With less than four months to go until the launch of the The Avengers, we’re getting all sorts of stories, pictures and rumors about the film, which has a May 4 release date. Of late, Empire Magazine has had four character-specific covers, there’s hints at what the film’s Hulk might look like, and a completely baseless rumor about a possible Marvel franchise cross-over. Take a look….
After making nearly $450 worldwide, Thor was considered successful enough for Marvel to green-light a sequel. But since making that decision, they’ve had a lot of trouble keeping a team together. The latest add-on is screenwriter Robert Rodat (according to Deadline Hollywood), who is reworking the script for director Alan Taylor for Thor 2. The film has a proposed 2013 release date.
Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard’s The Cabin in the Woods was the unfortunate victim of financing. Set up with MGM, the studio went through a rocky period, which left Woods and their Red Dawn remake distributor-less. Cabin was shot in 2009, but will finally see the light of day April 13, 2012. But if you don’t believe it will finally come out, there’s now proof as Lionsgate has put out a trailer.
Marvel studios has been building to Joss Whedon‘s The Avengers since 2008, when Robert Downey Jr. and Samuel L. Jackson had an end credit scene that laid out the possibility of Tony Stark working with a team. Since then we’ve seen Chris Hemsworth cast as Thor, Scarlett Johansson cast as Black Widow, Chris Evans cast as Captain America, Jeremy Renner cast as Hawkeye, and Edward Norton cast as the Hulk. Six out of seven isn’t bad. All of The Avengers save Jackson grace the latest Entertainment weekly cover, and features the new Hulk Mark Ruffalo. Check out the cover….
Saving the best for last, D23‘s movie panel concluded with footage from The Avengers, which is still shooting and has two weeks left to go. Though some of the cast was unavailable, Disney brought out Robert Downey Jr., Scarlet Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston and Colbie Smulders to wave at the crowd before they showed the footage twice. Here’s the breakdown…
Thor may be the trickiest of the big Marvel characters to adapt. Both a Norse God, and an extra-terrestrial being, Thor doesn’t have the “normal person thrust into superpowers” hook – which is both good and bad. And to that end Thor is not really an origin tale, so much as a learning experience for the main character. There’s a lot to do here, on top of director Kenneth Branagh putting a big budget fantasy movie on the shoulders of Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston, both actors who – at best – had some notable supporting performances previous to this. Did they succeed?
For the Thor press conference we were joined by Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Idris Elba, Kat Dennings, Jamie Alexander, and Anthony Hopkins. It was a fun chat, and the group talked about the hardships of maing a big franchise production, and the fun of being in comic book movies. For more with Hopkins, there’s another great interview. But check out the press conference…
If it feels like the internet has been beating up on Thor, it’s probably because the clips that have surfaced have been terrible. But for those looking forward to the film, there’s finally been a featurette to emerge that doesn’t rely on terrible comedy, or the non-presence of Hawkeye to sell the film. In it is footage of Asgard, and comments from director Kenneth Branagh and stars Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman. More than anything else recently, this looks good. Take a look…
WonderCon may be the less successful but still respectable sibling of ComicCon, but that doesn’t mean it can’t offer some exclusives. And today Marvel has put out two new posters for Thor, which opens May 6. These posters feature Chris Hemsworth as Thor looking at Tom Hiddleston as Loki. Having not seen the film, advertising suggests that Idris Elba‘s Heimdall is the main baddie in this picture, but rumors are that Loki has a much bigger role in an upcoming Marvel spin-off. Take a look…
