There was a time, before 2008, when movie stars could command top dollar, pick their own movies, shift the culture and demand excellence.
They were the Julia Roberts, Denzel Washingtons, and George Clooneys of the world.
Yet, the movie star died in 2008 when Iron Man was released, thereby beginning the MCU, followed closely by the DCEU.
Since then, over the past 12 years, movie stars have been replaced by movie universes, the individual power of a single creative force replaced by the collective talent in a multi-film experience.
Now, no actor is greater than Marvel, DC or Star Wars. Everyone in Hollywood appears to be trying to jump start their careers or keep themselves relevant by latching onto one of the fictional comic book universes or with a 40 year old sci-fi cultural phenomenon.
This current generation of film fans is unaware of movie stars. They have no Jane Fonda or Robert Redford, Audrey Hepburn or Cary Grant. They have worlds, not people. Epic battles replete with heroes and villains, not the subtle, individual struggles between survival and success.
Some who helped shape the expanded universes may rise to the level of movie star. Tom Holland. Robert Downey, Jr. or Scarlett Johansson. But, to be honest, Downey, Jr. and Johansson were accomplished actors before they dressed up in silly costumes.
It’s hard to tell if any of them will rise to the level where they could dictate who would write, direct and co-star with them. Right now, it doesn’t look that way.
Comic books have changed Hollywood, perhaps forever. Franchises have become more valuable than star power, ensembles more bankable than a single personality.
Who would have thought that a film about a spoiled rich brat making a suit to fly around in was going to shift the power structure within Hollywood in such a dramatic and lasting way?
What do you think?
Can you think of anyone whose made a name for themselves since 2008 that has a chance to become like a movie star of old?