Anghus Houvouras with five Marvel movies that Guardians of the Galaxy proves could work….

Guardians of the Galaxy is the first Marvel film based on relatively unknown characters. The misfit crew of the Milano like Star-Lord, Rocket, and Groot has shown that audiences are willing to embrace the fun and crazy side of the Marvel Universe. So I started thinking about other crazy Marvel characters that could mimic the success of Guardians. With a little imagination and some blank checks from Disney, perhaps we could see some of these characters brought to the silver screen. If Guardians of the Galaxy works, why not these?

1. Legion of Monsters

Marvel has their own team of super-freaks featuring Morbius the Vampire, Werewolf by Night, Man-Thing, Frankenstein’s Monster and a number of other monstrous heroes. With Doctor Strange on the docket for Phase 3, would it be too much of a stretch for Marvel to explore the magic side of their universe and give us a movie featuring their comic book creatures? A Legion of Monsters movie could have a lot of potential.

2. Great Lakes Avengers

There are Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, then there are the Great Lakes Avengers. A group of lovable losers with marginally interesting powers and abilities. There’s a little bit of ‘Mystery Men’ in the concept, but the idea of third and fourth tier super heroes joining together to fight crime has a lot of comedic potential. If Guardians has taught us anything, it’s that fun and humor can work even when an entire world is at stake.

3. Thunderbolts

The original concept of super-villians posing as heroes to win over the public is interesting, but I’m envisioning a Thunderbolts movie that takes on the later concept of recruiting villains from the deepest cells of the Raft to do S.H.I.E.L.D.’s dirty work. A Suicide Squad-style roster of dangerous killers and mentally unstable villains led by one of Marvel’s heroes is a movie I could get behind.

4. Inhumans

Rumor has it that this one is already on the development slate. Since they licensed away their entire mutant stable to 20th Century Fox, Marvel wants to explore the world of the Inhumans. With connections to both the terrestrial and extraterrestrial Marvel Universe, the Inhumans could be a bridge between both sides of their cinematic world. Plus, the large roster of characters includes a wide spectrum of characters with interesting stories and varied personalities.

5. Damage Control

“When the superhuman community throws down in a neighborhood, the damages can be astronomical. However, the Manhattan based engineering and construction company, Damage Control, are here to clean up the mess and rebuild the property to the way it was”

Damage Control is one of Marvel’s most unusual premises and has a lot of potential. To me, it feels like a TV show. A show that could have that Office/Parks and Rec documentary feel with the characters of the Marvel Universe showing up in the background laying waste to major cities. The comedy potential for this is epic.

So there you go: five new projects that could inject a little more fun into the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

What do you think?

Anghus Houvouras is a North Carolina based writer and filmmaker. His latest work, the novel My Career Suicide Note, is available from Amazon. Follow him on Twitter.