Rebecca Furguson rumoured for Captain Marvel

The Phase 1 Avengers lineup (Robert Downey Jr, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner) was added to in Phase 2 (Anthony Mackie, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Don Cheadle, Paul Rudd). We know that Phase 3’s additions include Chadwick Boseman, Tom Holland and Benedict Cumberbatch but Marvel’s new major female hero Captain Marvel has been elusive to cast.

Natalie Dormer (Game of Thrones), Katee Sackhoff (Oculus), Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road), Margot Robbie (The Wolf of Wall Street), Alice Eve (Star Trek Into Darkness) and Emily Blunt (Looper) had previously been mentioned or rumoured but now Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation and The White Queen’s Golden Globe nominated actress Rebecca Ferguson is reportedly in line for the role.

Sadly, Ava DuVernay (Selma) ruled out directing so there currently isn’t a serious candidate for directing. However, some rumours have included Angelina Jolie (Unbroken), Adam McKay (Anchorman) and Joss Whedon (Serenity).

Captain Marvel – October 26th 2018

Ant-Man review

Director: Peyton Reed

Starring: Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Michael Pena, Bobby Cannavale, Judy Greer, Abby Ryder Fortson, Tip Harris, David Dastmalchian, Martin Donovan, John Slattery, Hayley Atwell

The production of Ant-Man is the most troubled in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s history: the departure of fan favourite director Edgar Wright seemed to leave an irreplaceable hole in the superhero production. His replacement – rom-com filmmaker Peyton Reed who’s credits include the mediocre Bring It On, The Break-Up and Yes Man – didn’t inspire a great amount of confidence but the flick might have been able to overcome its rough road to the big screen.

Low level thief Scott Lang (Rudd) is released from prison and attempts to fund his estranged daughter (Ryder Fortson) by breaking into the house of an old inventor/businessman Hank Pym (Douglas) and stumbles across a suit that can shrink its user to the size of an ant. Pym then recruits and trains him to pull off a heist to prevent Pym’s former pupil and successor of his company from using that technology for evil.

Despite concerns, Peyton Reed has managed to pull off an accomplished superhero adventure even though he was only drafted into the project just over a year ago. The studio’s trick of banking on a risky candidate for the director’s chair (Joss Whedon in Avengers, Anthony and Joe Russo in The Winter Soldier, James Gunn in Guardians of the Galaxy) often pay off more frequently than films from seasoned filmmakers (Joe Johnston in The First Avenger, Kenneth Branagh in Thor).

While sequels such as Avengers: Age of Ultron seek to take the action to new heights in scale and stakes, Ant-Man cleverly brings the action to a smaller stage to make some of the more preposterous events more relatable. However because of that it often feels more like a charming sidenote to the films that are actually developing and expanding the MCU. The film still impresses off of its conservative $130 million budget (less than half the cost of this year’s Age of Ultron) but the special effects, while far from second rate, are also far from the groundbreaking likes of the similarly budgeted Rise of the Planet of the Apes or Life of Pi.

The film’s ensemble of performances are decent but never prove to be as engaging as the likes of Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson or Chris Pratt. Anchorman star Paul Rudd’s portrayal of Scott Lang is likable the first act, bringing Rudd’s trademark flair and charisma but also being far more down to Earth than either his previous work or various other heroes in the MCU. Sadly, later on in the film, he struggles from the same problem of Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man: once Lang is in the suit he’s hard to appreciate as a character and sinks to just being a vehicle for the action, a problem that Downey Jr’s Iron Man easily overcame with the in-suit camera to capture Stark’s typically arrogant persona in the midst of an epic fight sequence.

Two time Oscar winner Michael Douglas’ aging inventor Hank Pym who becomes Scott’s mentor exists as this film’s venerable-actor slot (previously occupied by Anthony Hopkins, Robert Redford or Samuel L Jackson). His performance is distinctly standard as the world weary original Ant-Man, a 1970s SHIELD project that turned sour after a fatal final mission. Pym’s infamous temper and checkered past are alluded to but never actually deepen the character or effect the plot.

Similarly, Lost alumni Evangeline Lilly’s role as Pym’s hard edged daughter Hope is one of the better aspects of the cast but is frustratingly written out of the finale and never significantly contributes to the action. A post credit scene teases the future of the character of Wasp but the filmmakers disappointingly missed out on not providing a platform for the fan favourite sooner.

House of Cards star Corey Stoll manages to prove why Marvel’s villains are some of the weakest around. Crooked businessman Daniel Cross is sadly one of the more generic, cookie-cutter stock villains in the MCU so far; his motivations are never explained until they’re no longer relevant to the plot and he becomes an attempted child murderer and terrorist, besides the unconvincing implication of his disappointment in Hank in a mentor. Too many elements of his story tread on the toes of Obadiah Stane (a wealthy sucessor of a protagonist’s business who turns his power and technology to terrorism) and Loki (a spoiled protegee who turns on his disappointment of a father figure). Despite the success of James Spader’s Ultron earlier this year, Marvel’s issue with bad guys appears to be ongoing.

The main gem among the ensemble is Michael Pena’s performance as Lang’s hyperactive, fast talking and eternally optimistic partner in crime, Luis. The role is one of the best original characters in the series so far and Pena’s electric double act with Rudd is one of the few pairing’s in the film with a tangible dynamic. Sadly, the other members of Lang’s crew don’t match up: two outdated racial stereotypes played by David Dastmalchian and rapper T.I.

The film struggles to find use of the talents of Judy Greer (Archer) and Bobby Cannavale (Blue Jasmine) as Scott’s estranged ex-wife Maggie and her new husband/cop Paxton but there was a surprisingly likeable performance from newcomer Abby Ryder Fortson as Scott’s young daughter Cassie. Overall, too many members of the ensemble are stand-ins (only present to advance the plot or fill time) with no real emotional connection to the story or the audience.

However, Ant-Man thrives in other moments: the shrinking sequences (while hardly groundbreaking) are entertaining and well executed and thankfully Marvel’s formula of the finale setting up the heroes to defend a city from an aerial threat is finally retired with one of the studio’s most funny thrilling and refreshing endings in years. Additionally, Lang’s close encounter with an Avenger is a hilarious highlight. Aside from the action, the humorous elements suffice (“Baskin Robbins always finds out.”) but never reach the erudite heights of Joss Whedon’s zingers in Avengers or James Gunn’s iconic dialogue in Guardians of the Galaxy.

While it’s unquestionably enjoyable, exciting and action packed, years from now Ant-Man will most likely go down as one of the more lightweight and less revolutionary flicks in the Marvel cannon. Far from disappointing, Peyton Reed has done a fine job considering his short amount of time at the helm of the film but (with the exclusion of Edgar Wright) many fans will leave wondering what could have been.

7/10

“Scott, I need you to be the Ant-Man.”

“One question…is it too late to change the name?”

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!

The Avengers: Age of Ultron review

Director: Joss Whedon

Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, James Spader, Elizabeth Olsen, Jeremy Renner, Chris Hemsworth, Paul Bettany, Don Cheadle, Aaron Taylor Johnson, Samuel L Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Andy Serkis, Stellan Skarsgard, Claudia Kim, Thomas Kretschmann, Linda Cardellini, Anthony Mackie, Julie Delpy

It’s fair to say that Joss Whedon’s 2012 superhero smash hit Avengers Assemble has reached phenomenon status. With $1.5 billion hauled in at the international box office, the film paved the way for a massive cult following as well as consecutive hits in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s second phase including The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy. Whedon is now reassembling the team for a sequel that has anticipation and dread at fever pitch.

The Avengers – arms dealer Tony Stark (Downey Jr), war veteran Steve Rogers (Evans), ex-spy Natasha Romanoff (Johansson), split-personality scientist Bruce Banner (Ruffalo), expert archer Clint Barton (Renner) and alien prince Thor (Hemsworth) – return to combating Earth’s biggest threats their days may be numbered. When Stark and Banner harness the power of the Infinity Stone from Loki’s sceptre, they use as the basis of an advanced AI to shield Earth from extra-terrestrial threats. However, the machine they create, Ultron (Spader), sees evil in humanity and views them as the threat in need of extinction.

The highest compliment one can give Age of Ultron is that Whedon revives the character-driven, quotable dialogue that makes spies, robots, monsters and gods as human and grounded as possible. Each and every ingenious gag and one liner fleshes out the Avengers from mere heroes to a band of characters as iconic, engaging and lovable as his previous creations such as Buffy and her vampire slaying troop or the crew of the Serenity.

His directorial flair also comes to light in some fantastically constructed action sequences with the excellent special effects we’ve come to expect from Marvel, even if they don’t quite reach the epic or thoroughly detailed levels of Godzilla or Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Sadly the finale resorts to the series’ cliche of the heroes defending a city from an aerial threat but at least this applies the twist of the city itself being the threat. Overall the ridiculousness of the action only serves as an uncanny reflection of the comic’s brash, adventurous tone.

Reinforcing the incredible character dynamic is a brilliantly acted ensemble that may be the films curse as well. We get to witness Stark’s decaying assurance as his own brainchild becomes his downfall in a series best performance from Sherlock Holmes star Robert Downey Jr. Snowpiercer’s Chris Evans and Lucy’s Scarlett Johansson excellently revive their likeable charisma to roles that could easily be annoying as Captain America and Black Widow respectively. There’s nothing wrong with Rush’s Chris Hemsworth performance but the character of Thor struggles with a lack of purpose without his brother Loki driving the plot.

The standouts really are Shutter Island’s Mark Ruffalo (who harnesses the power of donning motion capture to make his Hulk the best and most emotional depicted on screen) and The Hurt Locker’s Jeremy Renner. The latter finally brings in the wise-cracking class that Hawkeye missed out on last time and re-establishes him as the everyman who rallies the team in their time of need.

There’s of coarse some new blood to shake up the lineup. The Blacklist star James Spader brings menace, malice and unnerving showmanship to Ultron, a villain distinguishing himself by being taken far more seriously. Ultron resembles and manifests every Avengers’ fear of an opponent who is more of a frightening concept of their hopelessness rather than a straight forward villain. His recruits are twins Wanda and Pietro Maximoff (AKA Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver). Accents aside, Wanda is an engaging, powerful character to watch tanks to the agency of Elizabeth Olsen’s first rate performance but Aaron Taylor Johnson’s Quicksilver is far less fun or interesting than the Evan Peters incarnation seen in last year’s X-Men: Days of Future Past, and the filmmakers know this.

The roster doesn’t end there. Paul Bettany expands his long running role as Stark’s digital personal assistant JARVIS into Vision, a synthetic android whose deeds will have fans raving for months to come. The likes of Samuel L Jackson, Don Cheadle, Cobie Smulders, Anthony Mackie and Stellan Skarsgard all reprise their roles from various MCU films while Andy Serkis, Thomas Kretschmann, Linda Cardellini and Claudia Kim join the fun plus there’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-’em cameos from Julie Delpy, Idris Elba and more. With fifteen plus principal characters, there’s a clear flaw in messy overcrowding.

There’s a possibility that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is getting too big for its shoes with overpopulation and the increasing pressure to go even bigger than last time. And so its fitting that (alongside bonkers comic book spectacle) Age of Ultron thrives in its smaller moments, It’s a hilarious, extravagant, worthy sequel to a film whose cult status is only boosted by the follow up.

8/10

“The gates of Hell are filled with the screams of his victims! But not the screams of the dead, of course. No, no…wounded screams…mainly whimpering, a great deal of complaining and tales of sprained deltoids and… gout.”

Kevin Feige discusses the new Spider-Man’s identity

As The Amazing Spider-Man franchise dissolved, the property was absorbed into Marvel for a new joint venture with Sony and The Social Network’s Andrew Garfield was dropped. For the new casting, names such as Dylan O’Brien (The Maze Runner) and Logan Lerman (Fury) have been mentioned but the main discussion has been if the man behind the mask will be the traditional Peter Parker or the more recent African-American character Miles Morales. Marvel’s boss Kevin Feige is now discussing these issues.

“In terms of the age of an actor we’ll eventually cast, I don’t know. In terms of the age of what we believe Peter Parker is, I’d say 15-16 is right, in some of my favourite Spider-Man arcs and Spider-Man stories, he’s in high school for a lot of it. We want to explore that. That also makes him very, very different from any of our other characters in the MCU, which is something else we want to explore: how unique he is when now put against all these other characters.”

This is a slight disappointment as we were hoping that a different approach would at least be taken with Spider-Woman, which’d actually distinguish it from the five previous instalments that all focused on the white male Peter. Drew Goddard (The Cabin in the Woods) is the rumoured to be at the helm of this project while Joss Whedon (Serenity, Avengers Assemble) may also be available.

Spider-Man – July 28th 2017

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

Sony and Marvel team: Spider-Man will join the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Wesley Spines’ gory fantasy action Blade was the very first major release based on Marvel’s legendary comic book franchise. From there, development of the adaptations increased dramatically with two new series (Bryan Singer’s X-Men and Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man) but they couldn’t exist together as they were owned by separate studios, Fox and Sony respectively.

When the Marvel Cinematic Universe kicked off in 2008 with Iron Man (later developing Thor, Captain America, The Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy). Sony attempted to bounce back into the fray with a new reboot, The Amazing Spider-Man, with director Marc Webb and Andrew Garfield (The Social Network) replacing Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker. Its impressive box-office stats didn’t match a mixed critical reception but Sony went ahead with plans for The Amazing Spider-Man 2, 3 and 4 as well as the spin offs Sinister Six and Venom. Writers, directors and release dates were set but the first sequel’s disappointment set the franchise slowly hurtling.

The infamous email hacks from North Korea, the one over The Interview that prompted Sony head Amy Pascal to stand down, also unleashed a rumour that Sony were handing Spidey over to Kevin Feige and Marvel. The stories have come to a conclusion with this new announcement.

“I am thrilled to team with my friends at Sony Pictures along with Amy Pascal to produce the next Spider-Man movie,” says Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige. “Amy has been deeply involved in the realisation on film of one of the world’s most beloved characters. Marvel’s involvement will hopefully deliver the creative continuity and authenticity that fans demand from the MCU. I am equally excited for the opportunity to have Spider-Man appear in the MCU, something which both we at Marvel, and fans alike, have been looking forward to for years.”

While we suspect Spidey will make his debut in Civil War, it’s unclear if Feige will be inheriting The Amazing Spider-Man franchise or heading toward another reboot. A different casting may well be in the pipeline. Kodi Smitt McPhee (The Road, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), Craig Roberts (Submarine) and Anton Yelchin (Star Trek, Fright Night) seem like more age appropriate candidates than the now over-30 Garfield.

We do know that it’ll be aiming for a July 2017 release. This won’t effect anything going before it (Age of Ultron, Ant-Man, Captain America 3, Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy 2) it is causing slight delays for Thor 3, Black Panther, Captain Marvel and Inhumans.

Here’s the full upcoming Marvel schedule.

The Avengers: Age of Ultron – Director: Joss Whedon – Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, James Spader, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Chris Hemsworth, Samuel L Jackson, Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor Johnson, Paul Bettany, Andy Serkis – Release: May 1st

Ant-Man – Peyton Reed – Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, Corey Stoll, Michael Pena – July 17th

Captain America: Civil War – Anthony and Joe Russo – Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr, Chadwick Boseman, Scarlett Johansson, Daniel Bruhl, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Frank Grillo, Charlie Cox, Krysten Ritter, Mike Colter – May 6th 2016

Doctor Strange – Scott Derickson – Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Daniel Bruhl – November 4th 2016

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 – James Gunn – Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Karen Gillan, Michael Rooker, John C Reilly, Glenn Close, Benicio Del Toro, Josh Brolin – May 5th 2017

Spider-Man – July 28th 2017

Thor: Ragnarok – Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Natalie Portman, Stellan Skarsgard, Jaimie Alexander, Kat Dennings, Idris Elba, Anthony Hopkins – November 3rd 2017

The Avengers: Infinity War – Part I – Josh Brolin, Robert Downey Jr, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chadwick Boseman – May 4th 2018

Black Panther – Chadwick Boseman, Andy Serkis – July 6th 2018

Captain Marvel – November 2nd 2018

The Avengers: Infinity War – Part II – Josh Brolin, Robert Downey Jr, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chadwick Boseman – May 3rd 2019

Inhumans – Vin Diesel, Chloe Bennett, Ruth Negga, Aaron Taylor Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Luke Mitchell, Jamie Harris, Kyle MacLachlan – 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

Paul Rudd and Michael Douglas star as Marvel’s Ant-Man trailer lands

A long time ago, Marvel’s only major hit was Iron Man (IMDb: 7.9 – Box office: $585 million). Both Phase One follow ups The Incredible Hulk (6.9 – $265 million), Thor (7.0 – $450 million) and Captain America: The First Avenger (6.8 – $370 million) didn’t quite live up to that, even its own sequel Iron Man 2 (7.1 – $625 million) fell short. Joss Whedon’s The Avengers (8.2 – $1.5 billion) took the series to incredible new heights and that form flowed into Phase 2 – Iron Man 3 (7.3 – $1.2 billion), Thor: The Dark World (7.2 – $665 million) and Captain America: The Winter Soldier (7.8 – $715 million) accelerated far from their predecessors. Still it was Guardians of the Galaxy (8.2 – $770 million) that proved Marvel can triumph even with a lesser known property.

Ant-Man is exactly that and it seemed destined to rival some of Marvel’s greatest but the creative differences of Studio head Kevin Feige and ideal director Edgar Wright (Scott Pilgrim VS The World, Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, The World’s End) saw Wright leave and action amateur Peyton Reed (Yes Man) succeed. We were immediately worried that we were seeing a second best version of the film but finally get our first decent look at the film in this new trailer.

Overall, the trailer isn’t overly impressive and I’m still worried that Reed doesn’t have the high end filmmaking credentials to helm it. Still, the charm of the stars ought to shine through and we’ll see more back story for the characters Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) and Howard Stark (John Slattery). Ant-Man will star Paul Rudd (Anchorman), Evangeline Lilly (The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies), Corey Stoll (House of Cards), Michael Pena (American Hustle), Judy Greer (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) and Michael Douglas (The Game).

Ant-Man – July 17th

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