Latest News from the Marvel front

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May 5, 2008


Marvel Entertainment is going strong after Iron Man's huge opening weekend, and the company today announced their feature film release slate through 2011.

That schedule includes the Iron Man sequel and Thor in 2010, and not one but two Avengers-themed movies in the summer of 2011.

Iron Man 2 will hit theaters on April 30, 2010.

Thor, which has Stardust helmer Matthew Vaughn attached, will follow on June 4, 2010. The character, according to Marvel Studios' David Maisel, will first be introduced to moviegoers in Iron Man 2. Then, on May 6, 2011, Marvel will release First Avenger: Captain America, followed by a full-on Avengers movie, aptly named The Avengers, in July 2011.

The studio also confirmed that the Ant-Man film is still in active development with Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead) directing. There's no release date for that one yet.

As Iron Man continues to rock the box office, Marvel is prepping for their next release, The Incredible Hulk, which opens on June 13.

Hot on the heels of the news that Marvel Studios has finalized its film release slate through 2011, the rumor mill has churned out a big name contender to play the title role in the studio's The First Avenger: Captain America.

According to Cinema Blend, Fool's Gold and Sahara star Matthew McConaughey "may be one of Marvel's leading candidates to slip into Cap's red white and blue underpants. Our source is a reliable one, but at this point it's still very early and he's only one of the actors they are considering for the role."

While Iron Man proved that casting an older lead such as Robert Downey Jr. could work, McConaughey is almost two decades too old to play scrawny young enlisted man-turned-super soldier Steve Rogers. When The First Avenger opens May 6, 2011, McConaughey will be just a few months shy of his 42nd birthday.

The Hollywood Reporter said this week that "the Captain America project is looking for a rewrite as well as a director."

David Self penned the previous draft of the screenplay.