Fluff is pretty open. If you want to put in different castes of vampire based on pure bloods and turned vampires (like in Blade) or based on generations removed from the first vampire (like in Vampire the Masquerade) or based on the favor of evil powers (like Castlevania). Whatever vampire paradigm you like best can rule the fluff of your fiction and/or army.
It's not the gender swap that bothers me. I like action movies with female protagonists. But when I think female action star, I don't think Natalie Portman. When Thor 1 came out, Natalie Portman actually admitted publicly that she was cast as Thor's love interest to make Chris Hemsworth look bigger by comparison. That is the second worst miscasted role in a comic book movie ever. I pray the first place winner is never unseated. Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor. Seriously? Then the director was like "I want you to giggle like Mickey Mouse, good, that will sell your villain credentials to old comic book fans and new fans alike!" Maybe there is a shallow reason too. In general I find athletic women with muscle tone more attractive than petite women. Anyway, unless the three or four amateur movie critics I respect tell me "Thor 4 is the surprisingly amazing!" I'm not watching it. Also, rumor is Natalie Portman didn't leave the Marvel Cinematic Universe on good terms, so Disney probably spent extra $ to get her back. It's not a crime to hire a no-name actress.
I agree. I am not bothered by female Thor, Marvel had it in the comics at least twice (at some point in the 1970s IIRC and 2014 or so). I generally think that gender swaps can add a different perspective to a character, so yeah why not. Natalie Portman though... meh. Why not someone who looks like a warrior? Frankie Adams (Bobbie Draper in The Expanse) or someone of the Lucy Lawless or Brigitte Nielsen types. I get why they used Natalie Portman, it is close to the comic story in which Jane Foster becomes Thor, and Portman was Jane in the last few movies. Still... to me she doesn't fit well. We will see whether she surprises us all.
What should hopefully add another dimension is that in the recent comics with Jane Foster as Thor, there is the added twist that she has cancer, and every time she transforms into Thor, it accelerates it. Assuming that they keep that in the film, it could make things all the more interesting and add some more depth to the character, and while it doesn’t bother me as much it would mean Natalie Portman’s smaller figure would make more sense
Limitations are often what makes super hero stories more interesting (that's why I find Superman so boring for example) so I think you might have a point there, if they choose to make the movie somewhat similar to the comics.
In an era known for disappointing reboots, remakes, sequels, and prequels the one relaunch that stays true to the spirit of the original source material while taking the stories into new and exciting directions consistently is Ducktales. I cannot wait to see the conclusion of season 2. I must find out why Liouie is a cat! Also the more Darkwing Duck is in this, the better. When Disney gets their streaming service, whether or not I join will largely depend on if they include all the 1989s and 2017 Ducktales. If I cannot have nostalgia for my after school cartoons, Disney cannot have my money, no matter how many repackaged Star Wars or Marvel shows they throw in to sweeten the deal. I really hope Darkwing Duck gets his own separate spinoff show. It seems likely. Among other things, as of the last released episode "The Duck Knight Returns" Darkwing Duck has reemerged at the same time Scrooge now has an objectively better pilot than Launchpad. So Launchpad can go off with DW to become his sidekick in Saint Carnard while Della becomes the Duck Tales crew new pilot.
I always liked his stories back in the day. And man, that show was chock full of comic book homages (both DC and Marvel).
I have honestly enjoyed every Marvel movie since the release of Ironman. It doesn't bother me that the movie franchise doesn't adhere to comic book cannon. Even the comic books decannonize parts of their own narratives. When I want to relive the comic books I simply reread them. The movies are an entirely separate universe. Sure, it draws from the comics, but they are different beast. Thor has always been my fav Marvel hero. And I am rather looking forward to Thor IV and the Black Widow movie. Who cares if there are progressive themes underpinning the movies. Marvel has always been on the more progressive side of the discussion since their beginning. Just read any comics from the Vietnam War era.... or any X-Men for that mater.
Yep, pretty much. Stan Lee said so himself, and not just once or twice. Many Marvel comics were made to challenge the views of the readers about political topics. Half of the heroes exist for that very purpose, and they are not very subtle about it (Black Panther being a good example). If there is any franchise where I am not bothered at all by (exaggerated, like in the comics) political messages then it is Marvel.