Marvel Adds Avengers to Upcoming Movie List

[Kefkataran]

They've finally done it! Newsarama (http://www.newsarama.com) has the scoop (http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=80175):


In terms of feature films, the company also reiterated that the sequel to the Hulk is likely to be the second feature film to be released as part of Marvel’s self-financed film slate, following 2008’s Iron Man. Again, David Self was named as writer of an upcoming Captain America film, with Andrew Marlowe listed as the writer of Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD, Mark Protosevich writing Thor, and as a new addition, Zak Penn was named as writer of The Avengers... The last announcement goes back to the Marvel films presentation at the recent San Diego Comic-Con, where it was noted that it was no coincidence that Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor were leading the Marvel self-financed slate.

YES! Finally we're really going to see a Marvel UNIVERSE start forming in the movies. Now obviously the movie could still end up going either way in terms of actual quality, but I'm just psyched that well finally have a real Marvel movie universe continuity. Also worth noting in this report: new animated series starring Spider-Man and Iron Man and a "Teen Avengers" straight-to-DVD project.

[Montolio]

Kefkataran,

Do you think it's a good idea to release Iron Man around the same time ( I'm guessing that part for 2008 ) as the Halo movie? I don't know that moviegoers will dig two guys running around in armor blowing up shit. At least the Master Chief isn't an alcoholic with a bad ticker.

This is very interesting to me though, thanks.

[Kefkataran]

I think they're different movies and both are going to pull in a lot of money anyways, but I definitely think Marvel will have a bigger problem if Halo does end up coming out around the same time. That said, we still have no clue when Halo will be out for sure and I'd say there's even a good chance Iron Man will be pushed back. I really hope Iron Man doesn't flop as it could jeopardize the whole Marvel Studios project as their first film under that new deal.

[Montolio]

I feel the same way and I have high hopes for both movies. They both seem to be made for the Hollywood treatment and should be huge Summer movies if handled correctly. They had better nail Halo or I'll be so disappointed. That being said, I don't think Bungie and or Microsoft would let anything go wrong with their baby.

Who should the main villain be in Iron Man?

[captainspankypants]

Crimson Dynamo all the way. The Iron Man story could be about a rich American who pours all his money into making himself a super hero versus a government-sponsored program to create a similar high-tech warrior. It could make a nice social statement about American mentality versus whatever country they decide to make Crimson Dynamo from in the movie (in the comics he's sponsored by Soviet Russia, but a modern update might make him Chinese or maybe from one of the Arab countries). Throw in a little alcaholism for some of that "personal touch" and it could work pretty well.

That is, if they want to make it "realistic" in the vein of Batman Begins. If they want a true "Marvel Universe"-style Iron Man, I'm afraid they'll have a hard time convincing the average movie goer that it's not ridiculous.

[roboninja]

Hopefully they will start to add some "universe continuity" to the movies, where we actually might see other heroes in the movies of others. Of course, the trickiest thing with that is the actors become associated with the movie version of the hero, and then getting said actors for small cameos becomes a financial and logistical nightmare. It would still be cool, though, to see someone like Daredevil show up in the new Spiderman movie, or to have someone like Thor come in to stop the Hulk on a rampage in the new Hulk movie. Probably why I like the Justice League animated show so much.

[Montolio]

A quick Google search states that Mandarin will be the villain (aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=23965) and I'm pretty sure I saw this story here at Evil Avatar recently as well.

The guy with all the rings . . . really? Mannnnnnn I just don't know yet.

[Spigot]

I want Samuel L. Jackson to play Nick Fury or I won't be bothering with it.

Ultimate Nick Furty FTW!

Actually, given how half of the stuff from the various movies is cribbed from the Ultimate universe and half from 616, they could get away with having UNF instead of 616NF.

It'll be nice if they can pull this off. We'll see if it's a Spidey/X-Men quality flick or more like FF... by which I mean, great vs. mediocre yet a lot better than expected.

[Kefkataran]

I'm actually really hoping that the Nick Fury film goes more for the Ultimate version. Hell, having Sam Jackson star would be the best move possible.

[captainspankypants]

Eh, I just read up on the Iron Man movie a bit, and I wasn't impressed. The director was saying how he wasn't going to touch on any of the alcaholism, heart troubles, or really anything about his personal life, and was just basically going to focus on how he built his suit (they're going to show three stages of it). Yeah, who needs all that pesky STORY getting in the way, you know, the things that ground the hero in reality and make him relatable.

I'll bet you anything that this movie will be about the same quality as Robocop 3.

I was thinking about it, and you could probably through in a LOT of expanded universe stuff and still make it work. Nick Fury and SHIELD would fit right in, and so would Titanium Man as an ally to the Crimson Dynamo. You could easily incorporate an Ultimates-style Black Widow.

But why use stuff from the Marvel Universe that makes sense when they can throw in Mandarin and change him so much that he no longer resembles the one from the comics? Yeah, fuck stuff that's worked for decades!

[Dr.Finger]

I'm actually really hoping that the Nick Fury film goes more for the Ultimate version. Hell, having Sam Jackson star would be the best move possible.That's why he looks like he does in the Ultimate U. He mentioned in the late 90's that he was a Nick Fury fan, so in Ult. Spiderman they made Fury look just like Sam Jackson.

[Bishop]

So the rumour that a direct to DVD Hulk sequel was not true? That's good because there's nothing like seeing the Hulk destroy things on the big screen.

[Xerxes]

Where's the Alpha Flight movie...

[Eric_T_Cheng]

The main reason we won't see Marvel superhero crossovers in the movies is because various Hollywood studios own different Marvel character licenses. Sony owns the Spider-Man license, whereas Fox has X-Men and Daredevil (apparently there couldn't be any mention of the Daily Bugle in Daredevil because of Sony's rights to Spider-Man).

[captainspankypants]

Yeah, Marvel's handling Iron Man itself, so an avengers movie with Iron Man, Captain America, Hawkeye, Vision, etc. would work, but they could really run into trouble if they want to also incorporate Spidey, Fantastic Four, etc.

[Kefkataran]

Eh, I just read up on the Iron Man movie a bit, and I wasn't impressed. The director was saying how he wasn't going to touch on any of the alcaholism, heart troubles, or really anything about his personal life, and was just basically going to focus on how he built his suit (they're going to show three stages of it). Yeah, who needs all that pesky STORY getting in the way, you know, the things that ground the hero in reality and make him relatable.

Director has said several times that he's using the first film as an origin story and hoping to build into a series of films which will touch upon other important stories in the Iron Man mythos, including his battle with alcoholism.


That's why he looks like he does in the Ultimate U. He mentioned in the late 90's that he was a Nick Fury fan, so in Ult. Spiderman they made Fury look just like Sam Jackson.

I know. :)

The main reason we won't see Marvel superhero crossovers in the movies is because various Hollywood studios own different Marvel character licenses. Sony owns the Spider-Man license, whereas Fox has X-Men and Daredevil (apparently there couldn't be any mention of the Daily Bugle in Daredevil because of Sony's rights to Spider-Man).

Did you not read the news post at all? We ARE seeing Marvel superhero crossovers. It's just that right now they're limited to the properties Marvel themselves owns the film rights to. Hopefully at some point they'll be able to gather all their various film properties under that one roof, but this is a nice start.

[digitalErich]

If they can get all of the actors who played the heros in each of their individual movies in the Avengers movie, that would be something in and of itself. I'd pay to see it.

I've often thought/hoped for of the same thing with the DC movies. We have Batman, Superman, and over the next 3-5 years, we will likely get Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Flash movies. After that....BAM, hit em with a JLA movie.

[Kefkataran]

If they can get all of the actors who played the heros in each of their individual movies in the Avengers movie, that would be something in and of itself. I'd pay to see it.


That would be a huge plus (assuming all those actors are good in the parts), but not quite a necessity. Still would be great.

And, dude, I would KILL for a JLA movie. Especially considering the quality of DC's recent movies.

[GunnyMo]

Ugh, let the glut of bad comic book movies begin. Out of all of those Marvel movies announced I'd bet that one (maybe two) will be good. The rest will end up at He-Man and Street Fighter levels of production and quality.

Don't get me wrong, I hope for the best, but I'm not holding my breath.

[Arphahat]

After X-men 3, I am not holding my breath. While X3 was fun, it didn't really continue the previous two movies. It demonstrated that even something done right can eventually be re-done wrong.

[Montolio]

Where's the Alpha Flight movie...That would be very cool indeed. That team had some of my favorite off-beat characters.

[Xerxes]

That would be very cool indeed. That team had some of my favorite off-beat characters.

Who puck?

But are you serious? I mean i don't even think canadians liked alpha flight. :confused:

If they want to bring that team back, do something kinky. Have wolverine lead for a while. Not really a leader as he is the loner, that would make for a interesting mix.

[Montolio]

Alpha Flight just had the weird vibe about them like The Inhumans, which is kind of what I mean when I say off-beat. Wasn't Wolverine their leader before joining the X-Men? I'm seem to recall them appearing for the first time because they were sent to bring him back into the fold. It's been a long time so I'm not sure anymore.

As I look back on it (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_Flight) now, I can see a lot of why I remember liking them was my fanboyism over penciler John Byrne at the time and in particular his drawings of Aurora haha.

[F3nyx]

Ugh, let the glut of bad comic book movies begin. Out of all of those Marvel movies announced I'd bet that one (maybe two) will be good. The rest will end up at He-Man and Street Fighter levels of production and quality.Not only that, but I suspect the public will soon tire of comic book movies, even relatively good ones.

[Xerxes]

Alpha Flight just had the weird vibe about them like The Inhumans, which is kind of what I mean when I say off-beat. Wasn't Wolverine their leader before joining the X-Men? I'm seem to recall them appearing for the first time because they were sent to bring him back into the fold. It's been a long time so I'm not sure anymore.

As I look back on it (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_Flight) now, I can see a lot of why I remember liking them was my fanboyism over penciler John Byrne at the time and in particular his drawings of Aurora haha.

I thought that was just on the tv show. And he wasn't leading. Maybe it wouldn't be like sparks flying with folks following Wolvie like I'd imagine but more of him couldn't hurt. And his part would be greater.

[emjoi]

Ugh, let the glut of bad comic book movies begin. Out of all of those Marvel movies announced I'd bet that one (maybe two) will be good. The rest will end up at He-Man and Street Fighter levels of production and quality.
Don't get me wrong, I hope for the best, but I'm not holding my breath.

My thoughts exactly.
Spiderman was good. X-Men was good. Hulk was a failed attempt at good.
But with the Fantastic Four I can see the slide downwards...

More movies made with less care. The journey into "Yuck, another damn Comic Book Movie."

Less movies, made good.

[Eric_T_Cheng]

Did you not read the news post at all? We ARE seeing Marvel superhero crossovers. It's just that right now they're limited to the properties Marvel themselves owns the film rights to. Hopefully at some point they'll be able to gather all their various film properties under that one roof, but this is a nice start.

I meant with the current movie properties already released. I do agree with you that the Marvel movie properties should be under one studio though.

There was even a lawsuit between Marvel and Fox over the "Mutant X" tv show because Fox thought the show was too close to the "X-Men" movies.

DC has no such troubles since their parent company is Warner Brothers.

[Eric_T_Cheng]

Not only that, but I suspect the public will soon tire of comic book movies, even relatively good ones.

There are a number of non-DC/Marvel superhero movies out already, mostly as comedies (Zoom, Sky High and My Super Ex-Girlfriend). There have been a few that are non-superhero comic movies such as Hellboy, Constantine (aka Hellraiser), Road to Perdition and V For Vendetta.

I like to see more non-superhero comic movies though. The mainstream public still perceives comics as superheroes only, a stigma that is slowly chipping away.

I would love to see The Preacher as a HBO mini-series. A two hour movie wouldn't do it justice.

[Kefkataran]

Not only that, but I suspect the public will soon tire of comic book movies, even relatively good ones.

I very much doubt it, to be honest. Comic movies, or more specifically superhero movies, are basically a genre unto themselves at this point. I would be very surprised to see them go away for longer than a couple years at this point, and even that would shock me.


My thoughts exactly.
Spiderman was good. X-Men was good. Hulk was a failed attempt at good.
But with the Fantastic Four I can see the slide downwards...

More movies made with less care. The journey into "Yuck, another damn Comic Book Movie."

Less movies, made good.

You're ignoring, though, that a major difference has just happened: Marvel's making a lot of the new movies themselves. Whether or not they'll be good at making them is going to really be the deciding factor here.

DC has no such troubles since their parent company is Warner Brothers.

Yep, and I get your post now. :) But yeah, that's why I'd prefer Marvel's stuff under one studio.

The mainstream public still perceives comics as superheroes only, a stigma that is slowly chipping away.

Thankfully, we are slowly but surely getting a bunch of non-superhero comic movies like Y: the Last Man and Scott Pilgrim coming.

[Spigot]

You're ignoring, though, that a major difference has just happened: Marvel's making a lot of the new movies themselves. Whether or not they'll be good at making them is going to really be the deciding factor here.
After watching the second Ultimate Avengers DVD movie, I felt sad for Marvel's animation studio. The quality of the animation is mediocre at best. That said, the end credits are pretty sweet as they use images from the Ultimates books, which contrasts with the poor artwork during the actual movie even moreso. Why couldn't they have a studio that did the art in almost the same style as the comics? Sure, it would cost more and take more work, but then you wouldn't have people who actually like the comics gripe about the poor quality.

Ah well.

[Xerxes]

The first Avengers animated movie had interlacing issues... Yuck

[Kefkataran]

The animation problems = bad news, especially considering they're doing at least four more direct-to-DVD cartoons and four new ongoing cartoon TV series. :\

[Frogleg Special]

Eh, I just read up on the Iron Man movie a bit, and I wasn't impressed. The director was saying how he wasn't going to touch on any of the alcaholism, heart troubles, or really anything about his personal life, and was just basically going to focus on how he built his suit (they're going to show three stages of it). Yeah, who needs all that pesky STORY getting in the way, you know, the things that ground the hero in reality and make him relatable.


Yeah, and Spider-Man is a guy who jumps building to building with a single leap. IIRC, Spidey 2 beats handily the box office revenue of Batman Begins, the self-proclaimed comic movie grounded in reality.

Come on, Marvel is playing a safe game here. Iron Man is nowhere as famous as Spider-Man or Superman. Yet it launches at the crowded 2008. So it needs to be promoted as a more or less family-friendly PG-13 superhero. Alcohol and health problems would ultimately scared of people and especially kids from watching the movie. A fantastic story about a mere mortal that levels himself to superhero status is a better approach.

[Kefkataran]

Alcohol and health problems would ultimately scared of people and especially kids from watching the movie. A fantastic story about a mere mortal that levels himself to superhero status is a better approach.

And, again, the alcohol issue will be coming in a later film. It makes sense to build into that, as that was far from the very first Iron Man story.

[Zeal]

A Thor movie based on the Avengers Disassembled: Ragnarok arc would be a dream come true.

Mark Protosevich also wrote The Cell and the film adaption of I Am Legend, so this should be one to watch.

[Kefkataran]

A Thor movie based on the Avengers Disassembled: Ragnarok arc would be a dream come true.

I agree, that would rock, although they probably would do a couple movies before that.

[Lizard Dude]

Where is the Deadpool movie? :(

[Kefkataran]

Let's hope Marvel's reading this thread, Lizard Dude. AND THEY'D FUCKING BETTER BE.

On a happier note, DC has announced a Doom Patrol movie, which I don't think anyone would've guessed.

[Spigot]

Where is the Deadpool movie? :(
If this were something in the works, I would be looking forward to it more than a Star Wars fan looks forward to licking George Lucas' beard.

[Xerxes]

The first Avengers animated movie had interlacing issues... Yuck

Update. The second movie had the same issues. And less Hulk.
However I'm going to hold my tongue on the Iron man and Dr. Strange. Dr. Strange looks like it's going to have the same vibe as the Spawn animations had and those were gold. But the interlacing issue were just bad in Avengers 2 more so when people talked. Gosh it's like they didn't bother watching a test print before distro. It's a insult, and they got my money before I knew it was. :mad:

[Spigot]

Update. The second movie had the same issues. And less Hulk.
But the interlacing issue were just bad in Avengers 2 more so when people talked. Gosh it's like they didn't bother watching a test print before distro. It's a insult, and they got my money before I knew it was. :mad:
Yeah, the only really decent part of the first Ultimate Avengers DVD was the big brawl with the Hulk at the end. This one was meh at best.

Did you watch the special features on the second DVD, Xerxes? I quite enjoyed the interviews on the first one, moreso than the actual feature. Heck, I'd buy a DVD with the interviews as the main feature and the animated movie as a special extra.

I didn't get a chance to check out the interviews, etc. on the second DVD so I don't know if it's any good.

[Xerxes]

I didn't do the interviews just yet. Just the sneek peaks on the avengers 2. Of like coming animation dvds. It's rather tame. But Marvel cartoons have always been very lame. That's sad to say. The JL cartoons were superior and so many ways, and I wouldn't mind DC putting that same level of animation to slightly better stories and slapping them on DVDs and calling them movies. If I am willing to put up with movies dealing with the same baddies and one new character, I rather deal with a 70 minute version of both the season finale of the JL. :-/

Man I miss JL.

[Kefkataran]

The DC straight-to-DVD animated movies they have coming are going to kick so much ass. Seriously.

[Xerxes]

I would go on recod saying I like Batman the Animated series more so than this cluncky looking "The Batman". Boy do i hate that show.

[Spigot]

The DC straight-to-DVD animated movies they have coming are going to kick so much ass. Seriously.
DC has a very good track record with their animated series, though I agree with Xerxes that Batman: The Animated Series is exponentially better than the current The Batman series.

Marvel's animation endeavours may have been decent, plot-wise, but the animation was always rather hit and miss. And the less said about the painful to look at Silver Surfer cartoon the better.

[Kefkataran]

DC has a very good track record with their animated series, though I agree with Xerxes that Batman: The Animated Series is exponentially better than the current The Batman series.

Well, the guy who did Batman: The Animated Series (as well as Superman the Animated Series and Justice League unlimited) is the one behind the upcoming DC straight-to-DVD cartoons. And they're also being made with fans in mind, not kids.

[Xerxes]

Well that's what I'm talking about. I haven't heard about any DC to dvd animations. Which ones are lined up?


My all time favorites though where of Spawn. Pains me they kind of just left the show up in the air with no end. I always vilified the TV industry for not giving time for things to sort of wrap up on some animations or forcing ass endings. Live action shows get the same shitty treatment. Like the anime magna thing. They almost always finish leaving some things out or adding some in but always coming to an end. The animation, voice acting, and tone of that show was awesome.

[Kefkataran]

Well that's what I'm talking about. I haven't heard about any DC to dvd animations. Which ones are lined up?

Just announced at Comic-Con. They're doing a series of them starting with New Fronter, then Teen Titans: Judas Contract, then the Death of Superman story. These are going to be mad for comic fans, not kids, and the guy behind Batman:tAS is working on them. Each one is going to mimic the art style of the book it's based on. And they've said these are just the first three and they're going to go and make animated straight-to-DVD flicks based on a whole bunch of classic popular storylines. Kingdom Come anyone?

[Xerxes]

Kingdom come would be good... Never cared for Teen Titans. Death of Superman would be a good one.

[Kefkataran]

This is one of the best-known and loved TT stories ever, so if they can pull it off, I think it'll be good. Same for New Frontier.

[SexualChoc]

Interview in Wizard says Samuel L. Jackson would love to do a superhero movie, and is a little suprised that he hasn't been asked yet. Make it something like 'Ultimate Avengers' with a more of an amalgamtion of the 616 and Ultimate universe, and you are on for a winner.

[Kefkataran]

They're doing a Nick Fury movie. If Sam Jackson isn't hired for Nick Fury, Marvel can die.

[Spigot]

If they can get an animated version of Alex Ross's art for Kingdom Come, I can die a happy man.

And if Sam Jackson has expressed an interest in doing a superhero movie and they've based Ultimate Fury off of him, they'd better use him as Nick in the movie.

[Xerxes]

Fuck you Sam Jack... You was in the greatest super hero movie of all time. AS THE VILLIAN.