A little while ago it was reported that Marvel Studios might be testing the water by making low(er)-budget films about some of their less well-known characters, with Doctor Strange, Luke Cage and Iron Fist being among the speculated names.

But this weekend at the Kapow! Comic Convention Marvel’s Chief Creative Officer Joe Quesada threw the likelihood of these films into doubt: “We’re still a very small studio and our business right now is making tentpole movies,” he said. “I was asked earlier in the day if I have any favourite characters I’d like to see in a movie and I have tons, but they don’t fit into our business plan right now. Our business plan is not to make small budget movies, our business plan is to make tentpole movies.”

In the same panel, though, he also said “We have a big meeting coming up in a couple of weeks to discuss the movie slate. We have several movies in the works right now that I think you’ll be really pleasantly surprised to hear about.” Ultimates writer Mark Millar went on to ask him “Do any of them rhyme with Ant-Man?” but Quesada refused to reply. He did, however, confirm that Marvel Studios have got back the rights to The Punisher.

Edgar Wright’s recent cryptic texts certainly imply that his Ant-Man movie is still go, and Mark Ruffalo’s contract suggests that another Hulk movie will be on Marvel’s list of films to make. But when asked about female leads for movies, Quesada remarked that he had trouble thinking of female characters and actresses who could carry a solo movie, even though a Ms/Captain Marvel movie had a script in place. It seems he’s forgotten that Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow was pretty damn bad ass in The Avengers…

What ‘surprising’ tentpole movie would you like to see from Marvel Studios? Do you think Punisher deserves another shot? Or would you rather see a low budget Heroes for Hire movie?

Share your thoughts in the Comments section or on Twitter @Starburst_Mag