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

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

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!

Pixar shifts release dates and Stan Lee confirms trio of Marvel projects

Pixar hasn’t been at it’s lovable excellence recently. The recent sequel/prequel films such as Cars 2 and Monsters University really weren’t up to the imaginative level of their classics (Toy Story trilogy, Monsters Inc, Up, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles). After they managed to bring Sully and Mike down to about average earlier this year I’m not sure if I’m looking forward to seeing Marlin, Nemo and the crew again in Finding Dory. And now we know that we won’t be able to see a new Pixar production until 2015.

The Good Dinosaur has been shifted back to 2015 to much disappointment. The development slowed dramatically when Pixar’s Brain Trust removed Bob Peterson from the project recently. Disney’s balancing act of 2015 release dates is starting to become a pain. Edgar Wright’s Ant-Man went from November to July; JJ Abrams Star Wars: Episode VII went from Summer to Christmas; Angelina Jolie’s Maleficent ditched July for May; Johnny Depp’s Pirates of the Caribbean; Dead Men Tell No Tales sailed away to 2016 alongside Finding Dory; The Good Dinosaur now slots into Ant-Man’s previous November opening. It looks as if Joss Whedon’s The Avengers: Age of Ultron (May 1st), Pixar’s Inside Out (June 19th) and Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella (March 13th) are the only ones staying put, or are we speaking to soon.

It is disappointing that we won’t be able to see Pixar get back on the horse for another couple of years but it’s better they wait to release a great film than rush to a mediocre finish.

Stan Lee is the king of Marvel Comics and certainly as much as a franchise figurehead as Hugh Jackman, Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, Samuel L Jackson and Robert Downey Jr. He’s not at the heart of Disney’s Cinematic Marvel Universe as much as producer Kevin Fiege or directors like Joss Whedon, Alan Taylor or Jon Favreau but he’s definitely at the level to give some of Marvel Film’s biggest announcements.

“The people at Marvel are looking through our whole list of candidates and wondering which ones are we going to use now,” Lee told website TooFab. “They are going to do the Black Panther. They are going to use Doctor Strange. They are going to do Ant-Man. They are going to do the Guardians Of The Galaxy. And they’ll probably do the Inhumans.”

Guardians of the Galaxy is not news to us. James Gunn directorial effort stars Vin Diesel, Bradley, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Lee Pace, Benicio Del Toro, Michael Rooker, Glenn Close and John C Reilly and will be released August 1st 2014. Nor is Ant-Man. Edgar Wright will direct Dr Hank Pym’s story with a screenplay by Joe Cornish but Lee’s statement hasn’t clarified a plot or the film’s star. I’m still keeping my fingers crossed for Firefly’s Nathan Fillion.

The interesting stuff is Black Panther, Doctor Strange and the Inhumans. All three were names thrown into the mix by the internet as a collective collective when Marvel announced two untitled 2016 and 2017 projects. If your not quite up to scratch on your Marvel character knowledge, here’s a quick guide to Panther, Strange and the Inhumans.

Black Panther was one of the first African-American superheroes, not just in Marvel but across the world of comic books. His origin story sees his alter ego T’Challa, the leader of an African tribe who cross with the Fantastic Four. He soon realizes that he’s in a position to do some good and becomes one of Marvel’s most established heroes. Dr Stephen Strange is a neurosurgeon focused only on fame and fortune until a near fatal car crash that takes him, kicking and screaming, away from his beloved profession. He seeks the help of The Ancient One in the Himalayas who, after being convinced that Strange’s days of selfishness are over, grants him great powers, and a cloak of levitation.

The Inhumans are a group of superheroes given their various powers after exposure the the magical water vapour known as the Terrigen Mists. Their members include Medusa, Black Bolt, Karnak, Gorgon, Crystal, Maximus the Mad, Lockjaw and Triton. Of all of the names, Inhumans was the one Stan Lee seemed least sure about but it should come off. Who do you think should play classic Marvel characters like Wasp, Ant-Man, Black Panther and Dr Strange? Tell us in the comments!

The Good Dinosaur is out November 15th 2015

Finding Dory is out 2016

Dr Strange is out 2016

Black Panther is out 2017

Inhumans could be out 2018