New Characters to Join Disney Infinity 2.0 Lineup

WDWNT on August 7, 2014

After soliciting fan input over the past year, Disney Interactive has announced the addition of the top two requested characters to the upcoming Disney Infinity 2.0 lineup of Merida, Maleficient, the Marvel Superheroes and others: Tinker Bell and Stitch!

 

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Stitch, The lovable “experiment 626″ from the popular Lilo & Stitch films, comes to the Disney Infinity Toy Box 2.0 along with his trusty cosmic blaster and the ability to super jump to galactic new heights.

 

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One of Disney’s most iconic characters, Tinker Bell also enters the world of Disney Infinity with her magical healing Pixie Dust and the ability to glide to the stratosphere for fast-flying action.

Players will be able to create all-new adventures featuring the entire collection of characters from across the Disney Infinity universe, along with hundreds of Disney and Marvel-themed items, locations, props and vehicles.

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To start your adventure with Stitch and Tinker Bell, pick up Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes (2.0 Edition) when it hits stores this fall.

Connect Live With Cast & Crew of Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” TODAY!

WDWNT on August 7, 2014

Fans of the upcoming Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy will have the opportunity to connect live with the film’s cast and crew during two special fan Q&A events, featuring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, director James Gunn and producer Kevin Feige. Both events will take place on Tuesday, July 22.
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On Tuesday, July 22, there will be two opportunities to connect with the makers of the film:

  • Twitter Fan Q&A: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, James Gunn and Kevin Feige will do a Twitter Fan Q&A from Twitter Headquarters in San Francisco at 2:30 p.m. EDT/ 11:30 a.m. PDT.
  • Yahoo/Tumblr Fan Q&A: Yahoo Entertainment will host Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, director James Gunn, and producer Kevin Feige on the Yahoo campus in Sunnyvale, Calif., for a live Tumblr Ask Q&A. Fans tuning in will see an exclusive clip from the film and, If they submit a video question, they have the chance to win a signed cast movie poster. Fans will be able to live stream the event on Yahoo Screen on iOS, Android, mobile Web, desktop, and Smart TV platforms, including AppleTV, Roku and Xbox 360. Link: The ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Stars Answer Your Questions Live! This event will take place at 7:00 p.m. EDT/4:00 p.m. PDT.

If you’d like to submit questions for either event, follow these instructions:

  • For the Twitter Fan Q&A: Use hashtag #AsktheGuardians to ask your questions.
  • For the Yahoo/Tumblr Fan Q&A:Upload a video post to your Tumblr: use #GOTGask and tag @yahooentertainment in the caption, or via the Yahoo Entertainment Tumblr Ask page.

VIDEO: Win a Private Hometown Screening “Star Wars: Episode VII”

WDWNT on August 7, 2014

On the set of Star Wars: Episode VII, Director J.J. Abrams was interrupted by an X-Wing pilot and rogue robot as he announced the chance for fans to win an advance private screening of Star Wars: Episode VII.

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During the announcement, Director J.J. Abrams unveils the Star Wars: Episode VII X-Wing in support of Star Wars: Force for Change campaign’s final week, which benefits UNICEF’s Innovation Labs and programs and draws participants from over 119 countries.

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“We are so grateful for the support that the fans from over 119 countries have shown for Force for Change,” said Abrams. “As we close this final week, we’ve added an additional prize that allows the fans the opportunity to see the movie early as a thank you for supporting such a great cause as UNICEF’s innovative, lifesaving work for children.”

By contributing at any level by July 25th, participants will be eligible for all prizes including a chance to be in the movie.

Watch the announcement below:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWBGrkc360M]

In addition to the hometown advance screening of Star Wars: Episode VII, the winner will also receive a Grand Prize from Star Wars: Force for Change that includes:

  • Airfare and accommodations to London for one winner and a guest
  • Behind-the-scenes access on the closed set of Star Wars: Episode VII as VIP guests of J.J. Abrams
  • Winner will have the opportunity to meet members of the cast
  • Winner and their guest will then be transformed by makeup and costume teams into a Star Wars character and filmed for a scene in Star Wars: Episode VII

Be sure to visit Omaze.com/StarWars to enter for a chance to win!

Star Wars: Force for Change impressively raised over one million dollars within the first 24 hours of its launch—a record for Omaze, the fundraising platform. So far contributors from 119 countries around the world have backed Force for Change, in support of the United Nations Children’s Fund’s (UNICEF) Innovation Labs and programs. UNICEF’s network of 14 Innovation Labs help create sustainable solutions to critical issues facing children around the world in the areas of nutrition, water, health, and education. The funds raised through Star Wars: Force for Change will impact the lives of children around the world, through projects like MobiStation, a portable, solar-powered educational kit to ensure children have access to quality learning anywhere, and Rapid FTR (Family Tracing and Reunification), a mobile phone application that helps reunite separated and unaccompanied children with their families in natural disasters. Fans can continue to pledge support and enter for a chance win until 11:59pm on July 25.

Disney committed US $1 million to support the launch of Star Wars: Force for Change. Star Wars continues to inspire generations of dreamers and doers to use their creativity to accomplish great things. Star Wars and Lucasfilm were built on the belief that in uniting creativity with innovation, you can make the impossible possible.

Visit StarWars.com/ForceForChange to learn more about this new charitable initiative and the work of UNICEF’s Innovation Labs and programs, and be sure to enter through contribution or free entry for your chance to win at Omaze.com/StarWars.

May the Force be with you!

Disney Bets Hard on Guardians of the Galaxy at SDCC 2014

WDWNT on August 7, 2014

The first film, Guardians of the Galaxy, may have not even been released in theatres yet, but with initial reviews of Marvel Studios’s latest flick being some of the best the company has received thus far, it was perhaps not unexpected that the future plans for the comedy sci-fi series would form a large part of the film studio’s presence at San Diego Comic Con.

Guardians of the Galaxy Animated Series

Guardians of the Galaxy Animated Series

The animated series was first rumoured to be in the works as early as January 2014, and was considered by some a risky move on Marvel’s part as a spin-off from an already fairly unknown property.  However, as buzz keeps building Guardians of the Galaxy (which, remember – is the the first non-sequel to come out of Marvel Studios since The Avengers) it seems like a sound business decision.

Sixty seconds of test footage for the animated series were shown at Marvel Animation panel at Comic Con but details about it are still fairly sketchy, other than that it will bridge the gap between the first film and the 2017 sequel, which was also announced at the San Diego event this weekend.

Guardians of the Galaxy is being created by Marvel Animation and will be a key property on the Disney XD channel.  A release date is yet to be announced, but it is likely to be sometime in 2015.

Marvel Animation also confirmed second season renewals for Hulk & the Agents of S.M.A.S.H and Avengers Assemble which will form part of their Fall 2014 lineups.

Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes To Release September 23 – Pre-order Now

WDWNT on August 7, 2014

The highly anticipated Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes will be available at North American retailers on Tuesday, September 23, 2014.

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The sequel to the #1 best-selling new family game of 2013 expands the platform with the introduction of all new super-powered Marvel play sets and characters that players can experience exclusively inside of the new version of the game. The popular Toy Box mode also returns with enhanced features where users can create their own adventures and share them online with friends.

Disney Interactive also announced the official launch of its pre-order program.  Starting July through September 22, as a bonus for pre-ordering the Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes Starter Pack, consumers will receive a Disney Infinity 2.0 Marvel figure (valued at $13.99) from top retailers nationwide.

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The game will be available for pre-order this week at San Diego Comic-Con at the Disney Infinity Pop-up Shop (343 4th Ave. San Diego, CA 92101) and at the Marvel booth (#2329) inside the San Diego Convention Center. The game will also be available for hands-on demos at both locations during the show.

Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes is rated E10+ rating by the ESRB. All characters and power discs from last year’s release of Disney Infinity will be compatible with the Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes Toy Box.

First Look at New Star Wars Comics Coming to Marvel

WDWNT on August 7, 2014

Star_Wars_1_Cassaday_cov-690x1024Star Wars is ready to blow up the comics world like Alderaan! During Saturday’s Cup o’ Joe panel at the San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel’s CCO Joe Quesada helped introduce three new Star Wars titles to be published in 2015.

Each of the series will be headed up by different creative teams, but all will be set directly after the events of Star Wars Epsode IV: A New Hope. First to be published will be Star Wars, an ongoing series about Luke and the rebellion’s battles against the Empire. Next out will be Star Wars: Darth Vader, as the Sith lord tries to keep the Empire together after the destruction of the Death Star. Finally, we’ll see Star Wars: Princess Leia, a five-issue mini-series that will give us some background on everyone’s favorite princess turned rebel-leader. As if this wasn’t big enough news on its own, Marvel’s Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso also noted that these new books will be canonical and Lucasfilm will be involved to insure that these series are as integral to the Star Wars universe as the new trilogy.

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Back in January, Marvel announced that they would begin publishing Star Wars-related comics beginning in 2015, confirming what fans had been speculating about since Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012. The announcement is also something of a homecoming for Star Wars, as Marvel published comic books based on the original trilogy back in the ‘70s.

We’ll have to wait until January to get our hands on Star Wars #1, but these books should make great holdover until we see the original trilogy cast reunited for Star Wars Episode VII in December 2015. Let us know in the comments section if you’re excited for these new books.

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Meet the Villains of Disney Infinity 2.0!

WDWNT on August 7, 2014


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Monday morning, fans were treated to a new trailer for Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes, which revealed some of the villains we’ll see in the game; Green Goblin from Spider-Man, Ronan the Accuser, and Loki. Green Goblin is Spider-Man’s hulking arch-nemesis, we’ll soon see Ronan the Accuser as one of the villain’s of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, and who can forget Loki famously terrorizing his brother Thor and the rest of the Avengers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Interestingly, all three villains will be released as figures and playable in their respective play sets and Toy Box Mode. In a release, Disney Interactive detailed some of the villain’s features:

Ronan: Wielding the Universal Weapon, the ruthless Ronan the Accuser is an unstoppable force in both the Guardians of the Galaxy universe and in the Toy Box mode. Cloaking, energy blasts and super human strength are all part of the powerful arsenal at Ronan’s disposal as he vies to become the mightiest villain in the galaxy.

Green Goblin: Armed with Pumpkin Bombs, the brilliantly nefarious Goblin uses his Electro Shock Gauntlet to dispatch opponents handily in the world of Spider-Man. Super human strength, spectacular super jumps and the ability to charge his bombs into more powerful bolas all make him a villainous force to be reckoned with for both symbiotes and Super Heroes alike.

Loki: The God of Mischief is at your command when you play as Loki in Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes. Whether hassling Thor and Hulk in the Avengers Play Set or exploring the treasures found in the Toy Box mode, Loki’s sure to have a few tricks up his sleeve. From defeating his opponents with a powerful scepter to projecting decoy versions that bewilder even the cleverest of heroes, Loki is the villain you’ll love to hate. Creating mischief has never been so fun!

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With this trailer, Disney Interactive has now revealed twenty-three playable characters for the sequel. Given that there are 29 playable characters in the original game, surely we haven’t seen all that Disney Infinity has up its sleeve. The sequel to last year’s best selling-game will be released in North America on September 23 and currently available for pre-order.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEpM67QFslg]

 

 

Walken, Esposito Join Voice Cast of Disney’s “Jungle Book”

WDWNT on August 7, 2014

The Walt Disney Studios today announced that two more actors are on board as voice talent for Disney’s The Jungle Book, a combination of live-action and animation, directed by Jon Favreau.

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Giancarlo Esposito & Christopher Walken

Academy Award winner Christopher Walken will take on the role of King Louie, the ruler of a troop of monkeys and apes, while Giancarlo Esposito will voice Akela, the leader of the wolf pack.

Walken and Esposito join Academy Award winner Ben Kingsley as Bagheera, Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o as Raksha, Golden Globe winner Idris Elba as Shere Khan, and Scarlett Johansson as Kaa. The Jungle Book also marks the debut of newcomer Neel Sethi as Mowgli, who will be the only actor to physically appear on screen.

The Jungle Book will be released in 3D and arrives in theaters on October 9, 2015.

Marvel SDCC Roundtable Teases Roadmap for Future of Marvel Cinematic Universe

WDWNT on August 7, 2014

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige chaired an intimate roundtable discussion about the future of the cinematic branch of the Marvel universe mere hours before giving fans a peek at the first footage from Avengers: Age of Ultron at San Diego Comic Con this past weekend.

The studio head told lucky journalists present that films have been plotted out for some years to come yet, with Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ant-Man, Doctor Strange and Guardians of the Galaxy 2 just some of the titles been worked upon.

When asked if the recent release dates (announced for currently unnamed properties) were mainly sequels, Feige clarified:

“We’ve only really, really announced through “Ant-Man,” But if you look at 2014 and 2015 — now, let’s hope that “Guardians” succeeds when it opens next week — but I do like the notion of the existing franchise with “The Winter Soldier” that we had this year, doing unexpected things with it. Taking it to new unexpected places, and then, the second movie of the year being an entirely new franchise, entirely new storyline. Next year, we’re doing the same thing with “Age of Ultron” and with “Ant-Man.” And I see that that could continue where it fits.”

Feige also confirmed, that whilst there are no current plans to cameo the characters starring in the co-productions with Netflix currently in pre-production, he admitted that they exist in the same world, so it isn’t an impossibility that they may show up in the coming slew of films from Marvel Studios.

The head of Marvel Studios also confirmed how they choose which of Marvel’s huge roster of characters to move into the cinematic universe.  On this, he said:

“I would say it’s a combination, but it ultimately comes down to, what do we think would be cinematic? What do we think would be the kind of movie we want to make? So with “Guardians,” we very much wanted to — you’ve heard me say this before — go to the other side of the cosmic universe. [There is] an amazing amount of outer space-based storylines in our comics, and we only sort of just scratched the surface of that in the other movies. And it felt like time, with “Guardians of the Galaxy,” and our tenth Marvel Studios MCU movie, to do that. That we’d earned the right to say, “Let’s bring a bunch of characters no one’s ever heard of.” If it was just about public consciousness, I’m not sure we would have done half the characters that we’ve done up to this point, and certainly not Guardians. But it’s about what we think the public would be interested in, because it’s what we sort of are interested in as we want to spend two or three years working on a project.”

Mr. Feige also confirmed that as the film juggernaut keeps rolling that the output will increase, with some years having three films hitting cinema screens per year from Marvel Studios, and this, he says, gives them opportunities to highlight new characters.

Marvel Studio’s Guardians of the Galaxy releases Friday 1 August in the US and UK.

The poster to Marvel's Ant-Man was also released at SDCC

The poster to Marvel’s Ant-Man was also released at SDCC

 

VIDEO: New "Guardians of the Galaxy"-Inspired Lego Trailer

WDWNT on August 7, 2014

Marvel and Lego fan, YouTube star Forrest Whaley has created a Guardians of the Galaxy video, Lego style!

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Take a look at the clip below.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xys1kVN_Wec]

 Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy releases in theaters beginning August 1, 2014.