At this point, yes, it’s almost pointless to ask, “Will XYZ tentpole movie go 3D?” because frankly that’s just a must-have consideration going forward these days.
In an LATimes interview with Marvel head Kevin Feige, the studio chief admits that like “Clash of The Titans” and “Alice In Wonderland,” the studio was considering 3D-upping “Iron Man 2,” but given the already down-to-the-wire post-production schedule — Jon Favreau and co. were reshooting and redoing jokes and lines right up until the end — there was simply not enough time to fit in the extra weeks to add the extra layer of fake 3D.
“We couldn’t have turned over a version of the movie 10 or 20 weeks earlier for 3-D conversion without undermining the quality,” he said. “We used all the time we had for mixing and editing and discovering the right tone.”
Ok, but what does that mean for say, Kenneth Branagh’s “Thor” that is shooting now (and evidently not in 3D) and or “Captain America” that shoots this summer in Europe? Or hell, even “The Avengers” film which Robert Downey Jr. recently said might shoot in the spring of 2011?
The LA Times speculates because “Thor” is shooting now, “Captain America” could be the first real 3D test case, but Feige doesn’t admit to anything concrete, though he hints that some of the upcoming Marvel films could undergo this process (duh). Whether that’s shooting in 3D or just using the after-the-fact layer of 3D is unknown though (as they could slap it on “Thor” and there should be way less acting, storytelling improv from Branagh). “The team has been doing a lot of research into 3-D processes, and we’re looking at it on future films when we have the time,” he said. “We will be doing it at some point.”
So yeah, new fad tool that creates extra millions for studios being considered by studio president? Shocker, we know. Still, as much as “Iron Man 2,” was overstuffed, we’re glad they didn’t try and delay it ever so slightly for the 3D make-over.