_____V_____
09-19-2009, 06:46 AM
(from IGN)
The status of 15 Marvel properties in development. In alphabetical order.
Ant-Man
Release Date: 2012
Development Status: Ant-Man and his sometimes wife The Wasp are two of the original five Avengers, and Marvel Studios have been trying for years to get an Ant-Man film off the ground. Currently, Shaun of the Dead director Edgar Wright is attached to direct the film, which he says will be an action-oriented movie with some humorous elements. Last year Wright reconfirmed his role and briefly discussed the state of the script.
Reportedly, the currently script focuses both on original Ant-Man Hank Pym and his successor Scot Lang. A shifting timeline will follow both heroes in their primes and reflect the comic book stylings of the Silver Age and Modern Age of comics.
Production on Ant-Man is currently stalled, and at this point it seems unlikely the film will arrive in theaters ahead of the Avengers movie. Recently Pixar has expressed an interest in distributing Ant-Man, leading many to wonder if the film will now be computer-animated instead of live-action.
The Avengers
Release Date: May 4, 2012
Development Status: Eagle-eyed fans will already know that the current Marvel Studios films are quietly paving the way for a full-scale Avengers adventure. Nick Fury is gathering together a small group of heroes. Tony Stark appears to have Captain America's shield on his workbench. Cap himself can be glimpsed frozen in ice in Incredible Hulk.
In 2012, after Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, and Cap have all been established in their respective film franchises, the heroes will be brought together in The Avengers. Iron Man director Jon Favreau is slated to direct the movie, which is currently in an early stage of pre-production. The script is said to draw inspiration from Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch's comic The Ultimates, which could even finger Hulk as one of the film's primary villains.
Iron Man 2 stars Robert Downey Jr. and Don Cheadle have already signed on to reprise their roles as Tony Stark and Jim Rhodes, respectively. In turn, the recently-cast Chris Hemsworth will return as Thor. Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury will also take on a much more prominent role.
It's expected that the actor cast as Captain America will return in The Avengers. What is less certain is Edward Norton's involvement. With such a heavy slate of A-List actors, the filmmakers may wish to recast certain parts in order to save money. We've even heard reports that Hulk will not revert to Bruce Banner in the film. Whether this is actually true remains to be seen. Norton's most recent comments on the subject have been noncommittal.
Blade reboot
Release Date: TBD
Development Status: The best thing about Blade: Trinity is that you can't do much worse than that, making the Daywalker's return to better fare that much easier. While nothing is official from Marvel's camp regarding Blade's return, one can expect that reboot fever will soon touch one of Marvel's earliest success stories.
That return may come in the form of Deacon Frost prequel, however. In July 2009, it was reported that director Stephen Norrington is working on a prequel trilogy based in the same universe, and centered around Blade's main villain, played in the first film by Stephen Dorff. No word yet on how exactly the idea, which Dorff came up with, will dovetail into the first three films, or what Blade's roll will be, if any. Also, Norrington is not officially attached to this project, at least not on Marvel's dance card. This is rumor at best and direct-to-DVD at worst. The last story headlining Blade can't be that which Spike TV canceled after one season. So dust off the sunglasses, Wesley.
Deadpool
Release Date: 2011
Development Status: It's not quite on the fast track, but it's getting there. Ryan Reynolds will sport Hal Jordan's ring before he will reprise his role as the Merc with the Mouth in this X-Men Origins: Wolverine spin-off. Recently, long-time X-Men producer Lauren Shuler-Donner revealed that the character's depiction in Wolverine will get – all together now – the reboot treatment, seeing as how the last time we saw Deadpool his head was spiraling away from his body in free fall, while firing Cyclops' optic blasts.
We already wiped the Deadpool-as-Weapon-11 bitter taste from our fanboy pallets, and we're glad to see Fox getting on the ball. The long-time studio home to Xavier's mutants will also release Deadpool's first solo mission. Outside of Reynolds and Donner, no other names have been officially reported to write or direct the story. So what is the story shaping up to be? Reynolds revealed that Cable is most likely not in the first movie, but we may see Ajax and Black Tom appear as villains. Also, expect that mouth of his to get a serious workout, with the character breaking the fourth wall on occasion.
Reynolds recently assured fans that he is mulling over story ideas with writers and will serve as "authentication police" over the character's treatment – and yes, we will learn how he got those scars.
Fantastic Four Reboot
Release Date: TBD
Development Status: The first salvo to come in the wake of Disney-Marvel came from 20th Century Fox, as the studio confirmed rumors from earlier this year that Marvel's First Family will get exposed to hopefully beneficial reboot rays. Who will spearhead the project? Oscar-winning scribe and Fringe writer and executive producer Akiva Goldsman. You might remember him from such nipplefests as Batman Forever and Batman & Robin.
Variety reports that Fox has also set Heroes and Green Lantern scribe Michael Green to pen the screenplay. The trade adds that since the reboot deals are just getting under way, it's too early to tell if any cast members from the first two films - Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Michael Chiklis, Chris Evans and Julian McMahon - will reprise their respective roles for the reboot. This contradicts reports from last March that claimed Fox wanted to completely retool and recast the franchise and replace director Tim Story. Look - if what came before was working it wouldn't be getting the fix.
The First Avenger: Captain America
Release Date: July 22, 2011
Development Status: The last major Marvel movie prior to the ensemble Avengers film will feature the first Avenger of them all. First Avenger: Captain America will focus on the early days of Steve Rogers and his transformation into Captain America. The current script appears to be set almost entirely in WWII, with Cap's final act of heroism and his subsequent freezing likely serving as the film's climax.
Originally, Marvel Studios planned to debut the Cap movie in early 2011 and have it lead directly into the Avengers film a few months later. While this movie will probably still set the stage for Avengers, the gap between them has now widened to a full year. Captain America now has a script and a director (Jurassic Park 3's Joe Johnston), but as expected, the search for an actor to portray Cap is long and difficult. At one point rumors swirled that Will Smith would don the blue chain mail, but it seems more likely at this point that the filmmakers will choose a relative unknown for the part.
Gambit
Release Date: Unknown
Development Status: Not much is known about a potential Gambit spinoff movie other than the fact that both 20th Century Fox and actor Taylor Kitsch have expressed an interest. Before his appearance in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Gambit had been planned for small roles in both X2: X-Men United and X-Men: The Last Stand.
Given that Gambit's origin story was alluded to in Wolverine, it seems likely that a spinoff film would shift focus to the character's later years. Kitsch has voiced his desire for the film to be darker in tone than its predecessor and to explore Gambit's back story.
Iron Man 2
Release Date: May 7, 2010
Development Status: Tony Stark's flight path to a sequel to his hit first movie started off bumpy: "Favreau's not coming back – gasp!?" "The Downey may not return – double gasp?!" "Howard's out, Cheadle's In as Rhodey – more with the gasping?!" But cooler heads and deep pockets prevailed, and the other fire drill that panned out to be true was actor Terrance Howard departing the role of Rhodes. Which kind of sucks for Howard, as Cheadle inhabits the role as Rhodes picks up the War Machine mantle. Face-melting footage from Comic-Con proved that.
The following stuff was revealed about the story of the film:
Two personal crises hit Tony hard: Tony's lingering father issues and an energy crisis of some sort. The shadow of Tony's celebrated, brilliant father, Howard - a man who helped America win World War II and stay armed during the Cold War - looms over the entire film. Howard's past somehow holds the key to Tony's future. (Tony isn't the only character with daddy issues; Mickey Rourke's villain, Ivan "Whiplash" Vanko also has them.) Black Widow weaves her way through the story, infiltrating Stark Industries and the CEO himself. All of this turmoil wears down Stark's relationship with Pepper and Rhodey, and most likely impacts Nick Fury's attempts to lure Stark to S.H.I.E.L.D. Expect Sam Rockwell's Justin Hammer to get into the fun as well.
All of this will be revealed next May, and maybe in 3-D. Paramount will distribute the sequel, but rights for releasing the third film will most likely fall under Disney, as IM3 is not part of Paramount's distribution deal with Marvel.
(Continued...)
The status of 15 Marvel properties in development. In alphabetical order.
Ant-Man
Release Date: 2012
Development Status: Ant-Man and his sometimes wife The Wasp are two of the original five Avengers, and Marvel Studios have been trying for years to get an Ant-Man film off the ground. Currently, Shaun of the Dead director Edgar Wright is attached to direct the film, which he says will be an action-oriented movie with some humorous elements. Last year Wright reconfirmed his role and briefly discussed the state of the script.
Reportedly, the currently script focuses both on original Ant-Man Hank Pym and his successor Scot Lang. A shifting timeline will follow both heroes in their primes and reflect the comic book stylings of the Silver Age and Modern Age of comics.
Production on Ant-Man is currently stalled, and at this point it seems unlikely the film will arrive in theaters ahead of the Avengers movie. Recently Pixar has expressed an interest in distributing Ant-Man, leading many to wonder if the film will now be computer-animated instead of live-action.
The Avengers
Release Date: May 4, 2012
Development Status: Eagle-eyed fans will already know that the current Marvel Studios films are quietly paving the way for a full-scale Avengers adventure. Nick Fury is gathering together a small group of heroes. Tony Stark appears to have Captain America's shield on his workbench. Cap himself can be glimpsed frozen in ice in Incredible Hulk.
In 2012, after Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, and Cap have all been established in their respective film franchises, the heroes will be brought together in The Avengers. Iron Man director Jon Favreau is slated to direct the movie, which is currently in an early stage of pre-production. The script is said to draw inspiration from Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch's comic The Ultimates, which could even finger Hulk as one of the film's primary villains.
Iron Man 2 stars Robert Downey Jr. and Don Cheadle have already signed on to reprise their roles as Tony Stark and Jim Rhodes, respectively. In turn, the recently-cast Chris Hemsworth will return as Thor. Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury will also take on a much more prominent role.
It's expected that the actor cast as Captain America will return in The Avengers. What is less certain is Edward Norton's involvement. With such a heavy slate of A-List actors, the filmmakers may wish to recast certain parts in order to save money. We've even heard reports that Hulk will not revert to Bruce Banner in the film. Whether this is actually true remains to be seen. Norton's most recent comments on the subject have been noncommittal.
Blade reboot
Release Date: TBD
Development Status: The best thing about Blade: Trinity is that you can't do much worse than that, making the Daywalker's return to better fare that much easier. While nothing is official from Marvel's camp regarding Blade's return, one can expect that reboot fever will soon touch one of Marvel's earliest success stories.
That return may come in the form of Deacon Frost prequel, however. In July 2009, it was reported that director Stephen Norrington is working on a prequel trilogy based in the same universe, and centered around Blade's main villain, played in the first film by Stephen Dorff. No word yet on how exactly the idea, which Dorff came up with, will dovetail into the first three films, or what Blade's roll will be, if any. Also, Norrington is not officially attached to this project, at least not on Marvel's dance card. This is rumor at best and direct-to-DVD at worst. The last story headlining Blade can't be that which Spike TV canceled after one season. So dust off the sunglasses, Wesley.
Deadpool
Release Date: 2011
Development Status: It's not quite on the fast track, but it's getting there. Ryan Reynolds will sport Hal Jordan's ring before he will reprise his role as the Merc with the Mouth in this X-Men Origins: Wolverine spin-off. Recently, long-time X-Men producer Lauren Shuler-Donner revealed that the character's depiction in Wolverine will get – all together now – the reboot treatment, seeing as how the last time we saw Deadpool his head was spiraling away from his body in free fall, while firing Cyclops' optic blasts.
We already wiped the Deadpool-as-Weapon-11 bitter taste from our fanboy pallets, and we're glad to see Fox getting on the ball. The long-time studio home to Xavier's mutants will also release Deadpool's first solo mission. Outside of Reynolds and Donner, no other names have been officially reported to write or direct the story. So what is the story shaping up to be? Reynolds revealed that Cable is most likely not in the first movie, but we may see Ajax and Black Tom appear as villains. Also, expect that mouth of his to get a serious workout, with the character breaking the fourth wall on occasion.
Reynolds recently assured fans that he is mulling over story ideas with writers and will serve as "authentication police" over the character's treatment – and yes, we will learn how he got those scars.
Fantastic Four Reboot
Release Date: TBD
Development Status: The first salvo to come in the wake of Disney-Marvel came from 20th Century Fox, as the studio confirmed rumors from earlier this year that Marvel's First Family will get exposed to hopefully beneficial reboot rays. Who will spearhead the project? Oscar-winning scribe and Fringe writer and executive producer Akiva Goldsman. You might remember him from such nipplefests as Batman Forever and Batman & Robin.
Variety reports that Fox has also set Heroes and Green Lantern scribe Michael Green to pen the screenplay. The trade adds that since the reboot deals are just getting under way, it's too early to tell if any cast members from the first two films - Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Michael Chiklis, Chris Evans and Julian McMahon - will reprise their respective roles for the reboot. This contradicts reports from last March that claimed Fox wanted to completely retool and recast the franchise and replace director Tim Story. Look - if what came before was working it wouldn't be getting the fix.
The First Avenger: Captain America
Release Date: July 22, 2011
Development Status: The last major Marvel movie prior to the ensemble Avengers film will feature the first Avenger of them all. First Avenger: Captain America will focus on the early days of Steve Rogers and his transformation into Captain America. The current script appears to be set almost entirely in WWII, with Cap's final act of heroism and his subsequent freezing likely serving as the film's climax.
Originally, Marvel Studios planned to debut the Cap movie in early 2011 and have it lead directly into the Avengers film a few months later. While this movie will probably still set the stage for Avengers, the gap between them has now widened to a full year. Captain America now has a script and a director (Jurassic Park 3's Joe Johnston), but as expected, the search for an actor to portray Cap is long and difficult. At one point rumors swirled that Will Smith would don the blue chain mail, but it seems more likely at this point that the filmmakers will choose a relative unknown for the part.
Gambit
Release Date: Unknown
Development Status: Not much is known about a potential Gambit spinoff movie other than the fact that both 20th Century Fox and actor Taylor Kitsch have expressed an interest. Before his appearance in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Gambit had been planned for small roles in both X2: X-Men United and X-Men: The Last Stand.
Given that Gambit's origin story was alluded to in Wolverine, it seems likely that a spinoff film would shift focus to the character's later years. Kitsch has voiced his desire for the film to be darker in tone than its predecessor and to explore Gambit's back story.
Iron Man 2
Release Date: May 7, 2010
Development Status: Tony Stark's flight path to a sequel to his hit first movie started off bumpy: "Favreau's not coming back – gasp!?" "The Downey may not return – double gasp?!" "Howard's out, Cheadle's In as Rhodey – more with the gasping?!" But cooler heads and deep pockets prevailed, and the other fire drill that panned out to be true was actor Terrance Howard departing the role of Rhodes. Which kind of sucks for Howard, as Cheadle inhabits the role as Rhodes picks up the War Machine mantle. Face-melting footage from Comic-Con proved that.
The following stuff was revealed about the story of the film:
Two personal crises hit Tony hard: Tony's lingering father issues and an energy crisis of some sort. The shadow of Tony's celebrated, brilliant father, Howard - a man who helped America win World War II and stay armed during the Cold War - looms over the entire film. Howard's past somehow holds the key to Tony's future. (Tony isn't the only character with daddy issues; Mickey Rourke's villain, Ivan "Whiplash" Vanko also has them.) Black Widow weaves her way through the story, infiltrating Stark Industries and the CEO himself. All of this turmoil wears down Stark's relationship with Pepper and Rhodey, and most likely impacts Nick Fury's attempts to lure Stark to S.H.I.E.L.D. Expect Sam Rockwell's Justin Hammer to get into the fun as well.
All of this will be revealed next May, and maybe in 3-D. Paramount will distribute the sequel, but rights for releasing the third film will most likely fall under Disney, as IM3 is not part of Paramount's distribution deal with Marvel.
(Continued...)