Star Warsis the latest.
Ant-Man,though, has highlighted a problem in the Marvel world.
Marvel, on the verge of making a passion project film with a very individual director, blinked.
It drew attention to the fact that it has some form for this.
Now, directors and studios disagree and fall out all the time.
Notwithstanding the current Ant-Man saga, its still in incredibly good health.
A third Wolverine film, with Hugh Jackman and director James Mangold returning, is already confirmed.
Gambit is getting a film to himself, with Channing Tatum taking the role.
And it seems as though that long-mooted Deadpool feature, starring Ryan Reynolds, may be quietly gathering momentum.
Simon Kinberg and Mark Millar have both been appointed to consulting roles to oversee all of this.
Theres plenty of room acrossFantastic Fourand particularX-Mento keep Fox filling this particular movie universe for some time to come.
It just needs to check that it builds on the momentum its finally found.
Plenty still hinges on theFantastic Fourreboot, due in cinemas next year.
Fox will want strength in depth where itsX-Menfilms are concerned.
Perhaps the biggest concern is the faster turnaround between movies.
The two year gap works in some distances, but not in others.
Can the studio build in sufficient breathing room to correct things between films if it needs to?
Without that, it risks repeating mistakes that many before it have made.
Furthermore, rebootingFantastic Fourmakes sense, and Josh Trank, on paper, is a fine choice.
Theres still a long way to go, but Fox has made significant strides in the last few years.
It most certainly rebooted the Superman character on the big screen, grossing just over $650m.
As such, its done two things.
Firstly, its gambled hard on Zack Snyder in the same way it gambled hard on Christopher Nolan.
Even if hes a divisive choice.
The second thing is its basically throwing everything at its next two DC universe movies.
The all or nothing approach that Warner Bros has taken is perhaps the biggest cloud on the horizon.
If the gamble works, it will make up the many years of head start that Marvel has enjoyed.
Furthermore, theres the Snyder factor.
Theres genuine hostility from those who dont likeMan Of Steel,and thats not a small number of people.
That said, it sold lots of tickets, and earned Superman lots of fans as well.
To hand one man the keys to DCs two biggest characters, however, is a massive risk.
And, in truth, how many would have chosen Zack Snyder as the man to reboot Batman?
Its a tough challenge he faces.
But you cant accuse him, or Warner Bros, of shirking it.
Man Of Steel,on paper, was a successful reboot too, although far from a perfect one.
But it worked a lot better than Warner Bros expensive attempt to getGreen Lanternmoving.
Whats more, Sony has ambitious plans, and has been recruiting successful filmmakers to help fuel them.
But all isnt going to plan.
Its not that theres no interest in the Marc Webb/Andrew Garfield reboot.
Its just that theres less enthusiasm than there was in the Sam Raimi/Tobey Maguire run of films.
Yet look deeper into the numbers, and Sony is getting half the battle right.
Thats where Sony has its shortfall.
It needs to win back America.
Thats not happened though.
But a $700m global take is still comfortably enough to springboard a few more movies.
That Sony isnt winning over fans with what its doing.
And in particular, its not winning over American fans.
That leaves Sony with a huge headache if true.
With Garfield gone, would the studio have to reboot again?
Could it even get away with rebooting again?
Thats a huge gamble.
Stable, but with no dramatic signs of growth.
The Amazing Spider-Man 3(2016),Venom(tbc),The Sinister Six(tbc).
