In the digital age of all things media, the pertinence of the physical medium has almost gone the way of the dinosaur. With Netflix, Hulu, and all the online streaming services out there, the market no longer has a use for the home video release. DVD and Blu-Ray sales are at an all-time low, which in turn is hurting the chances of more ancillary content. And such may be the case for the fan-favorite One-Shots. Cinemablend spoke to Eric Pearson, writer of Marvel Studios’ first three One-Shots, who shared some information regarding the shorts.
I think probably the drop in Blu-ray sales has hurt the One-Shots program — though I’ve heard whispers of it starting up again. I can’t confirm that at all, but I’ve definitely heard whispers of it. And I have a whole folder full of other One-Shots that I just came up with. And I was like, ‘Oh, this will be a fun eight to 12 pages!’
Despite it being an inevitability brought by the current state of the industry, it makes sense that the One-Shots were canned due to low sales. They probably are a bit pricey to make in the first place, with some of the name actors starring in them. Pearson also elaborated on how the One-Shots came to be in the first place, revealing that the original plan was to air the shorts in front of their theatrical release, in the vein of Pixar.
When they first brought it to me I think their initial idea was to try and set up something like Pixar, where you could do a short film at the beginning with a lesser character, to kind of have fun, expand the universe, and test out the audience’s appetite for one of these more obscure characters. So that would obviously be very expensive, especially when things were so 3D-heavy at the time. So the test process was going to be, ‘Well, we’ll do some shorts for Blu-ray content.’ And that’s kind of how it started.
This is a pretty interesting revelation. Fans for the longest time, have clamored for the One-Shots to follow the Pixar route. A fun short primer to prepare the audience for the world they’re about to dive into. With constant talk of the One-Shots returning and how low Blu-Ray sales no longer make the One-Shots viable for home release, it’s about time they start attaching them in front of the film. Captain America: The Winter Soldier could have been a more complete experience if they premiered Agent Carter before it. Who wouldn’t want to watch a silly short before Avengers: Infinity War?
Who’s game to start a petition to premiere One-Shots in front of the films?
Source: Cinemablend
