What’s next after The Avengers?

– by Ryan Ingram

If the world-wide box office projections and near-unanimous critical early praise are to be trusted, it seems like Marvel Entertainment has assembled a huge hit with The Avengers.

It’s been a long time coming, but half a dozen Samuel L. Jackson post-credit appearances later, they’ve finally executed what seemed like an impossible nerd dream five years ago. Not only did Marvel get a Thor movie made, but they also wrangled their big guns into a single massive blockbuster.

But now comes the even tougher part. What’s next?

After lining up stars like Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner and crew to share the spotlight, how can Marvel possibly top that? While film executives and pundits argue about how to best execute an even bigger follow-up, I’d like to take a moment to humbly propose a smaller-scale movie that could still keep The Avengers ‘brand’ going:

A Great Lakes Avengers film.

Sure, the Great Lakes Avengers are the laughing stock of the entire Marvel Universe. Even Hawkeye – a guy whose sole thing is being good with a bow and arrow – takes pity on these guys. But I think by assembling an oddball mix of indie darlings, eccentrics and cult character actors in the roles of Wisconsin’s finest, Marvel could have its next big hit. (Okay, not really, but I’d go see it twice, if it was cast accordingly.)

Crispin Glover as Mister Impossible

Not only would the ex-George McFly be a lock for the lead role of Mister Impossible – the leader of the team, who gets resurrected no matter how horribly he dies – but the eccentric actor-director could also direct this thing. His experimental, surrealist art-house flicks, like What Is it? and It Is Fine. Everything Is Fine!, might just have been the perfect training exercise to tackle Great Lakes’ squad of outcasts and misfits.

Paz de la Huerta as Dinah Soar

You know what the single craziest thing about getting Paz de la Huerta (Enter the Void, Boardwalk Empire) to play an anthropomorphic pink pterodactyl would be? That there isn’t a single crazy thing about it.

Kevin Corrigan as Flatman

The supporting character actor (Buffalo ’66, Henry Fool) would add the perfect depth to the literally two-dimensional character of Flatman. Plus, it’s a fact that anything featuring Corrigan is gold.

Donald Glover as Doorman

In a perfect world, there’d be a Spider-Man movie coming out this summer with Glover in the lead. But since that’s not the case, why not offer the cast-member of cult show Community the 37th next best thing!

Lena Dunham as Squirrel Girl

The Tiny Furniture writer-director-actor’s jump to HBO for Girls sort of mirrors Squirrel Girl’s own recent jump from the Z-list to the Avengers Mansion, where she’s currently acting as a babysitter. Dunham in the role of fan-favorite Squirrel Girl could probably simultaneously polarize fanboys and cultural critics alike, possibly even destroying the Internet forever.

‘Nuff said?