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Posted by Bob Muir on Jan 29, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Captain America: The Winter Soldier isn’t out on April 4, but that doesn’t mean Marvel isn’t already thinking of the future. Since we’re still in the middle of Marvel’s “Phase 2,” there are not a lot of confirmed details for movies in “Phase 3” besides Ant-Man. However, we might see a third Captain America movie, as Marvel has already arranged for Anthony and Joe Russo to return to direct a third film. They’re already working on the story, even though the movie isn’t officially confirmed yet. Read more…
Tags: captain america, Marvel
Posted by Ben Huber on Jan 25, 2014 in Television 
Marvel just doesn’t want to surprise you anymore. Why tease something out, when they can just announce it in advance to try to drum up hype? Yes, Marvel has announced that Deathlok will be coming to Agents of SHIELD, probably in an attempt to get some new viewers for the show. Actor J. August Richards, who has been playing Mike Peterson, will be transformed into the cybernetic soldier. Jeph Loeb claims that they’ve been leaving breadcrumbs for fans all along the way, but all I heard was the obvious hint when Mike was “killed” and then woken up with a device in his eye. Still, perhaps this is the shot in the arm Agents of SHIELD needs to really get going. Read more…
Tags: Agents of SHIELD, Marvel
Posted by Bob Muir on Jan 14, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Paul Rudd will play Ant-Man in Edgar Wright’s Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 3 film, fittingly called Ant-Man. But he’s not playing Hank Pym, the classic character. No, Marvel has clarified that Rudd is playing Scott Lang, the second Ant-Man who steals equipment from Pym. Of course, it makes sense for Pym to be in the movie, so Michael Douglas has been cast in that role. Now that we finally know which Ant-Men are involved, I can make some guesses as to some plot points. I’d imagine that in this universe, Hank Pym might just be a scientist instead of also being Ant-Man. Scott Lang steals his equipment for some reason, uses it to become Ant-Man, and eventually gets mentored by Pym. I’m still curious as to what the conflict will be. Could it be related to Ultron in The Avengers 2, since Pym created him? Read more…
Tags: ant-man, Marvel
Posted by Ben Huber on Jan 10, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Many fans weren’t happy with the twist involving Ben Kingsley as the Mandarin. If you haven’t seen Iron Man 3, bail out here. Unless you don’t mind being spoiled. Since he was merely posing as the Mandarin, fans were upset that we’d never get to see the version of the famous villain from the comics, clearly ruining his legacy. I thought it was a great twist, although sadly Guy Peace couldn’t really hold his own as an interesting villain once the “Mandarin” was gone. Anyway: Ben Kingsley is back as the actor Trevor Slattery again, but it seems that the whole Mandarin thing was perhaps… appropriated from the already existing terrorist group The Ten Rings. And hints that perhaps the real Mandarin is very upset that someone is using his namesake. This could be a neat twist on things, but we’ll have to wait till the one-shot arrives — it’ll be on the Thor 2 blu-ray, which comes out February 25th. Till then, have some pictures of Ben Kingsley looking nervous! Read more…
Tags: Iron Man 3, Marvel, Thor: The Dark World
Posted by Ben Huber on Jan 4, 2014 in Comic Books, Star Wars 
Farewell, Dark Horse! You’ve been a lovely friend for Star Wars all these years — over 20, actually. But given that Disney owns both Marvel and Lucasfilm, it was only a matter of time until the comics were brought under the same roof. Marvel will be taking over publishing of all Star Wars comics in 2015. Whether they’ll continue currently running series or halt them remains to be seen. I imagine at the very least they have plenty of plans for comics that’ll support the new films that begin in 2015. What’ll happen next? And what will Dark Horse do to fill the gaps? Read more…
Tags: Dark Horse, Marvel, Star Wars
Posted by Bob Muir on Jan 1, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
New Year’s Eve means news is light, but Marvel decided to give fans a little present with the first still from Guardians of the Galaxy. You’ve got five characters standing in this line-up: Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper), Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), and Groot (Vin Diesel). I for one love the fact that Marvel has decided to spend money on hiring someone really big like Diesel to voice a walking tree that only says his name. I’m curious how Chris Pratt does in the role of Peter Quill though, a.k.a. Star-Lord. I keep worrying I’ll just see his character Andy from Parks and Recreation. Read more…
Tags: Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel
Posted by Ben Huber on Dec 23, 2013 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Well this is a weird story to write. Apparently Vin Diesel, despite saying publicly that he was playing Groot, was not “officially” announced as part of the project. Disney and Marvel never denied it, and Vin Diesel was talking about it, so everyone assumed it was a done deal. But now, Disney has sent out a press release along with a new promotional image officially telling us all about this super-cool new actor in Guardians of the Galaxy. Thanks guys! Hey, if anything, at least we’re getting a better look at how Groot will look in the film, although James Gunn says that his appearance has changed slightly in the final version. Neat stuff! So, Disney, when are we going to get that first real trailer? Soon I’d hope? Read more…
Tags: Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel
Posted by Ben Huber on Dec 20, 2013 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Get excited, Ant-Man fans! Variety is reporting that the rumors that have been swirling for months are true: Paul Rudd will star in Ant-Man, Edgar Wright’s adaptation of the Marvel comic book. Paul Rudd is a great actor, and given the more comedic angle Wright will be taking (presumably) I think it’s a great fit. I really hope they still integrate it with the other Marvel films too. In the end, I’d love to see Ant-Man join up with the Avengers in their third film, but who knows how Marvel will handle that right now. Below the jump I’ve embedded the FIRST footage of the film, which is TOTALLY LEGIT. I’m serious! Read more…
Tags: edgar wright, Marvel, paul rudd
Posted by Bob Muir on Dec 16, 2013 in Comic Books, Videogames 
People keep asking me why I prefer physical media in an increasingly digital world. Today, I get to give another reason why. Though they didn’t give a specific reason, Capcom has announced that Marvel vs. Capcom 2 and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 will soon be delisted from Xbox Live and PSN, along with all related DLC. You won’t be able to purchase them digitally after December 17 (North American PSN), December 19 (European PSN), or December 26 (global Xbox Live). Anyone who has previously purchased the games and DLC will still be able to redownload the games from their download history if need be. While there are still physical copies of UMvC3 out there, there will be no way to buy any extra characters or costumes for it, while the HD version of MvC2 will disappear completely.
And this is the reason why I not only prefer having physical copies of games, but also am wary of DLC and digital-only games. I recognize the boon digital releases have been for indie developers or smaller games from big-budget publishers, because many of those games might never be made and released at all if they needed a physical release. But the idea of this content becoming inaccessible in the future due to whatever reason — I’d imagine that Capcom can’t justify the cost of renewing Marvel’s license — just plain sucks for consumers who may want to purchase these games in the future after hearing about them from a friend.
And even if you have already purchased the content and downloaded it to your hard drive, what happens down the road when this iteration of Xbox Live and PSN are taken offline? After Microsoft shut down Xbox Live for original Xbox consoles, any DLC for those games became forever lost and no longer available to redownload. What happens when your hard drive inevitably fails in the future and you need to redownload unlicensed content from a service that is no longer running?
Many gamers probably won’t care and might put down money for a future rerelease, such as the soon-unavailable HD version of MvC2, which made the game affordable and accessible to those who couldn’t acquire a copy of the original releases from 2000 to 2003. But for those who care about the preservation of these works for future generations to enjoy, the whole thing is nothing but a headache.
Source: Kotaku
Tags: Capcom, Marvel, PS3, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Xbox 360
Posted by Ben Huber on Dec 6, 2013 in Cinema, Comic Books 
After teasing fans with posters of the villains and even releasing a teaser trailer for a trailer, the actual honest-to-god Amazing Spider-Man 2 trailer is out. It features lots of footage of the Green Goblin, and a surprisingly tame amount of Electro. I thought he was supposed to be the main villain, but apparently we really are getting three baddies in the film. I hope they’re thought this through, as the last Spider-Man film with three villains didn’t really go so well. It definitely feels a bit cheesier to me, oozing a bit more “comic bookyness” that the first one. Spider-Man is one of my favorite superheroes, so I’d really like for this to be good… although I’m not counting on it. Read more…
Tags: Marvel, The Amazing Spider-Man
Posted by Ben Huber on Nov 4, 2013 in Cinema, Television 
With Thor: The Dark World coming out later this month, Marvel wants to fire on all cylinders to keep the universe linked. So what else would you do other than cross over the one and only Marvel TV show with the big Marvel release of the holidays? Yup, Agents of SHIELD will get a Thor crossover episode. It won’t directly involve characters from the film, but rather the agents trying to “pick up the pieces” in the aftermath, threatening to destroy a member of the team. Maybe SHIELD gets to be the cleanup crew and someone snaps? He’s sick of cleaning up after these superheroes! Why can’t they clean up their own messes, right?! Read more…
Tags: Agents of SHIELD, Marvel, Thor: The Dark World
Posted by Bob Muir on Oct 31, 2013 in Cinema, Comic Books 
With short previews for upcoming films attached to current films becoming more and more popular, Marvel has decided that stingers at the end of films just aren’t enough. If you decide to drop the extra cash to see Thor: The Dark World in 3D (out November 8), you’ll be able to enjoy five minutes of footage from Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which won’t be out until April 4, 2014. It’s just a shame the footage won’t be attached to 2D showings, since I make a point of avoiding “3D” movies that were shot in 2D and converted in post (as opposed to the 3D cameras used in movies like Avatar). But if that doesn’t bother you and you want more Cap after that recent trailer, you’ve got the option. Read more…
Tags: 3D, captain america, Disney, Marvel, Thor: The Dark World
Posted by Bob Muir on Oct 30, 2013 in Cinema, Comic Books 
We’ve finally got a trailer for X-Men: Days of Future Past, the sequel to X-Men: First Class that promises to unite the cast of the original trilogy with their younger selves (and probably create a new unified timeline without those pesky contradictions). Bryan Singer, the director of the first two films as well as a producer/story contributor of X2 and First Class, is again directing and producing the film, which should give some hope to those burned by X-Men: The Last Stand. The plot involves Wolverine being sent back to his younger self (still played by Hugh Jackman, on account of the whole “not aging” thing) to help ensure the survival of both time periods. It’s looking like a fun flick that hopefully won’t go up its own ass with time travel nitty-gritty. Read more…
Tags: 20th Century Fox, Marvel, X-Men
Posted by Ben Huber on Oct 25, 2013 in Cinema 
Are you excited for the next Captain America film? I wasn’t too interested until this trailer showed up — and now my interest is piqued. We’re back in the modern day now, and Cap is working with SHIELD, so we’re getting a hefty dose of Nick Fury and Black Widow too. It feels like they’re doing a bit more with the setup, especially with Cap expressing his doubts about how SHIELD is functioning and their role in protecting people. If that’s actually an important theme of the film and not just lip-service, I’ll be very pleased. Take a look at the full trailer after the jump! Read more…
Tags: captain america, Marvel
Posted by Bob Muir on Oct 3, 2013 in Cinema, Comic Books 
I’m still having a bit of a hard time believing that Ant-Man is actually becoming a movie (set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe). I admittedly haven’t ever read any Ant-Man comics, but I know the concept of the character and some story beats through the years, and it seems like a weird choice to follow up The Avengers: Age of Ultron from a mass-market perspective. But god dammit, I’m happy that something comparatively smaller and weirder can be made into a big movie in this day and age! And because Edgar Wright is directing it, it has my attention. Wright even tweeted this picture to show that, yes, his long-in-production movie is finally filming, making this the first picture from the set. Read more…
Tags: ant-man, Marvel
Posted by Bob Muir on Sep 19, 2013 in Cinema, Comic Books 
The latest issue of SFX magazine has an interview with Alan Taylor, director of several Game of Thrones episodes as well as Thor: The Dark World. He says that when certain scenes just weren’t working in the film, he called in the director of The Avengers, Joss Whedon. Whedon had previously helped fix some of Captain America: The First Avenger, so since he’s in charge of The Avengers: Age of Ultron, the next big team-up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it makes sense that he’d be the one to turn to. Read more…
Tags: Marvel, The Avengers, Thor: The Dark World
Posted by Ben Huber on Aug 31, 2013 in Cinema, Comic Books 
The long wait is over, Marvel fans! You now have your voice for Rocket Raccoon: Bradley Cooper. This was the last major part to cast for Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel’s upcoming sci-fi superhero film. Given that he is such a beloved character, director James Gunn said they wanted to get their “dream guy” for the part. It seems Bradley Cooper is that guy! I wonder how fans will react? Guardians of the Galaxy will arrive about one year from now, on August 1st, 2014. Read more…
Tags: Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel
Posted by Bob Muir on Aug 28, 2013 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Iron Man 3 ended with lots of explosions and fire, without getting into too many spoilers. But according to artist Federico D’Alessandro’s animatics, a certain character could have had a small part in the climactic battle. Click through to find out and watch. Read more…
Tags: Iron Man, Iron Man 3, Marvel
Posted by Bob Muir on Aug 13, 2013 in Comic Books, Fandom, Television 
Arrested Development is about a dysfunctional family and the way they bounce off of each other’s mistakes and schemes. So it’s natural to extend that same metaphor to a messed up family of gods — in this case, Marvel’s Asgardians. In this fan video, Thor, Loki, and Odin are mixed with scenes and lines from Arrested Development to create a funny look at this strange royal family. Take a look! Read more…
Tags: arrested development, fan videos, Marvel, thor
Posted by Bob Muir on Jul 11, 2013 in Comic Books, Television 
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will start airing Tuesdays this September on ABC. Clark Gregg’s Marvel Cinematic Universe character Phil Coulson is back as a main character, showing that rumors (or outright depictions) of his death were greatly exaggerated, and I couldn’t be happier. Check out this new featurette to see why. Sure, Grant Ward looks alright, but what’s great is when he shares a scene with Coulson. Here’s hoping the writing remains as good as the pilot written by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen seems to be. Read more…
Tags: Agents of SHIELD, Disney, Marvel
Posted by Ben Huber on Jun 21, 2013 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Hold your tears, Marvel fans, Robert Downey Jr. has signed a new contract with Disney to continue playing Iron Man. The big twist? He’s only signing on for Avengers 2 and 3. Two films, that’s it. So Iron Man 4 will, for now, remain absent of RDJ. Perhaps War Machine will become the focus there? At the very least we’ll see the original Iron Man in the next two team-up films, and perhaps there are some secret cameos signed in there (but we won’t hear about those, obviously). So you’ll have Iron Man around until 2018. How does that sound? Read more…
Tags: Marvel, The Avengers
Posted by Ben Huber on Jun 10, 2013 in Cinema, Comic Books 
A lot of cool images have shown up recently showing the filming of the next Captain America film, subtitled Winter Soldier. The Winter Soldier himself will be a new antagonist in the movie universe, but comic fans will know him well already. If you don’t, and want to keep some surprises in store for yourself, don’t Google him. But below you can get some ideas of the new modern tone of Captain America, as well as a glimpse at Cap’s new suit. They’ve done a great job with the Winter Soldier’s suit, and Black Widow and Nick Fury showing up is a good sign as well. Consider me slightly more interested in this film! Read more…
Tags: captain america, Marvel
Posted by Ben Huber on Jun 2, 2013 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Here’s some awesome casting news: one of the most popular companions of Dr. Who, Karen Gillan, will be joining Marvel’s upcoming space opera adventure, Guardians of the Galaxy. This movie’s cast is basically a fanboy’s dream team: Chris Pratt (Star-Lord), Zoe Saldana (Gamora), Dave Bautista (Drax), Glenn Close (head of the Nova Corps), Michael Rooker (Yondu), John C. Reilly, Lee Pace, and (inhales deeply) David Tennant is rumored to be playing Rocket Racoon. Holy crap, that’s a lot of awesome actors. I’m starting to get very excited for this movie! Read more…
Tags: Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel
Posted by Bob Muir on May 15, 2013 in Comic Books, Television 
I know that a big company can make almost anything happen, but I’m still kind of giddy to see what Marvel is accomplishing with their Marvel Cinematic Universe. I was still uncertain that Joss Whedon’s proposed TV series based on S.H.I.E.L.D. would be produced, but those fears were laid to rest last Friday, when ABC confirmed that it had picked up Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. for the fall. Now the first trailer is out, and things are looking great. Read more…
Tags: Agents of SHIELD, Joss Whedon, Marvel
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