Michael Fassbender in first Steve Jobs trailer

The biopic of technology pioneer Steve Jobs has had a rough ride. Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network) picked up the project as a screenwriter with George Clooney (Gravity) as the initial choice. Fight Club/Seven’s David Fincher entered the director’s chair with Leonardo Di Caprio (Inception, The Aviator) and Christian Bale (The Dark Knight, American Hustle) in consideration. In early 2014, these plans fell apart before director Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours) rescued it. Names like Matt Damon (Good Will Hunting, The Bourne Identity), Ben Affleck (Gone Girl, Argo) and Bradley Cooper (Limitless, Guardians of the Galaxy) and the female lead was mentioned in connection Jessica Chastain (Interstellar, The Help), Natalie Portman (Black Swan, Thor) and Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation, The Avengers).

Eventually a cast was brought together and we can see them in action in the first trailer. The film takes place over three poignant moments in Jobs’ life and stars Michael Fassbender (Prometheus, 12 Years a Slave), Seth Rogen (The Interview, 50/50), Jeff Daniels (Looper, The Newsroom), Katherine Waterston (Inherent Vice, Michael Clayton), Michael Stuhlbarg (A Serious Man, Broadwalk Empire) and Kate Winslet (Titanic, The Reader).

Steve Jobs – November 13th

Tom Hiddleston and Idris Elba are set for more Marvel

This week was one dominated by the stellar announcement of Marvel’s Phase Three lineup and we were thrilled by the confirmation of Thor 3. Following the success of The Winter Soldier, Kevin Feige and co were quick to confirm Captain America 3, now titled Civil War, but seemed hesitant with the thunder god, despite The Dark World’s grand takings, but Thor: Ragnarok is now scheduled for a Summer 2017 release.

The presence of Chris Hemsworth (Rush) as Thor and Tom Hiddleston (War Horse) as Loki was immediately announced. The cast is now looking to be expanded as Idris Elba will reprise his role as Asgardians watchmen Heimdall. Elba’s career was built on supporting roles on The Wire, American Gangster and RockNRolla before leads in the likes of Prometheus and Pacific Rim. I’d expect further additions to include Natalie Portman (Leon, Black Swan), Stellan Skarsgard (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Good Will Hunting) and Anthony Hopkins (The Elephant Man, The Silence of the Lambs) as Odin.

The likes of Ultron (James Spader), Ulysses Klaw (maybe Andy Serkis) and Thanos (Josh Brolin) will soon be dominating Marvel’s villain screentime but their beloved Loki is not forgotten. In addition to Ragnarok, the god of mischief’s on screen life has been extended to The Avengers: Infinity War, a two part event beginning in 2018 and likely directed by Serenity’s Joss Whedon.

Thor: Ragnarok – July 28th 2017

The Avengers: Infinity War Part I – May 4th 2018

The Avengers: Infinity War Part II – May 3rd 2019

Robert Downey Jr joins Captain America 3 confirming outbreak of Civil War!

Contains major spoilers for the ten Marvel films so far

Having hit their stride pre-Avengers, Marvel Studios’ second phase has taken the franchise to new heights and they’ve given themselves plenty of room to launch from: having dispatched of Odin, Loki’s return will undoubtedly cause mischief; Cap’, Black Widow, Fury and Hill have left the imploding SHIELD to Coulson and co to rebuild; Daredevil will soon encounter Iron Fist and Luke Cage; HYDRA, in possession of Loki’s staff, and Arnim Zola’s return spells trouble; Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Ant-Man, Doctor Strange, Wasp, Falcon and Vision will succeed as the teams core members; Guardians of the Galaxy introduced a barely glimpsed interstellar vibe to the Marvel Universe all the while Thanos is collecting those mysterious Infinity Stones.

This may come across as way to much to fit in but Marvel still have all the time in the world. The great thing is that they can produce a wide range of stories at different scales. Daredevil can be battling regular gangsters while a talking tree embarks on intergalactic mayhem without either losing audience interest. Captain America: The Winter Soldier proved that Marvel can still rock even deprived of its more fantastical antics. Captain America 3 has long been confirmed in the schedule with Chris Evans signed on to star and director Anthony and Joe Russo directing once more but today’s announcement changed everything.

Robert Downey Jr, better know as the actor portraying Tony Stark/Iron Man, is reportedly signing on for Cap’ 3. This came with the confirmation that the sequel will be adapting the brilliant Civil War series.

In one of the more tragic storylines, this crossover event divides the superhero world into those who oppose or enforce the recently implemented Superhuman Registration Act which forces every hero to give up their identity. The sides are led by Captain America and Iron Man respectively. The problem with adapting it is that the series is more of a saga. Around fifty major characters get involved in some way and the current MCU don’t have the rights to all of them. Obviously there’s Fantastic Four and the X-Men but individuals such as Spider-Man, Namor and Punisher greatly affect the story.

The worry is that the narrative won’t function without them but I think it can be overcome. During the series, the X-Men, although they were requested to weigh in, kept their distance. Quite major adjustments may have to be inflicted on the beloved work to eliminate the likes of the FF, some of whom are crucial, and Spider-Man.

Through gathering various bits of information we can see how this links up with other reports. Downey Jr has made differing statements about the potential project of Iron Man 4, sometimes claiming that its done or that he’s up for it. When he recently let slip that it was in development he was likely referring to this. This is still contradictory to the rumour that Hawkeye will be cropping up. Another key hazard is that by piling in team members in there’ll be no distinction between this and The Avengers 3 but if it includes only a few of the group in central roles then we ought to be fine. Keep the focus on it being a Rogers/Stark crossover. The Guardians better not get involved just yet.

Tell us any hopes or fears for the film as well as your suggestion for a title. Current favourites: Civil War and Fallen Son. Key players in the future Marvel Universe include Robert Downey Jr (Iron Man), Chris Evans (Captain America), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Mark Ruffalo (Hulk), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Samuel L Jackson (Nick Fury), Don Cheadle (War Machine), Charlie Cox (Daredevil), Paul Rudd (Ant-Man), Evangeline Lilly (Wasp), Michael Douglas (Hank Pym), Corey Stoll (Yellowjacket), Paul Bettany (Vision), Aaron Taylor Johnson (Quicksilver), Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlet Witch), Gwyneth Paltrow (Pepper Potts), Clark Gregg (Agent Coulson), Cobie Smulders (Agent Hill), Chris Pratt (Star Lord), Bradley Cooper (Rocket), Zoe Saldana (Gamora), Vin Diesel (Groot), Dave Bautista (Drax), Anthony Mackie (Falcon), Sebastian Stan (Winter Soldier), Toby Jones (Arnim Zola), Thomas Kretschmann (Baron Von Strucker), Natalie Portman (Jane Foster), Stellan Skarsgard (Erik Selvig), Anthony Hopkins (Odin), Benicio Del Toro (Collector), James Spader (Ultron), Josh Brolin (Thanos), Tom Hiddleston (Loki) and not Joaquin Phoenix (not Doctor Strange).

Captain America: Civil War? – April 29th 2016

Dwayne Johnson confirms Shazam role, Jessica Chastain in talks for Martian and Pacino interested in Marvel

It has been known for some time that Dwayne Johnson (Fast and Furious 5, Doom, The Scorpion King) will take one of two roles in the planned DC adaptation Shazam. The character, who he has been teasing bit by bit, would either be the heroic Shazam or the villainous Black Adam. The former wrestler took to Twitter to announce that he will be playing Black Adam although recent evidence suggests that the film will have no immediate ties to the rest of the Justice League universe, begun by 2013’s Man of Steel. No director has yet been confirmed for the film but Arrow’s Geoff Johns will write it.

Fast approaching the age of 80, Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma and Louise, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, American Gangster, Prometheus) is probably at the most productive point in his career. While finishing post production on biblical epic Exodus: Gods and Kings, the Oscar nominee is busy developing three other projects. He may reunite with Harrison Ford for Blade Runner 2 as well as Prometheus 2 with Noomi Rapace and Michael Fassbender but he’s also attempting to release sci-fi thriller The Martian, starring Matt Damon (The Bourne Identity, Ocean’s Eleven, Saving Private Ryan, The Departed, Good Will Hunting, The Talented Mr Ripley). It’s been reported that Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty, The Tree of Life) and Kristen Wiig (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Bridesmaids) are both in talks to be expanding the cast list.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has drawn in some of the greats of 21st century mainstream film (Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Paul Bettany, Natalie Portman, Josh Brolin), hit the reset button on some fledging careers (Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Samuel L Jackson) and turned relative unknowns (Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Tom Hiddleston) into superstar icons. They also seem to have a knack for attracting from greatly renowned venerable actors such as Jeff Bridges, Anthony Hopkins, Tommy Lee Jones, Stellan Skarsgard, Ben Kingsley, Glenn Close, Michael Douglas and Robert Redford. Now, Al Pacino (The Godfather trilogy, Donnie Brasco, Scarface, Heat, Insomnia) has, albeit jokingly, expressed interest in a role.

Pacino is one Empire’s five “Gods Among Us”, flanked by Robert De Niro, Paul Newman, Jack Nicholson and Marlon Brando, and after being thrilled by a screening of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. He had this to say “I would do anything that I could understand in terms of how I fit in it. And you know, of course if I could fit in it. Anything’s possible. You know, I did Dick Tracy and I got an Oscar nomination, so come on. I mean, what can I say?” If Pacino had a genuine superhero, or more likely supervillain, I’d be massively excited to see him join the franchises mega-cast.

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 – July 28th 2017

The Martian – 2017?

Shazam – 2017?

Weekend box-office results – 28th October to 3rd of November 2013 – will Thor 2 consumes Meatballs and Ender’s Game challenge Bad Grandpa?

We’re back with box office results on a Saturday for our 2nd week. Our predictions last week weren’t to far off this week. We’ve done excellently for the UK box office but we’re far off for America’s results.

US:

1. Ender’s Game – $28 million – Director: Gavin Hood
2. Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa – $20.5 million – Jeff Tremaine
3. Last Vegas – $16.5 million – Jon Turteltaub
4. Free Birds – $16.2 million – Jimmy Hayward
5. Gravity – $13.1 million – Alfonso Cauron

UK

1. Thor: The Dark World – £8.8 million – Alan Taylor
2. Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2 – £2.0 million – Kody Cameron, Kris Pearn
3. Captain Phillips – £1.6 million – Paul Greengrass
4. Philomena – £1.5 million – Stephen Frears
5. Turbo – £1.6 million – David Soren

So I managed an impressive 4/5 for the UK. Bad Grandpa seems to have fallen quicker than I expected while Turbo has made a surprise re entry. Thor, as expected, and Philomena, perhaps not as expected, have opened extremely strong while Cloudy 2 and Captain Phillips have held there own, only slipping one place in the week of a huge release.

For the US, I got a disappointing 2/5, taking my total to 6/10 but this is my first time so that may be my batting average for the future. Ender’s Game has opened well but it’s not sequel worthy stuff, this amongst it’s disastrous 5th place debut in the UK last week. Bad Grandpa seems to be on it’s way to $100 million total with it’s very US edgy sense of comedy. Free Birds was the turkey, get it, I predicting and Gravity is falling, get it again, at a rapid rate at the moment but it opened with an astonishing word of mouth so everybody must of seen it by now. Here’s my predictions for next week; find out how I did next week!

UK

1. Gravity – Alfonso Cauron
2. Thor: The Dark World – Alan Taylor
3. Last Vegas – Jon Turteltaub
4. Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs – Kody Cameron, Kris Pearn
5. Parkland – Peter Landesman

US

1. Thor: The Dark World – Alan Taylor
2. Ender’s Game – Gavin Hood
3. Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa – Jeff Tremaine
4. The Book Thief – Brian Percival
5. About Time – Richard Curtis

Come back tomorrow for our review of Alfonso Cauron’s space set thriller Gravity and, if your after the latest box-office news, next week for the UK and US top 5s for 4th of November to the 11th.

Tom Hiddleston and Natalie Portman in Thor: The Dark World, the UK number one.

Asa Butterfield and  Harrison Ford in Ender’s Game, the US number one.

Thor: The Dark World review

Director: Alan Taylor

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Jaimie Alexender, Renne Russo, Christopher Eccleston, Idris Elba, Ray Stevenson, Zachary Levi, Stellan Skarsgard, Kat Dennings, Tadonobu Asano, Adewale Akkinuoye-Agbaje, Jonathan Howard

Kevin Feige’s Marvel franchise began in 2008 with the brilliant Iron Man. Until last year, they weren’t quite able to match it’s standards but Joss Whedon managed to make a Marvel masterpiece with Avengers Assemble setting the bar remarkably high for this year’s two installments. Iron Man 3 certainly turned up the action and the twists and, while a great film, it wasn’t quite an Iron Man film (no ACDC or Black Sabbath used once) and more of a Guy Ritchie/Downey Jr comedic sci-fi thriller. Thor: The Dark World on paper doesn’t look in too great a position if you look at is as a director coming in as a newcomer to a successful franchise that’ll make money even if it’s rubbish and who hasn’t made a feature film for a decade (in which he took to TV) and is best known for The Emperor’s New Clothes and Palookaville. This is Loki, and not low-key, but Taylor has delivered a great fantasy epic. Plus, Taylor’s decade on TV brought us Game of Thrones and Mad Men.

Thor (Hemsworth), Prince of Asgard, has finished restoring peace to the Nine Realms and rebuilt the bi-frost after a brief chaos in the aftermath of his adopted brother Loki’s (Tom Hiddleston) attack of Mid-Gard/Earth. However, chaos makes a speedy recovery when the millennia dead Dark Elves return with the leader Malekith (Eccleston) intent on using the long lost energy of the Aether to turn the universe back to the dark. Thor must betray his father and king Odin (Hopkins) and recruit Loki to defeat Malekith. Meanwhile, on Earth, a quartet of scientists (Portman, Skarsgard, Dennings, Howard) realise that Malekith’s plan ties in with The Convergence, the aligning of the Nine Realms.

Marvel’s war with DC has brought as far away as possible from it. With trial, Avengers Assemble, and error, The Wolverine and The Amazing Spiderman, it’s been proved proved that there’s no point in making Marvel grounded, gritty and realistic like The Dark Knight so it’s gone in the opposite direction: reveling in it’s fantasy and outrageous grasp of physics to make extremely fun films.

Despite the sinister title, The Dark World is quite hilarious but not at the expense of the epic action, with Loki’s taunts the clear highlight – “Let’s talk about justice and freedom – I love America!”. It’s still gripping and dark but hugely enjoyable. Kat Dennings’ great comedic performance adds to that and I loved the cameo from Chris O’Dowd.

Natalie Portman and her character Jane Foster are great two. Their managing to save the world in a way crucial to the plot without her having to take any clothes off (and yes, that was a dig at Gwyneth Paltrow and Iron Man 3) as well as promoting the power of science. Not promoting the power of science however is Skarsgard’s Eric who’s completely lost it (kind of Close Encounters style) after being possessed last year – makes you think what happened to Hawkeye?

Levi, Stevenson, Asano, Elba and Alexander give annoyingly small performances but, rightly, Thor and Loki’s relationship and distrust is the centre of focus. Their bitter reunion and friction with their parents Odin and Friggo (Russo) gives you some real drama to invest into and not just smothering us with special effects. That said, this is the most visually stunning Marvel film yet. Asgard is at the height of it’s splendour and beauty but I’m not convinced that we’d find the reclusive prince in the local tavern.

It’s possibly the best film yet in the Kevin Feige Marvel series. Dennings, Hopkins, Portman and Hemsworth are all great but Tom Hiddleston is once again brilliant as the mischievous Master of Ceremony. No matter how much of a Doctor Who fan I am, I have to say that Eccleston’s Malekith was a little disappointing, I wish that he would just speak English or that Kurse (Akkinuoye-Agbaje) was brought to the forefront and the ridiculously fun final showdown was a little too reminiscent of Jumper. The film is good enough to shine through that though. It’s a supreme fun action fantasy and, while Marvel may never has it’s Dark Knight, it’s much more of a sequel to Thor than Iron Man 3 was to Iron Man.

8/10

“When do we start?”

New Hobbit 2 posters and trailer, Disney plans Cruella De Vil film and the must-sees of October 2013

October 2013 through to January 2014 is bringing us some big releases. This feature will be guiding you along and giving you the opportunity t start filling in your film diary.

October:

The Fifth Estate – Bill Condon (Gods and Monsters, the last two Twilight films) directs the true recent story of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. The British actor of the moment Benedict Cumberbatch (The Hobbit, Sherlock, Star Trek: Into Darkness) takes the lead role while Spanish star Daniel Bruhl (Rush, The Bourne Ultimatum) plays tech-obsessed activist Daniel Domscheit-Berg as they set out extracting secrets from whistleblowers across the world and publishing them online. Carice van Houten (Repo Men, Valkyrie) and Peter Capaldi (World War Z and the new Doctor Who) also star. OCT 11th

Emperor – Tommy Lee Jones (Men In Black, Lincoln, No Country for Old Men) and Matthew Fox star in Peter Webber’s (Girl With A Pearl Earring) WW2 drama about the two leads character’s deciding the fate of surrendered Japanese Emperor’s daughter Hirohito (Eriko Hatsune). OCT 4th

Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2 – Cody Cameron and Kris Pearn are the directors of the animated sequel to the 2009 oddball family comedy. James Caan, Bill Hader, Anna Faris and Adam Sandberg are the stars of a plot that sees all the animals in the safe-haven of Swallow Falls turn into bizarre food-animal hybrids. OCT 25th

Captain Phillips – Tom Hanks (Forrest Gump, Apollo 13, Saving Private Ryan) is the title character in the true story of Captain Richard Phillips and his ordeal at the hands of Somali pirates. Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum, Green Zone) is the director of the hostage thriller that could see him and Hanks in  contention for Oscars. OCT 18th

Machete Kills – Robert Rodriguez (Sin City) directs this action sequel. Danny Trejo (Breaking Bad) returns in a plot that sees his character, Machete, thrown back into action when the US Government appoints him with the task of charging into Mexico and taking down on of the US’s most wanted drug lords. Pop-star Lady Gaga stars in a revamped cast featuring Amber Heard (Drive Angry, Zombieland), Michelle Rodriguez (Avatar, Fast and Furious) and Carlos Estevez (AKA Charlie Sheen) as the US President. OCT 11th

Ender’s Game – Scott Orson Card’s sci-fi novel is finally adapted into a big-budget action film. Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield – Hugo) is a seemingly ordinary teen whose chosen to go to outer space and begin training as one of the first of a new breed of war commanders who must fight back against the impending alien threat. Harrison Ford (Star Wars, Indiana Jones), Sir Ben Kingsley (Iron Man 3, Gandhi, Hugo), Viola Davis (The Help), Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit) and Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine) also star in Gavin Hood’s (Tsotsi, X-Men Origins: Wolverine) space set thriller.

Romeo and Juliet – The aforementioned Steinfeld also has a lead role in this Shakespeare adaptation. If you don’t know the plot 1) HOW??? 2) Romeo Montague (Douglas Booth) falls for Juliet Capulet (Steinfeld) but their protective head of one of the rivalling famlies Lord Capulet (Damian Lewis) prevents them from meeting so Romeo’s friend Friar Laurence (Paul Giamatti) concocts a dangerous plan to get the romantic pair together. Ed Westwick and Kodi Smit-McPhee also star in the period drama that has a Julian Fellowes (Downton Abbey, The Young Victoria) script to it’s name. OCT 11th

You’ll have heard plenty about Marvel’s Thor: The Dark World in recent months. Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Jaimie Alexander, Natalie Portman, Christopher Eccleston, Anthony Hopkins, Kat Dennings, Idris Elba and Stellan Skarsgard all play roles in a plot that sees Norse god brothers heroic Thor and sinister Loki forced to team-up to end the potential destruction caused by revived evil race the Dark Elves and their diabolical leader Malekith (30th). October also brings the release of horror sequel V/H/S/2 (14th). There’s also Dexter Fletcher’s Proclaimers based, Scottish, comedy musical Sunshine on Leith (4th). Ken Jeong, Ryan Reynolds, Paul Giamatti, Maya Rudolph, Michelle Rodriguez, Bill Hader, Michael Pena, Samuel L Jackson, Luis Guzman and Snoop Dogg are all voicing characters in the story of a snail who dreams of becoming the fastest thing in the world titled Turbo (18th). James Corden and Julie Walters star in the true story of Paul Potts as he aspires to become a world renowned opera singer. His dreams are crushed over and over again until he auditions for the little known, in 2007 that is, talent show Britain’s Got Talent in One Chance (25th). Finally, we’ve got stupid, crass daredevil sequel Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa (23rd). Our coverage of each month’s must-sees continues at the beginning of November with the November must-sees featuring Gravity, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, The Counsellor, Grace of Monaco, Last Vegas, The Family, Kill Your Darlings, Escape Plan, Philomena, Dom Hemingway and many more.

Cruella De Vil was the iconic villain of 101 Dalmations. She’s now set to have her own spin-off film. This seems to be part of Disney’s apparent plan to turn a lot of their animated classics into more grown-up live-action films. Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland was the first and it’s been followed by Rupert Sander’s Snow White and the Huntsman and the upcoming Maleficent (a retelling of Sleeping Beauty directed by Robert Stromberg and starring  Angelina Jolie and Elle Fanning) and Cinderella (Kenneth Branagh directing with Lily James, Richard Madden, Helena Bonham Carter and Cate Blanchett building up the cast). Aline Brosh McKenna (writer of The Devil Wears Prada and We Bought a Zoo) has been hired to script the film as well as Branagh’s Cinderella.

Moving on, we’ve got fresh new The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug posters for you to admire.

Director Peter Jackson’s imagery is as stunning as ever in these character teasing banners. At the bottom, we’ve got returning company members Kili (Aidan Turner), Fili (Dean O’Gorman), Dwalin (Graham McTavish), Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) and Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman). Above them is the ever menacing presence of the Elven King Trandruil (Lee Pace). At the top we find a more cryptic poster. We know that it’s the legendary Bard the Bowman (Luke Evans) with the bow in the foreground. Behind him we find the Master of Laketown (Stephen Fry) accompanied by a more sinister, knife wielding figure. Much internet searching in my behalf as to who this actor or his character is has been fruitless so I challenge YOU to wildly guess his true identity in the comments.

Following the posters was an epic new trailer for the film which you can find over at The Verge. Anyone trying to avoid any plot details of the film (seeing as it does now differ from original book by JRR Tolkien) may want to skip to the next paragraph. Sauron is in it! The return of Lord of the Rings’ big bad was teased by The Necromancer in the previous film, An Unexpected Journey, but his eye does flash up on the screen. His distinctive orc army also looks like it’ll make an appearance in the dark land of Mordor. We’re also teased more of likely the most terrifying dragon in recent film history in the form of the titular villain Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch). The Desolation of Smaug looks like it could be a more open with roaming special effects rather than An Unexpected Journey which was, at time, a little cramped into tight sets and the adventure really got going as soon as we got out of the enclosed areas.

“His name is Bilbo!”

Cruella De Vil – 2016?

Cinderella – March 13th 2015

Maleficent – May 30th 2014

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – December 13th

The November Preview Special – Early November here on Tuorhoth Movies

New Hunger Games 2 pics and castings and Thor 2 posters

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is one of the biggest releases of the rest of this year. Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Lenny Kravitz, Donald Sutherland, Willow Shields, Stanley Tucci, Toby Jones and Elizabeth Banks are all returning for, perhaps, the year’s biggest sequel with a whole load of new recruits, including Sam Clafin, Jena Malone Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffery Wright, Lynn Cohen, Amanda Plummer, Elena Sanchez and many more for the incredible spectacle that is the 75th Annual Hunger Games that celebrates it’s anniversary with the revamped arena and a new twist that makes the Third Quarter Quell the biggest yet! The film’s likely to do better than any of the Twilight films, seeing as The Hunger Games managed well over $600 million dollars, and this year’s young adult flops Beautiful Creatures, The Host and The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones. A new photo gallery has been released online for the film and it shows off practically all of it’s stars.

Here’s the gallery itself, courtesy of Empire (click next to cycle through the photos). This comes with the announcements of two stars for next year’s sequel Mockingjay – Part 1. Those that want to stay spoiler free of the next few films may not want to read the next paragraph.

There’ll be a trio of female leaders of the rebellious districts. We already know that 4 time Oscar nominee Julianne Moore would play the mysterious District 13 leader Alma Coin, whom The Mockingjay, Katniss Everdeen, (Jennifer Lawrence) is slow, and reluctant, to trust. Lily Rabe (All Good Things) was then confirmed as the portrayer of Commander Lyme, an incredibly tough former Hunger Games tribute who is now the leader of the Rebellion’s biggest struggle yet: District 2! Yesterday, it was announced that Patina Miller, West End and Broadway star who’s currently impressing critics in the critics in Broadway’s revival of Pippin, would play the trustworthy Commander Paylor of District 8 who attempts to get her wounded people through air strike after air strike.

Thor: The Dark World is fast approaching. It’s nearly one month away now and two posters showcasing the film’s stars, Natalie Portman and Jaimie Alexander, have been released in a series of character banners (excuse the obscure Marvel reference). Portman and Alexander play Jane Foster and Lady Sif respectively and join Anthony Hopkins (Odin) and Tom Hiddleston (Loki) as well as Chris Hemsworth (Thor) and Christopher Eccleston (Malekith the Accursed). Like the Catching Fire gallery, remember to click next to cycle through the posters.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is out November 21st

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 is out November 21st 2014

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 is out November 20th 2015

Thor: The Dark World is out October 30th

Pacific Rim 2 in progress and Thor 2 launches new poster

Pacific Rim’s success has been stellar so far with it’s current box-office at $230 million but it can’t truly call itself a financial hit until it doubles it’s $190 million budget. So if a sequel were to happen the film will need to gain another $50 million from it’s forthcoming Chinese release in order for the studio, in this case Legendary Pictures, to have faith in a 2nd instalment.

The changes films have made in order to fit with the Chinese market have seen a notable rise in the last few years. With Pacific Rim 2 dependant on big takings there, I recalled Skyfall. In the 23rd development of the James Bond franchise, the Chinese release was delayed for many months when the film’s original cut (featuring the death of a Chinese bodyguard) was refused to be shown. Chris Hemsworth’s action remake of Red Dawn saw the nationality of villainous Chinese soldiers changed to North Korean. World War Z is one of the most infamous cases seeing as it changed the zombie’s origin from China, as it is in the Max Brooks novel, to an unspecified location. In Iron Man 3 a whole new scene and Chinese characters were introduced and only shown in China while the rest of world missed out.

But Pacific Rim did make an incredible $9 million opening in China and hopefully it can push for a sequel. Thor: The Dark World is the next Marvel feature on our radar and it’s poster promised a bit more fantasy than we’d seen in Odinson’s first outing in 2011. A new character based, pyramid poster was released today and shows us, for the first time, Natalie Portman as Jane Foster in Asgardian wear. This really will make Marvel Universe a universe instead of the Marvel Earth it’s mainly been to date.

Feel free to discuss anything on the subject of Pacific Rim, it’s potential sequel, Thor: The Dark World, Marvel in general or how Chinese propaganda is affecting Hollywood in the comments and keep coming to the site for more conversations, reviews and latest movie news.

Pacific Rim 2 could be out around 2016 or 2017

Thor: The Dark World is out October 30th