Marvel Movie News

As you can probably tell by the lack of updates recently, we could use a helping hand, and are looking for a volunteer editor/contributor, preferably UK-based, to help keep our site up to date with news and opinions on all things in the Marvel movie universe.

The role is for a volunteer, so unfortunately is unpaid, but will hopefully be lots of fun

If you are interested, and would like to know more, please get in touch with your details here. Some experience with WordPress would be useful but is not essential.

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As Marvel begins the worldwide release of Thor, the reviews are now coming in thick and fast, and they are pretty positive!

According to the UK’s Empire:

“…it’s powerful stuff… And when it comes to making Shakespearean material — and the relationship between Thor, Loki and Odin positively reeks of the Bard — work on the big screen, [director Kenneth] Branagh has no equal…you’re instantly intrigued by the prospect of seeing Hemsworth on screen with Robert Downey Jr. (and Chris Evans) in next year’s The Avengers”

Meanwhile, over at Dark Horizons:

Director Kenneth Branagh and his entire production crew have delivered in terms of scope and consistency with this mythology-rich universe, respecting the material and treating it seriously but not letting it lapse into the dour, self-important pompousness that usually turns major audiences away from heavy sci-fi/fantasy works…

Branagh knows people have come for action and delivers on that front. The film is fast paced, rarely slowing down for quieter moments, and he films action the classic way without jump cutting or blaring music – it all flows fine, even if he does exploit his love of dutch angles one too many times.”

There are plenty more popping up around the web right now, and most are pretty glowing, so it definately looks like one to check out!

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After a cinematic build-up that has spanned The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 1 & 2, and this summer’s Thor and Captain America, filming has finally started on Marvel Studios’ superhero epic, The Avengers.

Marvel have released the first official set photo, along with a lengthy statement confirming the main cast (including the rumoured Tom Hiddlestone, reprising his role as Thor villain Loki) and storyline.

Production has commenced today in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Marvel Studios’ highly anticipated movie “Marvel’s The Avengers,” directed by Joss Whedon (“Serenity”) from a screenplay by Whedon. The film will continue principal photography in Cleveland, Ohio and New York City. Robert Downey, Jr. (“Iron Man,” “Iron Man 2″) returns as the iconic Tony Stark/Iron Man along with Chris Hemsworth (“Thor”) as Thor, Chris Evans (“Captain America: The First Avenger”) as Captain America, Jeremy Renner (“Thor,” “The Hurt Locker”) as Hawkeye, Mark Ruffalo (“The Kids Are Alright”) as Hulk, Scarlett Johansson (“Iron Man 2″) as Black Widow, Clark Gregg (“Iron Man,” “Thor”) as Agent Phil Coulson, and Samuel L. Jackson (“Iron Man,” “Iron Man 2″) as Nick Fury. Set for release in the US on May 4, 2012, “Marvel’s The Avengers” is the first feature to be fully owned, marketed and distributed by Disney, which acquired Marvel in 2009.

Continuing the epic big-screen adventures started in “Iron Man,” “The Incredible Hulk,” “Iron Man 2,” “Thor,” and “Captain America: The First Avenger,” “Marvel’s The Avengers” is the super hero team up of a lifetime. When an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster.

Based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series, first published in 1963, “Marvel’s The Avengers” brings together the mightiest super hero characters as they all assemble together on screen for the first time. The star studded cast of super heroes will be joined by Cobie Smulders (“How I Met Your Mother) as Agent Maria Hill of S.H.I.E.L.D., as well as Tom Hiddleston (“Wallander”) and Stellan Skarsgård (“Angels & Demons,” “Mamma Mia!”) who will both reprise their respective roles as Loki and Professor Erik Selvig from the upcoming Marvel Studios’ feature “Thor.”

“Marvel’s The Avengers” is being produced by Marvel Studios’ President, Kevin Feige, and executive produced by Alan Fine, Stan Lee, Louis D’Esposito, Patty Whitcher, and Jon Favreau. Marvel Studios’ Jeremy Latcham and Victoria Alonso will co-produce.

The creative production team also includes Oscar nominated director of photography Seamus McGarvey (“Atonement”), production designer James Chinlund (“25th Hour”), Oscar winning costume designer Alexandra Byrne (“Elizabeth: The Golden Age”), Oscar winning visual effects supervisor Janek Sirrs (“Iron Man 2,” “The Matrix”), visual effects producer Susan Pickett (“Iron Man,” “Iron Man 2″), stunt coordinator R.A. Rondell (“Superman Returns”), and four-time Oscar nominated special effects supervisor Dan Sudick (“Iron Man,” “War of the Worlds”). The editors include Oscar nominated Paul Rubell (“Collateral”) and Jeffrey Ford (“Crazy Heart”).

Marvel Studios most recently produced “Iron Man 2″ which was released in theatres on May 7, 2010. The sequel to “Iron Man,” starring Robert Downey, Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow as well as Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson and Mickey Rourke, took the number one spot its first weekend with a domestic box office gross of $128.1 million. To date the film has earned over $620 million in worldwide box office receipts.

In the summer of 2008, Marvel produced the summer blockbuster movies, “Iron Man” and “The Incredible Hulk.” “Iron Man,” in which Robert Downey, Jr. originally dons the super hero’s powerful armor alongside co-stars Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges and Gwyneth Paltrow, was released May 2, 2008 and was an immediate box office success. Garnering the number one position for two weeks in a row, the film brought in over $100 million its opening weekend and grossed over $571 million worldwide. On June 13, 2008, Marvel released “The Incredible Hulk” marking its second number one opener of that summer. The spectacular revival of the iconic green goliath grossed over $250 million in worldwide box office receipts.

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In a shock peace of news, director Darren Aronofsky has announced that he is leaving The Wolverine, which is due to go into production later this year.

In a statement he said:

“As I talked more about the film with my collaborators at Fox, it became clear that the production of The Wolverine would keep me out of the country for almost a year,” Aronofsky said in a joint statement with Fox.

“I was not comfortable being away from my family for that length of time. I am sad that I won’t be able to see the project through, as it is a terrific script and I was very much looking forward to working with my friend, Hugh Jackman, again”

In response, Fox released this statement:

“While we are of course disappointed that Darren can’t do The Wolverine, we also understand and respect his reasons. Having done both The Wrestler and Black Swan with Darren, we know he is an extraordinary talent and we look forward to working with him on other projects in the future. Hugh Jackman and Fox both remain fully committed to making The Wolverine. We will regroup and move forward aggressively.”

So this turn of events doesn’t seem to be down to dreaded ‘creative differences’; indeed, given Aronofsky’s recent success with The Wrestler and Black Swan, and his close relationship with star Hugh Jackman, Fox would be fools to try and push him around.

Deadline have a little more to say on the subject, pointing to Aronofsky’s recent split with Rachel Weisz, and the custody battle over their son. With most of the film set to shoot in Japan (and that still does seem to be the plan, despite recent events there) it seems Aronofsky just couldn’t be away for that long.

This is a real blow to the project – Aronofsky’s involvement promised to put memories of the first Wolverine film to rest – let’s just hope that whoever Fox picks to replace him keeps the project on the right track.

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We’ve been away for a few days, but we are happy to be back with a great update.

EW have published the first official still of Hugo Weaving in his full Red Skull costume and makeup, along with a few words from director Joe Johnston.

Captain America: The First Avenger is directed by Joe Johnston, and stars Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America, Sebastian Stan as sidekick Bucky Barnes, Hugo Weaving as villain The Red Skull, Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter, Tommy Lee Jones as General Chester Phillips, Stanley Tucci as Dr. Abraham Erskine, Neal McDonough as Dum Dum Dugan, Toby Jones as Arnim Zola, and Richard Armitage as Heinz Kruger.

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Marvel have now released the new trailer for Kenneth Branagh’s Thor, which gives a really good at the humour and action in the movie. It looks as though Branagh is more than capable of handling the scale and effects that the film demands.

You can check it out below:

Directed by Kenneth Branagh, Thor stars Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddlestone, Stellan Skarsgard, Clark Gregg and Idris Elba, and is due for release summer 2011.

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Chris Evans had a chat with Total Film about his starring role in Captain America, and touched on his multi-film commitment and his research.

“It’s a big commitment… At one point it was nine pictures. We’ve got it down to six but still, that’s making a decision for a big portion of your life. I love acting but there are other things I want to do. I want to write and direct. If the movies do well and they want to exercise all six films, I could be doing this until I’m 40.

“You go in and do as much research as you can from the comic books, but you’re also trying to make something your own. This is an origin story. I think a lot of the comic books deal with after he’s become Captain America, so to some degree we had to take some liberties. But you want to make sure you’ve done your homework.”

Captain America: The First Avenger is directed by Joe Johnston, and stars Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America, Sebastian Stan as sidekick Bucky Barnes, Hugo Weaving as villain The Red Skull, Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter, Tommy Lee Jones as General Chester Phillips, Stanley Tucci as Dr. Abraham Erskine, Neal McDonough as Dum Dum Dugan, Toby Jones as Arnim Zola, and Richard Armitage as Heinz Kruger.

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Sony/Columbia Pictures have finally announced the that new Spider-Man reboot will be titled ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’.

To celebrate, they have now launched the official site, which is a little barren at the moment, and they have released a great image of Andrew Garfield (well, we’ll have to take their word for it that it’s him) in full costume.

Click the image below to embiggen.

Directed by Marc Webb, The Amazing Spider-Man stars Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy and Rhys Ifans as the the villain (unconfirmed but widely expected to be Lizard), Denis Leary, with Martin Sheen and Sally Field as Uncle Ben and Aunt May respectively.

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With the release of the first trailer, the X-Men: First Class publicity machine is now getting up to full steam, and January Jones (Emma Frost) and Michael Fassbender (Magneto) both talking about their respective roles.

First off, Jones sat down with Canoe to talk about her role and her experiences on the film, particularly the short production schedule, with comments that chime with reports of a post-produciton scramble to get the film finished:

“Poor (director) Matthew Vaughn is going to have to edit it in three days… I think it was unrealistic for them to think they were going to make such a huge movie in whatever we had — two months or something. So of course we went over (schedule). I think I have a couple more days to shoot… The fact we’ve had to push the wrap date but they haven’t moved the release date is really interesting to me. I guess they must know what they’re doing. I have a lot of faith in Matthew as a director and an editor; I think his movies are great. And I think they’ve been cutting as we’ve been going. We should be fine…”

So, a rushed production and tight deadlines to meet, but Jones does seem happy with how things went.

Meanwhile, Fassbender spoke with SuperHeroHype about his work on the film:

“I just tried to steep myself in the source material, the comic books, and there’s so much. He’s such a fascinating guy, and how he becomes Magneto is a really interesting journey. The fact that he has been let down so many times by human beings and this distrust that he has. You can see where it’s coming from… He’s on a mission and he’s uncompromising and then he bumps into Charles, literally collides into him, and then it’s the development of their relationship and really exploring that during the ’60s and the Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luther King an Malcolm X”

So, despite undoubted pressures on the cast and crew to get the film finished on time, at least its stars seem happy with how things have been going.

X-Men: First Class stars James McAvoy, January Jones, Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Hoult, Jennifer Lawrence, Caleb Landry Jones, Lucas Till, Kevin Bacon, Jason Flemyng, Oliver Platt, Bill Milner, Zoe Kravitz, Morgan Lilly and Rose Byrne.

X-Men: First Class is directed by Matthew Vaughn, from a script by Ashley Miller, Zack Stentz and Jane Goldman, based on a story by producer Bryan Singer.

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