Marvel Comics movies update

[Benjamin Grimm]

This is all from IMDB.

Iron Man is due out in 2008. Jon Favreau directs. Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark. Gwyneth Paltrow is Pepper Potts. Plus Terrence Howard as Jim Rhodes, Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane and Shaun Toub as the Mandarin.

I like Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark. (My first choice, Clark Gable, is dead at the present time.) I don't remember who Obadiah Stane is. A business rival of Tony Stark, I believe.

The Incredible Hulk is in pre-production for a 2008 release. IMDB says, "Casting is currently underway" which gives me a measure of hope that they're starting fresh and not creating a sequel to that awful 2003 movie. Maybe this time they'll get it right. (I want to see Rick Jones playing the harmonica in the desert, and Bruce Banner throwing him into that ditch just as the bomb goes off!)

Thor is also in pre-production for a 2009 release. (It will be hard to do the character justice without making a very silly looking movie, I think.)

In the category of "Announced" we have Nick Fury in 2008. (Here's the plot description: "A daring amateur boxer from Hells Kitchen is recruited by the Army for some top-secret assignments. He soon is promoted to captain, where he puts together the First Attack Squad, a group of elite soldiers who carry out elite missions.") and Captain America in 2009. ("Unassuming Army officer Steve Rogers volunteers for a top secret research project that turns him into Captain America, a superhero dedicated to defending America's ideals.")

Hopefully any Captain America movie would be set in World War II, and we'd see the Red Skull, Baron Zemo, and, of course, Bucky. (I'd also like to see the Sub-Mariner and the Human Torch and Toro too but that's probably too much to ask.)

[nymr83]

I look forward to Iron Man, after the last Hulk movie (by far the worst of the recent flood of Marvel movies) its hard to be too enthusiastic.
Thor will probably suck, why not just make an Avengers movie?
Captain America, if set in WW2, could be amaing. If set in modern times (as most or all of the recent movies have been) its going to suck big time. I pray to god that its not Capt. America in Iraq, regardless of the view the producers will take of the war.
Nick Fury is interesting..he's by far the least known marvel character that they're planning a movie on. the movie is therefore pretty likely to stand or fall on its own. it could be Delta Force, it could be terrible.

[Guest Mark Healey]

Didn't David Hassellhoff star as Nick Fury?

[Vic Sage]

Mark Healey wrote: Didn't David Hassellhoff star as Nick Fury?

yes, in an awful made for tv movie.

it could be Delta Force, it could be terrible.

that's redundant.

[nymr83]

i liked delta force, of course a much better movie is about the real life incident from which delta force stole its plot- "Victory at Entebbe"
The Israeli movie on the same incident, "Operation Thunderbolt" (Mivtsa Yonatan) is good too, but it has subtitles.

[Vic Sage]

update on announced comic book/superhero live feature adaptations:

Captain America (2009) - script David Self
Dark Knight, The (2008) - Chris Nolan / Christian Bale are back in Batman followup, FILMING NOW
Deathlok (2008) - Self brought in to do rewrite
Doom Patrol, The (2008) - no info
Flash, The (2008) - dir Shawn Levy / script David Goyer, IN DEVELOPMENT
Ghost Who Walks, The (2007) - the Phantom, script DeSouza
Hands of Shang-Chi, The (2009) - dir W-P Yuen, script McKenna bros.
Hellboy 2: The Golden Army (2008) - dir/script Del Toro, with Ron Perlman, FILMING NOW
Incredible Hulk, The (2008) - dir Louis Leterrier, script Zak Penn, with Edward Norton & Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, William Hurt, FILMING NOW
Iron Fist (2008) - dir Steve Carr, script John Turman, with Ray Park
Iron Man (2008) - dir Jon Favreau, with Robert Downey, Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, IN POST-PRODUCTION
- Jon Favreau announced that principle photography has wrapped
Lone Wolf and Cub (2008) - Aronofsky script
Luke Cage (2009) - dir John Singleton, script Ben Ramsay, with Tyrese Gibson
Nick Fury (2008) - Fred Ward (?)
Punisher 2, The (2008) dir John Dahl, script Stuart Beattie, IN PRE-PRODUCTION
Red Sonja (2008) - IN PRE-PRODUCTION
Sgt. Rock (2008) - no info
Shazam! (2008) - dir Peter Segal, script William Goldman/John August, with The Rock (?)
Sin City 2 and 3 (2008) - Miller/Rodriguez, with Johnny Depp (?), IN PRE-PRODUCTION
Spider-Man 4 (2009) -Raimi/Koepp/Maguire, etc.
Sub-Mariner (2008) - dir/script Johnathan Mostow; with David Boreanaz (?)
Superman: The Man of Steel (2009) - followup, dir Bryan Singer
- the sequel to 'Superman Returns' may be pushed back as director Bryan Singer gravitates towards other projects.
Thor (2009) - dir Matthew Vaughn, script Mark Protosevich, IN PRE-PRODUCTION
Watchmen (2008) - dir Zack Snyder, with Gerard Butler (?), Keanu Reeves (?), Jude law (?), IN PRE-PRODUCTION
Witchblade, The (2009) - script Ethan Erwin/Marty Musatov
Wolverine (2008) - script David Benoiff, with Hugh Jackman, Brian Cox (?), IN DEVELOPMENT
- Len Wiseman, director of "Underworld" and the upcoming sequel in the "Die Hard" franchise, "Live Free or Die Hard" is currently in a good spot at 20th Century Fox and he has potential to be named director of the Wolverine project.
Wonder Woman (2009) - Joss Whedon off project
Y: The Last Man (2008) - no info

[Willets Point]

I sense a disconnect:

The name "Pepper Potts" implies something spicy and curvaceous to me.

The name "Gwyneth Paltrow" implies something bland and stringbean-like.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Have you heard anything about a Magneto movie? I seem to remember reading a rumor about it a few months ago, but it didn't seem like an authentic rumor to me.

Captain America is reportedly going to be a "partial" period piece. I guess that means that either the first part will be set in World War II and then he'll get frozen in the ice, or else maybe the World War II stuff will be told in flashback.

Incredible Hulk does have an all new cast from the awful 2003 movie. I've heard it referred to as a "relaunch", so hopefully it will have an all-new origin as well and have nothing to do with the first film.

I sense that critics will howl with laughter at the Thor movie. They really have to move ahead carefully with that one, I think.

Spider-Man 4, 2009? Interesting.

Sub-Mariner yes, Aquaman no. I wonder if that's because people think that Vincent Chase's Aquaman movie was really made? I remember a TV entertainment journalist reporting that the second Pirates of the Caribbean movie had broken Aquaman's box office record.

[Vic Sage]

I've read that David Goyer is set to do the Magneto movie, after Fox is done with the Wolverine movie.

[nymr83]

prediction: 'Thor' beats out the recent Hulk movie as the worst superhero movie ever. I don't have high hopes for Wolverine, sub-mariner, or wonderwoman either.

Captain America could be good (a modern day Cap just awakened from the ice with appropriate flashbacks, perhaps hunting a nazi-era supervillain who is still alive?) or it could stink.

out of that list my highest hopes are for Dark Knight and Iron Man.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

What's with the lack of faith in Thor? (Really)

He was great in "Adventures in Babysitting"

[nymr83]

I have a feeling its either going to be corny or just dull in an attempt to avoid corny.

[Vic Sage]

if they go full out with the Norse Mythology and Asgard, it could be an epic movie... or they could go the campy-cheeseball route and it'll suck.

[Edgy MD]

Maybe they should get a Scandinavian director.

Just not Renny Harlin, who has been in a slump since... help me out, he was good once, right?

[Vic Sage]

he was good once, right?

WRONG!

Born American (1986) - mike (!) norris low-budget action
Prison (1988) - low-budget horror
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988) - weak film in a weak series
Die Hard 2 (1990) - ok, but weakest of the DH movies to date
The Adventures of Ford Fairlane (1990) - the Diceman leaveth
Cliffhanger (1993) - not as good as its hit status would suggest
Cutthroat Island (1995) - godawful disaster
The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) - my guilty pleasure, this is only Harlin film i can watch more than once
Deep Blue Sea (1999) - smart sharks, stupid movie
Driven (2001) - Stallone and Burt Reynolds in a racing move. Maybe Harlin's worst?
Mindhunters (2004) - He better hunt for minds, cuz he's lost his.
Exorcist: The Beginning (2004) - Not the beginning, just the end.
The Covenant (2006) - CRAFTless and CHARMless, 9021Omigod.


somebody kill him before he films again.

[Willets Point]

He seems to specialize in unnecessary sequels.

[Vic Sage]

I would submit that ALL of his films are unnecessary.

[Edgy MD]

Vic Sage wrote: he was good once, right? WRONG!.

I kind of meant to imply that through irony.

Even Mike Norris is an unnceccesary sequel.

[Vic Sage]

SILVER SURFER SEQUEL

Fox has already put a feature spinoff into development that will star the enigmatic Surfer, with J. Michael Straczynski currently crafting the screenplay...

... it apparently hopes to spin the new Surfer franchise in a darker direction to attract the slightly older demographic of its X-Men films.

[Valadius]

Nick Fury will be appearing in Iron Man, being played by none other than Samuel L. Jackson (who the Ultimate version of Nick Fury was modeled after), and who will star in his own movie.

By the way, Iron Man looks unbelievable - there's footage online from the film. Downey NAILS Stark.

[Vic Sage]

update on comic book/superhero live feature adaptations currently in production:

Iron Man (May 2, 2008) - IN POST-PRODUCTION
dir Jon Favreau, with Robert Downey, Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick fury.
"Based on the Marvel Comics Character; Billionaire playboy industrialist Tony Stark makes weapons for the U.S. government. While out on a field test of one of his inventions, he is wounded, captured and forced to make weapons for the enemy. Instead, he fashions himself a crude power armor to save his life and facilitate his escape. When he returns home, he revises his armor and finds purpose as the Armored Avenger Iron Man!"

Incredible Hulk, The (June 13, 2008) - FILMING NOW
dir Louis Leterrier, script Zak Penn, with Edward Norton & Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, William Hurt.
Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) living in shadows, scours the planet for an antidote. Upon returning to civilization, he is pursued by The Abomination (Tim Roth) -- a beast whose powers match The Hulk's own. Banner must call upon the hero within to rescue New York City from total destruction.

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army (July 11, 2008) - FILMING NOW
dir/script Del Toro, with Ron Perlman.
Guillermo Del Toro and Mike Mignola have both been stated saying that they would love to complete the Hellboy trilogy off with a third film. However, if Hellboy 2 does not suceed in the theaters, they will make sure the Two-Disk Special Edition will indeed have a proper and suitable ending to relieve any questions of a third film.

Dark Knight, The (July 18, 2008) - fILMING NOW
"Batman (Christian Bale) raises the stakes in his war on crime in Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight." With the help of Lieutenant Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), Batman sets out to dismantle the remaining criminal organizations that plague the city streets. The partnership proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a reign of chaos unleashed by a rising criminal mastermind known to the terrified citizens of Gotham as The Joker (Heath Ledger)."

The rumored third Batman film is to be called "Shadow of the Bat" and is likely to be released in 2011.

PUNISHER WAR ZONE(2008) - fILMING NOW
dir Lexi Alexander, scr Holloway/Marcum (they wrote Iron Man), with Ray Stephenson replacing Tom Jane.
"Continuing his crusade to punish violent criminals in America, former FBI agent Frank Castle arrives in New York to take on a underworld boss who plots to take control of the underworld."

The Spirit (Jan 16, 2009)- FILMING NOW
Writer/Director Frank Miller, with Gabriel Macht, Eva Mendes, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson.
"Rookie cop Denny Colt returns from the beyond as The Spirit, a hero whose mission is to fight against the bad forces in Central City."

Watchmen (MARCH 6, 2009) - FILMING NOW
dir Zack Snyder, scrpt Alex Tse/ David Hayter;with Matthew Goode/Ozymandias, Billy Crudup/Dr. Manhattan, Jackie Earle Haley/Rorschach.
"Based on the landmark Alan Moore comic book series... In a gritty and alternate 1985 the glory days of costumed vigilantes have been brought to a close by a government crackdown, but after one of the masked veterans is brutally murdered an investigation into the killer is initiated. The reunited heroes set out to prevent their own destruction, but in doing so discover a deeper and far more diabolical plot."

--------------------------------------------

currently in pre-production:

Flash, The (2008) - IN PRE-PRODUCTION
dir: David Dobkin / script David Goyer
While touring the crime scene lab of his uncle, Barry Allen, teenager Wally West is doused in chemicals after a lightning bolt strikes them, which enables him to run faster than any other human being on earth. Becoming the Flash, Wally sets out to protect the people of his city from the villainous threats that arise

Sin City 2 (2008) - IN PRE-PRODUCTION
aka "A Dame To Kill For"; Miller/Rodriguez
"The film's plot follows multiple storylines: "A Dame to Kill For" is a prequel to "The Big Fat Kill", and follows Dwight (Clive Owen) and his former love Ava Lord (Rachel Weisz), who betrayed him and ended their relationship for a wealthier man. After Ava frames Dwight for the murder of her husband, he seeks to clear his name, with help from Marv. Another storyline follows Nancy (Jessica Alba) as she grieves the death of Detective Hartigan, after the events of "That Yellow Bastard". "

Sin City 3 (2009) - IN PRE-PRODUCTION
Miller/Rodriguez.
On a dark night in Sin City, an ex-Navy SEAL named Wallace (Johnny Depp?)saved a young woman, Esther, from killing herself. After a night on the town, she was kidnapped by mysterious people. May God have mercy on those who stand in Wallace's way...

Thor (2009) - IN PRE-PRODUCTION
dir Matthew Vaughn, script Mark Protosevich, with Kevin McKidd (?)
"Partially disabled medical student Dr. Donald Blake discovers his heretofore unknown alter ego, the Norse warrior, Thor."

X-MEN ORIGINS: Wolverine (May 1, 2009) - IN PRE-PRODUCTION
dir Gavin Hood; script David Benoiff, with Hugh Jackman, Brian Cox, Ken Watanabe. This is a prequel to the X-Men series.
"The mutant known as Wolverine breaks off into his off spin-off film from the successful X-MEN! franchise. Hugh Jackman (X1, X2, Van Helsing) returns as Logan/ Wolverine-A mutant with regenerative powers, three claws on each hand and a skeleton all laced with the rare metal known as adamantium. Logan struggles to find the secrets to his past. After learning little information through the help of Charles Xavier (X2's Patrick Stewart), Logan takes his search even further by learning the full truth of his origin, while also heading in a bold, new direction."

------------------------------

projects that have been announced or are in development:


Iron Fist (2008) - ANNOUNCED
dir Steve Carr, script John Turman, with Ray Park.
"A martial artist fights evil with his consummate fighting skill backed with the ability to strike with a punch of superhuman force."

Nick Fury (2008) - ANNOUNCED
Writer Andrew Marlowe, with Fred Ward (?)

Sgt. Rock (2008) - ANNOUNCED. no info

Shazam! (2008) - ANNOUNCED
dir Peter Segal, script William Goldman/John August, with The Rock (?)

Sub-Mariner (2008) - ANNOUNCED
dir/script Johnathan Mostow; with David Boreanaz (?)

Superman: The Man of Steel (June, 2009) - ANNOUNCED
followup, dir Bryan Singer, with same cast as "Superman Returns".

Captain America (July, 2009) -ANNOUNCED
script by David Self; a director will be announced soon; production is expected to begin by mid-2008

Ghost Rider 2 (2009) - ANNOUNCED. No info available.

Ghost Who Walks, The (2009) - ANNOUNCED
The Phantom, script by DeSouza

Hands of Shang-Chi, The (2009) - ANNOUNCED
dir W-P Yuen, script McKenna bros.

Luke Cage (2009) - ANNOUNCED
dir John Singleton, script Ben Ramsay, with Tyrese Gibson

Silver Surfer (2009) - ANNOUNCED
dir Alex Proyas; scrpt JM Straczynski; a spinoff from FF 2

Spider-Man 4 (2009) - ANNOUNCED
Raimi/Koepp/Maguire, etc.
Dr. Curt Conners decides to experiment with the blending of nano-bots with the DNA of animals. In hopes of regaining his lost arm, Conners first experiment is with that of a lizard. However, the experiment goes terribly wrong and Conners' DNA mixes with that of his subject. Unable to control the results of the experiment, Conners goes mad and it is up to Spiderman to stop him.

Witchblade, The (2009) - ANNOUNCED
script Ethan Erwin/Marty Musatov

Wonder Woman (2009) - ANNOUNCED
Joss Whedon off project

-------------------------------------

Ant-Man - IN DEVELOPMENT
writers Edward Wright & Joe Cornish, and director Edgar Wright

The Avengers -IN DEVELOPMENT
Writer Zak Penn

JLA - There are rumors of a George Miller-directed live-action feature, with Smallville's Clark Kent (Tom Welling) as Superman.

[nymr83]

and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick fury

Just like Kingpin in Daredevil they decided to make a white comic book character black just to have the token black guy in the movie. it pisses me off as a fan of the comics, either put a real black superhero in the film, create your own character if you really must have a black man, or just don't have a black actor at all if none of the parts are for one.
i think its hysterical that pc hollywood needs a black guy in every movie whether he fits or not, and yet you never see the "token hispanic guy" written into the film even though they make up a larger % of the american population.

[Edgy MD]

The more I learn about how big the universe is, the more amazing it is that General Zog just happened to escape the phantom zone right near the planet where the son of Jor-El was exiled as the only other surviving Kryptonian.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I don't think it's worth getting pissed off about.

I would have preferred a white Kingpin, and a white Alicia, and a white Nick Fury, because I like to see these movies as true to the comics as possible. But the movies take so many liberties with their story telling that the race of a few characters ranks way down on the list.

Anyway, if it makes you feel any better, I hear that Matt Damon is going to play Luke Cage.

[nymr83]

why would that make me feel better? follow the comics or dont make the movie :/

[Edgy MD]

By definition, a new medium is a departure. Some adaptations are more true than others, but the very nature of adaptations is betrayal.

[Benjamin Grimm]

If they follow the comics too closely the movies will only appeal to the comic book fans, and they won't make as much money.

If they don't make the movie, then they won't make any money.

The reason they make these movies isn't to make comic fans' dreams come true, it's to make money.

I understand why Galactus couldn't be a giant man in a purple metal skirt and became a cloud instead. And I also understand why Iron Man's origins won't be set in Viet Nam during the war.

Some departures are acceptable. The key thing is to be true to the characters and the spirit of the original. They changed the origin of the Fantastic Four, and I can accept that. They changed the personality of Doctor Doom, and that sucked.

But you can't be a strict fundamentalist with these things. (Or, in my opinion, with anything, really.)

[Edgy MD]

Nymr83 wrote: i think its hysterical that pc hollywood needs a black guy in every movie whether he fits or not,

I think this is untrue and I don't think you're actually finding it to be hysterical.

Nymr83 wrote: and yet you never see the "token hispanic guy" written into the film even though they make up a larger % of the american population.

I guess it depends on what you think of as tokenism.

I think what you're sensing is less pc and more economics. Blacks may currently be a smaller percentage of the populaiton than hispanics, but a larger percentatge of the movie-going population, Their turnout rate is even higher within the subset of action films, which is really what we're talking about. And they're certailnly a much larger percentage of the audience of English-language films.

There was a rule in the mid-century comics world, that if you can give a superhero a juvenile sidekick, your sales would go up 20%, because kids like to see stand-ins for themselves in the stories.

The truth is probably that adults do also.

[Vic Sage]

As a big comics fan (and a fan of DD in particular), i had no problem with Kingpin being played by Michael Clarke Duncan. There was nothing inherent in the character that required him to be white, or any particular race. What was required was that he be physically imposing, to a ridiculous degree, yet elegant and articulate. And those qualities are ones that Clarke certainly has in sp... has plenty of. Duncan's casting is no more a betrayal of the character then Garner being Elektra... after all, she's not really Greek.

With Jackson playing Nick Fury, you have a major star playing a secondary character. Now, to the extent Nick Fury is the former Sgt. fury of world war II, its disingenuous to cast a black man, since there weren't too many black sargeants during wwII, and portraying him as one is basically a "whitewash" (so to speak) of American military racism during that period. However, to the extent they'll being playing Fury as a more contemporary character, there, again, is nothing inherently aesthetically inconsistent with casting a terrific black actor in the role.

Now, if your casting Denzel Washington as Thor, a Norse God... well, that's another story.

[Willets Point]

Vic Sage wrote: And that quality is one Clarke certainly has in sp... has plenty of.

I LOL'ed at that.