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Posted by Ben Huber on Jul 27, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
After all this time, it looks like Marvel may have finally found their Doctor Strange. But I don’t think anyone was expecting an actor like Joaquin Phoenix to be the name that would eventually rise to the top. In fact, he wasn’t mentioned at all during the entire rumor phase. Someone of Phoenix’s caliber would be a welcome addition to the Marvel stable, and I imagine they’re hoping his skill and star-power would help open up the magical universe of Marvel. While he hasn’t accepted the offer, he is in talks, and there have been several sightings of Phoenix picking up Doctor Strange comic books. I think it could be a surprising but great fit! Read more…
Tags: Doctor Strange, Marvel
Posted by Bob Muir on Jul 16, 2014 in Comic Books 
Due to story events, Thor is no longer worthy to wield Mjolnir, so a new character is taking over the mantle and wielding the mighty hammer in the comics. But for the first time, that character will be female. It’s easy for sexists to complain about this, but I think there are other reasons this is a poor decision. Let me try to unpack why Marvel’s good intentions aren’t necessarily right. Read more…
Tags: Marvel, thor
Posted by Bob Muir on Jul 1, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
It’s not just Star Wars Episode VII that motion-capture performer Andy Serkis is appearing in. Just as his company The Imaginarium is helping out that film, it’s also working on The Avengers: Age of Ultron. Serkis is specifically working with Mark Ruffalo, who needs mocap to actually become the Hulk. Supposedly, newer techniques will offer Ruffalo “ownership” of the character, though I was certainly satisfied with his performance in The Avengers. But Serkis isn’t just a consultant: he’ll also be appearing in the film in some capacity. Though he does not specify whether he is performing a mocap character or acting with his own appearance, Serkis doesn’t draw a distinction. It’s still interesting to speculate who he could be! Read more…
Tags: Andy Serkis, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Marvel
Posted by Ben Huber on Jun 22, 2014 in Cinema 
Looks like Doctor Strange is rolling right along! Jon Spaihts (who wrote the first draft of Prometheus before a certain someone came along and changed it a fair bit) has been tapped to script the film. Originally Thomas Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer had been lined up to script the affair, but Spaihts is one the way to fast-track this one and get it made pronto. Hopefully he can bang out a solid script for Marvel! Oh yeah, and in Doctor Strange casting news, Jared Leto is also apparently being eyed for the lead role as well. Who will eventually get it? No idea, at this point. Read more…
Tags: Doctor Strange, Marvel
Posted by Bob Muir on Jun 18, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
What more is there to say about Guardians of the Galaxy at this point? Until the film releases on August 1, we’re stuck rewatching trailers and gleaning any additional bit of information from interviews. Thankfully, those trailers are awesome, including this latest UK trailer. I think the reason why I’m running out of things to say is that “This movie looks really fun” pretty much sums it up. This later trailer features lots of Rocket Raccoon, and thankfully it looks like the actors are fairly comfortable holding a conversation with CG characters inserted after the fact. I’m trying not to hype myself up too much, because there are so many blockbusters these days that build up hype to critical levels and then fail to deliver. But despite being the riskiest film Marvel has released so far, I’d say they’ve got a real chance to knock it out of the park and open up that crazy cosmic side of their comic universe. Until then, let’s hit play on this trailer again! Read more…
Tags: Disney, Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel
Posted by Ben Huber on Jun 9, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Doctor Strange has been a film that Marvel has been plugging away on slowly, but it seems like the ball is finally rolling. A few days ago, Scott Derrickson announced that he would be directing the film, working off of a script by Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer (although there were some rumors of rewrites). Now the question is: who will play Doctor Strange himself? Well, Deadline caught wind of Marvel’s most recent wishlist for the film, which is basically just their dream choices without any realistic vetting. They are: Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Hardy. Those two join the previous rumored choices of Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Johnny Depp (but chances are those two have passed the role up by now). Sorry Marvel, but these are some boring choices! Try picking someone more unique! Read more…
Tags: Doctor Strange, Marvel
Posted by Ben Huber on Jun 8, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Ok, ok, maybe that’s a bit cynical of me. But Peyton Reed did direct the movie Yes Man, so it’s an easy joke to make, especially given that Marvel seems to want one of those right now. Adam McKay, who was in the running to direct Ant-Man previously, will be contributing to the script, but the directing is all Reed. Now it’s up to them to steer this project back to safety. I’m just not sure if you can save this movie in the eyes of the hardcore fans now — they are the ones most upset by Edgar Wright’s departure. But as long as the mass audiences like it, that’s all the matters now. Read more…
Tags: ant-man, Marvel
Posted by Ben Huber on Jun 1, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
It looks like we finally know who our Thanos will be: Josh Brolin. That’s a pretty impressive secret to keep locked up, Marvel! Thanos will first show up in Guardians of the Galaxy, and then presumably in Avengers 3 as the final “big bad.” I think Brolin is a pretty good choice for this part, especially given that square jaw of his. No prosthetic needed! Marvel is doing their best to thread Thanos throughout the Marvel universe, getting him ready for his big debut, so I think it’ll get fans excited when he finally shows up. Let’s hope Brolin does a good job! Read more…
Tags: Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel, The Avengers
Posted by Bob Muir on May 29, 2014 in Comic Books, Television 
Drew Goddard leaving Marvel’s Daredevil show (coming to Netflix) in order to concentrate on making The Sinister Six for Sony was a bummer when we learned it last weekend. But thankfully, Goddard’s replacement seems well-picked, and now we know who will be playing the titular role. Charlie Cox will play blind lawyer Matt Murdock who becomes the vigilante Daredevil. You may recognize Cox from his roles on Boardwalk Empire and Stardust, and now you’ll be watching 13 episodes of him on Netflix, in the first of several various superhero series that are planned. As someone who is eagerly devouring anything connected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe lately, I’m pretty excited to see what Marvel can do with Netflix. Read more…
Tags: Daredevil, Marvel, Netflix
Posted by Ben Huber on May 25, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Something is definitely going on at Marvel this weekend. Latino Review has broken a story, reporting that Drew Goddard (director of Cabin in the Woods and writer on Cloverfield and many TV shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer) has left the Daredevil series. Daredevil was part of Marvel’s deal with Netflix to debut several heroes on streaming TV series via the service, and Goddard was intended to write and direct the first episode. He’s also no longer the showrunner. Instead, THR is reporting that Steven S. DeKnight (another Buffy writer) will be taking over the project. Weird stuff is happening at Marvel… I just can’t help but wonder what. Perhaps it was just Goddard’s upcoming film, the Sinister Six, that got in the way? Read more…
Tags: Daredevil, Marvel
Posted by Ben Huber on May 25, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Edgar Wright’s Ant-Man was one of my most anticipated upcoming Marvel films. Everything about it seemed like a perfect match, from Wright’s directorial sensibilities to the unique take on the character he’d offer. It was great to see Marvel on board with a riskier project too, and they were behind it for the better half of a decade as Wright finished other films! But very abruptly, Wright has left Ant-Man and will no longer be directing it, due to “differences in vision.” Odd, considering Marvel had a script in hand for years. Latino Review claims that Marvel brought in two writers to rewrite the script significantly, which caused Wright to leave. Joss Whedon and Simon Pegg also tweeted out their support for Wright, so it definitely appears to the public that Marvel handled this poorly. I wonder where this will go next? Read more…
Tags: ant-man, edgar wright, Marvel
Posted by Ben Huber on May 23, 2014 in Animation, Cinema 
You’ve seen the teaser images, now see the trailer for Disney’s new animated film, Big Hero 6. This is a Marvel property, but surprisingly, there’s not a single Marvel logo on it anywhere, and they’re instead opting to market it with “from the makers of Wreck-It Ralph and Frozen.” Which is certainly not a bad thing by any means — it’s just an odd choice, given that Marvel is such a strong brand right now. Still, this teaser trailer does its job, and reveals none of the story while telling you exactly what it’ll be: a humorous romp about a kid and his robot. Big Hero 6 arrives November 7th. Read more…
Tags: Big Hero 6, Disney, Marvel
Posted by Bob Muir on May 21, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Disney didn’t just buy Marvel so they could rake in the money from The Avengers. The first Disney adaptation of a Marvel IP is coming out November 7, 2014, and it’s a comic that’s rather unknown by the average person. Big Hero 6 is a Japanese superhero team that worked in Japan, at least in the comics. For this movie, Disney changed the setting to the made-up San Fransokyo, a combination of San Francisco and Tokyo. (I’m a bit iffy on that, due to the history of whitewashing in American films, but I’ll go with it.) In these images, you can see 13-year-old genius and main character Hiro Hamada (renamed from Hiro Takachiho in the comics) and his big robot bodyguard Baymax (which can synthmorph into a dragon in the comics). Baymax looks a little pudgy, but otherwise things look good. Now all we need is a trailer. Read more…
Tags: Disney, Marvel
Posted by Ben Huber on May 2, 2014 in Videogames 
At a recent event, Disney announced an update to their popular Disney Infinity video game, dubbed “2.0.” It’s the exact same concept as Skylanders, but with Disney characters, you know? Still, the action-figures-and-portals business is still big, so Disney is introducing their other properties into Infinity: Marvel! Yes, the entire Avengers crew is in, along with Loki and MODOK. Spider-man and Green Goblin also make an appearance, but perhaps the most unexpected characters to show up were Rocket Raccoon and Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy. I guess it’s good for cross-promotion, though! I’ve included the announcement trailer below. Read more…
Tags: Disney, Disney Infinity, Marvel
Posted by Ben Huber on Apr 27, 2014 in Comic Books 
I won’t even use a spoiler-y header image, just in case you don’t want to know who’ll be killed off next in the Marvel universe. But read on to find out! Surprise: it’s Wolverine. They haven’t specified how he’ll die yet, but it’ll be part of the “3 Months to Die” series where Wolverine loses his regenerative abilities. It’ll be a miniseries titled “Death of Wolverine, ” which is maybe a bit too on-the-nose for me. I suppose it’ll make it easy to find, though. According to Marvel executive editor Michael Marts, the repercussions will be felt throughout the Marvel universe. Until 6 to 9 months from now, you know, when Wolverine comes back from the dead. Maybe a year, max. Comic book characters never stay dead. Read more…
Tags: Marvel, Wolverine
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 22, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Sony Pictures has released the final trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which features about as much bombastic action and special effects as you can fit into a 2 minute and 40 second timeframe. It definitely looks like Spider-Man! I hope it will be better than the first film, but the huge amount of villains does make me wary. We have heard that the Rhino is barely in the film though (apparently only 5 minutes) so not only does that lighten up the load, it also means that we’ve probably seen a third of the total footage of the Rhino in trailers and teasers! Check out the full trailer below. Read more…
Tags: Marvel, The Amazing Spider-Man
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 14, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Here’s a little pile of interesting Marvel news for all you Kevin Feige fanboys out there. We knew for a while that Marvel had a movie scheduled on the same date as Man of Steel vs. Batman, but we didn’t know what film Marvel would match up against it… until now. It’s Captain America 3. That’s a pretty ballsy move! It just shows how confident Marvel is in their battle versus DC. In other Marvel news, Kevin Feige also brought up Hulk and Hawkeye, mentioning that they’ll have significantly bigger parts in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Also mentioned was the potential for Agent Coulson to return again — and we’ll apparently get more details soon. Let’s hope! Read more…
Tags: Avengers: Age of Ultron, captain america, Marvel
Posted by Ben Huber on Feb 24, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Avoid this post if you don’t want any spoilers about Captain America: The Winter Soldier! It’s possible that recent TV spots are ruining a bit plot point for the film… or perhaps it’s just some old-fashioned misdirection. Here it comes: in the TV spot, it’s briefly shown that a bomb is detonated under Nick Fury’s car, and he’s blown sky-high. Then is the line “Nick Fury’s last words were not to trust anyone.” They’re definitely implying that he’s offed, but I can’t see Marvel being willing to kill off Nick Fury. Given what we all know about comic books — he’s probably not dead. If you want to look at it from a logical perspective: Samuel L. Jackson is still signed on for several more Marvel films, so no, he’s not going anywhere. Read more…
Tags: captain america, Marvel, the winter soldier
Posted by Ben Huber on Feb 22, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
It still blows my mind that Marvel is doing Ant-Man, Guardians of the Galaxy, and freakin’ Doctor Strange, all before DC and Warner Bros. can get a standalone Wonder Woman film out the door. It’s truly a testament to the organizational skills of Marvel… along with their excellent casting department. So, you heard me mention Doctor Strange, right? It seems Marvel is now on the hunt for several directors to tackle the film, and they’ve got four that they’re listing right now: Mark Andrews (co-director of Brave), Nikolaj Arcel (director of A Royal Affair), Dean Israelite (director of Welcome to Yesterday), and Jonathan Levine (director of 50/50). Kung Fu Panda writers Jon Aibel and Glenn Berger are rumored to be scripting it, too. Not a terrible list! Read more…
Tags: Doctor Strange, Marvel
Posted by Ben Huber on Feb 22, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
You’ve seen the trailer, now check out several videos that look at each member of the team from Guardians of the Galaxy. If you’ve been itching to hear Bradley Cooper as Rocket Racoon, you’ve come to the right place. There’s little bits of new footage sprinkled in each video, including a bit of fighting between Gamora and Nebula (Karen Gillan). Also included below is the first poster for the movie, and it’s about as silly as can be, with a tagline like “You’re welcome.” Everyone posing like they’re on a retro sci-fi book cover along with the huge list of other Marvel films — you know, just in case you forgot. Read more…
Tags: Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel
Posted by Bob Muir on Feb 20, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Marvel premiered the first full trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy on Jimmy Kimmel Live, and after seeing it, I’d say it’s out of this world. Puns aside, we get a nice overview of the team, learning a bit about what makes them special. There’s Starlord’s awesome looking ship, the Milano. There’s a guard listening to a Walkman. There’s Zoe Saldana. There’s a talking raccoon with a machine gun fighting alongside a tree-person. What more could you want? Admittedly, John C. Reilly falls a bit flat here with some of his “snark,” but that might just be the trailer editing’s fault. It’s looking like this first “true” entry into Marvel’s cosmic corner of its universe should be some fun, old-school fantastical sci-fi. Read more…
Tags: Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel, Science Fiction
Posted by Ben Huber on Feb 16, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Marvel has been toying with the idea of film focusing on Black Widow for a while now, but we’ve never really gotten a solid answer from Marvel one way or the other. Kevin Feige recently spoke to the possibility, and while he didn’t confirm anything, he did imply it was still on the table. “The notion of exploring that even further in her own film would be great, and we have some development work with that.” Just do it already! She’s a fan-favorite character, and Scarlett Johansson is a great actress — plus, we need more female superheroes in leading roles. It’d be a shame to leave her as a perpetual sidekick in all the other Marvel films. Read more…
Tags: Black Widow, Marvel, The Avengers
Posted by Ben Huber on Feb 8, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Here’s a hero people weren’t exactly predicting: the Vision. And, the actor portraying him is already in the Marvel universe — Paul Bettany has been previously playing Jarvis, Tony Stark’s AI companion. As comic fans know, the Vision was created by Ultron, so that fits nicely with the plot, but I wonder if perhaps the Vision’s origin will be modified, given the actor? Maybe he’ll be a physical form for Jarvis, instead? Whedon and his pals are clearly playing with the various origin stories for everyone involved, so we’ll see how it all turns out in the end! Read more…
Tags: Avengers: Age of Ultron, Marvel
Posted by Ben Huber on Feb 7, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Fresh off of her work in The Hobbit, Evangeline Lilly is doing well — and it looks like things might be getting better. THR is currently reporting that Lilly is in talks to star opposite of Paul Rudd in Edgar Wright’s Ant-Man. Her role would not be a one-off appearance, so many fans are speculating that she’d be playing the Wasp (which would also make her a likely candidate to show up in the third Avengers film). I’m all for more female roles to balance out the Avengers! It also helps that Lilly was one of the best parts of the second Hobbit film. Let’s hope this rumor works out. Read more…
Tags: ant-man, edgar wright, Marvel
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