clause, along with agreents and other terms. He was recruiting countless talented people who had been struggling at other studios.
-Then that’s what we’ll do, kid,- said Joe Quesada, who had remained silent for a long ti but respected the positive changes being proposed.
-I’m glad you’re with . I’ll make arrangents to create a massive list of scripts, which I’ll polish with so of you when the ti cos... I’d also like to bring back those who left the studio during the Ronald Perelman era, - Billy added.
-I have the lists, - Zuma replied, watching how the mood shifted from anxious to calm. All the employees, within five hours, seed happier. It was the classic matter of knowing how to win them over. Billy didn’t yet know the exact value of 100,000 copies sold, or how it would impact things, but he knew he needed to get his desk organized to asure the company’s trajectory.
Billy understood that, over ti, technology would beco a sales disruptor, and no one would hit the sales ceiling without a true masterpiece.
-We’ll start with the oldest characters and move toward the younger ones, without skipping their backstories, - Billy said, refreshing his ntal plan: to begin with Captain Marvel, Captain Arica, X-n, Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Black Widow, Black Panther, Ant-Man, Hulk... among others. By 2005, he aid to have at least six origin stories, along with others like Daredevil, Punisher, and Spider-Man.
…
Avi Arad sent a ssage to his Fox contacts about everything brewing in Marvel’s hallways. It was more intense than he expected. The kid was trying to bring sothing to life that felt nearly out of control. He liked it. Even though they’d been fully acquired by the kid, it didn’t matter—he’d already made a lot of money and could still invest in the films as he wished. Everyone was paying close attention.
-It’s a massive project—trying in many ways to make the impossible possible, - said Avi Arad.
-Is that good or bad? - asked Lauren Shuler Donner.
Goodd. But it’s so ambitious that we might need to talk to Fox again. A co-financing deal might exceed the estimates we originally planned for production, - Avi replied, already understanding the domino effect that ca from involving a second party in sothing beyond the rulebook.
-I can handle that. If this is the guy, his progress with Star Wars has been phenonal. There’s a lot of buzz about that new rise of the franchise. The top execs will love that soone with his vision is joining the project, - said Lauren Shuler Donner.
-I’ll set up a eting with Tom DeSanto. He’ll probably get involved in this new idea. Billy wants to transform Marvel, and he won’t stop now. DC must be trembling in its boots when they realize the scale of this ambition, - said Avi Arad.
-Then let’s talk again when everything’s more solid, - Lauren replied.
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