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Rumor: Marvel Studios Back To Work Developing 'Power Pack'

L

LordOfLore

Banned
Link.

Back in 2005 when Marvel Studios was born, they used 10 of their film properties as collateral in a mega-deal with Merrill Lynch. Among them were Captain America, the Avengers, Hawkeye, Cloak and Dagger and Power Pack. That deal, though risky at the time, has paid massive dividends for Marvel who has turned some of those properties (and even some lesser known ones like Guardians of the Galaxy) into a series of connected films unlike anything before them. With the risk of losing their properties in the rear-view mirror and Avengers 4 representing the culmination of years of work, Marvel Studios has turned to developing the projects that will anchor their future and it seems they may have settled on one of the properties from the original deal to be among them!

According to a source, Marvel Studios has revisited bringing Power Pack to the screen as a feature film within the last year. To be clear, we’re not telling you to expect Power Pack on August 7, 2020 or that it has even been given the green light, but that the studio HAS reinvested some effort in the developing the property. Part of those efforts has been giving Jonathan Schwartz executive oversight on the film and that’s a move that we can’t help but be a little excited about. Schwartz has been working at Marvel Studios since 2009 when he worked closely alongside Kevin Feige during the production of Iron Man 2. He continued work as Feige’s assistant during the productions of Captain America: The First Avenger and Thor before joining James Gunn’s crew as a co-producer on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 and an executive producer on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. It’s his work with Gunn that excites us the most. We know Gunn has the keys to the kingdom when it comes to the future of Marvel’s Cosmic films so it’s possible that he and Schwartz could collaborate on how to best bring the Power family to the big screen!

We’re told the studio is looking to develop the film as a “Spy Kids-like story” that follows the Power family. If you’re unfamiliar with the property, it tells the story of Jack, Julie, Katie and Alex Power, four siblings who are granted incredible abilities by a dying Kymellian (an alien race) named Aelfyre Whitemane. Kymellians may be somewhat familiar to readers of any number of Inhumans comics as they have appeared in them as well, but if you’ve never heard of them just imagine a humanoid horse. The kids meet Whitemane (or Whitey, as they call him) when he comes to Earth to stop their father, Dr. James Power, a physicist who has discovered a way to convert antimatter into energy, from accidentally destroying the Earth with his experiment. Whitey is followed to Earth by the evil, power stealing Snarks and is mortally wounded by them in battle. Before dying, Whitey gives each of the children access to a power that would help them stop the Snarks from stealing the antimatter equation and access to his interstellar ship, “Friday.” While the children originally possess one ability each (Alex can manipulate gravity, Julie can fly at incredible speeds, Jack can manipulate the mass of an object and change its density and Katie can manipulate and use energy fields), over the years their powers have been traded back and forth during times of need.

The Power siblings foil the Snarks plans and go on to use their powers to solve problems both big and small and were seen all across the Marvel universe a couple of decades. Though they’ve been absent from much of the mainstream titles lately, they are about to appear in a one-shot and their original enemies, the reptilian Snarks, recently reappeared in the pages of the current Inhumans spin-off series, Royals. The reemergence of both parties does add a little fuel to the fire and give us hope that Marvel Studios is preparing to once again roll the dice on a lesser known property. Given the alien nature of their powers, we can only hope that James Gunn would be a part of the creative process as this film could continue to expand Marvel’s cosmos! With Marvel Studios continuing to hold their post-Avengers 4 plans so close to the vest, it may be some time before we get any official word on this or any other future films, but with 2 unclaimed release dates in 2020 (Vol.3 is going to be one of those films), news should begin to break about some projects over the next year.
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They're getting a one-shot as part of Marvel's Legacy relaunch so I could see it:
power_pack_legacy_cvrvpjji.jpg
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K

Kevinroc

Member
Would have thought Disney would have claimed them for an animated film. Power Pack seems pretty perfect for that.

(Although their friend Franklin Richards won't be playing with them either way.)
 
S

Sesha

Member
I'm down for that. Though getting a Power Pack movie but no Runaways movie, even though both were in the works and then scrapped at one point, would bum me out.
 
J

jon bones

hot hot hanuman-on-man action
Sesha said:
I'm down for that. Though getting a Power Pack movie but no Runaways movie, even though both were in the works and then scrapped at one point, would bum me out.
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Runaways is being handled by The OC Season 1 dudes for Hulu, so that's already a 10/10
 
S

Sesha

Member
jon bones said:
Runaways is being handled by The OC Season 1 dudes for Hulu, so that's already a 10/10
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I know, but still, it's not a movie. There's Daredevil, Luke Cage and Iron Fist too, and I still want Daredevil, Heroes for Hire and Immortal Iron Fist movies.
 
F

Father_Brain

Banned
I'll believe this when Variety or THR reports it. The property could make a good movie, but it just seems too far removed tonally from anything else Marvel Studios has done or is doing. A

A TV adaptation would be a lot more plausible.
 
D

Deleted member 13876

Unconfirmed Member
Sesha said:
I know, but still, it's not a movie. There's Daredevil, Luke Cage and Iron Fist too, and I still want Daredevil, Heroes for Hire and Immortal Iron Fist movies.
Click to expand...

Runaways probably works much better as a series.
 
Machine

Machine

Member
The original Power Pack book was damn good until near the end of its run. It actually treated the Power kids as children with a sense of whimsy and innocence instead of just making them very short adults. It kind of sucks that nobody has figured out to do with them in the years since other than occasional cameos. I'd be on board if they could recapture the spirit of the early issues.
 
L

LucidMomentum

Member
Machine said:
The original Power Pack book was damn good until near the end of its run. It actually treated the Power kids as children with a sense of whimsy and innocence instead of just making them very short adults. It kind of sucks that nobody has figured out to do with them in the years since other than occasional cameos. I'd be on board if they could recapture the spirit of the early issues.
Click to expand...

This. Make it more like Big Hero Six and less like Thor 2 The Dark World.
 
W

wamberz1

Member
Was there a cartoon or something about these kids? I seem to vaguely recall them from something...

Edit: Nope, think I read some of their comics when I was a wee baby... Anyways, this is cool? I think. Like their costumes.
 
M

MHWilliams

Member
Can't do Fantastic Four? Do the other four-person team of Marvel heroes rooted firmly in family.

Don't believe the outlet, but as a concept, it makes a ton of sense.
 
Xyrmellon

Xyrmellon

Member
I seem to remember them switching powers and going into the sewers and kicking the Marauders asses during the Mutant Massacre.
 
C

Choppasmith

Member
I'm really surprised they haven't thought of working with Disney and make Power Pack an animated follow-up to Big Hero 6, but I'd be cool with a proper MCU movie too.
 
S

Sulik2

Member
That plot synopsis sounds incredibly dumb. They will dump all that garbage and retool it as the Fantastic Four in all but name I bet.
 
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