While these related projects were underway, Gilbert was also in discussions with Kevin Feige of Marvel Studios regarding the future of Marvel Studios.
After the establishment of Marvel Studios, in accordance with Gilbert's plan, Marvel did not rush to release its own superhero movies. Instead, under Gilbert's guidance, they began preparing for the expansion of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's world-building. Meanwhile, Marvel Comics in New York would also coordinate by preparing to publish a series of related comic books.
"For our first movie, which superhero should we choose? What are your thoughts?" Gilbert asked Kevin Feige.
The highly popular Spider-Man was in the hands of Sony's Columbia Pictures, and the Spider-Man movie was already in production, set to release next year.
Thus, they needed to find a new superhero to serve as the foundation for their cinematic universe.
Kevin Feige had already given this a lot of thought. "I think Iron Man would be a great choice. He is suitable to carry the important role of launching the Marvel Universe."
"Iron Man, huh?" Gilbert nodded in agreement. "I think so too."
The rights to Iron Man had gone through several changes. Universal Pictures initially acquired the Iron Man film rights in 1990.
A few years later, the rights transferred to 20th Century Fox.
However, Fox never moved forward with an Iron Man movie, and after Gilbert acquired Marvel Comics, the rights returned to Marvel.
This was another reason Kevin Feige decided to develop Iron Man first. It was the perfect film to kick off the Marvel Universe.
With the success of X-Men last year and the upcoming Spider-Man movie next year, along with advancements in special effects, the once fantastical superheroes of the comics could now be brought to life on the big screen.
But now the question was—who should play Iron Man?
"I heard that 20th Century Fox once considered casting Tom Cruise as Iron Man?" Kevin Feige asked.
"There was indeed such a plan, but Tom's salary was too high, and Fox canceled the project," Gilbert replied.
He knew some inside information. Back in the mid-90s, 20th Century Fox had seriously considered making an Iron Man movie and had even reached a preliminary agreement with Tom Cruise.
However, the massive Titanic project tied up Fox's resources, leading to the Iron Man project being abandoned.
Later, when the American comic book industry faced a downturn, Fox never revisited the idea, and the rights eventually reverted to Marvel.
Kevin Feige said, "I think Tom Cruise would be a great choice for Iron Man. What do you think?"
"Him as Iron Man?" Gilbert closed his eyes, and the image that popped into his mind was Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man.
To be honest, in his mind, Iron Man was already fixed as Robert Downey Jr.'s image. The idea of suddenly replacing him—even with Tom Cruise—felt a bit unnatural.
But movies aren't about personal bias, and ultimately, the main concerns for an Iron Man film were budget and production costs.
So Gilbert said, "Tom's salary isn't cheap. I can talk to him and see if he's interested."
"I'll leave it to you then," Kevin Feige waved his hand and added, "But there's no rush. According to our timeline, we'll wait to see how Spider-Man performs first.
Based on the schedule, we'll officially launch Iron Man at the end of 2006."
"Sounds good," Gilbert nodded. "Go ahead with it. If you run into any issues, let me know anytime."
Marvel Studios' plan to make its own superhero movies wasn't exactly a secret in Hollywood—there were no real secrets in the industry. But for Warner Bros., this was a bit of a headache.
Ever since the failure of the fourth Batman movie, Warner Bros. had been looking for an opportunity to reboot DC's superhero films.
Warner had plans to shoot a Catwoman movie, with Halle Berry as the lead, and was also considering rebooting Superman.
Given his trust in Gilbert, Warner Bros. CEO Doug Walter personally visited the Melon Manor to ask Gilbert's opinion.
"My suggestion is to cancel the Catwoman and Superman projects, Alan," Gilbert said.
Doug Walter was momentarily stunned. "Cancel? Isn't that a bit…?"
Before Doug Walter could finish, Gilbert interjected, "Catwoman is at best a second- or third-tier character in DC Comics. If you cast a Black actress as Catwoman, you'll even lose the small fan base the comics have.
As for Superman, it's been too long since the last movie. Rushing into production like this—I really doubt the final quality of the film."
"So what you're saying is…?"
"What I mean is that this matter needs to be carefully planned and not rushed." Gilbert sipped his tea and said to Doug Walter, "I'm sure you've heard that Marvel is planning to create a Marvel Universe and is working on its blueprint."
"I've heard," Doug Walter nodded. "The entire plan was proposed by you, and Marvel is actively preparing for it."
"Yes," Gilbert continued. "When Marvel was reorganized, I said that making movies isn't like grabbing food when you're hungry. You need patience. You can't be too hasty, or unexpected problems will arise.
I believe the same applies to DC. I suggest that DC scrap all current film projects and start over with a new plan instead of blindly pushing forward."
As for the specific approach, Gilbert didn't have a complete plan yet.
Marvel had a successful example from his past life, but DC had never really pulled it off.
To be honest, this had a lot to do with Warner Bros.' management style. Their interference often led to DC films failing to meet expectations. The more they underperformed, the more the management interfered, creating a vicious cycle.
Doug Walter listened and nodded. Gilbert made a lot of sense. "Alright, I'll submit your suggestions to the board for discussion and decision-making."
Gilbert wasn't exactly an outsider anymore. The acquisition was nearly complete, and soon, he would officially become a member of Warner Bros.' board.
Before leaving, Doug Walter asked, "By the way, when do you plan to push forward with the Batman movie?"
They had already discussed this before. At the time, Gilbert mentioned that he planned to create a separate trilogy, independent of the main Batman films.
After thinking for a moment, Gilbert said, "Soon. The post-production for The Return of the King is almost finished. I plan to work on a small project this year and shoot a pirate-themed movie next year.
After that, I'll start working on the Batman film."
Doug Walter nodded solemnly. "Warner will fully support it..."
The post-production of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was nearly complete. After The Two Towers achieved great success, Gilbert didn't take his usual vacation but quickly dove into finishing The Return of the King.
The film was scheduled for release next summer. Once its post-production was done, Gilbert would have nearly a year of free time.
For a workaholic like him, such a long break was unbearable. He couldn't just sit around fishing all day.
So after finishing The Return of the King, Gilbert planned to rest for a while and then focus on a small production.
This small project was quite simple—it was a teen romance movie. But unlike some amateur directors who made films full of clichés like abortions, cheating, car accidents, and amnesia, that wasn't his style.
What Gilbert wanted to shoot was Flipped, a film adapted from a novel. He was more drawn to the coming-of-age elements in the story than the romance.
In his past life, this film received high praise on Chinese social media and was considered one of the best teen romance films. However, its reception in English-speaking markets was lower, and it took years for people to appreciate it.
Moreover, it had flopped at the box office, grossing only around four million dollars—a complete disaster.
But for Gilbert, the box office wasn't a major concern. A low-budget film like this could be made for under ten million dollars.
With his personal influence, he could easily push it to earn $70–80 million in North America and $200 million worldwide. For a teen romance film, that would already be a remarkable success.
Of course, he would still need to see how things unfolded.
As for the casting, the original actors from his past life were probably still kids, so Gilbert had already spoken with Scarlett, who would play the female lead.
She was a little older than the character, but that wasn't a problem. Moving the story from middle school to high school would still work.
Plus, Scarlett wasn't very tall. With the right camera angles, the difference between 17 and 14 years old wouldn't be too noticeable—she would just appear a bit more mature.
The tricky part was casting the male lead. He needed to be a young, good-looking guy.
Scarlett had several films coming out that year: An American Rhapsody in June, Ghost World in July, and The Man Who Wasn't There later on.
Although Gilbert had insisted she focus on her studies and not take on too many roles, these films would keep her in the public eye.
At that time, among underage Hollywood actresses, Scarlett was one of the most well-known, alongside Emma Watson.
Scarlett was highly popular and had a dedicated fan base. Even Gilbert's own fans, because of their special connection, treated her like a princess.
With Gilbert backing her, she was practically Hollywood royalty.
Fortunately, Scarlett had a great personality, likely influenced by Gilbert, and didn't have any bad habits. If she had a diva attitude like Gwyneth Paltrow, a lot of people would have headaches dealing with her.
One weekend morning, Gilbert drove Scarlett to her school's summer camp.
"Scarlett, is that basketball player from your school still bothering you?" Gilbert asked.
Scarlett rolled her eyes. "Thanks to that giant bodyguard of yours, he doesn't dare anymore."
"That's good," Gilbert nodded, then teased, "But I think he's not too bad. He plays basketball—who knows, maybe he'll make it to the NBA?"
"Yeah, right," Scarlett scoffed. "I don't think he's as good as the guys you always talk about—'Backpack Du' and 'Ajin.' He relies too much on his physique, and he's not even that strong."
That was true. Scarlett's school was a private institution, historically known as a "noble school." Academic performance aside, sports weren't exactly its strength—except for golf.
Whether it was football or basketball, careful observation would show that the best players often came from middle-class or lower-income backgrounds, or even from rough neighborhoods.
Of course, that wasn't an absolute rule. In the Lakers' dominant duo, Shaq came from a stable middle-class family.
The point was that wealthy kids with athletic talent had plenty of career options, so they didn't necessarily pursue sports.
But for kids from struggling backgrounds, discovering their athletic potential was often their only way to change their fate.
In North America, education alone rarely led to success—unless you became a doctor or lawyer.
Gilbert laughed heartily at Scarlett's words.
"Backpack Du" had skills that weren't easy to learn. And if someone lacked Ajin's physicality, they'd barely make it as a role player in the NBA—maybe even just a benchwarmer.
Gilbert then turned serious. "After summer camp, around October, you'll start filming. Study the script carefully. If you don't perform well, I might replace you as the lead actress."
Scarlett clung to his arm and whined, "I know, I know! Don't worry, I'll study the script."
With her backpack on, Scarlett got out of the car and joined her classmates. Once she was with them, Gilbert drove away.
Back at his Melon studio, Gilbert wrapped up the post-production of The Return of the King. With that, all work on The Lord of the Rings trilogy was complete, except for marketing.
Since 1998, Gilbert had poured countless hours into this project, but it had all been worth it.
Next year's release of The Return of the King would undoubtedly be another massive success.
As for The Hobbit, Gilbert planned to put it on hold for a few years—or maybe let another director handle it.
Aside from that, Gilbert started making moves against the people on the island.
Through his father's connections, he got in touch with them and made a call. Once again, they eagerly invited him to visit.
"We can send a boat to pick you up."
"I get seasick…"
"Uh… we can send a helicopter?"
"I get airsick…"
"…" They were speechless. "Then what do you want?"
"We can meet, but on my terms," Gilbert said with a smirk. "I have an office in the Twin Towers in New York. I love the view from up there. We can meet there."
They seemed to deliberate for a while before responding, "Alright…"
With that settled, Gilbert's next step was to meet them multiple times under the pretense of negotiations—letting them lower their guard.
Then, on a certain day, he would take them all out in one move.
Yes, this was technically premeditated murder. But Gilbert didn't care.
After all, these people were pure evil. He was simply delivering divine justice.
....
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