12/12/14 Marvel News Mash-Up (Spider-Man Coming to MCU?, Fantastic Four Dead, Star Wars)

WDWNT on December 30, 2014

SONY And Disney Had Been Working To Bring Spider-man To The Marvel Cinematic Universe

SONY Pictures was recently hacked and some of their internal memos and emails were leaked onto the internet. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that according to one of the memo’s, SONY and Disney had been working together to reach an agreement that would bring Spider-man to the Marvel Cinematic Universe that Disney owns. These discussions were mentioned by SONY’s Motion Picture Chief, Amy Pascal. The emails mention that SONY had extensive discussions with Walt Disney and the talks even included Bob Iger, Disney’s CEO, and Kaz Hirai, SONY’s CEO. The emails revealed that the plan was to have Spider-man appear in Captain America: Civil War and that Disney/Marvel would co-produce a new trilogy of Spider-man movies. Unfortunately one of the emails mentions that the talks broke down and that SONY was thinking of doing animated Spider-man comedy based movies instead.

Luckily there is still some good news surrounding this. Latino Review reported this week that the deal is steal very much alive. Apparently SONY Japan, which is the parent company of SONY Pictures, is angry due to the recent email leaks that is hurting SONY’s reputation world wide. SONY Japan has been disappointed at how the Amazing Spider-man movies franchise has been handled and the leaked emails didn’t help matters. SONY Japan thinks the Marvel deal for Spider-Man is still on the table and they want to renegotiate as a return to “quality”, that a 60/40 (Disney/SONY) split can be negotiated and SONY Pictures’ hard-line stance of wanting creative control is now mostly moot in the eyes of the higher-ups. SONY is also planning on holding a Spidey-summit in January to decide what is the best direction to go.

“Avengers: Age Of Ultron” is also scheduled for re-shoots to film additional scenes in January. Still speculation on my part, but it is possible that the plan is to bring Spider-man into the movie as a cameo or after credit scene. There definitely is something in the works, let’s just hope that things work out well for both parties. And us.

Preview Art From Marvel’s Star Wars #1 Comic Book

StarWars.com got their hands on an exclusive preview of some panels from the upcoming Marvel comic book, Star Wars #1, and it looks fantastic. Let’s take a look!

Set directly after the events of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, the series (helmed by the all-star creative of team of writer Jason Aaron and artist John Cassaday) will be the flagship of Marvel’s new canonical line of comics. Star Wars #1 comes out January 14^th, 2015.

Star Wars #1 Variant Covers

Talk about a lot of variant covers! Star Wars #1 officially has over 30 variant covers and there probably a few more that haven’t been released yet. Thanks to RebelScum.com, we get to see most of them.

Benedict Cumberbatch Is NOW Officially Doctor Strange

Fan art by JustaBlink

I think this is the third time I am saying this, but now it is official. This month, Marvel and Benedict Cumberbatch finalized the deal and Cumberbatch will be playing Doctor Strange on the big screen. Doctor Strange will open on November 4^th, 2016.

The Punisher Kills The Cast Of FOX’s Fantastic Four Reboot Movie

In case you needed any more proof that Disney/Marvel and FOX are not the best of friends, you just have to look at the most recent issue of The Punisher #12. Disney/Marvel and SONY seem to be getting on just fine and seem to be (hopefully) working out a deal to bring Spider-man to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But FOX and Disney/Marvel, not so much. Marvel is ending the Fantastic Four comic just prior to the release of FOX’s Fantastic Four movie, which comes out next year. Rumor is that Marvel wants to avoid giving any kind of promotion towards the film. In the latest issue of The Punisher, Frank Castle gets rid of the cast that is playing the Fantastic Four. The cast for the upcoming movie is Michael B. Jordan, Miles Teller, Jamie Bell and Kate Mara. In the panels below, it seems that The Punisher feels the same way I do about the upcoming Fantastic Four movie. Thanks Punisher.

That’s all for this week!

Marvel Entertainment Announces A Slew Of New Movies For The Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase 3

WDWNT on November 25, 2014

Marvel Entertainment held a special event today at the El Capitan Theater announcing so much stuff, I don’t know where to begin!

I would say that the biggest news is that Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans were joined on stage by Chadwick Boseman, who will play the title role in Black Panther. This is an excellent choice! He looks just like the character in the comics and I loved him portraying baseball legend, Jackie Robinson, in “42”. Boseman also portrayed the living legend James Brown in Get On Up.

So lets go down the line of what was announced.

First off Captain America 3 is officially titled Captain America: Civil War. This will be Captain America, Chris Evans, vs Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr., with fate of all of the Marvel superheroes hanging in jeopardy. Civil War was a comic book series that put half of the Marvel superheroes, representing pro registration of superhero identities with the Government against the other superheroes, who felt it was their right to keep their identity a secret. Captain America leads the side against registration and Iron Man leads the side that is for registration and it does lead to a Civil War in the Marvel Universe. Captain America: Civil War will be released on May 6, 2016.

Next up we have Doctor Strange. I was expecting an official announcement of Benedict Cumberbatch, but no such luck. He is in final negotiations with Marvel to play the Doctor, but so was Joaquin Phoenix, so we will still have to wait. After his career is destroyed, Dr. Stephen Strange, a brilliant but arrogant surgeon gets a new lease on life when a sorcerer takes him under his wing and trains him to defend the world against evil. Doctor Strange will be released on November 4th, 2016.

Next we have the sequel to this year’s successful Guardians Of The Galaxy. Right now it is called Guardians Of The Galaxy 2 and it could very well be the final title of the film. So not giving any clues with a subtitle, I have no idea what the storyline will be about. I do know that they will add more members to the team. Rumors are that it will be Nova or Captain Marvel (see below). Guardians Of The Galaxy 2 will be released on May 5th, 2017.

Thor 3 is officially titled, Thor: Ragnarok. “Ragnarok” was a series in the comic Thor that brought about the destruction of Thor, Asgard, and all of its inhabitants for several years. The story would have a lasting impact on the Marvel Universe for several years, removing Thor and his supporting cast from Marvel’s publishing schedule. Could this mean that we will see the new female Thor in Phase 4? Thor: Ragnarok will be released on July 28th, 2017.

We finally have confirmation of a Black Panther movie! And as I mentioned above Chadwick Boseman will portray Black Panther. The royal leader, T’Challa, of an African nation, Wakanda, is bestowed with super human powers to protect his kingdom against invaders. Wakanda is rumored to be one of the locations that will be in Avengers: Age Of Ultron. Wakanda is also the only place that has the material necessary to form Captain America’s shield, vibranium. Black Panther will be released on November 3, 2017.

Marvel released concept art for Black Panther:

I doubt Marvel was listening to me last week when I said that after Warner Brother’s announcement of a Wonder Woman movie for 2017, Marvel and Disney need to step up their game and releases a movie based on one of the most popular female superheroes in the Marvel Universe, Ms. Marvel. It’s complicated, but Captain Marvel is Ms. Marvel. Captain Marvel (or sometimes referred to as Ms. Marvel) is basically Marvel’s version of Wonder Woman as far as powers go (strength, flight, speed, endurance, etc). Her cosmic powers were obtained from the original Captain Marvel (not Shazam). Definitely a fun and exciting character. Captain Marvel will be released on July 6th, 2018.

My first encounter with The Inhumans was in early Fantastic Four comics and my first impression is that they are weird. But I also thought Guardians Of The Galaxy was a weird group and look what happened to them. This could be the answer to Fox’s X-Men franchise. Basically aliens, The Kree (Guardians Of the Galaxy), experiment on humans to create a super race which result in a group of superheroes, The Inhumans. Inhumans will be released on November 2nd, 2018.

OK, this is the big one! We are finally getting the Infinity War, which will be Avengers 3, and split into two movies. So what is the Infinity War? Remember the guy that appeared in the after credits scene in Avengers? And then that same guy appeared for a bit in Guardians Of The Galaxy? That is Thanos and he is a super baddy. Thanos wants one thing and that is to control the Universe and in order to do that he needs to find 5 Infinity Stones, which we have already seen 3 of them in the last few Marvel movies. Combining the 5 Infinity Stones will create the Infinity Gauntlet, making Thanos the most powerful being in The Universe. With a guy this powerful, the Avengers will need some help. So expect to see Black Panther, Doctor Strange, Captain Marvel, Guardians Of The Galaxy and the Inhumans join the Avengers to join in the Infinity War. Avengers: Infinity War will be released in two parts. Part one will be released in May 2018 and part two will be released in May 2019.

Marvel Entertainment released a photo of Thanos, Josh Brolin, wearing the Infinity Gauntlet:

Shwooooo! I need a drink!

11/3/14 Marvel News Mash-Up – More Avengers: Age of Ultron, Spider-Man Rumors, and More!

WDWNT on November 25, 2014

Marvel Releases An Extended Trailer For Avengers: Age Of Ultron

The Avengers: Age Of Ultron teaser trailer was originally supposed to air during last week’s episode of Agents Of SHEILD, but due to the trailer being leaked early, Marvel decided to release the trailer early. To entice people to watch the episode of Agents Of Shield that was to debut the original trailer, Marvel released and extended trailer especially for Agents Of SHIELD that included a new scene from the movie.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqkR0SwFN_4]

What is great about this scene is you get to see the Avengers taking a break from the action and enjoying what looks to be a party at Avengers Tower. Thor, in his Earth casual clothes, challenges the other Avengers to do an almost impossible task, lift his hammer, Mjölnir. The writing on Mjölnir states, “Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.” So basically one must be worthy.

Both Iron Man and War Machine are unable to budge it.

If you notice, Captain America does move it, he just doesn’t lift it.

My opinion is that Captain America is holding back, and that he knows he can lift it, but he doesn’t want to show off to the other Avengers. In the comics, there are very few people, other than Thor, who can lift Mjölnir and one of those people is Captain America. You can’t be more worthy than Captain America. Another person who has lifted Mjölnir is Superman when the Justice League took on The Avengers in a DC/Marvel crossover (might as well throw in Captain America’s shield while you are at it).

So What About Spider-Man?

The one thing that that I was hoping that would be announced during the Marvel Phase 3 Event was that Spider-man would be joining the Avengers, but it didn’t happen. That doesn’t mean that it is not going to happen. Kevin Feige, the President of Marvel studios, was asked directly whether Spider-man will be joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe and he replied, “Anything that wasn’t specifically and obviously revealed today is either not true at all, or still rumor until it’s worked out.” Originally Marvel was to have the Phase 3 announcement at this years New York City’s Comic Con, but Robert Downey Jr. was still in negotiations to star in Captain America: Winter Soldier and they wanted to make sure that it was official before they announced it. The last line that Kevin Feige said about Spider-man gives me hope. Until it’s worked out. I do believe that Disney, Marvel and Sony are working out a deal to bring Spider-man to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in which it will be beneficial to all parties involved.

In the comics, Spider-man is an integral part of Civil War. Some would say that you could not adapt Civil War without him. The truth is, it can be done, but it wont be as good. It is my gut feeling that in Avengers: Age Of Ultron, the after credit scene will consist of Spider-man swinging towards Avenger’s Tower.

Being the nerd that I am, I made a little preview of what I feel will go down:

Remember what I said if I am right and just forget that I ever said it if I am wrong.

Avenger’s: Age Of Ultron Clip Leaks Onto The Internet

During Marvel’s Phase 3 Event that was held recently, the audience was shown an exclusive clip from Avengers: Age Of Ultron. The clip has not been officially released but, at this time, a leaked version is available on YouTube. Basically, this scene is setting up the Civil War. Steve and Tony are outdoors splitting logs and there seems to be a lack of trust and a question of ones methods between the two of them. Some of the audio is difficult to understand, but here is a breakdown of what was said:

TONY: Thor didn’t say where he’s going to get answers?

STEVE: Sometimes my teammates don’t tell me things. I was kinda hoping Thor would be the exception.

TONY: Yeah, in time. We don’t know what the Maximoff kid showed him.

STEVE: I don’t know what she showed you. It’s enough to make you do something stupid. “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes” — pulled us apart like cotton candy.

TONY: Well, it seems that you walked away alright.

STEVE: Is that a problem?

TONY: I don’t trust a guy without a dark side. Call me old-fashioned.

STEVE: Well, let’s just say you haven’t seen it yet.

TONY: Banner and I have been doing this research—

STEVE: —that would affect the team—

TONY: —that would END the team! Isn’t that the mission? Isn’t that the “why” we fight, so we can end the fight, so we get to go home??

STEVE: Every time someone tries to win a war before it starts, innocent people die. Every time. What do you think?

(SPOILERS) Runor is that The Avengers will split up into two teams at the end of Age Of Ultron. Captain America will form his own team consisting of Black Widow, War Machine, Falcon, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, essentially forming the West Coast Avengers. Iron Man will form the (East Coast) Avengers consisting of Thor, Hulk and Vision. Black Panther will appear in Captain America: Civil War but I am not sure whose side he will be on, and also not sure of Hawkeye. In Captain America: Civil War, I think that the main battles will consist of Captain America fighting Iron Man. But even though it hasn’t been announced, I would expect to see all of the Avengers in Captain America: Civil War, just their roles wont be as prominent as Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr.

Benedict Cumberbatch Will Be “Doctor Strange”

For months I have been reporting that someone new is up for the role of Doctor Strange and recently Deadline has confirmed that Benedict Cumberbatch will indeed be Marvel’s newest cinematic superhero, Doctor Strange. I couldn’t be happier because Cumberbatch is the one that I wanted from the very beginning. He has proven to me, especially through his role in Sherlock, that his has great acting ability and he does indeed have the look needed for Doctor Strange. Still no official word from Marvel but it sounds like they are close to finalizing the contract.

After his career is destroyed, Dr. Stephen Strange, a brilliant but arrogant surgeon gets a new lease on life when a sorcerer takes him under his wing and trains him to defend the world against evil.

Doctor Strange will be released in theaters On July 8^th, 2016.

Captain Marvel Fan Made Poster

It is hard to believe that this is a fan made poster because it is practically perfect. I have a feeling that this is the costume that will be used when Captain Marvel hits the big screen because her current costume is not very family friendly. Captain Marvel (Ms. Marvel) is basically a combination of Wonder Woman and Superman. She has super human strength, the power of flight and cosmic powers, such as firing energy blasts from her hands. Captain Marvel’s identity is Carol Danvers and she is from Boston. Actress Katheryn Winnick is mostly known for playing Lagertha in the History Channel series Vikings.

Captain Marvel will be released on July 6^th, 2018.

Sideshow Collectible Corner

Another fantastic premium figure from Sideshow Collectibles and Hot Toys. This piece is from Thor: Dark World and is another example how much detail is put into these amazing figures.

That’s it for this week!

Dirk Wallen’s 11/3/14 WDW Photo Report (Walls Down at Disney Springs, New Concept Art, Big Hero 6, Christmas Merch, ETC)

WDWNT on November 25, 2014

WDWNT Reporter Dirk Wallen visited Disney Springs, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, and Epcot this week and he has a ton of newsworthy photos to share with us in this HUGE photo report, so let’s get started:

Plenty of roadwork still to be done for Disney Springs

A new piece of elevated track is rising on the West Side, between Splitsville and Wolfgang Puck

We now know this large building with be the Boathouse

Disney announced this new restaurant concept last week

They wasted no time in adding ads to the walls for the restaurant

Concept art for the faÃ§ade of the Boathouse

The small waterside park in The Landing opened this weekend

A nice little area for relaxing and live entertainment

Some of the buildings are out from behind construction walls in The Landing

New concept art for the area now on construction walls

There is a giant inflatable Baymax from Big Hero 6 on the West Side…

These storefronts in The Landing are just about done

The bridge in the Marketplace is also nearing completion

Two small, temporary stores operated by Something Silver opened by Fulton’s recently

The Marketplace bridge with the Rainforest CafÃ© faÃ§ade refurbishment in the background

Shifting gears, Christmas merchandise has invaded the resort

Ornaments

Some Star Wars holiday pins were released

Plenty of Big Hero 6 merchandise is available around the resort

2015 calendars available

New “I Conquered” shirt

Iron Man and Captain America shirts

New Star Wars character glasses

New Darth Vader t-shirt

Some new merchandise was released at the Art of Animation Resort

Over at Epcot, walls finally came down around the area that was closed when a water main was hit after the Flower and Garden Festival

No visible progress at Norway’s Frozen attraction

We tweeted these weeks ago, but if you haven’t seen, some new retro EPCOT Center merchandise has been released

A quick stop at Animal Kingdom reveals work walls near Pangani Forest and Kilimanjaro Safaris

No visible changes at AVATAR, it’s impossible to see from inside the park

Moving to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, work continues on Starbucks and the Trolley Car CafÃ©

Nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah, hey hey hey…

Big Hero 6 merchandise carts replace the Frozen carts

Banners up in the Animation Courtyard

Work has finally begun on the Big Hero 6 meet and greet inside The Magic of Disney Animation

Big Hero 6 billboard by The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow

Let’s journey inside the new Wandering Oaken’s

Purchase with purchase Frozen bag available

Jim Shore has released some Frozen statues

Osborne Lights are ready to go

No more Backlot Tour…

12/4/14 Marvel News Mash-Up (Vision, Full-Length Star Wars Trailer with Avengers?, Darth Vader Coming)

WDWNT on November 25, 2014

First Good Look At “Vision” From “Avengers: Age Of Ultron”

A picture of a promotional movie poster has leaked online for Avengers: Age Of Ultron and we get out first good look at Vision as one of the new team members. I definitely couldn’t be happier because they made the look of Vision very faithful to the comics. Growing up, Vision was always my favorite member of the Avengers and I’m so glad that he will be in the movie and that he looks great. Also glad to see Captain America finally wearing a good costume and that his ears are finally showing (maybe lose the chin strap or paint it blue).

Here is a photo of Vision concept art that leaked months ago and it matches the movie poster:

First Official Trailer (Not Teaser) For “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” To Appear Before “Avengers: Age Of Ultron”

By now, most people have seen the teaser trailer for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”. And as awesome as that teaser was, it didn’t reveal much of the plot. Teasers are just that, they tease us and just give us quick flashes of a movie. A trailer on the other hand is usually 2 minutes or more and gives us some idea of the plot and what to expect from the movie. According to /Film.com, they were informed that the first official trailer for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” will be attached to the movie, “Avengers: Age Of Ultron” on May 1st, 2015. Age Of Ultron will be Disney’s second larges film of that year and it makes sense to introduce Disney’s largest film of that year, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”. Cross promotion marketing working at it’s best!

“Avengers: Age Of Ultron” Set To Have Stars Return For Re-shoots

Even though filming for Avengers: Age Of Ultron completed months ago, some of the stars are being asked back to film some re-shoots in London early next year. According to DailyMail.com, Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Robert Downey Jr (Iron Man), Mark Ruffalo (The Hulk), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Paul Bettany (The Vision), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow) and Tom Hiddleston (bad-guy Loki) have all been asked to make themselves available over a two-week period in January to film additional scenes at Pinewood Studios. Interesting that Chris Evans (Captain America) is not on the list. Total speculation on my part, but it could mean that maybe they are filming additional scenes to introduce one of these two characters (I can dream, can’t I?):

Preview Art For Marvel’s New Star Wars Series “Darth Vader”

The cover above is from my all time favorite artist, Alex Ross. It’ really great to see him doing so many Star Wars covers lately. 🙂

Dark Horse Comics had been publishing Star Wars comic books since the 80’s and they have done an excellent job with the franchise. Many Star Wars fans, myself included, were worried when Marvel got the rights back to the Star Wars comic book franchise that it wouldn’t match the quality of what Dark Horse Comics had done. But looking at this preview, I would say they are on the right track.

Marvel.com recently provided an exclusive preview of the upcoming Darth Vader series.

Ever since Darth Vader made his first on-screen appearance, he became the one of the most popular villains to ever haunt an audience’s dreams! Now, follow Vader straight from the ending of “Star Wars: A New Hope” (and the pages of the new STAR WARS comic book) into his own series, showing the Empire’s war with the Rebel Alliance from the other side! Writer Kieron Gillen and artist Salvador Larroca bring us a peek behind the mask of evil!

ISSUE #1 – 48 PGS./Rated T …$4.99
ISSUE #2 – 32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99
On sale in February 2015!

Here is a preview for two variant covers for Darth Vader #2:

Guardians Of The Galaxy Animated Series Coming To Disney XD In Early 2015

Originally announced at this year’s New York Comic Con (NYCC), “Guardians Of The Galaxy, The Animated Series” is set to premier on Disney XD in early 2015.

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy will follow the adventures of Peter Quill, a.k.a. Star-Lord, who teams up with Rocket Raccoon, Groot, Gamora and Drax the Destroyer to protect the universe from its greatest threats.

Here is some test footage of the series from this year’s NYCC:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLAU6jF0qwY]

Dad Dresses As Spider-man To Wish His Son A Very Special Birthday

In a video posted recently on to Youtube, Jayden Wilson’s dad, Mike Wilson, dressed up as the comic book hero Spider-man to ensure that his son, who was diagnosed with having a grade four brain tumor in September last year, had an extra special 5^th birthday.

The video captures Mike Wilson, dressed from head-to-toe in a Spider-Man costume, jumping from the top of the family’s roof and in front of a shocked Jayden.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLzZlwON9EM]

Source: Independent.com.UK

Emily Blunt Talks About Fan Interest In Her Playing “Captain Marvel”

Even before the movie Captain Marvel was announced, many comic book fans had their top actress picks to play the character. One actress I thought of, especially after seeing Edge Of Tomorrow, was Emily Blunt. What not to many people know is that Emily Blunt has been courted by Marvel several times to be in a superhero movie. She was the first choice to play Peggy Carter in Captain America and was also the first choice to play Black Widow. Maybe the third time is a charm.

Recently during an interview with Screen Crush Blunt was asked about playing Captain Marvel:

SC: Are you aware of the Internet buzz surrounding you playing Captain Marvel?

EB: Somebody told me about it this morning! I knew because my brother told me.

SC: People want you to play Captain Marvel.

EB: Which is kind of amazing. What’s she like, though? I don’t know anything about her. What’s it like, this character?

SC: She’s great. She’s witty and strong. That’s why people keep bringing your name up. They don’t want a boring actor. A lot of personality.

EB: Oh, cool. They call it fan casting?

SC: Yes.

EB: Which is lovely. It’s my favorite kind of casting! I wish it was always like that.

SC: Maybe they can make ‘Captain Marvel’ a musical now that you’ve done ‘Into the Woods.’EB: [Laughs] ‘Captain Musical Marvel.’ Let’s just call Marvel about that right now. We’ll call Kevin Feige about that. “Kevin Feige, we have one hell of an idea.” Yeah.

SC: But in seriousness, it does appeal to you?EB: I think, it’s always for me, it’s always about—and now, more so—what am I putting out there? What would be interesting for me and what would be interesting for people to see. So, if it’s an awesome part, it doesn’t matter if it’s a Marvel movie or a tiny movie, I’d be up for it.

SC: You’d be a hero for every 10-year-old girl out there right now. There’s no Marvel female superhero who has her own movie yet.

EB: Really? That’s huge. How awesome. I love this. No one has actually called me about it, so, we’ll hold our breath. [Laughs] I don’t know if I’ll get the call ever if I pitch it should be a musical.

That’s it for this week!

Guardians Of The Galaxy Blu-ray And DVD Gets An Official UK Release Date

WDWNT on October 24, 2014

Today Marvel UK announced that Guardians Of The Galaxy will be coming to Blu-ray and DVD on November 24th. We still have not heard from Disney or Marvel regarding the official US release date but recently the director, James Gunn, tweeted that the Blu-ray and DVD will arrive on December 9th. That tweet, as seen below, was immediately taken down. I’m not sure if that means that Disney and Marvel were not ready to announce the US release date or maybe it will come a little earlier to coincide with the UK release.

Yep. #GuardiansoftheGalaxy Blu-Ray out Dec 9. Huge amount of extras & commentary. Order it now.

James Gunn (@JamesGunn) September 25^th, 2014

The UK versions will be available in a 3D/2D combo pack, single Blu-ray, single DVD or a Limited Edition Steel Book (3D/2D Blu-ray), which can be purchased at Zavi.com.

Here is the official announcement from Marvel UK’s Twitter Page:Marvel UK also released some box art for these two editions.

UK 3D/2D Blu-ray Combo:

UK Limited Edition Steel Book (also 3D/2D Blu-ray):

Here is the cover art for the upcoming US releases. Both versions are available for pre-order on Amazon.com.

US 3D/2D Blu-ray, Digital HD Combo Pack:

US Blu-ray:

From Marvel, the studio that brought you the global blockbuster franchises of Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and The Avengers, comes a new team–the Guardians of the Galaxy. An action-packed, epic space adventure, Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” expands the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the cosmos, where brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe. To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits–Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon; Groot, a tree-like humanoid; the deadly and enigmatic Gamora; and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. But when Quill discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand–with the galaxy’s fate in the balance.

10/7/14 Marvel News Mash-Up

WDWNT on October 24, 2014

Iron Man’s War Machine Helmet Spotted On Avengers: Age Of Ultron Set

During the premiere of Star Wars Rebels: The Movie on the Disney Channel, there was Behind The Scenes featurette for the upcoming movie Avengers: Age Of Ulton. And in this short preview, Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Facebook page was able to spot the helmet of War Machine from the Iron Man movies (see below). Although not officially confirmed, War Machine will be in Age Of Ultron. I have seen a photo of Don Cheadel, who plays Rhodey/War Machine/Iron Patriot, in official photos released by Marvel with the cast of the Age Of Ultron. Defeating Ultron and his minions will not be an easy task, so I can see the Avengers seeking aide from their closest allies. I expect even more heroes to be part of the battle.

Robert Downey Jr. Will Do Iron Man 4 If Mel Gibson Directs

Robert Downey Jr. has said in the past that after Avengers 3, he is done with Iron Man. While sitting down with Deadline.com, Downey was asked if anything would make him come back for Iron Man 4. The reporter brought up the idea of Mel Gibson directing and Downey said that would do it.

In the last few years, Mel Gibson’s star quality has fallen but one person that has always stood by his side has been his friend, Robert Downey Jr. They first met while filming Air America and have been good friends ever since. When Downey was dealing with his own demons, Gibson was there for him and stood by him. When Downey was released from prison and tried to restart his career, Gibson was there and pushed to others that Downey be given a second chance. During the worst moments of Gibson’s recent problems, Downey asked us all to pray for his friend, not to condemn him. So it’s really not surprising that Downey will come back to do Iron Man 4 only if his friend Mel Gibson directs.

If you need proof of their friendship, just watch this video of Downey asking Hollywood to forgive his friend Gibson back in 2011:

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

To read the actual interview with Robert Downey Jr., visit Deadline.com.

Exclusive Look At Avenger’s: Age Of Ultron Will Be On The Guardians Of The Galaxy Blu-ray

As reported last week, the rumored December 9^thdomestic release date for Guardians Of The Galaxy on Blu-ray and DVD has been confirmed by Marvel and Disney. Also in the press release was one of the extras that will be found on the disc. There will be an Exclusive Look At Avengers Age Of Ultron. This will probably be a 5-10 minute behind the scenes featurette informing people of the plot of the movie as well as interviews with the cast and some footage.

Avengers Age Of Ultron Trailer To Be Attached To Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar

Currently label this as a rumor but a story has been floating around that the first trailer for Avengers: Age Of Ultron will be attached to Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar, which will be released on November 7^th. Keep in mind that on this day, Big Hero 6 will also be released, so it is possible that it could be attached to Big Hero 6 or maybe even both.

Avengers 3 To Be Split Into 2 Films?

This story hit the net recently and it does sound like it could be more than just a rumor. The two next likely story lines for the next Avengers movie after Avengers: Age Of Ultron could be either the Infinity Gauntlet or Civil War. Every Marvel movie in the last few years has been revealing Infinity Gems. At last count, 3 Infinity Gems have been found and Thanos, the villain in The Avengers and Guardians Of The Galaxy, needs 6 of them to make up the Infinity Gauntlet and to control the Universe. Both of these storylines have a lot of material that could be difficult to put into one 2 hour movie. It does sound like Avengers 3 will be the last movie with Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man and Chris Evans as Captain America. If the storyline is split into two movies, they would have to renegotiate the contracts for all of the actors but I am sure the profit would far outweigh the cost by a huge margin. Warner Brothers split the last Harry Potter movie into two movies and that worked out very well for them.

Joaquin Phoenix No Longer In Talks To Play Doctor Strange

I was really looking forward to seeing Joaquin Phoenix play Doctor Strange but unfortunately it’s not going to happen. Probably the biggest issue was a multi-picture deal that Disney now wants to lock their actors into for future Marvel movie sequels. The good news is that this means that my favorite choice, Benedict Cumberbatch, is still in the running. Other potential candidates are Jared Leto, Tom Hardy and Ethan Hawke.

First Look At Variant Cover For Upcoming Star Wars #1

In the beginning of this year, Disney and Marvel announced that starting in 2015, they would be the soul producer of all Star Wars comics and graphic novels. Previously Dark Horse Comics had the license but with Disney’s acquisition of both Marvel and Star Wars franchises this was the obvious direction they were heading to. Marvel Comics was granted the very first license for Star Wars comics starting with with Star Wars #1 back in 1977. This variant cover was created by Marvel’s Chief Creative Officer, Joe Queseda. Back in the 90’s, Queseda was an artist for Marvel as well as DC and other independent comic book companies. Queseda was one of my favorite artists and it’s nice to see his work again and especially that this is the first Star Wars art he has ever done. Star Wars #1 will be released in January 2015.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier Figure Available For Pre-order At SideShow Collectibles

Sideshow Collectables will be releasing a Captain America: Winter Soldier premium collectable figure in November. It’s definitely a bit pricey at $339.99.Â I’m always amazed at the attention to detail that Hot Toys is able to achieve with their incredible work.

Marvel’s Avengers Assemble Brings Back Writers From Avengers Earth’s Mightiest Heroes

This was one of those news stories that made me, as well as many fans of the original series, Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, very happy. Last year Marvel cancelled it’s popular animated series Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and replaced it with their own Avengers Assemble. This did not go over well with the Marvel fan community who loved the original series. Earth’s Mightiest Heroes was an excellent series which followed some of the best know stories found in the original comic books. Avengers Assembly changed the focus to have the Avengers follow the Marvel Cinematic Universe. From the episodes that I have seen from Season One of Avengers Assemble, the episodes have been hit or miss and most usually miss. Disney and Marvel must have listened to the fans and have brought back some of the original writers of the series. The first episode aired this Sunday, October 5th, and was much better than anything I had seen in Season One. Here’s hoping that this is the start of something good. Avengers Assemble airs on Disney XD.

Fantastic Four Comic To Be Cancelled In 2015 Just Prior To Fox’s Fantastic Four Reboot

BleedingCool.com reported this week that the Fantastic Four comic book will be cancelled in 2015 with issue #215. By doing this, Disney will not be providing free promotion for Fox’s upcoming Fantastic Four movie. To some this is not a big deal, but if you know the history between Disney, Marvel and Fox, it is basically another chapter in their soap opera. There is definite bad blood between Disney and Fox especially since Disney acquired the Star Wars franchise. Lucasfilm and Fox have produced and distributed all of the Star Wars films since 1977 and I am sure Fox was not happy to learn that Lucas sold all of the franchise to Disney, meaning that Fox would lose a ton of potential future revenue. Last year Josh Whedon announced that the characters Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch would be in the sequel to the Avengers. Not to long after that, the script for X-Men Days Of Future Past was changed to have Quicksilver (and Scarlet Witch) replace a character from the original script, Juggernaut. In the comics, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch are the son and daughter of X-Men’s main villain, Magneto. They have also been members of The Avengers in the comics. So this is one of those grey areas where both Disney and Fox own the movie rights to both of the characters.

This new Fantastic Four movie sounds like a disaster. It goes against what the Fantastic Four have always been about in the comics. I also learned this week that the director, Josh Trank, held no auditions for any of the main four roles. I find it hard to believe that the best actors were chosen to represent each character if there were no screen tests and the majority of these actors, most people have never heard of. The majority of the Marvel fan community wants the Fantastic Four to go back to Disney and Marvel because they have been very successful with all of their adaptions of comic book heroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Out of all of the Marvel movie rights that Disney does not own, I honestly would like to see the Fantastic Four go back to Disney and Marvel. The Fantastic Four could join up with the Avengers or battle the Avengers, bring in the Silver Surfer and plus the Marvel Cinematic Universe would get something its lacking, villains. Villains like Dr. Doom, Galactus and the Super Skrull. And I would love to see a battle between the Thing and the Hulk probably more so than Batman vs Superman. Only time will tell.

The Fantastic Four will return to comics but only after Fox has released the Fantastic Four movie to home video.

That’s it for this week!

10/13/14 Marvel News Mash-Up

WDWNT on October 24, 2014

Is Spider-man About To Join The Marvel Cinematic Universe?

Word this week is that there has been talks between Sony and Disney about possibly bringing Spider-man to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I reported last week that Disney and Fox, who own X-men and Fantastic Four movie rights, are at war with each other and we wont see those franchises come to any Disney/Marvel productions any time soon. But Sony and Disney have always had a good relationship and continue to do so and there is a strong possibility that we will see Spider-man at some point in an Avengers movie.

This was reported by Hitflix.com:

While I can’t get the confirmations I need to verify the story, I’m hearing that there are some very cool “Spider-man” plans being discussed that would help Sony refocus their enormously important franchise while also opening up some connections in the onscreen Marvel movie universe that would blow fandom’s minds. Will it work out? I don’t know. I would love to be able to state for sure that it’s happening. What seems clear from what I’ve heard is that Marvel wants to be able to play with all of their characters, and if they can make that work creatively and on a corporate level, they will, and that means the world gets bigger again.

This year Sony released Amazing Spider-man 2, and although it was profitable for Sony, it was the worst performing Spider-man movie in the franchise’s history. This caused Sony to postpone the sequel and reconsider the future of the Spider-man franchise. Financially, Sony is not doing well and for the last few years have been reporting an operating loss for their company, which prior to this has never happened before for the company. Sony has gotten out of the cell phone business (Erickson) and computer business (VAIO) and other than the Spider-man franchise, their movie business has not been doing well either. Disney may not own the production rights to the Spider-man movies, but they own all of the merchandising licensees, which means Sony’s is just making profit from the movie distribution.

Originally Disney/Marvel were going to have Oscorp Tower, that was in the first Amazing Spider-man movie, in The Avengers movie as a cross promotion for both films, but Sony was unable to meet the deadline to submit the design before final editing of The Avengers was completed.

It is feasible that a deal can be struck where Sony will have Spider-man in Avengers 3 and that Disney may coproduce Amazing Spider-man 3. There definitely have been talks with Disney and Sony and without a doubt, Disney does want to get Marvel’s most popular character to be part of their Marvel Cinematic Universe.

First Official Image Of Daredevil Released

Marvel. com has released the first official image of actor Charlie Cox (Stardust, Boardwalk Empire) as Daredevil, which will be an ongoing series on Netfilx. I’m pretty sure this is just his first costume that he uses before he dons the traditional red costume (well, I hope so).

Here is the official synopsis for the Netflix Daredevil series:

“Marvel’s Daredevil” follows the journey of Matt Murdock, who was blinded as a young boy but imbued with extraordinary senses, now fighting against injustice by day as a lawyer, and by night as the super hero Daredevil in modern day Hell’s Kitchen, New York City.

Back in 1979, Frank Miller began writing for Daredevil and infused some new life into the Daredevil legend. One of Miller’s stories, Daredevil: Born Again, is one of my favorite story lines of all time and tells a very dark story in which Daredevil’s identity is revealed to the public and how it affects his life and the lives of those closest to him. Born Again was published shortly after the Frank Miller story that forever changed comics and was responsible for bringing comic book movies into our culture, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (1986). The Dark Knight Returns comic heavily influenced Tim Burton’s Batman (1989) and to me was the most influential comic ever written. The Dark Knight Returns turned Batman into the Dark Knight, who no longer played by his old rules and truly became a dark and menacing figure, no longer the Adam West Batman but a dark hero that criminals feared. Miller’s gritty and film noir writing style first originated with Daredevil. Back in the day, Daredevil was nowhere near as popular as Batman, but if he was, it’s possible Daredevil would have been what Batman is to most people today.

Matt Murdock, Daredevil’s secret identity:

Daredevil’s Netflix costume (center) is heavily inspired by comic book artist, John Romita Jr. (left). I’m sure we will see Frank Miller’s classic design (right) in the series:

Official Daredevil logo:

Marvel’s Daredevil is an upcoming live-action American television series developed by Drew Goddard, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. It will be produced by Marvel Television and ABC Studios, distributed via the streaming service Netflix, and will be set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). It is the first in a series of shows that will lead up to a Defenders miniseries. Charlie Cox stars as Daredevil, The Man Without Fear. All episodes are set to premiere in May 2015.

Keanu Reeves Now Added To The List Of Potential Doctor Strange Candidates

Never thought of Keanu Reeves for Doctor Strange but he does have the look. Not sure about the voice though, keep thinking of Ted Theodore Logan. Now that Joaquin Phoenix is out of the running, along with Reeves as a potential candidate, are Benedict Cumberbatch, Jared Leto, Tom Hardy and Ethan Hawke.

Reeves recently spoke to Collider.com about possibly playing Dr. Strange:

From a practical standpoint the idea of a longtime contract is sort of “errr” because you want to make sure the material is up to a certain level. Like the good or great level. I like the idea. I go to those kinds of movies. I grew up on them and comics and graphic novels. [But] I didn’t know Doctor Strange as a character, I didn’t read that as a kid. I’m gonna have to read it. I remember reading something… who’s going to play Doctor Strange? Would I be good for the role?

Disney Vs. Fox: Round 2

Last week I reported that Disney and Marvel are cancelling the production of all Fantastic Four comic books just prior to the release of next year’s Fox’s Fantastic Four reboot. This is likely being done so that no free promotion will be provided for the Fantastic Four movie. ComicBook.com was at this year’s New York Comic Con convention this past weekend and took a photo of 2015’s newest X-Men story line called “No More Mutants”. Is the same strategy that Disney/Marvel used for the Fantastic Four movie being applied to the Wolverine and X-Men Franchises? It does make you wonder. Wolverine is also being killed off in the comics this month and not expected to return until sometime in 2016. (No one dies forever in comics)

So how much credence is there to this story? Well there are some points to consider. The next X-Men movie, X-Men: Age Of Apocalypse will not be released until 2016 and the next Wolverine sequel will be released some time in 2017. So as far as hurting the movie franchises, if that was the case, I think they would kill them off later rather than sooner.

That’s it for this week!

Iron Man Will Battle Captain America In MARVEL’s “Captain America 3”

WDWNT on October 24, 2014

Yes, it’s true! Captain America will battle Iron Man in Captain America 3! According to Variety, Robert Downey Jr is in final talks to bring Iron Man back for a 5th time in Captain America 3. This week Marvel also sent out a tweet that they are rebooting the Civil War comic book and many wondered what that was all about since that was only out in 2007. It does seem that they are looking to bring the Civil War storyline to the big screen.

Originally when Disney and Marvel announced that they were going to release Captain America 3 on the same day as Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice, my first reaction was that Batman V Superman was going to easily win. The only way I felt that they could actually have a chance is if they brought in Robert Downey Jr. and have Iron Man and Captain America battle it out. It looks like that was their plan all along. As a side not, Warner Brothers moved Batman V Superman to an earlier release date in order to not have a box office war on the same day.

So what is Civil War? A group of young super heroes battles villains in Manhattan resulting in many human casualties. The Government decides to implement a Super Hero Registration Act so that all super heroes identities must be public knowledge. Iron Man strongly supports the Government and assists in rounding up heroes to reveal their true identity. On the other side, Captain America is strongly against registration and feels that heroes revealing their identity will put their loved ones, as well as themselves, in danger. This leads to sides being drawn and an epic battle between all of the heroes in the Marvel Universe. Some are on Captain America’s side, some are on Iron Man’s side.

Now what is interesting is that Spider-man plays a major role in Civil War. Spoilers: Spider-man joins with Iron Man and reveals his identity to the world during a live television event, but he starts to have second thoughts about the registration act. Recently I reported that Spider-man may be joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe and this could be the movie, possibly a cameo at the very end of the movie, leading to a much bigger role in Avengers 3. It would make senses especially if Sony and Disney are looking to work with each other.

I think they will introduce the concept of Civil War in Captain America 3, but think that ultimately the actual Civil War will be the Avengers 3 story line, it’s just to big to have just Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr in it. I also have heard rumors months ago that in Avengers 3, Captain America will split off from the Avengers and form his own team, which could be the East Coast Avengers. Without a doubt this is very big news and has made the summer of 2016 something to look forward to. Captain America 3 will be released theatrically on May 6^th, 2016.

“Big Thunder Mountain Railroad” is the Next Comic Book In Marvel’s “Disney Kingdoms” Series

WDWNT on October 24, 2014

Today at the Magic Kingdom, a poster was hung outside of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad revealing artwork for the next chapter in Marvel’s Disney Kingdom series. It looks like the next chapter will indeed be based on the classic attraction, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

Marvel’s DISNEY KINGDOMS is a comic book series created in close partnership with the world-famous Walt Disney Imagineers, and Marvel’s best and brightest creators to unleash entire worlds inspired by and built around the attractions and characters that you’ve always known—but will experience for the very first time. The first two series were “Seekers of the Weird” and the critically-acclaimed “Figment”.

The Disney Kingdoms line introduces new and exciting adventures expanding upon already beloved lands, attractions, characters, and worlds of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.

Disney will be releasing an official announcement on the series tomorrow, October 18th.