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Posted 05.05.12 by BrentJS If you weren't one of the die-hard fans who helped The Avengers set the new midnight screening box office record for a superhero movie — raking in $18.7 million to narrowly defeat the previous record holder, The Dark Knight, which took in $18.5 million during its midnight screening back in 2008 — and you didn't see it last night, then you might want to turn back now because we've got the dirt on the post-post-credits scene. [Oh, and if you're going to see The Avengers for the first time today or tomorrow, be sure to stick around until the very, very end of the credits to see what we're talking about and then come back to read what it was all about.]
get the dirt [SPOILER ALERT] >> -
Posted 05.02.12 by Ryan For many team members in the upcoming The Avengers, future installments are already planned. Next year will see Robert Downey Jr. return as Tony Stark in Iron Man 3 and Chris Hemsworth as Thor in Thor 2, while 2014 will see Chris Evans reprise his role as Steve Rogers in Captain America 2. But what about the rest of Earth's Mightiest Heroes?
While Marvel is reportedly opening its mind to the possibility of another Hulk movie, it turns out the studio already knows when Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) will be back. While Johansson won't be in Iron Man 3, she's said that she would like a "Bourne-like" solo outing for the character. In an interview with Movieline, Marvel President of Production Kevin Feige said that the studio has already "planned her next appearance," and it sounds like she will get her own movie yet.
feige talks black widow; downey jr. still on board to play tony stark >> -
Posted 05.02.12 by Ryan Marvel's The Avengers is already a hit overseas, and isn't going to stop anytime soon. THR reports that the comic book movie adaptation could gross anywhere from $500 to $600 million after its US release this weekend, thereby outpacing all of its previous, individual superhero movies.
With new TV spots arriving on almost a daily basis, the latest is a slightly altered version of a previous spot. Even so, we're not afraid to admit that we're not tiring of watching Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and (especially) the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) tackle Loki's (Tom Hiddleston) army in the movie's promotional footage.
watch the TV spot >> -
Posted 04.29.12 by BrentJS Sadly, all good things must, inevitably, come to an end. There will be no sequel to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, no more Christopher Nolan-directed Batman movies after The Dark Knight Rises and, eventually, no Robert Downey, Jr.-led Iron Man movies.
What will happen to the Iron Man franchise post-Downey, Jr.? Will it be rebooted with an updated origin to accomodate a new Iron Man, a la The Amazing Spider-Man? According to Marvel President of Production Kevin Feige, the evolution of the Iron Man franchise will likely follow the model of the James Bond franchise and simply replace Downey, Jr. with a new actor, but keep the continuity relatively intact.
what did feige say? >> -
Posted 04.26.12 by Ryan Fans are arriving en masse to see "Earth's Mightiest Heroes" assemble in The Avengers — at least, overseas. The movie is already setting records, a trend sure to continue this weekend as it expands to 42 additional foreign markets.
For American audiences, who still have to wait a week, at least there are more character posters released by Mondo, the collectible art arm of Austin's Alamo Drafthouse). Last week, two retro posters of Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) were revealed, and MTV has discovered the posters of the other four members — Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), and Dr. Bruce Banner, aka the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) — posted at various sites all over the Internet.
see the posters; Feige talks humor and villains >> -
Posted 04.25.12 by Ryan Despite his experience writing for Marvel comics, Joss Whedon was a surprising choice to direct Marvel's adaptation of The Avengers. With online reaction and reviews being almost universally positive, Marvel can feel good about gambling on Whedon to bring together characters from all of its "Cinematic Universe" so far — 2008's Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk; 2010's Iron Man 2; and last year's Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger. In an interview with SlashFilm, Whedon explained that his writing background helped prepare him for blending together so many characters that had already been featured in other movies.
Well you know, I’ve done a lot of things wherein you have a set group. I mean as soon as you create a TV show, even if you create it yourself, you’re now working with a set group. I did a run on the [The Astonishing] X-Men, I did an Alien [Alien Resurrection] movie, I did Runaways... It’s very fun to wander into this world that’s populated by people that you love, to get the chance to write for them. Obviously there’s pure creation and nothing beats that, but this is something that any writer could have the time of their life doing and they let me make my movie, the movie that I told them I wanted to make the first time I realized I wanted to make an Avengers movie and it’s exactly the movie that we came out with. So it’s always a creative endeavor or you’re just spinning your wheels.
more from whedon, plus watch the TV spot and clip >> -
Posted 04.19.12 by Ryan Earlier this month, Marvel started releasing hero-centric TV spots for The Avengers, starting with a minute-long clip that focused on Captain America (Chris Evans). A week later, another spot centering on Thor (Chris Hemsworth) was released, prompting us to wonder where the Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) spot was.
Turns out, it was in France. French website Allocine (via ComingSoon) has revealed the spot, which shows Iron Man getting recruited by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and tormenting Captain America in between shots of the character battling Loki's (Tom Hiddleston) army.
watch the spot >> -
Posted 04.19.12 by Ryan After releasing not one but two preview clips in as many days this week, Marvel has suddenly become a touch more conservative with their latest promotional offerings for The Avengers, just as it started to look like fans were going to be able to watch the entire movie in one-minute-or-less clips. Instead, Marvel has revealed a batch of new images (via ComingSoon) that will seem slightly familiar to those that have been following the comic book adaptation closely.
There's a more close-up shot of S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders), still stuck behind monitors like she was in a pair of stills released last month. Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) is seen tied to a chair (much like she was in The Avengers's first preview clip) and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) is seen standing in his armor (or perhaps it's just his armor as it was depicted here). Don't worry, MTV has also released an action shot of Captain America (Chris Evans) leaping out of harm's way (though it may be just a screenshot from the movie's Super Bowl ad). Did we mention there are also some new character posters?
see the images and the new posters >> - Posted 04.17.12 by Ryan
After releasing their second preview clip in two days, it looks as though Marvel isn't going to release The Avengers next month, but online, one minute at a time.
So far, most of the clips have been extended versions of scenes revealed in the movie's second trailer, whether it's a clip of Captain America (Chris Evans) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) fighting side-by-side against Loki (Tom Hiddleston) or yesterday's clip, which explained why Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) was "desperate."
The latest clip is also seen briefly in the trailer, and shows Thor battling Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) in a forest.
watch the clip >> -
Posted 04.16.12 by Chris It's not surprising that Hollywood studios want a bigger presence in the Chinese movie market. Chinese audiences spent $2B going to the movies last year and have shown a hunger for US movies — the 3-D re-release of Titanic made a record $58M in China on its opening weekend. So it makes sense when Disney announced today that it was partnering with a Chinese firm to produce its upcoming Iron Man 3.
But the announcement also revealed some key information about the direction of the movie. Disney and the Beijing-based DMG said the Chinese company will invest in Iron Man 3. As part of the deal, portions of Iron Man 3 will also be filmed in China. Stanley Cheung, Disney's general manager for Great China, said this at a news conference:
We know Chinese audiences love Iron Man. So we are going to add Chinese elements and a Chinese story into Iron Man 3.
What "Chinese" elements and story could he be referring to? There have been hopes that Iron Man's long-time nemesis, The Mandarin, would show up in the sequel. Ben Kinsley signed on to the movie, but it's been reported that he will not play the main villain... So that definitely opens the door for Mandarin. Does today's announcement mean the odds have improved for The Mandarin showing up in Iron Man 3?
More on The Mandarin >>