Marvel Films Discussion Thread

[Dan Mancini]

How Wagnerian.

Seriously. Why are people so down on this set? That's some epic Nordic sh*t right there. Odin sitting in a giant, golden sword-hilt-throne, flanked by ravens? If this was from the thirties, people would be praising it as the pinnacle of Golden Age set design.

I fully expect the movie to be a failure, mainly due to Branagh's track record with genre material and his weak action direction (in those brief moments his films can claim to contain action), but that's some seriously fine production design.

I predict the movie will be in theaters for exactly 5 seconds before A.O. Scott declares its production design "fascist."

[Boba Fett]

MARVEL RE-ACQUIRES RIGHTS TO MAKE ITS OWN "PUNISHER" MOVIES: http://www.deadline.com/2010/07/now-marvel-can-make-pics-for-the-punisher/.

Just let him cameo in other films. No need to once again try and get him to be the center point of a film.

KEEP: Ray Stevenson

JETTISON: Everything Else!

which is really sad.
Ray Stephenson is a renaissance man, he's a poet and a painter and drop dead gorgeous from the navel out in all directions...it's a shame to see him in such mindless tripe. But at least if he opens a few films he will start getting better offers.

I think the character still has a good film in him, and Ray has been the strongest iteration of him up to now. What's worse is that Warzone almost had it. If only the "comic book" style had been toned down. The biggest problem is that the vast majority of those involved in developing the films just don't "get" the character at all. Tom Jane did, but he was miscast, Stevenson definitely did, but he didn't have the script to back him up, and the film's agenda was just off base.

Jane wasn't miscast, he was cast in the Frank Castle movie. Throughout that movie he wrestles with what he's doing and who he is. It's only in the final act that he makes that transformation into "The Punisher." I think a sequel with him in full blown Punisher mode would have been dynamite.

That said, Stevenson also gets the character and seemed to have a blast with him. I wouldn't be opposed to either one coming back.

[Jim_Thomas]

Thor trailer from Comic-con:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwXd9c4BShA

Watch quickly before it gets pulled.

I'm still not entirely sold, but the potential is there. Plot looks to be a bit too busy for it's own good.

[Steve T Power]

Well now, That shut me up. Looks like a spot of fun.

[the5thghostbuster]

Thor trailer from Comic-con:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwXd9c4BShA

Watch quickly before it gets pulled.

I'm still not entirely sold, but the potential is there. Plot looks to be a bit too busy for it's own good.

Ok, I'm pumped now.

[HGervais]

And it's gone. The thing I don't get is why anyone premieres footage like that at an event such as ComicCon and then puts a lock around it. I get generating some excitment & anticipation but for frak's sake, you have already displayed it to 100,000 people...give it a couple of days and then put it out there for the rest of us.

[Andrew Forbes]

http://www.traileraddict.com/trailer/th ... on-trailer

I don't know. It could go either way. It feels very tonally disjointed to me. On the one hand, there's some very cool stuff in there. On the other hand, there is a definite Masters of the Universe vibe.

[HGervais]

There is more than a little bit of awesome in that footage. Thor looks right. Loki looks right. The Destroyer looks right. I'm a little more excited now.

[Andrew Forbes]

There is more than a little bit of awesome in that footage. Thor looks right. Loki looks right. The Destroyer looks right. I'm a little more excited now.

Harold, I'm completely unfamiliar with the comics. Is the Thor meets modern world thing fairly standard for the character? Is he supposed to be more alien than god?

[Steve T Power]

There is more than a little bit of awesome in that footage. Thor looks right. Loki looks right. The Destroyer looks right. I'm a little more excited now.

Harold, I'm completely unfamiliar with the comics. Is the Thor meets modern world thing fairly standard for the character? Is he supposed to be more alien than god?

Sort of, kind of, but not really.

I read a bit of Thor back in the late 80's / early 90's, and it had sort of a wonder woman vibe. He just kind of traveled two and fro between Asgard and Earth.

[Steve T Power]

This link is working... for now.

[Dan Mancini]

Well now, That shut me up. Looks like a spot of fun.

Seconded. It looks like a rollicking good time, actually. Hemsworth and Hopkins come off as perfectly cast (as a matter of fact, the thing I most dug about the Avengers cast picture from SDCC is how Hemsworth is a good half-head taller than Chris Evans and a lot more solid -- proportionally, they looked like Thor and Captain America).

Also, Agent Coulson is the man.

[HGervais]

There is more than a little bit of awesome in that footage. Thor looks right. Loki looks right. The Destroyer looks right. I'm a little more excited now.

Harold, I'm completely unfamiliar with the comics. Is the Thor meets modern world thing fairly standard for the character? Is he supposed to be more alien than god?

They are taking it in a slightly different direction. It looks like they grounding it a little more by making Thor earn his redemption and his status as the Odinson. It also looks like they are throwing a little of the Ultimate version of Thor in there. I just think the movie they are making looks a lot different from the movie most people thought they were making. I'm happy to see that and I'm pretty happy to see a lot of that in motion. Anyway, like I said, I'm feeling a lot better about this now. I think that as a brain trust Marvel Films has a pretty good idea of how to translate broad character strokes & ideas from the comics and making that work in a different medium. The movie Thor may be different from the Thor in the comics but, at this point anyway, it still is very recognizable as Thor. Having Marvel Comics writers & editors involved in the story building process also seems to have helped a great deal.

[Dunnyman]

Color me apologetic. While I'm still not 100% sold on the look of Hopkins, that trailer does indeed have all kinds of awesome in it. Color me stunned to see the action scenes looking so good under Branagh's hand. Another of my casting fears has been erased with Portman simply as an earth chick (Jane Foster?), not an Asgardian goddess. The Destroyer loose on earth? Wow! The biggest gripe? Summer 2011?????? A full freaking year, give or take? Arrgggh!

[HGervais]

The movie I thought I would never live to see goes into production early next year. Assemble!

[azul017]

The movie I thought I would never live to see goes into production early next year. Assemble!

Hell yes. Not happy with the 3D thing, but it's from Joss so I can deal. Very happy to see RDJ and Whedon work together.

[J.M. Vargas]

Oliver Platt joins Vaughn's "X-Men" movie in a non-mutant supporting role: http://www.deadline.com/2010/08/oliver-platt-joins-x-men-first-class/.

[J.M. Vargas]

"Mad Men's" January Jones cast as Emma Frost in "X-Men: First Class": http://www.deadline.com/2010/08/january-jones-heads-x-men-first-class-mutant-roster/. Casting is now complete.

At the same time, director Matthew Vaughn has set Zoe Kravitz to play Angel; Jason Flemyng will play Azazel, the father of Nightcrawler; Bill Milner to play the young version of Magneto (Michael Fassbender), and Morgan Lily to play the Young Raven. They join Fassbender, James McAvoy (Xavier), Nicholas Hoult (Beast) Jennifer Lawrence (Mystique), Caleb Landry Jones (Banshee), Lucas Till (Havoc), Edi Gathegi (Darwin), who round out the mutant contingent. Kevin Bacon is playing the villain, Rose Byrne will play McAvoy's love interest Moira MacTaggert, and Oliver Platt is playing The Man in Black. Production begins August 23 in London.

[HGervais]

Yeah. I would say she has the stuff to fill out the role of Emma Frost.

[azul017]

So did Alice Eve, when she was originally contracted for the role. Apparently, she didn't like the recent script changes and asked the production to be released from her contract. Either her role is being reduced to a cameo role, or went through changes she didn't like.

Eve's rumored to play a small supporting role in The Avengers, or being courted, to play Enchantress.

[J.M. Vargas]

http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/08/x-men_first_class_will_be_set.html

Matthew Vaughn's upcoming X-Men: First Class will be set in the sixties... producer Bryan Singer revealed yesterday. Setting the period, mentions of Kennedy in the White House and Martin Luther King Jr. leading marches will be included, adding to the film's appropriate (and not entirely new) civil rights undertones, with some action possibly taking place in Soviet Russia. Other plot details: James McAvoy’s Professor X's initial meeting with Michael Fassbender’s Magneto will play out, during which the two guys first conceive of the X-Men. And despite the film's title, it won't be directly based on the First Class comic book. Most important: Singer promises there will be more "old-school costumes," and fewer leather jumpsuits!

[Boba Fett]

http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/08/x-men_first_class_will_be_set.html

Matthew Vaughn's upcoming X-Men: First Class will be set in the sixties... producer Bryan Singer revealed yesterday. Setting the period, mentions of Kennedy in the White House and Martin Luther King Jr. leading marches will be included, adding to the film's appropriate (and not entirely new) civil rights undertones, with some action possibly taking place in Soviet Russia. Other plot details: James McAvoy’s Professor X's initial meeting with Michael Fassbender’s Magneto will play out, during which the two guys first conceive of the X-Men. And despite the film's title, it won't be directly based on the First Class comic book. Most important: Singer promises there will be more "old-school costumes," and fewer leather jumpsuits!

If that doesn't sound like a disaster waiting to happen, I don't know what would.

[HGervais]

I don't know. An X-Men movie designed as a silver age style romp combined with a James Bond kind of vibe sounds pretty damn cool to me. I can see where it could see where it could go very wrong, very quickly but the initial concept strikes me as kind of refreshing.

[Boba Fett]

I don't know. An X-Men movie designed as a silver age style romp combined with a James Bond kind of vibe sounds pretty damn cool to me. I can see where it could see where it could go very wrong, very quickly but the initial concept strikes me as kind of refreshing.

Yeah, in theory it should be fun, but the character overload thus far, in my opinion has filled the boat halfway with water. It won't take much to sink it.

[J.M. Vargas]

"IRON FIST" (via "xXx" screenwriter Rich Wilkes) is next in Marvel's live action movie adaptation train: http://www.deadline.com/2010/08/marvel-forges-iron-fist-deal-with-xxx-creator-rich-wilkes/.

[Jim_Thomas]

Captain America pics.
http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/news/first-look-steve-captain-america-rogers-in-full-costume.php

[Steve T Power]

Digging the costume, and knowing Joe Johnston, the flick will have a darker look to it. I'm intrigued!

[Dan Mancini]

Is that Chris Evans or a stunt man? Because it doesn't really look like Evans to me.

I still wish the shoulder pads looked more period, but overall the costume looks a lot better in real life than it did in the concept drawings.

[HGervais]

Is that Chris Evans or a stunt man? Because it doesn't really look like Evans to me.

I still wish the shoulder pads looked more period, but overall the costume looks a lot better in real life than it did in the concept drawings.

It's his double. From what I have read Dan the film version of Cap sees Steve Rogers start out as a circus performer, and I guess one who does tricks with mototcycles....which would explain the padded look....who then undergoes the super soldier experiment. The circus costume also explains why he is wearing such a bright & garish costume in the first place and I would assume that when he starts superheroing that costume is the first thing he goes for.

[Jim_Thomas]

And now we have pics of January Jones as Emma Frost in the X-men-First Class.

http://www.collider.com/2010/09/08/x-men-first-class-movie-set-photos-january-jones/



Don't know about the hat, but she's rockin' the rest of that outfit.

[HGervais]

Definite 60s vibe with that costume.

[Dan Mancini]

The circus costume also explains why he is wearing such a bright & garish costume in the first place and I would assume that when he starts superheroing that costume is the first thing he goes for.

That sounds a bit contrived. A little "America, *@%# yeah!" directed at Nazi a-holes would've been justification enough for the outfit as far as I'm concerned. Or if you want to be cynical about it, a little wartime propaganda. You know: what would fire up the folks back at home more than Ernie Pyle writing about a super-soldier dressed in the ol' Stars and Stripes taking out an entire squad of Germans with nothing more than his bare hands and a shield?

[HGervais]

The circus costume also explains why he is wearing such a bright & garish costume in the first place and I would assume that when he starts superheroing that costume is the first thing he goes for.

That sounds a bit contrived. A little "America, *@%# yeah!" directed at Nazi a-holes would've been justification enough for the outfit as far as I'm concerned. Or if you want to be cynical about it, a little wartime propaganda. You know: what would fire up the folks back at home more than Ernie Pyle writing about a super-soldier dressed in the ol' Stars and Stripes taking out an entire squad of Germans with nothing more than his bare hands and a shield?

Contrived perhaps but I know the costume and how it translates to audiences was one of their major concerns. Having him in that costume when he becomes the super soldier certainly solves some problems.

[Dan Mancini]

The circus costume also explains why he is wearing such a bright & garish costume in the first place and I would assume that when he starts superheroing that costume is the first thing he goes for.

That sounds a bit contrived. A little "America, *@%# yeah!" directed at Nazi a-holes would've been justification enough for the outfit as far as I'm concerned. Or if you want to be cynical about it, a little wartime propaganda. You know: what would fire up the folks back at home more than Ernie Pyle writing about a super-soldier dressed in the ol' Stars and Stripes taking out an entire squad of Germans with nothing more than his bare hands and a shield?

Contrived perhaps but I know the costume and how it translates to audiences was one of their major concerns. Having him in that costume when he becomes the super soldier certainly solves some problems.

Oh, yeah. They've done a fine job of translating the costume into a more military look (a la The Ultimates). I'm just saying there was no need to jump through a bunch of hoops to justify the color scheme. If you're going to spend millions of dollars (1940s dollars, no less) on a super soldier serum, you might as well get as much bang for your buck as possible by dressing the results up in red, white, and blue. Think of how many war bonds it would sell. Besides, if you put him in standard-issue olive green, how would the krauts know they're about to get their asses handed to them? (My point would be more convincing if it were coming out of the mouth of John Slattery playing a fast-talking advisor to FDR.)

[HGervais]

Ryan Reynolds sure sounds like he is still committed to a Deadpool movie.

[Steve T Power]

Ryan Reynolds sure sounds like he is still committed to a Deadpool movie.

Apparently Jackman is also gearing up to start that Samurai Wolverine outing in January. But who the heck is directing?

[J.M. Vargas]

^^^ Joe Carnahan's protege:

[HGervais]

Ryan Reynolds sure sounds like he is still committed to a Deadpool movie.

Apparently Jackman is also gearing up to start that Samurai Wolverine outing in January. But who the heck is directing?

Darren Aronosky's name keeps coming up.

[Steve T Power]

Ryan Reynolds sure sounds like he is still committed to a Deadpool movie.

Apparently Jackman is also gearing up to start that Samurai Wolverine outing in January. But who the heck is directing?

Darren Aronosky's name keeps coming up.

and that would blow my mind.

[Shmoooooo]

Ryan Reynolds sure sounds like he is still committed to a Deadpool movie.

Apparently Jackman is also gearing up to start that Samurai Wolverine outing in January. But who the heck is directing?

Darren Aronosky's name keeps coming up.

and that would blow my mind.

Man ... that sounds almost as good as getting Ang Lee to direct "Hulk"

[Steve T Power]

Ryan Reynolds sure sounds like he is still committed to a Deadpool movie.

Apparently Jackman is also gearing up to start that Samurai Wolverine outing in January. But who the heck is directing?

Darren Aronosky's name keeps coming up.

and that would blow my mind.

Man ... that sounds almost as good as getting Ang Lee to direct "Hulk"

You shut up! Just shut your mouth!!

[Andrew Forbes]

Darren Aronofsky is rumored to be behind every single superhero movie during early production.

[J.M. Vargas]

^^^ That's his superpower.

[J.M. Vargas]

Emma Stone to be offered Mary Jane Watson role in "Spider-Man" reboot; Dianna Agron, Mia Wasikowska, Georgina Haig and Dominique McElligott in the running for Gwen Stacy role: http://www.deadline.com/2010/10/glees-dianna-agron-georgina-haig-tangled-in-spidey-love-interest-web/.

[J.M. Vargas]

EMMA STONE SIGNS UP FOR "SPIDEY" REBOOT... AS GWEN STACY!: http://www.deadline.com/2010/10/emma-stone-in-spidey-but-with-switch/

[J.M. Vargas]

RHYS IFANS (Spike from "Notting Hill," "Harry Potter," etc.) offered role of villain in new "Spider-Man"... but which one??!!: http://www.deadline.com/2010/10/breaking-rhys-ifans-to-be-spidey-villain/.

[Steve T Power]

This popped up on Joblo.com yesterday!

Aranofsky and Jackman together again is exciting enough (The Fountain resonated HUGE with me), but for Wolvie set in Japan?!

I just can't see how this could be anything but awesome.

[Gabriel Girard]

This popped up on Joblo.com yesterday!

Aranofsky and Jackman together again is exciting enough (The Fountain resonated HUGE with me), but for Wolvie set in Japan?!

I just can't see how this could be anything but awesome.

Oh Yeah!

[J.M. Vargas]

RHYS IFANS WILL PLAY THE LIZARD IN "SPIDER-MAN" REBOOT: http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/10/spider-mans_big-screen_adversa.html.

[J.M. Vargas]

ABC DEVELOPING LIVE-ACTION TV ADAPTATION OF "THE INCREDIBLE HULK": http://www.deadline.com/2010/10/abc-developing-incredible-hulk-series/. Technically not movie news but a sign that Disney is going to take full advantage of the $4 billion it paid for Marvel.