No matter the box office firepower of Fantastic Four, Marvel Studios will continue to exploit its roster of 5,000 characters in coming years. Expect a spotlight on heroes less familiar to mainstream audiences than Spider-Man or the X-Men, though sequels to both are on the way, as is a Wolverine spin-off.
Next summer brings Ghost Rider, with Nicolas Cage playing a biker who morphs into a flaming-skulled demon of vengeance, and Mark Steven Johnson, director of the Marvel-based Daredevil, behind the camera. Also in the works are projects featuring Iron Man, Captain America, the Black Widow, and Nick Fury. ''I think a great deal of the public doesn't realize the full richness of this universe yet,'' says X-Men screenwriter David Hayter, who's returning to the comic world with Marvel's Iron Man — ''a handsome, flawed, alcoholic billionaire with a suit that's basically a fighter jet? That seems like a pretty good movie.'' Maybe, but you kind of lost us at the fighter jet suit.
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