Disney’s D23 announcements – The Force Awakens, Toy Story 4, Doctor Strange, Finding Dory and more!

If you felt that Comic-Con didn’t lift the lid on Disney’s upcoming works enough than D23 is for you. The expo of all things Disney enlightened us on all of their properties from Star Wars to Pixar to Marvel and all of the studio’s very own animated and live action features. Sadly there’s been no word on the likes of in the works projects such as Wreck-It Ralph 2, Frozen 2 or proposed remakes of Dumbo and Pinocchio. Firstly…

Pixar!

After critical and commercial triumph of Inside Out, the studio is rolling out its slate of six upcoming movies. The Good Dinosaur will tell the story of an alternate reality where humans are the Earth’s secondary species and dinosaurs still rule. It comes from director Peter Sohn (Partly Cloudy) and stars Anna Paquin (X-Men), Jeffrey Wright (Casino Royale), Steve Zahn (Dallas Buyers Club) and Frances McDormand (Burn After Reading). November 25th 2015

Thirteen years after Finding Nemo, Finding Dory will pick up with the characters of the previous instalment when Dory finds herself in a marine study institute. Newly announced cast members include Hayden Rolence (Whom I Fear), Ed O’Neill (Modern Family) and Kaitlin Olson (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia). Andrew Stanton (Wall-E) and Angus MacLane (Toy Story of Terror) direct the cast of Ellen DeGeneres (Ellen), Albert Brooks (Drive), Diane Keaton (The Godfather), Eugene Levy (American Pie), Ty Burrell (Modern Family), Dominic West (The Wire), Idris Elba (Pacific Rim) and Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man). June 17th 2016

Toy Story 4 is also on the way and a teaser poster graced and it was revealed that it will focus on a love story between Woody and Bo Peep. John Lasseter (Toy Story 1-2) and Josh Cooley (George and AJ) direct while we expect Tom Hanks (Forrest Gump), Joan Cusack (Say Anything) and Tim Allen (Galaxy Quest) to star. June 16th 2017

Lee Unkrich (Toy Story 3) has long been developing a film centred on the Mexican celebration of The Day of the Dead. It has finally been given a release date and a title, Coco. No casting announcements have yet been made. November 22nd 2017

Another sequel on the way is Cars 3. No plot details were offered but we do know that John Lasseter (Cars 1-2) will write and we’d expect Owen Wilson (Wedding Crashers) and Larry the Cable Guy (Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector) to reprise their roles as Lightning McQueen and Mater respectively. June 15th 2018

The sequel Pixar fans have actually asking for will finally come out, 15 years after they asked for it. Assuming that the studio don’t want two sequels in the same year, The Incredibles 2 will head for a 2019 release. Brad Bird (Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation) will direct while we’d expect Craig T Nelson (Poltergeist), Holly Hunter (The Piano) and Samuel L Jackson (Avengers Assemble) to star.

Next up…

Disney Animation!

Disney’s latest animation Zootopia will portray a metropolis populated by mammals. Jason Bateman (Arrested Development), Ginnifer Goodwin (Once Upon a Time) and Alan Tudyk (Serenity) were already set to star but the latest addition is pop star/actress Shakira. The directors are Byron Howard (Tangled), Rich Moore (Wreck-It Ralph) and Jared Bush (behind the creative team of Big Hero 6). March 4th 2016

Next, the team behind Aladdin, Hercules and The Princess and the Frog arrived to unveil more from their latest work, Moana. Dwayne Johnson (Fast Five) and Alan Tudyk (Serenity) will star in the story of a plucky young woman who is assisted by a demi-god to reach a fabled island. November 23rd 2016

The newest announcement was Gigantic. Tangled‘s Nathan Greno will collaborate with Frozen’s songwriters, Robert and Kristen Lopez to bring the story of Jack and the Beanstalk to Spain in the age of exploration. March 9th 2018

Following that was…

Disney live action (aka Worlds, Galaxies and Universes)

True life disaster thriller The Finest Hours will depict the struggle for survival of a group of sailors in 1952. Craig Gillespie (Million Dollar Arm) directs with a cast including Chris Pine (Star Trek Into Darkness), Ben Foster (Lone Survivor), Casey Affleck (Gone Baby Gone), Holliday Grainger (Cinderella) and Eric Bana (Munich). January 29th 2016

The latest adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book was promoted by director Jon Favreau (Iron Man) as well as Oscar winning stars Ben Kingsley (Gandhi) and Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave) and newcomer Neel Sethi. The classic story of an orphan raised by the animals of the jungle also stars Scarlett Johansson (Avengers Assemble), Idris Elba (Pacific Rim), Bill Murray (Ghostbusters), Giancarlo Esposito (The Usual Suspects) and Christopher Walken (The Deer Hunter). April 15th 2016

Alice Through the Looking Glass will build upon the established world built in the Lewis Carroll books and the Tim Burton’s 2010 billion dollar hit. James Bobin (The Muppets) directs a cast featuring Mia Wasikowska (Crimson Peak), Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean), Anne Hathaway (The Dark Knight Rises), Helena Bonham Carter (The King’s Speech), Alan Rickman (Die Hard), Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat), Michael Sheen (Frost/Nixon), Andrew Scott (Pride), Rhys Ifans (Notting Hill), Toby Jones (Captain America: The Winter Soldier), Lindsay Duncan (About Time), Stephen Fry (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug) and Timothy Spall (Mr Turner). May 27th 2016

Next up was the family fantasy adventure Pete’s Dragon, about a young boy who seeks refuge from his family with a dragon. David Lowery (Ain’t Them Bodies Saints) directs while the film stars Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World), Wes Bentley (Interstellar), Karl Urban (Dredd) and Robert Redford (Captain America: The Winter Soldier). August 12th 2016

Two films delivered no material as such but were teased or mentioned. Firstly, Queen of Katwe – a drama about a girl from Uganda who trains to become a world chess champion. Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave) and David Oyelowo (Selma) will star with director Mira Nair (The Namesake). 2016

Also, Disney’s new iteration of Beauty and the Beast was present. The reboot (telling the story of a relationship between a monstrous prince and a young woman) is directed by Bill Condon (Mr Holmes) and stars Emma Watson (Harry Potter), Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey), Luke Evans (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug), Josh Gad (Frozen), Gugu Mbatha Raw (Belle), Ewan McGregor (Trainspotting), Stanley Tucci (The Hunger Games), Kevin Kline (A Fish Called Wonda), Emma Thompson (Saving Mr Banks) and Ian McKellen (The Lord of the Rings). March 17th 2017

Finally, there was news from the fifth instalment of a legendary franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. This one will see Captain Jack in search of the trident of Poseidon. Orlando Bloom (The Lord of the Rings) was announced to be returning as Will Turner for the first time since 2007. The duo of Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg (Kon-Tiki) direct an ensemble including Johnny Depp (Edward Scissorhands), Geoffrey Rush (The King’s Speech), Kaya Scodelario (The Maze Runner), Brendon Thwaites (Maleficent), David Wenham (300), Stephen Graham (This is England) and Javier Bardem (No Country For Old Men). July 17th 2017

Marvel

We won’t include Marvel’s full extensive line up but two of their instalments next year. Because of the studio’s infamous secrecy, none of the material shown has made it to the public. Captain America: Civil War showed off its trailer to the D23 audience. Anthony and Joe Russo (The Winter Soldier) direct with a cast including Chris Evans (Snowpiercer), Anthony Mackie (The Adjustment Bureau), Scarlett Johansson (Lucy), Daniel Bruhl (Rush), Sebastian Stan (Black Swan), Frank Grillo (The Purge: Anarchy), Emily VanCamp (Revenge), Robert Downey Jr (Sherlock Holmes), Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker), Elizabeth Olsen (Godzilla), Paul Bettany (A Beautiful Mind), Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda), Tom Holland (The Impossible), William Hurt (Artificial Intelligence) and Martin Freeman (The Hobbit). April 29th 2016

Doctor Strange is another of Marvel’s latest. Scott Derickson (Sinister) directs the supernatural thriller of which the recent concept art many likened to Inception. Marvel head Kevin Feige (Iron Man trilogy) could neither confirm or deny the rumours of Rachel McAdams joining the film but we do know that Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game), Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave). November 4th 2016

Star Wars

Star Wars: The Force Awakens was heralded by this stunning poster from Drew Struzan – the legendary poster designer who craft iconic works for Back to the Future and Blade Runner. JJ Abrams (Star Trek Into Darkness) directs a cast including Harrison Ford (Blade Runner), Mark Hamill (Kingsman: The Secret Service), Carrie Fisher (When Harry Met Sally), Andy Serkis (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), John Boyega (Attack the Block), Daisy Ridley (Toast of London), Oscar Isaac (Ex Machina), Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave), Domhnall Gleeson (About Time), Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones), Adam Driver (Frances Ha) and Max Von Sydow (Shutter Island). December 18th 2015

The first spin-off has had a full title announcement, cast reveals and first still. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story has added to its ranks Alan Tudyk (Serenity), Donnie Yen (Ip Man), Wen Jiang (Devils on the Doorstep) and Mads Mikkelson (Casino Royale). Gareth Edwards (Godzilla) will direct with the cast of Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything), Ben Mendelsohn (Killing Them Softly), Diego Luna (Elysium), Jonathan Aris (Sherlock), Riz Ahmed (Nightcrawler) and Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland). December 16th 2017

There wasn’t any news on Star Wars: Episode VIII – directed by Looper’s Rian Johnson and coming out May 26th 2017 – or the Han Solo spin off – directed by 21 Jump Street’s Phil Lord and Chris Miller and coming out May 25th 2018.

It was revealed that the third and final instalment of the new sequel trilogy (Star Wars: Episode IX) will be directed by Colin Trevorrow (Jurassic World) but the returning cast members are yet to be announced!

Hemsworth joins Ghostbusters, Ejiofor in talks for Doctor Strange and trailer for The Program

Chris Hemsworth has taken on horror in The Cabin in the Woods, fantasy in Snow White and the Huntsman, drama in Rush and superheroes in the Thor and Avengers films. He’s now set to move into comedy. Whilst he’ll star with Ed Helms, Christina Applegate, Leslie Mann and Chevy Chase in the Vacation reboot, he’s now signing onto a supporting role in the Ghostbusters sequel. The film is directed by Paul Feig (Bridesmaids) and stars Kristen Wiig (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, The Skeleton Twins), Melissa McCarthy (Spy, The Heat) and Saturday Night Live alumni Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones.

The supernatural thriller Doctor Strange is one of Marvel’s most anticipated Phase 3 releases (competing with Captain America: Civil War, Captain Marvel and Guardians of the Galaxy 2). Scott Derickson (Sinister) is directing with Benedict Cumberbatch (Stark Trek Into Darkness, The Imitation Game) as former surgeon Stephen Strange who delves into mastering mystic arts while Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton, We Need to Talk About Kevin) plays the mentor figure of The Ancient One.

Oscar nominee and BAFTA winner Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave, Serenity) was previously mentioned in connection to the film but there’s been some developments. The Brit is now in negotiations for the film. It’s also been announced that he’s in line for the villainous role of Baron Mordo but we’re not ruling out another casting. Al Pacino (The Godfather, Danny Collins) was previously rumoured for the role.

Finally the first trailer for Oscar candidate The Program has been released. Stephen Frears (Philomena) directs a cast including Ben Foster (Lone Survivor, 3:10 to Yuma), Chris O’Dowd (The IT Crowd, Calvary), Lee Pace (Guardians of the Galaxy, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug), Jesse Plemons (Breaking Bad, The Homesman) and Dustin Hoffman (The Graduate, Rain Man).

The Program – September 23rd

Ghostbusters – July 22nd 2016

Doctor Strange – October 28th 2016

Fantastic Beasts female lead rumours and Tilda Swinton in talks for Doctor Strange

Harry Potter spin-off Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them seems to have Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything) in place as hero Newt Scamander but the search is on for two different female leads. Lead one seems to be targeting a younger set of actresses: Saoirse Ronan (The Grand Budapest Hotel, Atonement), Dakota Fanning (Coraline, Now is Good), Lili Simmons (Banshee, True Detective) and Alison Sudol (Dig, Transparent).

Lead two is considering Kate Upton (The Other Woman), Katherine Waterston (Inherent Vice) and Elizabeth Debicki (The Great Gatsby). Personally, from those two list Ronan and Debicki seem the best fit for the series. Harry Potter veteran David Yates is set to direct.

They might be more renowned for their blockbuster friendly action and stars (Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, Bradley Cooper) but Marvel have among their ranks plenty of venerable dramatic actors: Oscar winners Jeff Bridges (Obadiah Stane), Gwyneth Paltrow (Pepper Potts), Natalie Portman (Jane Foster), Anthony Hopkins (Odin), Tommy Lee Jones (Chester Phillips), Ben Kingsley (Mandarin), Robert Redford (Alexander Pierce) and six time nominee Glenn Close (Nova Prime) have all joined the MCU. The next Oscar winner to join is Tilda Swinton.

The British star of We Need to Talk About Kevin, Moonrise Kingdom and Michael Clayton is in talks to join fantasy action Doctor Strange. Three men (Morgan Freeman, Bill Nighy, Ken Watanabe) were rumoured to in line for the mentor role of The Ancient One but the gender of the character has been controversially altered from the comics. Scott Derickson (Sinister) directs the cast of Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game, Star Trek Into Darkness), Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave, Children of Men) and Daniel Bruhl (Rush, The Bourne Ultimatum).

Doctor Strange – October 28th 2016

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – November 18th 2016

Adam McKay is on board for another Marvel film

Edgar Wright’s shock departure from Marvel’s sci-fi adventure Ant-Man led to the studio appointing director Peyton Reed in his place. They also sought out Anchorman’s Adam McKay as a writer but his work with Kevin Feige and co may not be ending there. A new report suggests that McKay is in line to helm an upcoming superhero project. Guys like Joss Whedon (Serenity), Anthony and Joe Russo (Welcome to Collinwood), James Gunn (Slither), Drew Goddard (The Cabin in the Woods) and Scott Derickson (Sinister) have already been appointed on Age of Ultron, Civil War, Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Spider-Man and Doctor Strange but there are several films currently without a director – Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther and Captain Marvel remain unassigned.

We’d propose that McKay will be bringing us the ensemble spectacular Inhumans, which depicts an isolated community of alien superheroes descended from the Kree. The cast is so far unrevealed but we will have our suspicions. The line up may include Vin Diesel (Riddick and the voice of Groot) as Black Bolt, Aaron Taylor Johnson (Kick-Ass, Anna Karenina) as Quicksilver and Elizabeth Olsen (Godzilla, Martha Marcy May Marlene) as Scarlet Witch and the Agents of SHIELD stars Chloe Bennett (Nashville) as Daisy Johnson/Quake, Ruth Negga (World War Z) as Raina, Luke Mitchell (7 Minutes) as Lincoln and Kyle MacLachlan (Twin Peaks) as Calvin Zabo.

Inhumans – July 12th 2019

Marvel targeting Ejiofor for Doctor Strange and X-Men: Apocalypse makes new castings

Following his BAFTA winning and Oscar nominated turn in 12 Years a Slave, Chiwetel Ejiofor (Children of Men, Serenity) has been the subject of various studios for mainstream roles. The Bond 24, later titled Spectre, rumours fell through but the Brit is reportedly under consideration for one of Marvel’s biggest upcoming projects: Doctor Strange.

Over the other choices of Jared Leto, Jake Gyllenhaal, Matthew MacConaughey, Tom Hardy and Ewan MacGregor, Benedict Cumbatch (The Imitation Game, Sherlock, Star Trek Into Darkness, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug) will take the lead on director Scott Derickson’s (Sinister) supernatural thriller while Daniel Bruhl (Rush, Captain America: Civil War) is rumoured to be playing a villain. Bill Nighy (Love Actually, Hot Fuzz), Morgan Freeman (The Shawshank Redemption, The Dark Knight) and Ken Watanabe (Inception, Godzilla) are the favourites for the mentor role of The Ancient One. We’re not sure where Ejiofor would slot in but he’ll be a valuable addition to Kevin Feige’s growing cannon.

Stars of the original X-Men such as Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Shawn Ashmore, Anna Paquin, Ellen Page, Kelsey Grammer, Famke Janssen and James Marsden were revived for the superhero crossover X-Men: Days of Future Past but are being dropped in favour of the First Class graduates in the next instalment, Apocalypse. Still, some of those characters will have younger incarnations appear in the form of these new castings.

Beating off the competition of Kick-Ass/Hugo’s Chloe Grace Moretz, British Game of Thrones regular Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark) will play the unstable telepathic Jean Grey. Getting the role of laser-eyed Cyclops/Scott Summers over Kingsmans’ Taron Egerton is Tye Sheridan (The Tree of Life, Mud). Relative newcomer Alexandra Shipp is the tribal goddess Storm.

Bryan Singer (X-Men, X-Men 2, The Usual Suspects) directs the cast of Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games, American Hustle), Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave, Prometheus), James McAvoy (Filth, Atonement), Oscar Isaac (A Most Violent Year, Inside Lleweyn Davis), Evan Peters (Kick-Ass, American Horror Story), Nicholas Hoult (Warm Bodies), Channing Tatum (Foxcatcher, 21 Jump Street) and Hugh Jackman (Les Miserables, The Prestige, Prisoners, The Fountain).

X-Men: Apocalypse – May 19th 2016

Doctor Strange – October 28th 2016

Review of the year – The Five Biggest News Stories of 2014, including Spectre, Doctor Strange, The Interview and more

5) The Force awakens for Star Wars

It was mysterious and secretive right up until it didn’t want to be and JJ Abrams’ (Super 8, Lost, Star Trek) new Star Wars sequel has become the year’s biggest hype monster. We new nothing until the entire cast were announced in one swoop. Newcomers to the series Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis), John Boyega (Attack the Block), Domhnall Gleeson (About Time), Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave), Adam Driver (Tracks), Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones), Max Von Sydow (Minority Report) and Andy Serkis (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, The Lord of the Rings) will rub shoulders with the original crew of Mark Hamill (The Big Red One), Carrie Fisher (The Blues Brothers), Peter Mayhew, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Warwick Davis (Willow) and Harrison Ford (Blade Runner, The Witness, Raiders of Lost Ark).

The Force Awakens was revealed as the title and this phenomenon of a trailer was released.

4) The Interview – when Hollywood enters world politics

We continue proceedings with the most recent and easily the most controversial scoop of the year. The Interview began harmlessly as a Sony comedy project poised to be the directorial follow up for This Is the End Team Evan Goldberg (Superbad) and Seth Rogen (Knocked Up, 50/50) with regular collaborator James Franco (Spider-Man, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, 127 Hours). Lizzy Caplan (Cloverfield, Masters of Sex) was recruited to star but things kicked off when the film’s full extent was revealed.

The Interview would see extravagant broadcaster Dave Skylark (Franco) and producer Aaron Rapaport (Rogen) are enlisted by the FBI to infiltrate North Korea, via an interview with their real-life leader Kim Jung-Un (here played by Randall Park), and assassinate him. Production went swimmingly but the release is where trouble was aroused. To provide some political context, Kim Jung-Un is the successor of Kim Jung-Il. This dynasty, responsible for the atrocities or just the face of the oppression, are allegedly conducting massacres of their own people but the (and I know this is a woeful understatement) tightly regulated press cannot confirm any story of the like.

North Korea’s potential response was always dreaded but it was only in the past month that events spiralled. The country seemed placid enough until declaring it an act of war. The first aggressive move was made when Sony were mysteriously hacked and numerous stories (a clean slate for Spider-Man?) and entire films, including The Interview, were leaked online. North Korea denied responsibility for the hack but the methods bared great similarity to another attack on the South Korean government. The nation then made the grave threats of 9\11 style attacks on all cinemas showing the film – not even Team America prompted this sort of retaliation.

And so Sony had to pull the release. It’s still unclear if they plan to postpone or entirely cancel the film, if the latter Sony will have suffered losses of $40 million on budget, $30 million on marketing as well as whatever money they claimed from the box office. You can see why Sony would be keen to negotiate some form of release. If so cult stardom awaits.

Not only this film was pulled (Oscar hopeful Foxcatcher, starring Steve Carell, Mark Ruffalo and Channing Tatum, has suffered delays) due to the attack and this isn’t the only film of this year to have caused major political impact; action sci-fi sequel The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 was forced to scrap its Taiwan release, worried that the rebellious themes would stir public unrest.

Many of Hollywood’s elite, including The Secret Life of Walter Mitty star Ben Stiller, criticized Sony’s response for caving in and not exercising freedom of speech. US President Barack Obama himself condemned Sony but I doubt he’d have been so critical if a matter so trivial as a farcical comedy film were to bring harm to others.

3) Marvel’s Third Phase – difficulty casting Strange and creative power struggle for Ant-Man

Four films based upon Marvel comics dominated the financial skyline of this year: Sony’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2 ($708 million – 6th highest grossing film of the year), Fox’s X-Men: Days of Future Past ($746 million – 4th) and the official Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier ($714 million – 5th) and Guardians of the Galaxy ($772 million – 2nd). After next year’s Avengers sequel Age of Ultron, the MCU are advancing with its third phase. It was confirmed all in one massive, mid-week presentation.

Captain America (starring Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr) and Thor (starring Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston) are receiving their third films (Civil War and Ragnarok respectively; Guardians of the Galaxy is getting the sequel treatment; the Avengers will return in a two part event titled Infinity War and the new properties of Black Panther (starring Chadwick Boseman), Captain Marvel and Inhumans will be put into production.

One of Marvel’s most promising projects was Ant-Man, a sci-fi that Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Scott Pilgrim VS The World) had been developing for years. The casting of Paul Rudd (Anchorman), Corey Stoll (House of Cards), Evangeline Lilly (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug), Michael Pena (American Hustle) and Michael Douglas (The Game) went swimmingly but Wright’s departure sent the film spiralling. There was a scramble for a replacement saw comedy veterans Rawson Marshall Thurber (We’re the Millers) and Adam McKay (Anchorman) in consideration but Peyton Reed, still best known for Yes Man, got the job. Annoyingly the decision has all the signs of a last minute filler job.

Doctor Strange had an easier time picking its helmer in the form of Sinister’s Scott Derickson. Casting was far trickier. Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises) and Benedict Cumberbatch were the first to be rumoured for the role in a long chain of names featuring Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club), Jack Huston (Broadwalk Empire), Edgar Ramirez (Deliver Us From Evil) and Andy Serkis (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) with the persisting, if far fetched, claims of Adrien Brody (The Pianist) and Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean). In the summer Joaquin Phoenix (Her, Walk the Line, Inherent Vice) was revealed to be in talks but didn’t immediately sign on and he seemed reluctant to be joining.

Indeed he was and his departure left the casting process at square one. After this a host of actors were mentioned in connection: Matthew MacConaughey (Interstellar), Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis), Ethan Hawke (Before Sunrise), Ewan MacGregor (Transpotting), Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler) and Ryan Gosling (The Ides of March). Eventually Marvel circled back to Golden Globe nominee Cumberbatch (Sherlock, Star Trek Into Darkness, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, 12 Years a Slave, The Imitation Game). Despite these delays the franchise is interlocking into place.

2) Homegrown talent triumphs at Oscars

Besides Spike Jonze’s awful robo-romance Her, 2014’s Academy Awards Best Picture selection was phenomenal. The strong contenders were American Hustle (’70s set hustler drama starring Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and Jennifer Lawrence), Captain Phillips (hijacking thriller with Tom Hanks), Gravity (spaceship disaster action with Sandra Bullock and George Clooney), Philomena (Steve Coogan written comedy/drama starring Coogan and Judi Dench) and Scorcese’s modern crime flick The Wolf of Wall Street.

Unsurprisingly it was the thoroughly acclaimed period drama 12 Years a Slave that triumphed. While it is a largely American production, the film, depicted a harrowing account of slavery through the story of Solomon Northup, but has an immense amount of British. The film’s grand ensemble (including Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Sarah Paulson, Scoot McNairy, Quvenzhane Wallis, Paul Giamatti and Brad Pitt) picked up three acting nominations: Brit Chiwetel Ejiofor for Best Leading Actors; Irish-Germanic star Michael Fassbender for Best Supporting Actor; Mexican-born unknown Lupita Nyong’o won for Best Supporting Actress.

The ceremony’s most important victor was Steve McQueen. Although the Brit lost out on Best Director to Gravity’s Alfonso Cuaron his work became the first Best Picture winner to have been directed and produced by a black filmmaker. This year, 12 Years a Slave made film history.

1) Spectre-falls

Spectre triumphs as our most exciting news story of 2014. The mega-announcement revealed the title of the twenty fourth Bond instalment as well as the cast and some plot details. Sam Mendes’ (Road to Perdition, Revolutionary Road, American Beauty) follow up to the billion dollar success of Skyfall sees James Bond tracking down a mysterious signal that leads him to uncovering a hidden organisation. The cast includes Daniel Craig (Munich), Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained), Lea Seydoux (Blue is the Warmest Colour), Ralph Fiennes (The Grand Budapest Hotel), Andrew Scott (Sherlock), Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy), Naomie Harris (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom), Jesper Christiansen (Melancholia), Rory Kinnear (The Imitation Game) and Ben Whishaw (Cloud Atlas).

Al Pacino confirms discussions with Marvel and first trailer for Zemeckis’ The Walk

Al Pacino is perhaps the greatest actor of the past fifty years. The Oscar winning star of Scarface, Serpico, Heat, Scent of a Woman, Dog Day Afternoon, Insomnia, Carlito’s Way, Donnie Brasco and The Godfather trilogy did, earlier in the year, express interest in a collaboration with Marvel following his viewing and immediate delight in their space-set smash hit Guardians of the Galaxy. He’s now confirmed that he’s met up with Marvel’s studio head Kevin Feige about the possibility of a role in the films.

“I would imagine either there’s something he feels is right for me,” he explained. For different roles the mysterious part of Star Lord’s father is still up for grabs; hopefully he won’t get stuck as a generic villain. Other more venerable actors to take the step into the fray of Marvel’s action packed world include Anthony Hopkins in Thor, Michael Douglas in Ant-Man, Jeff Bridges in Iron Man, Tommy Lee Jones in The First Avenger and Robert Redford in The Winter Soldier. It’s no long stretch to imagine Pacino accepting such a role. The Marvel movies up for casting are Captain America: Civil War, Doctor Strange, Thor: Ragnarok, Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Inhumans and The Avengers: Infinity War.

Although the story was comprehensively covered in the Oscar winning documentary Man on Wire, the death defying accomplishment of tightrope walker Philippe Petit, who walked on wire from one Twin Tower to the other, will be seen on screen again in The Walk, the first trailer for which has been released. Robert Zemeckis, director of Back to the Future, Cast Away, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Contact and Forrest Gump, commands the cast of Joseph Gordon Levitt (Looper, Inception, Lincoln), Charlotte Le Bon (Mood Indigo, The Hundred Foot Journey), James Badge Dale (Iron Man 3, World War Z) and Ben Kingsley (Gandhi, Hugo, Shutter Island).

The Walk – October 2nd 2015

Daniel Bruhl joins Civil War and Doctor Strange as villain

Ron Howard’s racing drama Rush became one of 2013’s most acclaimed films and is still IMDB’s 154th greatest film of all time. Although completely snubbed come the Oscars, it rejuvenated Howard’s career and gave Chris Hemsworth a major dramatic role away from Thor. Most importantly it put Spanish-born, German actor Daniel Bruhl (The Bourne Ultimatum, Inglourious) properly on the map. He’s now set to rejoin Hemsworth in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Captain America: Civil War is a major Marvel crossover event starring Chris Evans (Snowpiercer) as Captain America and Robert Downey of Jr (Sherlock Holmes) as Iron Man. As well as being the culmination of the disastrous events of next year’s The Avengers: Age of Ultron it’ll be setting up ties with the future of the Marvel universe. Chadwick Boseman (Get on Up) debuts as Black Panther, who receives a solo film in 2017, while The Winter Soldier’s Anthony and Joe Russo return to direct.

Bruhl will slot in as a villain who will then go on to oppose Benedict Cumberbatch’s (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Star Trek Into Darkness, The Imitation Game, Sherlock) Doctor Strange, soon to be directed by Scott Derickson. The role is still unspecified but rumours range from Baron Modo to The Punisher but it’s hard to judge the casting if we’re unsure of who it is. Punisher, AKA Frank Castle, makes sense for Civil War (especially with the fan theory that Punisher’s truck is aiding Cap and Fury at two points during Winter Soldier) but doesn’t quite match Strange.

I’d expect Civil War to also star Cap’ trilogy regulars Samuel L Jackson (Jurassic Park) as Nick Fury, Anthony Mackie (The Adjustment Bureau) as Falcon, Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother) as Maria Hill, Frank Grillo (The Purge: Anarchy) as Crossbones, Emily Van Camp (Revenge) as Agent 13 and Sebastian Stan (Political Animals) as The Winter Soldier. More Avenger-associated characters, Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson – Lost in Translation), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner – The Hurt Locker), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen – Godzilla) or Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor Johnson – Kick-Ass), may sit out.

Captain America: Civil War – April 29th 2016

Doctor Strange – November 6th 2016

Marvel confirm their future in massive announcement: Black Panther, Captain America: Civil War, Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Inhumans, Doctor Strange, Captain Marvel, Thor: Ragnarok and Infinity War!

In the summer, Marvel confirmed a series of release dates without a name to them but, at a recent presentation, the Phase 3 line up was at last revealed. It begins in 2015 with Ant-Man although that wasn’t mentioned today. What did steal focus was the third solo outing for Captain America which is now officially titled Civil War. It’ll be directed by Anthony and Joe Russo (The Winter Soldier) and will star Chris Evans (Snowpiercer) as Cap’ and Robert Downey Jr (Chaplin, Sherlock Holmes) as Iron Man while there are rumoured appearances from Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation, The Other Boleyn Girl) as Black Widow and Anthony Mackie (The Adjustment Bureau, The Hurt Locker) as Falcon. There’s new title artwork for the film.
Captain America: Civil War – May 6th 2016

Next up was Doctor Strange. Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock, Star Trek Into Darkness, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug) recently signed on to star with Scott Derickson (Sinister) directing but the harrowing casting process has pushed the film’s release back a few months.
Doctor Strange – November 4th 2016

The smash hit Guardians of the Galaxy has now taken over $750 million worldwide and its sequel will be released sooner than expected. Director James Gunn (Slither) returns with the cast of Chris Pratt (The Lego Movie, Moneyball) as Star Lord, Bradley Cooper (Limitless, Silver Linings Playbook) as Rocket, Zoe Saldana (Avatar, Star Trek) as Gamora, Vin Diesel (Saving Private Ryan, Pitch Black, Fast and Furious) as Groot, Dave Bautista (Riddick, Bond 24) as Drax, Karen Gillan (Doctor Who, Oculus) as Nebula and Josh Brolin (No Country For Old Men) as Thanos (probably).
Guardians of the Galaxy 2 – May 5th 2017

Thor’s second adventure, The Dark World, wasn’t consider the box office success of Cap’ 2 or the Iron Man films but it still grossed far north of $600 million globally. This has prompted the confirmation of Thor: Ragnarok, in which Asgard trembles at the threat of apocalypse. Chris Hemsworth (Rush, The Cabin in the Woods) and Tom Hiddleston (War Horse, Only Lovers Left Alive) will star as Thor and Loki respectively while I’d expect Natalie Portman (Black Swan, Leon) as Jane Foster, Idris Elba (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, Pacific Rim) as Heimdall and Anthony Hopkins (The Silence of the Lambs, The Remains of the Day) as Odin. A director is yet to be found.
Thor: Ragnarok – July 28th 2017

Black Panther was the first of three new properties to be announced. Again no director is signed on but a writer is present in the form of documentary maker Mark Bailey. More excitingly 42 and Get on Up’s Chadwick Boseman was confirmed to be playing the tribal hero. We reckon Andy Serkis (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, The Prestige, The Lord of the Rings) will play villain Ulysses Klaw.
Black Panther – November 3rd 2017

The title itself is going to be tricky to sell but Marvel have at last invested in a female led film, following suit from DC’s Wonder Woman. There’s still no word on a director or star (is Longmire’s Katee Sackhoff still on the cards?) but a release date is in place.
Captain Marvel – July 6th 2018

New franchise Inhumans was also conceived is similar circumstances in that we know almost nothing but there are faint rumours that Vin Diesel (already voicing Groot) will play team leader Black Bolt.
Inhumans – November 2018

The most exciting announcement of all was that the third instalment of the central Avengers series will be split into two parts. Infinity War Part 1 and 2 will be released across 2018 and 2019. I sincerely hope that Serenity’s Joss Whedon will direct.
The Avengers: Infinity War Part I – May 4th 2018
The Avengers: Infinity War Part II – May 3rd 2019

Let’s just recap on the story so far in Kevin Feige’s Marvel Cinematic Universe:

Phase One:

Iron Man – 2008 – Jon Favreau – Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, Terrence Howard, Clark Gregg, Paul Bettany, Samuel L Jackson

The Incredible Hulk – 2008 – Louis Leterrier – Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, William Hurt, Tim Blake Nelson

Iron Man 2 – 2010 – Jon Favreau – Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Mickey Rourke, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Clark Gregg, Paul Bettany, Samuel L Jackson

Thor – 2011 – Kenneth Branagh – Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, Stellan Skarsgard, Clark Gregg, Jaimie Alexander, Idris Elba

Captain America: The First Avenger – 2011 – Joe Johnston – Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving, Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, Tommy Lee Jones, Dominic Cooper, Stanley Tucci, Toby Jones, Samuel L Jackson

The Avengers – 2012 – Joss Whedon – Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner, Samuel L Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Clark Gregg, Paul Bettany

Phase Two:

Iron Man 3 – 2013 – Shane Black – Robert Downey Jr, Don Cheadle, Gwyneth Paltrow, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Ben Kingsley, Paul Bettany

Thor: The Dark World – 2013 – Alan Taylor – Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Christopher Eccleston, Anthony Hopkins, Jaimie Alexander, Stellan Skarsgard, Idris Elba

Captain America: The Winter Solder – 2014 – Anthony and Joe Russo – Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie, Robert Redford, Samuel L Jackson, Sebastian Stan, Cobie Smulders

Guardians of the Galaxy – 2014 – James Gunn – Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Dave Bautista, Lee Pace, Karen Gillan, Michael Rooker, Benicio Del Toro

The Avengers: Age of Ultron – 2015 – Joss Whedon – Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, James Spader, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Samuel L Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor Johnson, Paul Bettany, Andy Serkis

Phase Three:

Ant-Man – 2015 – Peyton Reed – Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, Judy Greer, Michael Pena, Corey Stoll

Captain America: Civil War – 2016 – Anthony and Joe Russo – Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr, (unconfirmed) Anthony Mackie

Doctor Strange – 2016 – Scott Derickson – Benedict Cumberbatch

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 – 2017 – James Gunn – (unconfirmed)

Thor: Ragnarok – 2017 – (unconfirmed) – Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston

Black Panther – 2017 – (unconfirmed) – Chadwick Boseman, (unconfirmed) Andy Serkis

The Avengers: Infinity War Part I – 2018 – (unconfirmed) Joss Whedon – (unconfirmed) Robert Downey Jr, Mark Ruffalo, Josh Brolin

Captain Marvel – 2018

Inhumans – 2018

The Avengers: Infinity War Part II – 2019 – (unconfirmed) Joss Whedon – (unconfirmed) Robert Downey Jr, Mark Ruffalo, Josh Brolin

The Third Phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been unleashed so tell us which of the ten new instalments you are most excited about. For us, it has got to be both parts of Infinity War. Bye for now!

Benedict Cumberbatch confirmed as Doctor Strange

The casting of Doctor Stephen Strange has been one of the most brutal and exciting film stories of the year. Marvel’s supernatural thriller was greenlighted and gained a director, Sinister’s Scott Derickson, earlier this year. Early speculation prompted talk about Adrien Brody and Jon Hamm joining while Andy Serkis’ (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) unspecified role in Avengers: Age of Ultron could have been as the surgeon. The initial casting rumour was that Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock) and Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises) were on Marvel’s shortlist. When casting Ant-Man a similar two nominations, Joseph Gordon Levitt and Paul Rudd, came forward and one (Rudd) was confirmed but there was a different story here.

Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club) also entered the running before, in the summer, Joaquin Phoenix (Her) was confirmed to be in negotiations. When he didn’t immediately sign on rumours surfaced that the Oscar winner was reluctant to join and they were revealed to be true when he left production. Much more recently many names were thrown into the mix: Ewan MacGregor (Big Fish), Jake Gyllenhaal (Source Code), Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis) and Matthew MacConaughey (Interstellar) were among them. A year of chasing has only brought the casting full circle as Benedict Cumberbatch was cast.

The reports, frustratingly, are varied; some claim that he is only in talks – others that this is the official casting. The build up of the Brit’s career began with supporting roles in Starter for 10 and Atonement before he really blew up in the BBC smash hit Sherlock in 2010. The next year there was further supporting roles in acclaimed thriller Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and the Spielberg’s war drama War Horse. In 2013 he played the principal villains in blockbuster sequels Star Trek Into Darkness and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug as well as cropping up as Ford in Best Picture winner 12 Years a Slave. He’s now getting plenty of Oscar buzz for code cracking biopic The Imitation Game.

Cumberbatch is certainly aesthetically right for the role and I’m certain he can provide an identifiable amount of menace to the hero. Whether there are enough Brits in the MCU (see Paul Bettany, Idris Elba, Anthony Hopkins, Tom Hiddleston, Hayley Atwell, Toby Jones, Aaron Taylor Johnson, Ben Kingsley) is another discussion.

Doctor Strange – July 8th 2016