At an age when most would be sailing peacefully into the twilight, Stan Lee just can’t stop pacting and creating, as his Pow! Entertainment has just signeda multiyear, first-look deal with Disney Studios:
“Stan has so many fantastic new ideas for films, and we can’t wait to get started,” said Oren Aviv, president of production at Walt Disney Studios. “Stan Lee is a living legend in the world of pop culture, and his characters and stories have been the inspiration for some of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters. We’re very excited to be working with him and his talented team in creating some incredible new motion picture experiences.”
A major component of the agreement is home entertainment, as Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment president Bob Chapek was instrumental in bringing the deal to Disney. Chapek will work closely with Lee on many of his projects.
“(We) feel very fortunate to be collaborating with him on a wide range of new projects for all divisions of our company,” Chapek said. “His track record is impressive by any measure, and (the home entertainment unit) is sure to benefit from his creations.”
85-year-old Stan and Pow’s recent ventures include the direct-to-DVD movies Mosaic and The Condor, as well as the cartoon Striperella.
What a complete waste of time and money. As much as I admire Stan Lee, he hasn’t produced a single servicable idea since 1970. Remember the “Just Imagine” debacle? Or Ravage 2099? Or that ridiculous series of web-comics he lent his name to at the height of the dot-com boom?
If you’re looking for news to get really excited about, Transformers producer Tom DeSanto has optioned a movie based on the City of Heroes RPG.
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117966386.html?categoryid=1009&cs=1
Oh come one. Ravage 2099 was awesome. He had a gun AND shurikens. I thought he was one of the better concepts to come out of the 2099 universe.
I think Disney would’ve still passed on “Striperella”.
But I’ve heard some nice reviews about his most recent direct-to-video releases. And his stuff has a tone which might do well with the House of Mouse. Remember, Disney’s responsible for shows like “Kim Possible” and “Gargoyles”. I hope we see some cool new stuff from this venture!
Bulent,
I don’t think you are the intended audience for these products. If you actually remember Ravage 2009, and not only remember it but are still upset about it, you’re probably not who they are going after.
And what I’ve seen of Mosiac and Condor has been quite enjoyable.
Don’t discount the man who built Marvel as we know it.
And I liked those Just Imagine things. The Batman one was sort of weak, but the others were entertaining.
There are two sacred cows in the comics blogsphere. Stan Lee and Watchmen. Though The Beat is fairly adult and thoughtful, had you said the same thing on Newsarama, things would have gotten icky.
-Michael
Good job this isn’t Newsarama then, eh?
Ravage was a binman superhero, motivated by extreme environmental concerns.
And then he was “Can’t touch anything without gloves in case I blow it up”-Man.
And THEN he was Wolverine.
And THEN he was King Hulk Wolverine.
And THEN he was King Hulk Wolverine IN CARBONITE.
IN SPACE.
I would have been happy with that first version.
//\Oo/\\
Here’s betting the first announced project is Mickey, Donald, the Goof, Minnie and Daisy as a superhero team.
Lea:
“Here’s betting the first announced project is Mickey, Donald, the Goof, Minnie and Daisy as a superhero team.”
You know… I wouldn’t hate that.
At least something would be done with those characters.
And its not like Stan Lee is going to Loonatic-ize them.
Oh, so? Darkwing Duck aside, Mickey, Minnie, and Donald have all had superhero adventures! Michael T. Gilbert wrote a story where the Mouses drank an elixer and turned rubbery! Donald, a noted fan of comics, dons the guise of Super Trooper every so often (and those stories come from Europe!) And while they do not have powers, Uncle Scrooge and his nephews have adventures similar to Challengers Of The Unknown! (Lost civilizations, treasure, science gone bad)
In Stan’s “auto-ography” (or whatever name he coined for “Excelsior!”) he says a couple of times how much he wanted Marvel to grow into a company like Disney. So this seems kind of fitting.
@ Mike R.
It seems more like an admission of failure. Having failed to turn Marvel into another Disney, he’s thrown in the towel and signed up with the competition.