SDCC: MARVEL Releases Wave 2 Movie Details
At San Diego Comic Con, Marvel made it official – Guardians of the Galaxy will be the other 2014 movie, landing in theaters on August 1st.
Along with that announcement came the release of the first concept art by Charlie Wen, and it’s notable for its inclusion of Rocket Raccoon and Groot. The other members of the team appear to be Drax, Star-Lord and Gamora (from the 2008 lineup), meaning they’re going all in with this adaptation and taking the Marvel Cinematic Universe as far out as possible. Does this set a more solid foundation for audiences to accept Dr. Strange and his magic, then?
At the panel in Hall H, Marvel execs also revealed new logos for the next wave of films – Iron Man 3, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Thor: The Dark World, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Ant-Man. This gives us clues that will feed many a speculation.
Iron Man 3
This one’s next out of the gate, with a release scheduled for May 3, 2013, although this report from E! has it as March 3. The movie’s new web site just went live, and we now have confirmation that Ben Kingsley is, indeed, playing the Mandarin, and Stephanie Szostak has been added to the cast in an unspecified role. Director Shane Black reported at the panel, that principle photography is about half completed.
The clip shown at SDCC reveals that Tony Stark’s beach front home is thoroughly demolished by an attack that destroys all of the Iron Man armor, forcing Stark to re-develop the suit from scratch. Marvel revealed the look of the new armor on Saturday at SDCC.
You can see more images at Marvel’s web site.
This is the last movie covered by Robert Downey, Jr.’s original contract, which means if he’s going to play Tony Stark again, there will doubtless be a round of negotiations.
Thor: The Dark World
What could this title hint at? Odds are pretty good it’s going to show us the aftermath of Loki’s attempted invasion of Earth with the Chitauri, and likely it will give us a look at how Loki ended up with a massive alien army at his command after falling off of Asgard into a nebulous vortex that lo0ked remarkably like a black hole.
Also figure the inclusion of Dr. Selvig, Jane Foster, and the Warriors Three (although Josh Dallas won’t return as Fandral due to his commitment on Once Upon a Time).
Thor: The Dark World arrives in theaters November 8, 2013.
CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER
Up until now, Captain America 2 didn’t have any sub-title. The Winter Soldier does two things: follows the format of the first movie (The First Avenger) and gives a big clue about the story line. The Winter Soldier, as True Believers know, is none other than James “Bucky” Barnes, who met his fate on a snowy mountain top in the last picture. As Captain America and the Howling Commandos were boarding a train to capture Dr. Zola, Bucky fell from the train into the ravine far below.
When the first movie came out and people saw that, there was an immediate assumption that the Winter Soldier story line would be picked up at some point. Given that the writers have already indicated that they will probably move back and forth between modern day events and WWII flashbacks, it’s possible this story will pit Cap against Bucky.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier is out April 4, 2014.
Guardians of the Galaxy
Some had been wondering which version of the Guardians would make the transition from page to screen. From the concept art, it appears that it’s the original group from the 31st century of a parallel universe.
After the cosmic elements of The Avengers, it’s probably not as much of a surprise as it could have been, and it shows that Marvel is willing to fully embrace the “gee whiz” factor of comic books and invest in a story that will go quite a bit farther than even Green Lantern (ahem) attempted. It’s a stark contrast to the direction DC has taken with the Dark Knight trilogy (and even somewhat with the GL movie), and it’s a choice that’s paid off big time for Marvel Studios. As Dad says, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
This confirms the report from Latino Review about which movie was in the second slot for 2014. So far those guys have a pretty good track record.
Ant-Man
No date for this one yet, so it’s a safe bet this might be out just before Avengers 2, and does that allow for the possibility that Ant-Man an the Wasp will be in the line-up the next time the Avengers assemble?
Edgar Wright’s test reel was screened at Hall H, and Entertainment Weekly describes it as a demonstration of the costume on film, along with a test of the effects to get Hank Pym from one size to the other. You can read the whole description here. Given that Wright is scheduled to start working on World’s End next, it seems like Ant-Man will have to wait. But that only goes back to timing being such that the Pyms dropping in on the Avengers seems likely.
