MARVEL Movie updates

[Lucky]

This is either really good news or really bad.

[Sammy]

Disney CEO Bob Iger said the company didn’t plan on interfering much with any of the in-development Marvel movies, using the term “If it ain’t broke…” All of the creative control will remain in the hands of the people who know the Marvel Universe best: the people at Marvel.

Disney’s acquisition does notaffect the deals for movies in place at other movie studios, such as Spider-Man and X-Men at 20th Century Fox.

Paramount still holds to rights to distribute up to five Marvel films, including: Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America, The Avengers and possibly one more unannounced film.

There are still existing deals in which other studios hold the big screen rights to certain characters.

But after those deals expire, Disney “want[s] to be sole distributor of these films.”

On the possibility of Pixar developing a future Marvel films? “We’ve talked about this internally. Pixar boss John Lasseter talked to the Marvel guys about this and they all got excited about it. We think there’s ultimately some exciting product that come of that. Sparks will fly!” Sounds like Lasseter is very interested at the possibility.

Disney also plans to “exploit more lesser-known characters.”

It is unclear what Marvel’s deal looks like with Universal Studios, but it’s hard to imagine that Disney isn’t interested in the theme park rights to the Marvel Universe.

And I have to include this out-of-context unintentionally funny quote from Iger telling CNBC how they hope to attract more young boys: “We’d like love to attract more boys, and we think Marvel’s skew is more in boys’ direction. Although there’s a universal appeal, we think, to a lot of their characters and a lot of their story. Just look at Spider-Man and Iron Man films. This is a great fit. But we obviously know Disney has a lot of products that are more girl-skewed than boy. And we’d like the opportunity to go after boys more aggressively.”

[Stinky]

I am very interested in how this is going to affect the Marvel anitmated movie division. I hope this means Disney will invest enough to let the animated films have budget and storey arc to give a great feeling for the comics.

The only worry I have is that Marvel will now start sending their comics to the Comic Code Authority and that would hinder a lot of writers. Censorship is bad even when it is 'voluntary'.

[Lucky]

Does that include their publishing as well or are we just talking movies and TV?

I hope they do not pussy it up... could you imagine a Disney Punisher comic?

But who knows..... Warner Brothers has done some cool things with the DC stuff.

[Sammy]

Disney might have acquired Marvel Entertainment, but it will honor the contracts Marvel has with third-party studios. That works out great for 20th Century Fox, because the studio has now announced that it is moving forward with a reboot of "Fantastic Four."

Michael Green, the executive producer of TV's "Heroes" and writer of "Green Lantern," will pen the script for the new "Fantastic Four." Fox did not disclose any other details.

Last we heard, Fox is looking to start the franchise from scratch and will not bring back any of the stars of the first two, poorly-reviewed films. The studio is planning to go in a "less bubble gum" direction, but not be as dark as "The Dark Knight." More like "Iron Man," as far as action, humor and tone.

Back in April, Vin Diesel revealed that he would love to play a villain like Doctor Doom in the "Fantastic Four" reboot.

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"The Incredible Hulk" did not make back its $150 million budget from US theaters and is considered only a mild success thanks to foreign territories. This might explain why Marvel is not rushing to get a sequel going like it did with the hugely popular "Iron Man."

But if the studio wanted to make a follow-up to "The Incredible Hulk," director Louis Leterrier would be more than happy to return. "Sure, I'd return to it. I have some ideas. So many ideas for so many things," he told Moviehole, adding: "[Edward Norton is] a great actor and a great Hulk."

Last we heard, the green giant will appear in "The Avengers," but it is not currently known whether alter-ego Bruce Banner (Norton) will be used. If the film is successful, there is a chance that Marvel may bring back Leterrier and Norton for another "Hulk" installment.

[Sammy]

Stan Lee Comments on Disney/Marvel Deal


It was recently announced that Disney is in the middle of acquiring Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion. Fans have been both excited and disappointed by the deal, and now legendary Marvel creator Stan Lee has joined in on the conversation.

"I couldn't be happier with this agreement," said Lee. "It's [a] great move for Disney, for Marvel and for my company Pow! Entertainment since Pow! has a first-look deal with Disney. From every point of view, the merger of Disney and Marvel is a match made in heaven."

He continued: "Just imagine, with this deal Marvel gives Disney a library of literally hundreds of unique and colorful characters that have the potential to make great, high-concept movies and long-lasting franchises—and nobody knows how to play in that ball park better than Disney."

"This is a great day for the two companies and for the entertainment community as a whole. To sum it up as simply as possible, when you combine the best with the best, everyone wins!"

[Stinky]

They bought ALL of MArvel. It is a huge deal.

[Lucky]

Well..... maybe the animated movies will end up looking a lot better.

[Lucky]

You know I was thinking about watching "Band of Brothers" again and it got me thinking how wankjelly it would be if Marvel took a chance and made Captain America a little older and hire neal mcdonough instead of going the usual hollywood trend and hiring a 20 year old....

The guy just looks Like Capt. all American, experienced and a leader type.

[Dr. L337]

I like where your head is at on this.

[Lucky]

while looking for that picture I came across an interview with him where he mentions that he would love to be in a Captain America movie but he said they would probably think he was too old for the role.

[Sammy]

I like that idea...he has a commanding presence and could certainly pull off the role. It's doubtful the studio would run with it though since they are looking at multi-picture deals and he's only going to get older.

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Columbia Pictures has begun to rev the throttle on a second installment of the Marvel Comics character “Ghost Rider.”

David Goyer is in early talks to create the story and supervise writers for a film expected to once again star Nicolas Cage, who played the highly flammable cyclist in the 2007 original.

Through a spokesperson, Goyer said he hadn’t signed on yet. But plans are already under way to base the sequel on a “Ghost Rider” script written years ago by Goyer, whose superhero work includes hit screen transfers of DC’s “Batman Begins” and Marvel’s “Blade” franchise. The original “Ghost Rider” was scripted by director Mark Steven Johnson.

“Ghost Rider” will be produced by former Marvel topper Avi Arad, Michael De Luca and Steven Paul, with Gary Foster executive producer.

The activity on “Ghost Rider” follows a flurry of activity on Marvel characters at almost every studio but Disney, which acquired Marvel Entertainment in a $4 billion deal.

Fox is: rebooting “Fantastic Four” with “Green Lantern” scribe Michael Green and producer Akiva Goldsman; mobilizing a “Wolverine” sequel and several “X-Men” spinoffs; is quietly developing a new version of “Daredevil” and working on a Silver Surfer film. Sony recently set James Vanderbilt to write the fifth and sixth installments of “Spider-Man,” and Universal continues work on “Sub-Mariner.” Paramount continues as distributor for “Iron Man 2” and several others expected to include “Thor” and “Captain America.”

The activity is necessary for those studios to keep the superhero properties. If the properties atrophy, they can be reclaimed by Marvel Entertainment, which happened with such properties as Dr. Strange, Black Panther and Iron Man, the latter of which languished at New Line before Marvel turned it into the self-financed blockbuster.

Those properties were repossessed by Arad when he ran Marvel from 1993-2007, when he left to start a film company with son Ari just after Marvel locked in its $525 million credit facility. Arad said he left because he was exhausted, and because he was convinced that his number two, Kevin Feige, was ready to take over. That belief is reinforced by Feige’s emergence as a possible replacement for Disney film topper Dick Cook, because he made a strong impression on Bob Iger during the Marvel deal making talks.

While the plethora of superheroes at other studios and Universal’s Islands of Adventure theme park has raised skepticism over Marvel’s acquisition price, Arad doesn’t see the $4 billion price tag as untoward. He said the number validated the vision that he and Ike Perlmutter had when they implored creditors to spurn a $350 million cash offer from Carl Icahn, when Marvel was in bankruptcy in the late 1990s. Arad argued at the time that interest by several studios in “Spider-Man” alone meant that the film could be a billion dollar enterprise. Since then, X-Men and Blade also joined that billion dollar club, and Iron Man is well on the way.

Arad—who is producing both Marvel’s “Ghost Rider” and “Spider-Man” at Columbia—said that on films that Disney doesn’t distribute, Marvel gets lucrative first dollar gross fees, and is well compensated for the use of its characters in the Universal theme park. The acquisition’s real upside, the library of Marvel characters, can be mined for decades, Arad said.

The Goyer-scripted “Blade” trilogy, Marvel’s first film success, is a good example.

“The character was virtually unknown, didn’t even have his own comic book, and had been part of `Tombs of Dracula,’” Arad said. “It tells you what can happen if you unleash a library with the right creative partners.”

Arad mentioned Dr. Strange, Nick Fury, Power Pack, Guardians of the Galaxy and The Avengers as prime movie properties.

“I had this poster of the Marvel universe, with these beautifully drawn characters, and we used to say you could throw a dart, hit a character and make a hit movie under the Marvel brand,” Arad said. “There is long list yet to be unleashed. I think this will look like a smart deal over time, because Disney is a company that knows how to exploit a brand.”

Arad is separately developing a slate that includes the Catherine Hardwicke-directed adaptation of the James Patterson novel series “Maximum Ride” at Columbia, “Ghost in the Shell” for DreamWorks. Arad has also secured rights to make a CGI animated feature based on the venerable strongman “Popeye.”

[Lucky]

Ryan McPartlin (Captain wankjelly from CHUCK) said in an interview he read for the role of Captain America... anyone who has seen him in Chuck should know that he looks and sounds exactly how Captain America should look and sound.

I would not be opposed if he was the one to get the shield.



here is a bit about him from Chuck
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLAUbEv3owk

[Rachel]

*drool*

[Dr. L337]

how about that new iron man trailer, eh?

[Lucky]

This one? I like it.... not sure I like the looks of

Spoiler: show

the suit case suit

at the end but I do not think its gonna ruin it.

http://www.latinoreview.com/news/new-ir ... ailer-9395