Joss Whedon on board for The Avengers 2 and beyond!
Marvel Studios and parent Disney have confirmed that Joss Whedon will not only write and direct the sequel to their smash hit The Avengers, but will also develop a live action Marvel TV show (which may or may not be Avengers-related), as well as helping to guide “Phase 2″ of Marvel’s cinematic universe.
Here’s Marvel’s statement:
“Joss Whedon has signed an exclusive deal with Marvel Studios for film and television through the end of June 2015. As part of that deal, Whedon will write and direct Marvel’s The Avengers 2 as well as help develop a new live action series for Marvel Television at ABC. He will also contribute creatively to the next phase of Marvel’s cinematic universe.”
While hardly surprising, this is still great news, especially the last part; While the first set of movies did a great job of linking together in the run up to The Avengers, as the cinematic universe expands to include more blatantly outlandish fantasy elements like The Guardians of The Galaxy, Marvel will need a steady, guiding hand to hold it all together.
As for a the TV show, I think this would be a great place to follow the further adventures of SHIELD, adding richness to the Avengers world, without interfering directly with those movies’ continuities. We’ll see…
Tom Hiddleston talks about what we can expect from Loki in Thor: The Dark World and beyond
Actor Tom Hiddleston is on the fast-track to stardom, and was recently awarded the reader-chosen Total Film Hotlist award.
The magazine had a quick chat with him, and he discussed what’s next for his villain Loki after his scene-steaking appearances in Thor and The Avengers:
Readers also voted for best scene where Hulk gives Loki a trouncing. Why do you think Loki made such an impression on fans?
“I don’t know. In the words of Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner: “Loki’s mind is a box of cats. You can smell crazy on him”! In all seriousness though, I have received a lot of incredibly passionate and articulate letters from fans, explaining how they’re drawn to Loki’s psychological and emotional complexity; that he’s a villain you can almost root for; a villain you can love to hate, or hate to love.
“Underneath the steely cold veneer of his trickster charm is a certain vulnerability and sensitivity – the wounded fragility of an outcast brother and son. His mind IS a box of cats though! But I love him.”
What’s the best thing about being Loki?
“The best thing about being Loki is that he is my diametric opposite. Physically, he is a photo negative of who I am. Loki is dark and pale, and I am light and fair. Also spiritually I am not much like him either. Yet I feel an incredible freedom in playing him.
“He is a combination of mercurial intellectual ability, emotional ambiguity, rakish charm, charisma and provocative wit. He has a wicked inclination to mischief, underneath which is a well of spiritual pain. Both these aspects are central to his depth as a character: his unashamed and perverse delight in creating chaos; and his capacity for raw emotional expression.
“And – as my American friends tell me – he’s kind of a badass! He’s one of the richest, most rewarding, most fun characters I’ve ever played.”
What do you hope for him in Thor 2 and The Avengers 2? What can fans expect?
“I don’t want to give too much away. But I can guarantee that you won’t be disappointed. Alan Taylor’s vision of Thor 2 is utterly brilliant. The journey continues in the most epic dimension and proportion imaginable. It’s very, very exciting.”
Thor: The Dark World is due for release in November 2013, and The Avengers 2 has yet to get a confirmed release date
Comic legend John Romita Jr talks about his career and comic book movies
The Geek Files have scored a fantastic exclusive interview with legendary comic book artist John Romita Jr about his work and thoughts on the comic book industry and comic book movie adaptations, including The Dark Knight – which he didn’t much care for – and The Avengers – which he loved.
Here’s a couple of highlights:
“I think this Avengers film is as good as it gets. The guys that worked on it were comic people. And that’s important, to have that innate feeling about comics, the comedy, the looseness of the dialogue and the strength of the characters, the strength of the images, they’re indeed comic book people.
“We’ve seen movies that haven’t been done successfully because they weren’t done by comic book people per se.
“A lot of young directors, producers and writers have a history of reading comics. You have to. And now especially from here on in since the two are so joined now, film and comics, they are paralleled and are taking from each other. I think comics has always relied on film, artists and writers had to refer to films of their youth. I know I did. I think now it’s both ways, filmmakers have read comics. Screenwriters are in the comic industry or some see their screenplays become graphic novels. This is the way it’s supposed to be and I think it works well, the Avengers movie works well as a typical joining of the two.
“There are scenes in the Avengers that are microcosms of the difference between Marvel and DC. And I think there’s the comedy in the middle of the horror and that’s the Stan Lee approach. You’ve got Spider-Man getting the snot beat out of him and at an important moment cracks a wise comment. I think that’s the difference. It was so serious in Dark Knight and that’s the difference.”
Head on over to The Geek Files for the rest, including information on how his work on the Kick-Ass 2 and spin-off hit Girl comics ties in with the upcoming movie adaptation/sequel. It’s well worth a read!
Confused about the Marvel Studios Avengers movies timeline? These sites may help!
Ever since Marvel Studios embarked upon their ambitious and unprecedented project to bring The Avenger to the big screen, each movie leading up team-up laid the intricate groundwork, with links planted to tie them all together.
It’s easy to lose track of how it all fits together, but luckily there are a couple of web pages that help explain it all.
First up is this page over at IMDB, which looks at the events featured in all the movies and one-shots, and points out all the little referenced you may have missed.
Next is this interactive timeline, which also includes events and information from tie-in comics and books.
They are both well worth a read, and are sure to answer lots f your questions!
Thanks to our Twitter follower LastFilmSeen for the links!
Thor: The Dark World heading to Iceland?
According to Icelandic website Svarthofdi the sequel to Thor will be spending some filming time in Iceland.
It makes sense – the countries landscapes are almost a special effect themselves, and more and more film-makers are finding the locations offered there appealing. The most high-profile Hollywood movie to visit so far is probably Ridley Scott’s “Prometheus”, but “Thor: The Dark World” director Alan Taylor is no stranger himself, having spent time there previously in his role as director on several episodes of TV show Game of Thrones.
Thor: The Dark World is due to begin filming this month, as is due for release November 2013.
Guardians of The Galaxy gets a new writer
Guardians of The Galaxy concept art
The Hollywood Reporter has a story that Marvel Studios has hired Christopher McCoy to re-work Nicole Perlman’s draft of Guardians of The Galaxy. Re-writes are common of course, and both writers are responsible for some highly acclaimed, though as-yet unproduced, scripts.
Perlman, for example, has written two space themed dramas – one on the Challenger shuttle disaster, and one Neil Armstrong biopic, while McCoy has had three screenplays land on the so-called ‘Black List’ of un-made gems, Get Back in 2007, Good Looking in 2009 and Good Kids in 2011.
It seems that Marvel are working hard to make this a quality piece, and with good reason: not only is it not a sequel to an existing hit, it’s the first of their non-Avengers ‘Phase 2′ movies, so it’s important for them to show they can have a hit without headline characters like Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and Hulk.
Guardians of The Galaxy is due for release in August 2014.
Guardians of The Galaxy Logo
Check out some new location photos from The Wolverine!
After a torturous time in development hell, including losing original director Darren Aronofsky, filming on X-Men Origins sequel The Wolverine is now in full flow.
The movie is currently shooting with new director James Mangold on location in Bonna Point Reserve, Sutherland Shire in Australia, and a bunch of photos have now appeared online, some from a local new website, The Leader, and some from Australia’s Daily Telegraph website. We see filming taking place on the set, built to represent a POW camp.
Here’s what Jackson told The Leader, as he met up with Sutherland Shire mayor Carol Provan:
“It’s a beautiful spot here, This is the first time I’ve been to Kurnell and the location is great.
“Yesterday I was up at half past three and this morning I was up at quarter to five. They got to do some shots without me this morning, so I got a bit of a sleep in.”
Check out some of the photos below (click to enlarge):
Some intriguing possibilities for cross-over in X-Men: Days of Future Past!
So, by now you’ll be aware that the title of the X-Men: First Class sequel is Days of Future Past, and will be based in part upon the classic comic book arc of the same name.
Here’s the interview again where producer Bryan Singer talks a little about it:
And here’s a summary of the Days of Future Past story, from Wikipedia:
The storyline alternates between present day, in which the X-Men fight Mystique’s Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, and a future timeline caused by the X-Men’s failure to prevent the Brotherhood from assassinating Senator Robert Kelly. In this future universe, Sentinels rule the United States, and mutants live in internment camps. The present-day X-Men are forewarned of the possible future by a future version of their teammate Kitty Pryde, whose mind traveled back in time and possessed her younger self to warn the X-Men. She succeeds in her mission and returns to the future, but despite her success, the future timeline still exists as an alternative timeline rather than as the actual future
What’s really interesting in Singer’s interview are his comments about wishing to expand and link the X-Men universe movies, in the same way Marvel Studios have done with the Avengers Universe flicks.
This opens up some great possibilities. By now you’ll have seen the couple of X-Men trilogy cameos in First Class, but scenes set in an alternate future (for the 60s-based First Class characters, though present day for us) timeline would allow many more familiar faces to appear. Would the likes of Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, et al be up for cameos – or even co-starring roles – for their present day characters’ inevitable appearances? With a generous paycheck and maybe just a few days work I am sure they could be convinced!
With Hugh Jackman deep in production on The Wolverine, he’s certainly in the zone mentally and physically to head over to Matthew Vaughn’s set. I for one would love to see if the writers could work in a scene where Fassbender’s Magneto meets his older self! One just hopes that McKellen’s newly expanded Hobbit schedule will allow some time!
Anyway, the next X-Movie certainly just got a lot more interesting! What do you think?
Special Features revealed for The Amazing Spider-Man Blu-ray?
Amazon.com are listing a bunch of special feaures for the upcoming release of The Amazing Spider-Man on Blu-ray, in a Limited Edition Four-Disc Combo pack, with Blu-ray 3D/Blu-ray/DVD & Figurines.
While these are still officially TBC, Amazon listings are normally pretty accurate.
- Deleted Scenes and Alternate Takes
- Audio Commentaries with Cast and Crew
- The Oscorp Archives – Art and Promotional Materials Gallery
- Screen Tests
- Stunt Rehearsals
- Both 3D & 2D versions of the film
- Interactive 3D Film School with Director Marc Webb
- Collectible Amazing Spider-Man Figurine
- Collectible Lizard Figurine
This listing is for the US edition, but it’s safe to expect the UK release to be the same (though maybe without the figurines).
You can pre-order the US Limited Editiondisc here
Thor: The Dark World villain confirmed as… Who?
OK, with the obligatory bad pun out of the way, we have the exciting news that Christopher Eccleston has been cast as Malekith The Accursed in Marvel’s Thor: The Dark World, according to this piece from Deadline.
Thor: The Dark World is shaping up to be something pretty special. With director Alan Taylor bringing his experience from Game of Thrones, we are in for a gritty visual treat, while the casting of Eccleston carries on the Marvel tradition of filling roles with great actors.