How Marvel Studio uses paper prototypes to validate blockbusters
Marvel Studios fail-fast approach
Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Endgame film has raised $ 2.79 billion. It passes Avatar impressive 10-year reign as box office champion. According to Forbes, with the releases of Captain Marvel and Spiderman far from home, Marvel Studios could bill more than $ 5 billion in 2019.
On the other hand, Marvel Comics, the division in charge of the publishing business, is constantly between rumors of closure due to lower sales.
If so, how is it that Disney does not shut down the imprint?
Well, because Marvel no longer publishes comics. Marvel tests paper prototypes.
A Minimum Lovable Product
In 2002 Marvel assigned Mark Millar (creator of Kickass and Kingsman’s franchises) to redesign The Avengers from scratch according to the new trends as a test for a potential movie. The project was called The Ultimates.
The writer shaped the project as a movie production prototype composing the comic strips as a storyboard. Also, he casts actors to illustrate the main characters: Johnny Depp as Iron Man, Brad Pitt as Thor, Matthew McConaughey as Antman, Lucy Liu as Wasp, Steve Buscemi as Hulk… and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury.
Readers loved the new approach. The comic was nominated by readers to multiple awards such as Wizard Fan Award Favorite Writer and Favorite Artist. It was a successful MLP (Minimum Lovable Product) and Marvel got a lot of feedback to collect in online forums and conventions.
Five years later, Marvel Studios launched the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) with Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury. Probably Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt were too expensive.
The brainstorming
Marvel also performs Crazy 8s. In 2015, after releasing the second Avengers movie and starting the third phase of its roadmap, the imprint announced the All-New, All-Different Marvel event. A bunch of series raised to shake all the main characters.
Marvel Studios knew their stars will not be playing the roles forever so they decided to explore crazy ways to regenerate the main characters of the franchise. The imprint let autors brainstAmong them, it exposes the Falcon as Captain America and Jane Foster (Thor’s girlfriend) as the Mighty Thor.
They rise a bunch of collections and they let people explore it. Marvel looked at sells, forums, and Instagram feeds such as cosplays or fanart. It was just like users putting dots into the concept ideas that they love. The imprint saved the most popular ones and they further iterate it with a new event called Marvel Legacy.
Four years later, Kevin Feige, CEO of Marvel Studios, explains Marvel phase 4 and announces the actor Anthony Mackie (Falcon) taking the testimony of Captain America and Natalie Portman (Jane Foster) as the main characters of a new Thor movie. A validated and tested way to perform a recast.
An imprint of sacrificial concepts
Back in time, the comic was defined as the cinema of the poor people, due to the narrative similarity and the difference when it comes to production costs. The risk of developing a story in a comic is much lower than in a movie.
A paper prototype accomplishes exactly this goal. It is a visualization of the main ideas of your proposal to ensure valuable user feedback. We use paper wireframes to test an interaction or storyboards to explain a service with users. Comic books are used in the same way right now.
Currently, Marvel has millions of scripts, plots, characters and designs validated by users. Millions of sacrificial concepts shaped as storyboards and iterated with customers. This is the key to succeed where other studios fail.
This is the reason why Marvel Studios needs Marvel Comics. It is their ideation lab to validate hypotheses before designing or developing the final concept solution.
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