Mar 12 2009 Marvel Wants You to Save the Date(s)!

Marvel Studios has released some new and changed dates for their super comic men movies. Save the date(s)!:

Iron Man 2 - May 7, 2010
Spider-Man 4 - May 6, 2011
Thor - June 17, 2011
The First Avenger: Captain America - July 22, 2011
The Avengers - May 4, 2012

Summer of 2011 is going to be so superhero movie rich. I'm barely going to have time to catch waves, work at the local ice cream parlor, and fall in and out of love with a girl I meet at summer camp with all this nerd shit I have to do.

Jan 14 2009 Sam Jackson Losing His Fury? (Nick Fury Role)

Samuel L. Jackson played Nick Fury in the Iron Man (you waited after the credits, right!?), and the "Ultimates" version of Fury doesn't attempt to hide that it's Jackson in an eyepatch (see above), so it's seemed reasonable for fans to expect the actor would reprise his role as it appeared in future Marvel projects. Right? No. Because according to the LA Times, Marvel doesn't want to pay Sam Jackson Sam Jackson Money (probably a lot of money), and negotiations are not going well:

There were cheers in theaters at the end of "Iron Man," when Jackson appeared as Fury, but when I asked the actor about it today he shook his head.

"I saw ['Iron Man' and 'Iron Man 2' director] Jon Favreau at the Scream Awards and we had a conversation. He said, 'I hope things are working out for you because we're writing stuff for you.' Then all of a sudden last week I talked to my agents and manager and things aren't really working that well."

"There was a huge kind of negotiation that broke down. I don't know. Maybe I won't be Nick Fury. Maybe somebody else will be Nick Fury or maybe Nick Fury won't be in it. There seems to be an economic crisis in the Marvel Comics world so [they're saying to me], 'We're not making that deal.'"

I called Marvel Comics and they gave me a statement that suggested that they still want to see Jackson wearing the eyepatch. "Marvel does not comment on active negotiations," was the boilerplate repsonse, but there was that emphasis on the word "active" in the voice of the spokesman who phoned me back.

I'm not sure I see the issue here. Fury is a black guy, right? Just get Don Cheadle.

Oct 29 2008 RDJ Officially Signed to Avenge Things

Robert Downey Jr. and Don Cheadle have officially signed on to Iron Man 3 and The Avengers, the Marvel Studios project that will unite several of its superhero properties:

In addition to starring in "Iron Man 2," Downey has agreed to return as billionaire Tony Stark and his crime-fighting alter ego in "The Avengers" and a third "Iron Man" installment, guaranteeing the thesp a superhero-sized payday and his own ongoing franchise as part of a four-picture deal with the comicbook company.

Company confirmed that Don Cheadle will replace Terrence Howard as Col. James Rhodes in the "Iron Man" sequels. Cheadle will also appear in "The Avengers."

This should finally shoot down all those rumors that Marvel was going to cast big-name actors in several superhero film franchises, allude to their eventual merging with cross-over characters and mention of forming the Avengers team, then suddenly re-cast all the parts with actors from community theaters and failed CW shows. Phew!

Downey Jr. extends Marvel deal [Variety]

Sep 15 2008 Eva Longoria Might Be This Wasp Character

On Friday, Eva Longoria Parker was photographed strutting out of Marvel Comics' Beverly Hills office with a business card and a handful of comic, including an issue of The Avengers. This, of course, led to some of the internet's leading speculatists to speculate she's up for the role of The Wasp in the Avengers movie planned for 2011. I'd say it's more likely she's just studying up for a talk show appearance where she'll insist she's "really a total geek, not the shallow, probably horrible person I seem to be," but I guess we'll find out in a few years.

Eva Longoria for the Avengers? [Flawed Hollywood]

May 5 2008 Marvel Studios Announces Schedule up to Age of Flying Cars

Riding high on the overwhelming success of Iron Man this weekend, Marvel has decided to reveal its feature film slate for the next three years. This way, we'll say, "Ooh, goody, Thor will totally be the next Iron Man!" instead of, "A Thor movie? Are you f***ing kidding me?" Which will probably be the more likely sentiment after The Incredible Hulk. Here's the tentative schedule:

The Incredible Hulk - June 13, 2008
Iron Man 2 - April 30, 2010
Thor - June 4, 2010
The First Avenger: Captain America - May 6, 2011
The Avengers - July 2011
Ant-Man - Writer/director engaged

Here is additional schedule I've made up, but suspect may come true:

Another Stab at The Hulk - May 2012
Iron Man Ruts Against Thor (see exclusive first shot above) - June 2013
The Avengers IV - August 2013
Darkhawk: Why Not? - July 2015
Hulk: No, This Time We Got It - May 2020
Hulk 5 - June 2020
Whoever's Left - 2020-?

Marvel Reports Q1 [Business Wire]