-
Posted 04.30.12 by Ryan Looks like The Avengers 2 is quickly becoming a reality, even as Marvel's adaptation of The Avengers has yet to debut in America.
Early last week, box office records were shattered as The Avengers began to open overseas, and, after opening in 70% of foreign markets this past weekend, the movie has made back the better part of its $220 million budget. According to Deadline, Disney is reporting that The Avengers has already earned $178.4 million overseas in five days of release. Should The Avengers open in the U.S. as strongly as anticipated, a sequel is a foregone conclusion.
Combining the efforts of all of Marvel's previous efforts — 2008's Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk; 2010's Iron Man 2; and last year's Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger — The Avengers concludes what Marvel president of production Kevin Feige has called Marvel Cinematic Universe "phase one." Marvel is already planning more sequels for 2013, first with Iron Man 3 and followed by Thor 2, with Captain America 2 opening in 2014. The Avengers 2 should join that list soon enough, raising the question: how will Marvel handle a potential overload of comic book movie sequels? Luckily, Feige already answered how Marvel plans to "prevent sequel-itis" to io9 earlier this month.
feige's master plan actually quite simple >> -
Posted 04.11.12 by Ryan The shortlist of directors for Marvel's upcoming sequel Captain America 2 just became even shorter.
With Marvel finally announcing that the the follow-up to last year's Captain America: The First Avenger would arrive in 2014, so too came the news that Marvel had narrowed its potential directors list to F. Gary Gray (Italian Job), George Nolfi (The Adjustment Bureau), and Anthony and Joe Russo (You, Me and Dupree, TV shows Community and Arrested Development). Deadline reports that Gray has dropped out to focus on a biopic of rap group NWA titled Straight Outta Compton for New Line Cinema.
While the race would seem to be solely between Nolfi and the Russo Brothers, the report claims that Marvel is also looking at other candidates as well. Hmm, maybe the search hasn't actually narrowed that much at all. First Avenger screenwriters Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus were hired to write the sequel last February and, reportedly, the movie will take place in the present day and follow Steve Rogers as he "continues his affiliation with Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. and struggles to embrace his role in the modern world." Cap 2 will also take place after the events of the upcoming The Avengers.
-
Posted 04.05.12 by Ryan Last August, Marvel Entertainment announced the release dates for two, mysterious untitled movies, one that would open on April 4th, and the other on May 16th. It was speculated by every website on the world wide web (including us) that Captain America 2 was likely for at least one of the two dates. So, it was no surprise when Marvel officially announced today that Captain America 2 would fill the April 4th release date.
The move keeps with Marvel's release pattern, which, in its brief history so far has been: Iron Man, Thor, Captain America. 2013 will see the release of Iron Man 3 and Thor 2, with Captain America 2 following in 2014. Whatever Marvel decides to put into that May 16th slot could break the pattern, even if it ends up being The Incredible Hulk 2.
more about captain America 2 >> -
Posted 04.03.12 by Ryan The potential success or failure of Marvel's upcoming superhero movie The Avengers will have a big impact on the studio's "Cinematic Universe." In 2013 the sequels Iron Man 3 and Thor 2 arrive, and 2014 will see the release of Marvel's two "mystery movies," with "Marvel Untitled 1" opening on May 16th and "Marvel Untitled 2" opening on April 4th. Captain America 2 seems a likely choice for either slot, with title star Chris Evans admitting last September that Marvel "may wait until 2014" for Cap 2. Now, with Captain America: The First Avenger screenwriters Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus at work penning the sequel, it looks like Marvel has also reportedly trimmed down their director wishlist from ten to three or four.
who could direct? >> -
Posted 01.27.12 by Ryan Marvel Studios and parent company Disney have yet to release The Avengers, but they're already hard at work on "phase two" of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, starting with Iron Man 3. That movie was set to start shooting at the end of May, after The Avengers had opened, but Comicbook.com reports the date's been moved up and filming could start as early as the end of April or the first week of May in Wilmington, North Carolina.
Marvel would not officially confirm the production change. It's likely that the studio will want Robert Downey Jr. to do press for The Avengers through April and, possibly, through The Avengers' opening date of May 4th. However, production could begin without Downey. "It is not April for sure," another Marvel source later told the site. Whether it shoots in early or late May, Iron Man 3 is set for a May 3, 2013 release date.
more about Cap 2, S.H.I.E.L.D., and Doctor Strange >> -
Posted 01.06.12 by Ryan One of the difficulties Joss Whedon likely had to deal with in writing and directing the upcoming adaptation of The Avengers was balancing the many characters. Besides the Avengers team — which includes Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Captain America (Chris Evans), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Bruce Banner, aka the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) — there's also the members of S.H.I.E.L.D. — which includes Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg), Agent Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders), and S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). There's also Loki (Tom Hiddleston), the villain of the movie, as well.
While the many characters are probably a concern even for fans, Hiddleston recently praised Whedon's "pan-literacy about the genre" as well as his "dexterity in negotiating all the different story lines, all the different characters, all the different tones," so it would appear that Whedon handled the ensemble pretty well. There is one character that Whedon probably won't have to worry about: Peggy Carter.
The Avengers will be Captain America's first adventure in the present, after being thawed at the end of last summer's Captain America: The First Avenger. With the 1940s long behind him, that also means that the other characters Cap knew, including his love interest Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), will be left in the past — at least for now. Atwell recently told The Coventry Telegraph that she isn't likely to appear in The Avengers.
carter could return in Captain America 2 >> -
Posted 12.23.11 by Ryan We're not sure if anyone was convinced that The Avengers wasn't going to be in 3-D, but Marvel Studios and Disney are making it official: the superhero movie will arrive in 3-D and 2-D next May.
In June, Avengers cast member Mark Ruffalo revealed that the movie wasn't being shot in 3-D, as was reported last August. Of course, it was understood that the movie would still be converted to 3-D, a fact that seemed all but proven when the "Real D 3D" logo was added to the end of the Avengers trailer. Still, there's something to be said about covering your bases.
2014 gets a shake-up >> - Posted 10.19.11 by Ryan
Over the weekend, Marvel president of production Kevin Feige told the New York Comic-Con crowd that 2013's Iron Man 3 will be the start of "phase two" of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which will culminate in Avengers 2. While these plans rest on the success of next year's The Avengers, Feige later revealed in an IGN interview that the possible Avengers sequel could involve a line-up change.
more revealed about "phase two" >> - Posted 09.23.11 by Ryan
This summer saw the release of comic book adaptations Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger, with both performing well enough to be granted sequels. However, while Thor 2 already has a July 26, 2013, release date, Captain America 2 does not. In an interview with The Playlist, Captain America himself, Chris Evans, revealed that a sequel wasn't likely until 2014.
more on Cap 2 and Evans future appearances in the role >> -
Posted 09.18.11 by Ryan This summer, Chris Evans impressed critics and audiences alike with his portrayal of patriotic comic book hero Captain America in Captain America: The First Avenger. With most of the movie showing that what made Cap a hero, besides an injection of Super Solider serum, was the sacrificial nature of his character, next the installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, next year's adaptation of The Avengers, will show the World War II-era Captain leading a team of superheroes in the present. The "fish-out-of-water" scenario will certainly be an adjustment for the character, and, as Evans told The Huffington Post.
He's in modern day, he has troubles. He actually gets to have things that he might have be able to shoulder, you know what I mean? He can't just put it on his back. He's a fish out of water. Everyone knows he's dead, and he's in a foreign time, and The Avengers, he gets to be a little bit darker, which is nice.
Joss Whedon struck "a really good balance," says Evans >>