Brace yourself for a Marvel-lous time
Right, so I'm sure you know by now that in July 2011, Marvel is going to be bringing cinema audiences the long-awaited Avengers film - which will team the superheroes Captain America, Thor, The Hulk and Iron Man. While DC and Warner Bros just can't seem to assemble their famous hero squad, The Justice League (comprising Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, the Green Lantern and co.), Marvel is full steam ahead with the Avengers.
The idea is that the Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America and Thor characters will each feature in their own solo-focused films before appearing together in The Avengers. In a move that is sending comic book geeks delirious with excitement, every actor who plays these iconic heroes in the solo films will return for the Avengers as well. So far that's Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man and (maybe, given his "difficult" reputation) Edward Norton as The Hulk.
Samuel L. Jackson, as the eyepatch-wearing government agent Nick Fury, seems to a common link between all these different projects - recruiting the different heroes to his cause as he goes along.
So anyway, development is proceeding on Iron Man 2 (read an interview with the screenwriter here), and, apparently, The Incredible Hulk 2 (where the swollen-headed genius, The Leader is set to be the villain).
What's more interesting, however, are the behind-the-scenes moves being made in regards to the Thor and Captain America movie adaptations. I want to gnash my teeth and throw a tantrum about this, but apparently James Bond's Daniel Craig passed on the role of Thor, the hammer-wielding Norse god who hides out in the body of a crippled medical student. At least that casting would have excited me about a comics property I've just never been able to get into. Craig apparently thought it would have been a power trip to play both Bond and an immortal, all-powerful deity.
Although Thor has yet to be cast, actor-turned-director Kenneth Branagh is clearing his schedule to helm the movie. Branagh has a considerable amount of experience in the director's chair, and given the epic opulence of his Frankenstein and Hamlet adaptations, I'm sure he'll do a fantastic job here... well, at least in the Asgard sequences.
Thor is set for release in June 2010.
Meanwhile, in Captain America news, although the title character has yet to be cast, the film officially has a director and writing team. Joe Johnston has brought audiences such wholesome, action-packed family fare as Jumanji, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, The Rocketeer and Jurassic Park III. He's probably the ideal director for a World War II-set film about a weedy young man, rejected by the army for his physical inadequacies, who takes part in an experiment to create the ultimate super soldier, ready to tackle the Nazis and their mysterious operative, the Red Skull.
Those of you who've seen The Incredible Hulk will have already witnessed the effects of the Super Soldier Serum - the same experimental formula that transforms Steve Rogers into Captain America. So you'll know, if the Captain America film is done well, that viewers are in for a rollicking good time with lots of impressive stunt work.
The First Avenger: Captain America is set for release in May 2011, just 2 months before The Avengers. Let's hope some official casting announcements are made soon.
The idea is that the Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America and Thor characters will each feature in their own solo-focused films before appearing together in The Avengers. In a move that is sending comic book geeks delirious with excitement, every actor who plays these iconic heroes in the solo films will return for the Avengers as well. So far that's Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man and (maybe, given his "difficult" reputation) Edward Norton as The Hulk.
Samuel L. Jackson, as the eyepatch-wearing government agent Nick Fury, seems to a common link between all these different projects - recruiting the different heroes to his cause as he goes along.
So anyway, development is proceeding on Iron Man 2 (read an interview with the screenwriter here), and, apparently, The Incredible Hulk 2 (where the swollen-headed genius, The Leader is set to be the villain).
What's more interesting, however, are the behind-the-scenes moves being made in regards to the Thor and Captain America movie adaptations. I want to gnash my teeth and throw a tantrum about this, but apparently James Bond's Daniel Craig passed on the role of Thor, the hammer-wielding Norse god who hides out in the body of a crippled medical student. At least that casting would have excited me about a comics property I've just never been able to get into. Craig apparently thought it would have been a power trip to play both Bond and an immortal, all-powerful deity.
Although Thor has yet to be cast, actor-turned-director Kenneth Branagh is clearing his schedule to helm the movie. Branagh has a considerable amount of experience in the director's chair, and given the epic opulence of his Frankenstein and Hamlet adaptations, I'm sure he'll do a fantastic job here... well, at least in the Asgard sequences.
Thor is set for release in June 2010.
Meanwhile, in Captain America news, although the title character has yet to be cast, the film officially has a director and writing team. Joe Johnston has brought audiences such wholesome, action-packed family fare as Jumanji, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, The Rocketeer and Jurassic Park III. He's probably the ideal director for a World War II-set film about a weedy young man, rejected by the army for his physical inadequacies, who takes part in an experiment to create the ultimate super soldier, ready to tackle the Nazis and their mysterious operative, the Red Skull.
Those of you who've seen The Incredible Hulk will have already witnessed the effects of the Super Soldier Serum - the same experimental formula that transforms Steve Rogers into Captain America. So you'll know, if the Captain America film is done well, that viewers are in for a rollicking good time with lots of impressive stunt work.
The First Avenger: Captain America is set for release in May 2011, just 2 months before The Avengers. Let's hope some official casting announcements are made soon.
Comments
I would be impressed if they could somehow manage to talk Kelsey Grammar into reprising his role as Beast, since the blue furball spent some time with the Avengers. That would be twelve shades of awesome, to be sure.