It's been awhile since we've had a movie update. What about our beloved comic book movies??
Iron Man 2
Scheduled Release Date: May 7th, 2010
Who's the same? Robert Downey Jr. will once again step in the suit as Tony Stark. Gwyneth Paltrow will return as love interest (and newly promoted) Pepper Potts
Who's different? Don Cheadle replaces Terrence Howard Col. James Rhodey (aka War Machine!).
Goodies: Whiplash and Black Widow are the baddies in this film, played by Mickey Rourke and Scarlett Johansson. Samuel L. Jackson will also play a role in the film as Nick Fury. Iron Man 2 is also confirmed for the IMAX experience.
Captain America (The First Avenger: Captain America)
Scheduled Release Date: July 22, 2011
Who's in it? Well, we know that Will Smith WON'T be in it.
Goodies: Not much is known about the Captain America film...we DO however know it's coming. Marvel has been teasing us with eggs in the movies Iron Man (You see the famous star shield in Tony Starks shop) and in The Incredible Hulk (super-soldier serum anyone?). The Red Skull has been confirmed as the villain and the majority of the film will take place during WWII, making it comparable to the Origins Marvel movies.
Thor
Scheduled Release Date: May 6, 2011
Who's in it? Kenneth Branagh is directing, with Chris Hemsworth (Star Trek) starring as Thor, Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, Anthony Hopkins as Odin, Tom Hiddleston as Loki and our favorite Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury.
Goodies: Synopsis from IMDB "Marvel Studios expands its film universe with a new type of superhero: THOR. This epic adventure spans the Marvel Universe; from present day Earth to the realm of Asgard. At the center of the story is The Mighty Thor, a powerful but arrogant warrior whose reckless actions reignite an ancient war. Thor is cast down to Earth and forced to live among humans as punishment. Once here, Thor learns what it takes to be a true hero when the most dangerous villain of his world sends the darkest forces of Asgard to invade Earth. Kenneth Branagh directs this fantasy epic which stars Australian actor Chris Hemsworth as the ancient Norse god, Tom Hiddleston as his evil brother Loki, Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, a young woman who befriends Thor on Earth, and Anthony Hopkins as Odin, Thor's father and king of Asgard. Expect to see agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., previously seen in ''Iron Man,'' to make an appearance, further forshadowing the coming of The Avengers!"
Green Lantern
Scheduled Release: June 17, 2011
Who's in it? Ryan Reynolds is apparently trading in his Deadpool duds for Green Lantern gear, Blake Lively is supposed to appear as love interest Carol Ferris, and Tim Robbins and Peter Sarsgaard (Oprhan, Jarhead) as Senator Hammond and villain Dr. Hector Hammond.
Goodies: The movie is listed on IMDB as "Pre-production", directed by Martin Campbell (a couple Bond movies under his belt, Zorro...). Filming is expected to begin in March.
Spider-Man 4 (turned Spider-man Reboot)
Scheduled Release Date: Summer 2012
Who's in it?
Goodies: Or baddies. Spider-man 4 picked up in 2007 with Sam Raimi at the reins to direct again, and Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst ready to take on Peter and Mary Jane. Conflict arose when Raimi worried he couldn't meet the 2011 deadline, and bowed out of the project. Sony Pictures dumped the whole project and announced a Spider-man reboot with all new directors/actors, taking Spider-man in a "new direction" and sending Peter Parker back to high school.
The Avengers
Scheduled Release Date: May 2012
Who's in it? Robert Downy Jr. has signed on with his character Tony Stark/Iron Man, as well as Chris Hemsworth as Thor. Rumored: Scarlett Johansson as the Black Widow, Edward Norton as Bruce Banner/The Hulk, Jeremy Renner (Hurt Locker, SWAT) as Hawkeye
Goodies: The Holy Grail of comic book movies (for Marvel lovers). Should be an all-star cast, from what I've read, with the actors who portray Marvel characters in other movies reprising their roles for this one. The line-up? Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, The Hulk, and Nick Fury.
X-Men Origins: Magneto
Scheduled Release: 2012
Goodies: No solid reports on who will be playing the infamous Eric Lensherr (Magneto). Pretty much all that's known is that this movie will follow suit of the X-Men Origins and give us an insight on Eric Lensherr, his friendship with Charles Xavier, and the road to his transformation into the evil mastermind, Magneto.
Ant-Man
Scheduled Release: 2012
Goodies: This features Dr. Henry Pim as Ant-Man and is directed by Edgar Wright (Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead). The brief synopsis on IMDB: "Biochemist Dr. Hank Pym uses his latest discovery, a group of subatomic particles, to create a size-altering formula. Though his first self-test goes awry, he develops an instrument that helps him communicate with and control insects." Stan Lee recently tweeted that "Marvel is prepping a movie starring-- Ant Man!"
Pure Speculation
Batman/Superman Movie
Fueling the Rumor Fire: Do you remember Chris Nolan? He's the one responsible for little known films, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Insiders state that Nolan asked to "godfather" the next Superman movie, which others speculate MAY open the door for a Batman/Superman film. Supposedly WB has granted him leadership of the project.
Batman 3
Fueling the Rumor Fire: Speaking of Batman, where is the new Batman movie series at? Supposedly Chris Nolan, Jonah Nolan and David S. Goyer have just started writing a script with promiment plot points rumored at including the Riddler discovering Batman's identity, Arkham Asylum, Barbara Gordon and Dick Grayson. An inside anonymous source at Warmer Bros also hints that Commissioner Gordon will mention Metropolis and Lex Luther (Superman), thus adding more fuel to the rumor fire for a Batman/Superman movie. Other, more suspect rumors put Megan Fox as Catwoman and Johnny Depp as the Riddler.
X-Men Origins Wolverine starts off the summer hits DVD releases this fall when it hits shelves this Tuesday, September 15.
Wolverine kicked off the Blockbuster summer on May 1, 2009. The movie explores aspects of the Marvel Origins comics which explain the history of Marvel characters. The Wolverine movie was a good choice for a first Origins movie due to the popularity of the rough, yet loveable Wolverine, and was proven in its box office performance grossing $179,875,159 in America and $365,075,654 worldwide.
Star Trek released a week later on May 6th. The movie follows the characters from the original Star Trek series including James Kirk, Spock and Scotty, but in an alternate timeline. It raked in a modest $257,233,992 domestically. Star Trek will be available on DVD and Blu-ray on November 17, 2009.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was a sequel to the highly popular 2007 Transformers. It was released in theaters June 24 grossed $400,757,235 domestically and will be available on DVD and Blu-ray (Michael Bay is thrilled) on October 20, 2009.
It is yet to be announced when Blockbuster bust, Terminator Salvation will be released on DVD. To date, it only took in $125,322,469.
If you're looking for something the whole family can enjoy, UP is releasing on DVD and Blu-ray on November 10, 2009. This Pixar masterpiece was released May 29, 2009 and grossed $290,966,710 domestically.
Fans rejoice everywhere! Gladiator is finally being released on Blu-ray disc. Available on September 1st, this Paramount Sapphire series will also be giving us Braveheart and Forrest Gump (on November 3rd).
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Gladiator This Academy Award winner from 2000 features Russell Crowe as Maximus Decimus Meridius. Betrayed by his Roman counterparts and his family slaughterd, Maximus finds himself battling for life and a chance for revenge as a slave gladiator. This is the movie for love, loss, jealousy, betrayal, politics, insanity, and of course, wicked fight scenes. Gladiator took home 5 Oscars including Best Picture and Best Actor (Russell Crowe). |
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Braveheart Another Academy Award winner from 1995, Braveheart stars Mel Gibson as Scottish man, William Wallace. Wallace leads a band of 13th Century Scots to overthrow England's tyrannical rule. Braveheart was also the winner of 5 oscars including Best Picture and Best Director.
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Forrest Gump This critically acclaimed film from 1994 features Tom Hanks as slow, dimwitted, Forrest Gump. The film follows his life and all of the unique and interesting situations that Forrest Gump finds himself in. The film also documents his growing love for his childhoold friend, Jenny. The film picked up multiple Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Actor (Tom Hanks) and Best Director. |
It was supposed to be an epic back-to-back lineup of DC's finest. Batman movie one summer, Superman movie the next. Something has been missing, though. Batman Begins, 2005, Superman Returns 2006, Batman The Dark Knight 2008...Superman??
IMDb.com has a listing for a sequel status "Announced": Superman: Man of Steel, with a date of 2011.
What is the reason for this?
A little research has revealed that Warner Bros has lost some of their rights to Superman to the family of his co-creator, Jerry Siegel. The family now owns rights to the Superman costume, his Krypton origins, his alter-ego, the Daily Planet newspapers, and other rights associated with content from Jerry Siegels Action Comics No. 1 (the first Superman story published was in here). However, anything after Action Comic No.1 were NOT included in the ruling and therefore are owned by DC. SO, now that this mess has been established, the only thing left to determine is monetary awards owed by WB/DC to the Siegel family on Superman profits since 1999, when their copyright became effective...right???
Another Federal Court ruling on August 13, 2009, gave the family of Jerry Siegel even MORE rights to additional works including the first two weeks of the daily Superman newspaper comic-strips, as well as portions of early Action Comics and Superman comic-books. So, in addition to him, his costume, his alter-ego, his girlfriend, his job, they now control depictions of Superman's origins from planet Krypton, his parents (Jor-El and Lora), Superman as the infant Kal-El, the launching of the infant Superman into space by his parents as Krypton explodes AND his landing on Earth in a fiery crash. So now it's a matter of money?
No...the Shuster estate (the estate of Joe Shuster, another co-creator of the Man of Steel) has gained the same rights as the Siegels. In 2013 Superman will be wholly owned by its original co-creators' heirs/estate. The judge pointed out that WB has until 2011 to begin production of a Superman sequel before their current rights from DC expires.
According to a blog post on July 9, 2009, WB Chairman testified that a sequel was not in production and no script had not been written (gasp!) and that the soonest it could possibly come to fruition is 2012.
Legal messes and copyright law, not my forte.
The Man of Steel is now owned by so many people, we'll see if he ever makes it off the ground again.
The Green Hornet will star a now buff Seth Rogen as the Green Hornet. There are reports that Nicholas Cage and Cameron Diaz might join the film as well.
The Green Hornet originally aired on the radio in 1936. The Green Hornet, a newspaper publisher by day, and masked avenger by night fought alongside his martial arts master sidekick Kato. It was adapted into a television show in the 1960s in which Bruce Lee played Kato.
The Green Hornet is a Columbia Pictures film and will be released in theaters in 2010.
With movies under his belt such as Spiderman and Evil Dead, Sam Raimi will now take on the fantasy world of World of Warcraft. Officially. Blizzard Entertainment announced (officially) that Sam Raimi will direct the major motion picture.
According to Raimi: “At its core, Warcraft is a fantastic, action-packed story. I am thrilled to work with such a dynamite production team to bring this project to the big screen.”
According to Legendary Pictures CEO Thomas Tull “Partnering with Sam Raimi exemplifies Legendary's mandate of marrying the highest quality intellectual property to world-class filmmakers. Sam's passion for 'Warcraft' is undeniable and we know that he will create an incredible film worthy of Blizzard's phenomenal franchise. We look forward to collaborating with our partners at Warner Bros. and continuing our successful relationship with Chuck in bringing this rich new world to the screen.”
According to Paul Sams, COO of Blizzard: “Blizzard Entertainment and Legendary Pictures have a shared vision for this film and we searched at length to find the very best director to bring that vision to life. From our first conversation with Sam, we could tell he was the perfect choice. Sam knows how to simultaneously satisfy the enthusiasts and the mainstream audience that might be experiencing that content for the first time. We're looking forward to working with him to achieve that here.”
Atlas Producer Charles Roven (The Dark Knight, 12 Monkeys): “Blizzard Entertainment’s Warcraft has become a second home for millions of players and Sam’s experience and talent make him the perfect director for this remarkable and action-packed world. Alex and I are proud to be working with Sam and re-teaming with our friends at Legendary and Warner Bros.”
Gush.
Never mind the disclaimer that was associated with the press release. It's better just to dream.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Blizzard Entertainment’s expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Blizzard Entertainment generally uses words such as “outlook,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “might,” “remains,” “to be,” “plans,” “believes,” “may,” “expects,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “estimate,” future,” “plan,” “positioned,” “potential,” “project,” “remain,” “scheduled,” “set to,” “subject to,” “upcoming” and similar expressions to help identify forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause Blizzard Entertainment’s actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include, but are not limited to, sales levels of Blizzard Entertainment’s titles, shifts in consumer spending trends, the impact of the current macroeconomic environment, the seasonal and cyclical nature of the interactive game market, Blizzard Entertainment’s ability to predict consumer preferences among competing hardware platforms (including next-generation hardware), declines in software pricing, product returns and price protection, product delays, retail acceptance of Blizzard Entertainment’s products, adoption rate and availability of new hardware and related software, industry competition, rapid changes in technology and industry standards, protection of proprietary rights, litigation against Blizzard Entertainment, maintenance of relationships with key personnel, customers, vendors and third-party developers, domestic and international economic, financial and political conditions and policies, foreign exchange rates, integration of recent acquisitions and the identification of suitable future acquisition opportunities, Activision Blizzard’s success in integrating the operations of Activision Publishing and Vivendi Games in a timely manner, or at all, and the combined company’s ability to realize the anticipated benefits and synergies of the transaction to the extent, or in the timeframe, anticipated, and the other factors identified in Activision Blizzard’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Blizzard Entertainment and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Blizzard Entertainment nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Blizzard Entertainment or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.
Natalie Portman has signed on to play Jane Foster in the comic book movie "Thor". The character has been "updated" and instead of Jane Foster being a nurse, she will be a scientist.
According to Dark Horizons News ""The epic fantasy adventure spans both present-day Earth and the mythical realm of Asgard. Thor is an arrogant Norse warrior whose reckless actions reignite an ancient war. Cast down to Earth and forced to live among humans as punishment, he learns what it takes to be a true hero when the most dangerous villain of his world sends the darkest forces of Asgard to invade Earth.""
Directed by Shakepearean guru, Kenneth Branaugh, the film will star Chris Hemsworth as thunder god Thor, and Tom Hiddleston as Loki, the god of mischief.
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| Chris Hemsworth will play Thor in the 2011 film | Tom Hiddleston has been tapped to play Loki |
Previously popular films such as the Spider-man franchise, Iron Man, X-Men, The Incredible Hulk, and on the DC side of things with Superman and Batman, there is big money to be had in comic book movies....and we love it!
For years, we've sat around in basements and living rooms talking about how cool it would be to make this or this comic book into a movie. Some of us even had lists of who WE would cast to play the infatigable superheroes.
Here are some of the goods.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Scheduled Release Date: May 1, 2009
Who's the same? Wolverine, played by Hugh Jackman
Who's different? Liev Schrieber has taken up the fangs as Sabretooth
Goodies: Ryan Reynolds will be playing Deadpool, Taylor Kitsch as Gambit (sorry folks, it's not Depp....though how delightful would that have been?) (check out the movie trailer in HyTek Gamer videos)
Captain America
Scheduled Release Date: Tenatively May, 2011
Goodies: Not much is known about the Captain America film...we DO however know it's coming. Marvel has been teasing us with eggs in the movies Iron Man (You see the famous star shield in Tony Starks shop) and in The Incredible Hulk (super-soldier serum anyone?)
Iron Man 2
Scheduled Release Date: May 2010
Who's the same? Robert Downey Jr. will once again step in the suit as Tony Stark. Gwyneth Paltrow will return as love interest Pepper Potts
Who's different? Don Cheadle will replace Terrence Howard Col. James Rhodey. Boo.
Goodies: It looks like we'll see Whiplash and Black Widow in this film....there are also hints that Samuel L. Jackson may appear as Nick Fury (S.H.I.E.L.D!)
Thor
Scheduled Release Date: July 2010
Goodies: Kevin McKidd is supposed to have been cast as Thor. I might have to do some more digging on this one...
Spider-Man 4
Scheduled Release Date: May 2011
Goodies: Supposedly Tobey Maguire will reprise his alter-ego Spider-Man but not much has been cemented about this movie. The villain? Maybe the Lizard. Maaaayyyyyybeeee. Stay tuned.
The Avengers
Scheduled Release Date: July 2011
Goodies: The Holy Grail of comic book movies (for Marvel lovers). Should be an all-star cast, from what I've read, I know that Robert Downy Jr. has signed on. Still not sure on which Avengers group this will be.
X-Men Origins: Magneto
Scheduled Release: 2011
Goodies: No solid reports on who will be playing the infamous Eric Lensherr (Magneto). Pretty much all that's known is that this movie will follow suit of the X-Men Origins and give us an insight on the road to his transformation into the evil mastermind, Magneto.
Ant-Man
Scheduled Release: 2010
Goodies: This supposedly will be the Hank Pym Ant-Man. Directed by Edgar Wright (Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead)
More coming soon!
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