The Avengers and Captain America - Could the Skrulls and The Invaders feature in them?

Some interesting facts have been hinted at by Kevin Feige, over on CHUD, regarding various things that may feature in their forthcoming Marvel films.

'Will the Skrulls be the villain in The Avengers?' I asked.

Feige gave me one of those looks he's good at giving and just said, 'We do own them.'

More digging turned up the fact that Marvel Studios owns the Skrull race, while Fox own the Super Skrull.

The Skrull are a shape changing alien race who have had a hard-on for Earth for quite some time. They would make a pretty great big bad for the film for a number of reasons: first of all, there's a bunch of them, so the film wouldn't have to contain just one or two fight scenes with the main threat, and each of the team members could have their own battles at their own power level. For another, they allow Marvel Studios to do something really cool - what if it's revealed that certain characters from the previous Marvel movies have been Skrulls all along? And Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch proved in the first Ultimates series that the Skrull (called the Chitauri there) make a convincingly cinematic threat.

Of course the other possibility is that The Avengers will battle Hydra. As I mentioned in this story about The Invaders possibly appearing in The First Avenger: Captain America, Feige name-dropped Hydra as being something with which Steve Rogers had to contend. Might the truth be that Steve Rogers would just meet some of the Nazi supervillains who go on to head Hydra? And with The Avengers being a SHIELD group in the movies, it might make sense to make the villain a SHIELD villain. On top of that, like the Skrull, the sheer number of Hydra agents mean the film could contain lots of battles and that each of the Avengers could get something to do during the course of the film.

Having the Skrulls in the Avengers films throws up some interesting possibilities - the Hulk may feature but turn out to be a Skrull, other characters in Iron Man, Thor etc may turn out to have been replaced by Skrulls at some point.

What do you think of the news?
HOME

Iron Man 2 won't end on a cliffhanger for the Avengers to resolve

At the moment we know that War Machine (check out the screenshot from the Iron Man 2 footage) will make a significant appearance, Black Widow could be good or evil, and Sam Rockwell will be reinventing the character of Justin Hammer. Director Jon Favreau weighed in as well at Comic-Con with his own details on the film, stating that the sequel won't leave an open-ended cliffhanger for Marvel's 2012 "Avengers" movie. We also know what heroes to expect in the Avengers film.

"We're working towards 'Avengers,' but by the same token we want to resolve this film and make ['Iron Man 2'] play on its own," Favreau told MTV News. "It's not a serial. It's a self-contained film."

Since Marvel Studios began planted movie crossover appearances in "The Incredible Hulk" and the first "Iron Man," continuity buffs have had a great deal to speculate about, given Marvel's ambitious calendar of releases, including "Thor" and "Captain America: The First Avenger." Favreau stressed that while the movies would all be working off of each other, his focus remains on making his film work on its own.

"It's not building towards a cliffhanger that's the next movie," he explained. "It's about wrapping up our story and making it a complete tale."

What about Iron Man 3? "There’s an Iron Man 3. Here’s how I know. When they make the option deals, they include Iron Man 3. So I know they’re planning on 3. Whether that would be before or after Avengers, they’ve announced that Avengers is next but they pushed back The Avengers once which I thought was encouraging."

As for whether, like many sequels, there will be too many villains in Iron Man 2 Favreau had this to say, "Well, we had to walk a fine line. I think you’re good for number two. Two seems to be the charm because you got your origin story out of the way. You can add some complexity to it and you have room, because you don’t have to tell the origin story, to introduce the characters. When you get to number three, you can get hidebound. You’re like a beached whale sometimes because you have so much, you collapse under the weight of the complexity that you’ve created. We looked at the successful sequels that we liked. I’m not talking about Two Towers or films that are chapters based on novels or Harry Potter. I’m talking about true sequels. The two that we liked the most, this was me and Kevin Feige talking, were Wrath of Kahn and Empire Strikes Back. Those were the two that we said, “They did it right. Now let’s look at what they did right.” There were so many others that didn’t feel as good as the first but for those two, what we found was that it really gave room to explore the characters and the villain plotlines were very simple but the stakes were very high. The less you get bogged down in complexity, the more you could really let the audience enjoy what they really like which are the relationships. Two years later, I know I’m a pretty savvy audience member, I don’t remember the dynamics and the subtleties of it. It’s not as precious to me as it is to the filmmakers. So it’s putting yourself in the seat of the audience and saying, “What do they want to see more but you want to go bigger.” You go from Alien to Aliens and then you want to show them the characters that they’ve invested in and how they’ve changed and change those dynamics by introducing new characters. Don’t just add to the action but throw the relationship into a little bit of a curve ball."

HOME

The Avengers - Which heroes will make the cut?

Kevin Feige,the President of Production of Marvel Studios, spoke to Collider at the San Diego Comic Con and gave a run down as to who we will be seeing in The Avengers movie.

Kevin: I think we know. It’s going to be Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Nick Fury. I think it’s safe to assume that there will be some members of the Hulk universe in the film as well. In terms of the additional, I think Black Widow for sure. SHIELD’s organization for sure. And, again, what’s exciting to me about the Avengers movie are seeing those four characters together and interact with each other. Anywhere from the first issue of the Avengers to Civil War, the dynamic between Steve Rogers and Tony Stark is awesome and fascinating. It brings out sides of the others that won’t be brought out in their own franchises. Throwing Thor into the mix is a whole other thing and I think that will be cool. So to pile in another ten or fifteen…or frankly even four…I think will be too many.

Is the Hulk in it?

Kevin: You know Zack Penn is outlining it as we speak so we’ll see.

Looks like no Wasp or Hawkeye then. What do you think of the line up?

HOME

UPDATED with Pics - Iron Man 2 - War Machine has been seen at Comic Con

Jon Favreau premiered a look at for Iron Man 2 during the San Diego Comic Con. /film had the following description and it sounds brilliant.

Tony Stark is eating a donut while laying in the hole of the huge donut on the roof of Randy’s Donuts. Samuel L Jackson as Nick Fury yells up “Sir, I’m gonna have to ask you to exit the donut!”

Cut to: Stark and Fury inside the restaurant eating and chatting. Stark asks if Fury was going to ask him to join his group again, to which Nick responds “I remember, you do everything yourself. How is that working out for you?” Stark asks Fury if he is supossed to look at his working eye or the eye patch.

Cut to: A government court hearing, where Tony is talking with Pepper Potts a few rows behind him. Senator Stern Asks Tony if he posseses a weapon, the iron man weapon. Stark says that its not a weapon, and that technically it’s a high tech prosthesis.

“Its a weapon Mr Stark!

“If your priority was to protect…”

“Well you can forget it!”

“I am Iron Man, the suit and I am one. You cant have it!”

The Senator calls Rhodey to the stand. Rhodey walks by Stark and tells him he’ll deal with it.

The Senator asks Stark what his point is and Stark responds that his point is “You’re welcome, I’m your nuclear deterrent,” … “I’ve kept the world safe, what more do you want? I tried to play ball with these ass clowns!” The Senator then says “F— You Mr. Stark!”

A montage begins with shots of newspapers and magazines with Stark on the cover. Voice over in a Russian accent “You come from a family of thieves and butchers…” Shots of Rourke putting together his whiplash suit. A bunch of random shots, including a bunch of girls dancing in front of a display with the American flag, and Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, kicking ass. Rourke arrives at the race car track in his Whiplash suit. He activates it and the wires light up with electricity as he whips them around. Stark is bloody, in his racing suit, down on the concrete. We see a close-up of Rourke laughing.

Cut to: Iron Man flying through the night air, dodging missiles which explode behind him, as he blasts towards Earth.

The Iron Man 2 logo appears on the screen, along with the music.

Then we get an extra sequence. Rhodey in a air plane hanger. Justin Hammer walks over and asks what this is about and Rhodey says it’s classified. Hammer looks down at a suit, which appears to be Stark’s old Mark II armor. “Is that what I think it is?” “What can you do for us?” Hammer shows Rhodey a bunch of different weaponry. Rhodey tells Hammer “I think i’ll take it.” “Which one?” “All of it.” Cut to: A shot of War Machine blasting off his guns.

Teaser Trailer had the pics

HOME

Iron Man 2 has finished filming

Good news for fans of old shellhead. Production on Iron Man 2’s principal photography has wrapped on Saturday, after 72 days of shooting.

Marvel Studios producer Kevin Feige issued a statement to Marvel.com:

Shooting ‘Iron Man 2′ was a fantastic experience and we couldn’t be happier. Although there were many challenges in making this film, having Jon Favreau, Robert Downey, Gwyneth Paltrow and almost the entire crew from the first film back on board, allowed us to hit the ground running as everyone was instantly familiar with each other from day one. This dynamic allowed us to get done what we needed on a day to day basis and was a big factor in why we finished slightly ahead of schedule. Scarlett Johansson, Mickey Rourke, Sam Rockwell and especially Don Cheadle all stepped right in and meshed well with our returning cast. From our experience on the first film, we learned what works and doesn’t work in terms of shooting practical versus CGI especially with the Iron Man suit. This enabled us to be much more efficient in many departments, making it a much smoother experience.” … “The next step for us is beginning the post production process which is extensive and filled with its own set of challenges. It is also a very exciting time because you get to see all the hard work from the hundreds of cast and crew members begin to come to life.

We’ve only seen a smattering of photos from the shoot so no doubt there will be many more over the next few months. I also wonder what Jon Favreau will unveil at the forthcoming Comic Con this year. Personally, I am still itching to see the War Machine armour that is meant to be in the sequel.

What are you looking forward to seeing in Iron Man 2? Do you think there will be a glimpse of the mysterious Mandarin? Maybe Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammer is working for him?

HOME

Thor - Natalie Portman to play Jane Foster

It was back in March that we learnt Natalie Portman had been cast in Kenneth Branagh's adaption of Thor.

There was speculation as to who she would play - The warrior Sif, a female version of Loki or as the human, Jane Foster.

Loki has since been cast and will be played by Tom Hiddleston, Thor by Chris Hemsworth and Odin by Brian Blessed. All of which makes it sound like some kind of Asgardian range of aftershave.

Now OntheFlix have the news that Portman will be playing Jane Foster. This character is a nurse who had a bit of a thing with Thor's human alter-ego, Dr. Donald Blake.

Having Portman as the romantic lead with Blake (if they play up that side of the tale) may mean we will see more Earth bound action than previously thought.

The plot for the film has Thor as a powerful but arrogant warrior who reignites an ancient war with his reckless actions. Thor is then cast down to Earth and forced to live among humans.However,after he arrives, he learns how to be a hero when the most dangerous villain of his former world sends the darkest forces of Asgard to invade Earth.

Could this mean that Jessica Biel may be playing Sif? What are your thoughts on the Portster playing Jane Foster? Do you want to see lots of Thor on Earth or do you want the first film to be heavy on Asgard?

Thor is due out on 20th May 2011 so still quite a while to go.

HOME

Jessica Biel may be in Thor. Clifton Collins Jr won't.

Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston and Brian Blessed are cast as Thor, Loki and Odin, but who elso will be in Kenneth Branagh's adaption of the Marvel comic?

Clifton Collins Jr. isn't. He mentioned a while back that he was meeting with the Thor people, but he didn't mention for what role. He told The Dead Bolt this week that he's no longer a part of the project.

"That was a long time ago. I wasn't really getting into it, I was just preparing stuff. It's a fantastic director, a great piece, but I have absolutely nothing to do with it."

Meanwhile Jessica Biel is now being rumored to be playing a female character and love interest to the titular hero in the project according to Nuke the Fridge.

The site's source also says the role is likely to be that of Amora The Enchantress , however it could be theAsgardian warrior Sif. Still no word on what role Natalie Portman or Josh Hartnett may be playing.

Do you want to see Biel in Thor? What character do you think she will be playing?

HOME

Iron Man 2 - Nick Fury won't be doing much and lots of Armoured villains?

Samuel L Jackson is in Iron Man 2. That's known, as is the fact he's signed up to star in all the other Marvel films. However, will he be doing much kick ass spy type stuff? MTV spoke to Jackson who said fans will likely have to wait for The Avengers for Fury to see some action.

“Not this time, not yet,” Jackson said likelihood we’ll see his character become the action hero fans know in “Iron Man 2.” “We still haven’t moved Nick Fury into the bad-ass zone. He’s still just kind of a talker.”

Asked whether fans will have to wait until the superhero team-up in “The Avengers” to see Fury get into some action scenes, Jackson simply said, “Looking forward to that, yeah.”

Along with dropping some hints about Nick Fury’s potential brawl, Jackson also told MTV News that he’s done filming on the project, adding that most of his scenes were shot with Robert Downey Jr., but there were also a few with Scarlett Johansson, too.

Cinemablend have a news story saying Robert Downey Jr went to the aid of an extra who was injured during filming. That's not the interesting part though. Apparantly this happened during a scene in which stunt men dressed as robotic villains rampage through the set.

That's the interesting bit and reminds me of the Armour Wars storyline. That is the one when Stark realises his technology has got out and tracks down all the armour that utilizes it and shuts it down. We know Whiplash (Mickey Rourke) has armour that appears to be derived from Stark Tech, could these be more?

Image by Skottie Young

HOME

Could Tyrese Gibson be in the Captain America film?

Busy promoting Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and his new comic book, Mayhem, Tyrese Gibson mentioned a few interesting things.

“The energy from Comic-Con really did something to me,” Gibson told MTV News of what prompted him to try his hand at comics. “Instead of me sitting back and waiting on ‘Luke Cage’ to finally happen — which I’m still looking forward to doing once they get the script together — and instead of me waiting on ‘Captain America,’ which they were talking about me for, I’m going to create my own. And that’s what I did.”

Now what could Tyrese be in talks about Captain America for? There was the rumour that Will Smith could be playing Steve Rogers, but nothing more has been said. Smith as the First Avenger is a bit of a stretch, but he would bring in a wide audience (I don't think it will happen though), however Gibson as Cap would never work. He's just not that big a name to pull in the punters.

There are a couple of characters that spring to mind for Tyrese.

First there is the role of Sam Wilson aka The Falcon. Sam debuted nearly three years before Luke Cage so is one of the first African American characters (Black Panther is from Africa).

The Falcon, as the name suggests, had the ability to fly via a high tech winged suits. He was also a top spy kind of character and had many an adventure with Steve Rogers.

Maybe Tyrese is in talks to play Sam, maybe not. As The First Avenger film is supposedly going to be set for the most part in World War II then it seems unlikely that The Falcon will feature in the film. However, he is a cool character and it would be great to see him on screen.

The other, more likely, option is Isaiah Bradley who featured in the Truth: Red, White & Black mini series.

Project: Rebirth began as a collaboration between US, British and German eugenicists led by Dr. "Josef Reinstein" (real name Dr. Wilfred Nagel), and Dr. Koch. When WW II began, Koch took over the German program and Josef Reinstein took over the American program. Each was attempting to recreate the super soldier serum which had previously turned Steve Rogers into Captain America a year prior to Pearl Harbor. Reinstein's early attempts to refine the formula were tested on African-Americans. Three hundred of these soldiers were taken from Camp Cathcart and subjected to potentially fatal experiments at an undisclosed location in an attempt to re-create the Super Soldier formula, as seen in Truth: Red, White & Black. Only five subjects survived the original trials. In the name of secrecy, US soldiers executed the camp's commander and hundreds of black soldiers left behind at Camp Cathcart. The government told the families of the three hundred subjects that their loved ones had died in battle.

The sole survivor of his test group, Bradley stole a spare costume intended for Captain America before he engaged in a suicide mission to destroy the Super-Soldier efforts of the Nazis at the Schwarzebitte concentration camp. There, he was also able to assassinate Koch. The mission ended when the Germans captured Bradley. Nazi interest in the American supersoldier was high; he was even brought before the Führer himself. Bradley was later rescued, only to be court-martialed and imprisoned at Leavenworth around 1943. In 1960, Bradley was pardoned by President Eisenhower and released.

This is all supposition on my part based on the few words mentioned by Tyrese. Isaiah Bradley seems the role most suited for the film.

What do you think Tyrese Gibson was talking about in relation to Captain America?

HOME

Fantastic Four rebooted - What in the name of Aunt Petunia is going on here?

Back at the start of March I posted the news that the Fantastic Four could be heading back rebooted with a new set of unstable molecular clad heroes.

The reboot was among the many projects promoted at the Licensing International Expo 2009 event held in New York earlier this month.

It sounds as if 20th Century Fox are going The Dark Knight route as they are reportedly planning an "all-new cast" and a "far darker take" on the Fantastic Four in their proposed reboot of the franchise.

Jim Hill Media, which attended the convention, said the reboot will "feature an all-new cast as well as a far darker take on this classic Marvel comic."

The original starred Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans and Michael Chiklis as adventurers transformed by cosmic radiation, and Julian McMahon as Doctor Doom. Unfortunately, the didn't do Marvel's first family much justice, although the Silver Surfer looked cool.

Now the Fantastic Four have had their share of adventures that have run the gamut of emotions. They cover all styles from Pulp to high Science-Fiction by way of family soap opera so there is plenty to choose from to make an excellent comic book film. I don't think going the darker path is the best way to go, although it would be nice to see Sue Storm in the Malice costume! Instead they should forget the origin story in the the reboot, or have it in the opening credits, and then show the FF as the celebrities they are. Then send them through adventures through time, space and the Baxter building.

It's a pity Marvel Studios don't have the rights as it would be excellent to see Reed Richards brainstorming with Robert Downey Jr's Tony Stark. Imagine if they went with the alternate Fantastic Four of the Hulk, Wolverine, Ghost Rider and Spider-Man?

What do you want to see in a new Fantastic Four film? What storyline, characters and villains? Who should be cast in the roles and who should direct?

HOME

Kenneth Branagh acted out the whole Thor film

In his latest Cup O’ Joe column, Joe Quesada spoke about his time with Thor director Kenneth Branagh and head of Marvel Studios Kevin Feige. He mentioned one specific meeting as “one of the highlights of my time here at Marvel”.

“It was performance art,” Quesada recalled. “Kevin would give us the establishment of the shot and the situation: ‘Here we are. We’re in (take your pick of location). And here’s Odin and he’s coming up to (pick a character.)’ And then Kenneth would come in and give you the color commentary. ‘Odin has an air of majesty to him’ and he’d act out the Odin part or the Thor part. So we sat there and literally got a three-hour one-man show from Kenneth Branagh. It was fantastic.”

Quesada said that the “very Shakespearean” Kenneth Branagh had a phenomenal grasp on the characters of Thor, Loki, Odin and the rest of the film’s cast.

“He’s definitely about character, which is the quintessential trait you have to have to understand the Marvel characters,” he said. “It’s not just big hammers and capes and things like that. It’s about what makes the character tick. There’s definitely a reason for Thor, a reason for him being and a very deep family relationship and story in the movie that I think is going to be very cool.”

“I think it’s going to be [a tougher sell] on the surface,” he said when asked if it was going to be harder to market the film compared to Iron Man. “[But we've] got plans already to get Thor’s name out within a younger group of kids. I think the upcoming ‘Super Hero Squad’ and ‘Avengers Animated’ shows are going to do wonders to get that across, and then we’re working on a couple of ancillary things here and there to boost the desire for kids in particular to know more about Thor and the general public as well.”

I would love to see some video of Branagh acting out the Thor film. It would be amazing to watch. I wonder if he will have a cameo in the film as Jon Favreau did (although it was a bit more than a cameo) in Iron Man.

The more I hear about the Thor film the more excited I get.

Discuss in the forum or leave a comment below.

HOME

Kevin Feige talks Avengers, Captain America and Thor

There is a great interview ove on Ugo with Marvel Films President Kevin Feige about the new films coming out over the next few years. He talks about the Hulk with the Avengers, Will Smith as a possible Captain America (which I think is a big mistake although he could fit into that universe as Isaiah Bradley that I've previously mentioned), Thor on Earth, the return of Blade and more. Here are some of the highlights.

Are you planning on putting The Hulk in The Avengers?

Feige: I think it'd be cool. I'd like to see The Hulk again. It will have been a number of years, four years since he was in a movie by that point, by 2012. So I'd like to see him in it. I'm not being coy. We're just starting the story. I was on the phone with Zak Penn this morning. He's coming in next week and he's going to work on the outline this summer, but because it's so intertwined with what we're doing before - I almost wanted to get done with production on Iron Man 2 [and] the scripts to Thor and Captain America well underway before we even started Avengers.

Is there any possibility of having SHIELD show up in a Spider-Man movie? Is that something you guys would like to do and is there a possibility of bringing these disparate properties back into the fold?

Feige: If we were talking about this four years ago and you asked if there was a chance to do an Avengers movie and a Marvel Cinematic Universe under one roof, I would've said that anything was possible, but that it's a long shot and I'm not sure. Now we're doing it. I'll kind of give you the same answer to that now. Anything is possible. Right now they're certainly different. What's at Fox is at Fox. What's at Sony is what's at Sony and what's at Marvel is what's at Marvel. When I say the MCU that's a goofy internal thing, but that's [how] we're referring to it.

You've got a lot now, but what other characters would you like to see make it onscreen?

Feige: Ant-Man. I want to make Ant-Man one of these days. I think that'll be surprising and a funny thing. I love that what Edgar [Wright] likes about it is that when he says he's doing Ant-Man people go, “Ant-Man? What the hell is that?” I think that's fun. I think Dr. Strange would kick ass. I think we've done very well at the superhero genre, if you will, this street level superhero aspect of the Marvel Universe. I think with Thor you'll see us cracking into the cosmic side of the Marvel Universe in a very good way that's never been done before in our movies and I'd love to get into that supernatural element. I think that Dr. Strange could be a good way of being the lynchpin to that universe with Werewolf By Night, with Blade again someday – that side of the Marvel Universe.

Recently it's been announced that more of the Thor story will take place on Earth. Is it a contemporary earth or Viking times?

Feige: It'll be contemporary.

How are you going to deal with the fish out of water aspect of it? Are you concerned at all about Thor dealing with the wacky modern day aspects of his life, being on a cell phone or something like that?

I am concerned about that and that's why we're not going to do that. We always think about, not in terms of “Thor,” but if you talk about fish out of water; if a character is goofy at any time he'll be goofy. If you bring in an idiot from the past he's going to come into the future and go [holding a recorder up to his face] “What is this? Hello?” That stuff is not funny and it's overdone. If Indiana Jones came to the future he's going to be cool. He's not going to be an idiot bumbling with things. There might be some fun humor out of him just getting something wrong for a minute, but he's going to play it cool and just not come off like an idiot. I think that Thor…if you look at [Jack] Kirby's Asgard, if you look at Walt Simonson's Asgard; they are technologically superior to us by far. They're not going to come and be flummoxed by much on Earth. There might be cultural differences that could be amusing or endearing, but he's not going to be talking to a lamppost for five minutes.

Is Donald Blake going to be in Thor and is he still going to be handicapped?

Feige: No.

Will Thor still be recognizable as a what we understand to be a superhero movie or is it going to be closer to fantasy?

I think it's going to be very much a Marvel superhero movie, but I think to the movie audience it's going to expand that definition more and more. Again, we've got a forty four year old guy who's going to be a superhero in a movie and he puts on an armored suit. That didn't necessarily mean superhero to people. In that same way, I think, someone who's got superpowers coming to Earth and dealing with other character from his realm will come off very much as a big ass superhero movie. But it's going to expand that definition, I hope, in a way.

QCan you talk about the casting of Chris Hemsworth and what it was ultimately about this guy after looking at all these other actors?

Feige: You couldn't take your eyes off of him. When he did his auditioned he worked for it. He put himself on tape. He put himself on tape again and then did it again and then came in and sat with Branagh and then worked again with Branagh and then ultimately did a very late in the process screen test and there was no question. It was very much like going back to 1999 when Dougray Scott got injured on Mission Impossible 2 and we had to go back to the videotapes and suddenly we saw Hugh Jackman who came in and did a screen test and it was like, “There's no question that this is our guy.” In this case it was actually even cleaner with Chris because with Hugh he was like two feet taller than the character was supposed to be which was nerve racking, but Chris is six four and looks exactly Thor.

Are you going to get a big name for “Captain” or are you looking to get another unknown?

Feige: We'll see. I do think that's something that we'll take into account, international appeal. There are only a handful of stars that mean anything here much less overseas. But I do think that will be a factor in it. As long as we have the freedom to do so at Marvel….to just cast the best actor for the part whether it's an actor who's been a great actor, but hasn't starred in marquee action movies before like Downey or somebody that came out of Australia that they've never heard of.

There's been some talk of going with a Will Smith and using the “Truth” storyline of Captain America.

Feige: I love the “Truth” storyline. I think that's very cool. I wouldn't do that as a first Captain America movie though. I think Will Smith is probably one of those handful of international stars. But I think that [arc] came about four or five hundred issues in to the “Cap” run. I don't see launching with that comic.

If one of the movies doesn't do well in this run, how will that effect The Avengers? It’s the riskiest one of the bunch because you're relying on people wanting to come and see Thor again and Cap again.

Feige: I think Avengers is going to have it's own vibe. I think Avengers will feel very much like…it'll have a different tone than the other Marvel movies. I'm not talking budget level here, but it'll have a much more massive global feel to it. Our movies aren't about saving the world. Iron Man doesn't save the world. Hulk doesn't save the world. Captain America, a little bit. But it's not about these comic bookey “I will save the world” things. The Avengers is about saving the world because there's no other reason for characters that powerful to band together. So I think the scope and the scale will feel like a much bigger thing. So whatever you had seen - whether Starscream was your favorite character or Megatron is your favorite character or Soundwave is your favorite character - you're going to see the experience of that epic thing together. I think it'll be the same thing. Clearly I hope it'll all work. I hope that people will, like they've done with the comics for years and years, argue about who their favorite is and who would win in a fight and all of that fun stuff.

For Avengers,will the threat to them come from outside the Earth?

Feige: It'll be big. It'll be something that no single hero can handle.

Discuss in the forum or leave a comment below.

HOME

UPDATED: Deadpool to kick Captain America in the nuts according to Ryan Reynolds

Ryan Reynolds has been chatting about the Deadpool film that is spinning off from X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

They are still looking for a finished script, but Reynolds says he is involved. However, it looks as if the tone for the film could be just right going by what Reynolds had to say.

Look, I'm into any role in which I get to kick Captain America in the nuts,...Yeah, it's in the works. That's about all I can really say. They're actively hashing [it] out. I'm meeting with them all the time. We're in constant contact, and it's just a matter of breaking the spine of the story and figuring out what it is and who's the villain.

UPDATE: Here's a little more from the interview:

REYNOLDS: We're just trying to get it right. There's so many variables to play. It's tough because when you have a character like Deadpool, to the greatest extent of your power, you want to bring as much authenticity to that character as possible. And by "authenticity," I don't mean that you'd want to make him somebody that you'd have a Starbucks coffee with, I mean that you want to make him as close to the comics as possible. And there's nothing that I wouldn't do to make sure that ends up on film, but sometimes things are out of your control, things that you can't change. But I'm really happy, in these early talks, that the studio is as obsessed with making it as close to the comic book source material as possible. And that's all I really needed to hear. Cuz I will husk-f*@k a herd of cattle to bring Wade Wilson to life as the real deal.

Will there be any real effort to make it fit within the continuity of Wolverine? Or will you just allow it to be its own thing? (This clip shows how Deadpool ended up in the alternate ending of X-Men Origins: Wolverine).

REYNOLDS: Without saying too much, I can't imagine that there's gonna be any tie-in to the Wolverine movie at all.

You've said previously, the Deadpool we glimpse in Wolverine isn't necessarily the character you'd want to play. You've spoken about doing the more self-aware –

REYNOLDS: Absolutely! That's the reason to do it…There's nothing else like that in movies, or comic books, for that matter. I would like to make him self-aware; I'd like to have a bit of a pop-culture air going on throughout the film. I mean, the greatest villain in a Deadpool comic is Deadpool. There's a lot you can do there, but you've gotta ask, "Who's the boss? Who's the guy he's going up against?" But it's breaking the fourth wall; it's including all those things in a way that works, but it's not nearly as hard as it sounds. It can really be done. And people tend to overlook the greatest resource we have, which is the comic book. If it can be done in the comic, it can be done on film in a way that's just as much fun to watch for people who know nothing about the character than for people who are obsessed with the character.

Not to belabor the point, but Deadpool is really the character where, if you're casting Deadpool, you're a smart choice for that. It works with much of what you've done already – the comedy, the drama.

REYNOLDS: Yeah, all those things. And I have ideas for it that I think are right in tune with the tone of that character. I'm dying to see them on film. Literally, dying. So many of the outlets that follow this character are curious what the elements will be, afraid that you won't be disfigured, that you won't wear the mask, and I laugh because there's no way to do this without having the scarring, having the mask, having it all. And it can be done. It's a no-brainer in that sense. You gotta have the character of Deadpool. You don't want to just invent something new and call it Deadpool.

Wouldn't it be great if they could tie Deadpool into the intermingling world of Iron Man, Hulk, Thor and the Avengers over at Marvel Studios. Unfortunately as it is being made by Fox this may not happen. What characters to do you want to see in the Deadpool film?

Source: Filmstalker

Discuss in the forum or leave a comment below.

HOME

Thor to be gritty and dirty says the scriptwriter

CineFOOLS have a great interview with Ashley Miller. He is the screen writer for Kenneth Branagh's adaption of Thor for Marvel.

Reading it does make me feel even happier about the project. Here are some of the main bits from it.

Are you a fan of Thor?

AM-Would you like me to pull my Simonson run out of its bags and boards? Zack had to take me down with an elephant tranq to stop me from throwing in a scene between Thor and a frog.

Is there any Thor storylines you are inspired by?

AM-So many things. Certainly, Walt Simonson's take on the character greatly informs what we brought to the script although I wouldn't say we went to a specific story from his tenure on the book. We saw part of our job as taking all the many approaches to the character over the years (including the myths) and distilling them down into a form that worked for a two-hour movie. There's a tremendous amount of ground to cover, so inspiration has to come from everywhere.

As a writer what would you like to bring to the characters in the Thor Saga?

AM-Grit. Not in the sense that you'd want to see a generic "dark" take on Thor, but in the sense that you want to feel Thor's rage when he rages. You want to see him fight like hell, and take as much he dishes out -- maybe more. You want to have a visceral reaction to the guy, and what happens to him. You don't want his adventures to be clean and antiseptic. You want to see the dirt, and grime and blood. You want to feel every bone crunching moment of every fight. And when he unleashes the storm, you want to feel like you're seeing the power of a GOD at work.

The best example I can give you is the end of Ultimates 2. When Thor shows up and kicks ass, he shows up and kicks ass. He isn't screwing around. There's a certain brutal, cock-eyed realism to Thor in that moment (and through that book in general) that I really resonate to and want to expand on.

As most people will want to see Asgard does it feature prominently in the script or will it mostly be in our world?

AM-Marvel's official description gives you a pretty good idea of what the divide looks like.

With all the Marvel films converging do you have to write with a bigger story in mind? Will you be involved with any other Marvel comic/film writers? E.g J Michael Stratzynski?

AM-We definitely wrote with the bigger story in mind, or at least the bigger universe. Our script is very firmly rooted in the Marvel film world. We were constantly looking for ways to connect Thor to the other movies and heroes, even if they were simply in passing. Part of grounding Thor in the world is grounding him in the specific, fictional world he inhabits. How many of those references and connections make it to the final product are beyond our control, but they are everywhere.

I'll also tell you the nicest thing about working for Marvel, as a fan. You never have to defend the character to the people who own him. You never have to explain to them why Thor is cool, or what he can do. They are as likely as you are to come up with some awesome bit of obscure continuity and pitch it as a story or character element. It's a very writer friendly place.

It is great to see that a fan of Thor is writing the screenplay. I also like the sound of the fights in that we will see the dirt, grime and blood. If they can make it like that then it should be amazing. Can Chris Hemsworth as Thor pull this off?

How do you feel about the Thor film? How can they tie it into the Iron Man film and other Marvel films? What look do you want Thor to have - classic Marvel or the Ultimate version?

Discuss in the forum or leave a comment below.

HOME

Clifton Collins Jr may be in Thor

It looks as if J J Abrams Star Trek may have another link to Kenneth Branagh's Thor film after Chris Hemsworth was cast as Thor.

Clifton Collins Jr., who as the Romulan miner Ayel helped to kill Hemsworth’s character, George Kirk, appears to now be vying for a part alongside Hemsworth in the upcoming Marvel Studios film according to MTV.

“Studying my ass off for ‘Thor,’ gonna be a late night, well worth the loss of sleep!” Collins wrote Wednesday on Twitter. “Brewing big pot of joe, hitting ‘Thor’ hard this mornin!”

He also said that he would be heading into an audition for the part later that day, but didn’t specify which part he would be trying out for.

The question is what character would he be auditioning for? Possibily Fandral or Hogun from The Warriors Three. My feeling is that it will be for the part of Hogun based on the recent casting call announcement.

Official Casting Call for Hogun

[HOGUN]Male. ASIAN / SOUTH EAST ASIAN / MONGOLIAN / EAST INDIAN. Late 20s to mid 30s. Grim, stoic, fearless. A man of few words who lives for battle...SUPPORTING.

Clifton Collins Jr is one of those actors who always does top quality work. He was great in The Last Castle. Do you think Collins Jr would work as Hogun (he's the one on the right in the picture below)? If not Hogun who else could be play? Do you think Beta Ray Bill will be in the film?
Discuss in the forum or leave a comment below.

HOME

Tom Hiddleston cast as Loki in Branagh's Thor

I almost had this right. On the 4th May I mentioned how Tom Hiddleston, the co-star in Kenneth Branagh's Wallander series, could possibly be Thor.

This turned out to be incorrect when it was announced yesterday that Chris Hemsworth (George Kirk in Star Trek) had been cast as Thor in Kenneth Branagh’s big screen adaptation of Marvel’s Thor and the Summer 2012 superhero team-up film The Avengers.

However, Nikki Finke are now saying that Tom will be playing the evil Loki, the God of Mischief.

I was half right. Hiddleston is in the film, but playing the big bad. As I mentioned when Hemsworth was announced, I like the fact they are not using big names for this film. To the mainstream audience, Marvel's Thor is a bit of an unknown quanitity and you want the characters to prove their worth rather than be overshadowed by the actor playing them.

Also Hiddleston does have a look of Loki about him in some photos.

Robert Downey Jr worked so well as Tony Stark in Iron Man because Stark is a huge larger than life playboy kind of character.

It does make me wonder whether Josh Hartnett will still be in the film as he had previously been rumoured to play Loki, as had Natalie Portman. Maybe Hartnett will be playing another Asgardian - one of the Warriors Three?

Discuss in the forum

HOME

Captain Kirk's Dad is Thor

Chris Hemsworth, who played George Kirk in the opening of J J Abrams Star Trek has been cast as Thor in Kenneth Branagh’s big screen adaptation of Marvel’s comic. That means he will also be playing the Thunder God in the Summer 2012 film The Avengers.

Nikki Finke reports that Marvel and Branagh made the final decision earlier today after reviewing Hemsworth’s test footage. Chris is currently in production on the Joss Whedon-written Drew Goddard-directed horror film The Cabin in the Woods. The Australian actor (who used to star in Home and Away) was also just cast as the lead role in MGM’s Red Dawn remake last week.

Written by Mark Protosevich, Thor has been described as being “like a superhero origin story, but not one about a human gaining super powers, but of a god realizing his true potential. It’s the story of an Old Testament god who becomes a New Testament god”.

Marvel has announced a release date of 17th June 2011 for the film.

I thought Hemsworth was great in the Trek movie, so I'm happy with the casting. The other plus is that he is not a huge name or familiar face yet so it will be easier to buy into him as Thor.

How do you feel about the casting?

Discuss in the forum

HOME

Johannson and Jackson have begun filming on Iron Man 2

Today, according to MTV , Jon Favreau has provided fans with two bits of information about filming on Iron Man 2 — the first of which involves the film’s new female lead.

“Scarlett’s first day on set in the Black Widow outfit,” the director wrote today on Twitter. “You’ve never heard a crew get so quiet so fast.”

Scarlett Johansson’s involvement in the movie as Natasha Romanoff has already been well publicized — but the character was originally referred to as Tony Stark’s assistant, leading some to wonder if we’d even see her action-packed persona. Yet Favreau’s comments confirm what everyone has hoped to hear: Johansson will definitely appear as a fully costumed version of the Black Widow.

In addition to verifying the arrival of an in-costume Black Widow, Favreau also confirmed that Samuel L. Jackson was filming his role as Nick Fury on the “Iron Man 2″ set. The secrecy surrounding the S.H.I.E.L.D. director’s cameo in the first film is clearly out the window, as Favreau not only revealed the character’s involvement — he spilled the beans on who he’s filming with.

“Now shooting first scene with Tony Stark and Nick Fury,” declared Favreau.

Great news indeed. Also as the Tweets were sent within a few hours of each other it could be assumed that the three actors may also have a scene or two together. I can't wait to see some photos of Jackson and Scarlett on set.

Leave a comment on this post below.

HOME

Which Marvel Mutant do you want to see next in their own film?

HOME

Could Thor be an acting buddy of Kenneth Branagh's?

Kenneth Branagh has been speaking to IGN about the Thor movie’s development. Filming will begin in January of next year.

The gap in time between now and January means that Branagh can work on his TV series “Wallander,” based on the Henning Mankell series of novels about an existentialist police inspector. Branagh plays the titular Wallander alongside Tom Hiddleston, an actor who may or may not be donning the winged helmet for Marvel’s “Thor.”

“Tom Hiddleston is a great actor and he, amongst a number of others, has been part of the group we’ve spoken to and all that’s still a work in progress,” Branagh said of his “Wallander” co-star’s chances of playing Thor.

Other contenders to play the Norse God of Thunder have been Alexander Skarsgård, Charlie Hunnam, Kevin McKidd and Josh Hartnett. However, Josh was mooted to be playing Loki (but that could possibly be being played by Natalie Portman).

I've not seen Wallender so not sure what Hiddleston is like and whether he would be good as Thor. He doesn't seem physically big enough to play him, but I could see him as Dr Blake, Thor's alter ego. Personally, I'd like to see McKidd play Thor as he just has the right look.

What do you feel about the possibility of Hiddleston playing Thor? If not him who would you want to see?

Leave a comment on this post below.

HOME