Always wanted to write a superhero movie? Already a Hollywood screenwriter? Well, this could be your lucky day: Marvel Studios are setting up a group of screenwriters to work on their massive library of characters, with a view to bringing more and more of those heroes and villains to the screen.
The idea is that Marvel will bring five writers per year in to work on creative ways to launch their lesser-known characters like Dr Strange, Black Panther, Iron Fist, Cable, Nighthawk and Vision. Marvel will be coming up with specific titles it wants the writers to tackle, and perhaps even plot-points (to allow further overlapping of the sort we're already seeing between films like Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk).
This is a similar scheme to Disney's Fellowship programme, running since 1990 to come up with film and TV ideas, and is designed to keep the ideas flowing. It's a further sign of Marvel's commitment to get their vast array of characters onto the big screen, and keep them there. For more on the future of the superhero movie, incidentally, you might want to check out the new issue of Empire, on shelves now, for a more in-depth discussion of the question.