Filmonic » The Avengers

Marvel’s profits drop 60%

Liam — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:11:47 +0000

As Marvel Entertainment had no tent-pole movies released in 2009 it’s not surprising to see that they didn’t make as much money this year, and they are reporting a 60% drop in profits from the 3rd Quarter of 2009. However, they did make quite a lot from the release of Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk last year, with DVD/Blu-ray, merchandise and TV sales flowing through to 2009.

Despite the drop in profits the report from Yahoo! shows Marvel have nothing to be worried about. As we all know Iron Man 2 will be released next May which should top up their bank balance (Iron Man made $580+ million worldwide). They also have Thor and Captain America starting production over the upcoming months for 2011 releases, and then The Avengers in 2012. Marvel are also developing games with Sega to coincide with the release of all these movies. Lets not forget Spider-Man 4 in 2011 either.

Should all the above movies flop (which is highly unlikely) they still have TV shows such as a second season of Wolverine and the X-Men and Black Panther in the works. They also have a Spider-Man Broadway musical opening sometime next year, DVDs and games such as Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 which has already started bringing in revenue.

So an average end to 2009 for Marvel, although the best is yet to come (which is probably why Disney bought them earlier this year.)

Joe Quesada says Captain America will “rock everyone’s socks off”

Liam — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 19:22:45 +0000

With all the behind the scenes footage from Iron Man 2 and casting details on Thor it’s quite easy to forget that Marvel are actually working on the Captain America movie too. The film is currently scheduled to be released in May 2011, which is two months after Thor, however they still need to put together a cast and there is also the small issue of finding Captain America himself.

Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Joe Quesada recently spoke to Comic Book Resources and praised the film, but he didn’t give anything away.

Quesada offered a brief update on “The First Avenger: Captain America,” with which he’s had some involvement. “I’ve seen a couple of outlines and an initial screenplay, and it’s going to rock everyone’s socks off,” he said. “It’s very unexpected, the kind of movie it is.” Quesada added that “Captain America” sets up “The Avengers” in “a fantastic way” and also mentioned that there is an undisclosed wish list of actors to play the star-spangled superhero.

Captain America is expected to start filming next summer, so in between now and then we should be getting some big developments. The Wolfman director Joe Johnston is directing, and the writers are the guys responsible for The Chronicles of Narnia scripts.

Jon Favreau won’t be directing The Avengers

Liam — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:58:13 +0000

A year ago it was announced that Iron Man and Iron Man 2 director Jon Favreau would be an executive producer on The Avengers, and there was talk that Marvel wanted him in the director chair too. However, Favreau recently sat down with MTV and denied that he would be directing, and explained why not.

“They’ll have to [find a different director], because I’m not going to be available,” he explained. “It’s something I’m being the executive producer on, so I’ll definitely have input and a say.”
“It’s going to be hard, because I was so involved in creating the world of Iron Man and Iron Man is very much a tech-based hero, and then with ‘Avengers’ you’re going to be introducing some supernatural aspects because of Thor,” he continued. “How you mix the two of those works very well in the comic books, but it’s going to take a lot of thoughtfulness to make that all work and not blow the reality that we’ve created.”
Favreau also confessed that his focus on a single member of “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes” might not be the best fit for the team-up film.
“That’s why it’s good that you have the guys from Marvel like Kevin Feige, who knows the books well and has been involved with the making of all the movies, and he’ll be very involved with ‘Thor’ and ‘Cap,’” said Favreau. “You need somebody who has the perspective of all the different franchises to bring them together. I have the myopic vision of just knowing and loving Iron Man.”

So if not Favreau then who? As the film won’t be released until 2012 there’s plenty of time for Marvel to find the right guy (or female?) for the job. Although there is a chance it could either be Thor director Kenneth Branagh or Captain America director Joe Johnston.

Who do you want to direct The Avengers?

Edward Norton likes the idea of Hulk as The Avengers villain

Liam — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:56:58 +0000

Even though Marvel aren’t ready to reveal anything just yet, there is a good chance that The Hulk will be the villain in The Avengers. They’ve been talking about the idea for a while and even The Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier hinted at it last year when commenting on the films closing shot.

“…if you decide that he’s smiling, in control, then he’s a good guy, that’s ‘The Hulk 2,’” he continued. “If Hulk is a failure, then he looks up and smirks and that’s eventually the Hulk of the Avengers — the uncontrollable beast that they need to team up to stop.”

If the director knew of Marvel’s intentions then one would assume Edward Norton would be in on it too, and from this interview with MTV it seems he is.

“In the comics, there was always a tension between the rest of the superhero community and he was always this problem… They treated him as this problem,” said Norton.
In Toronto to promote his well-received film “Leaves of Grass” at the International Film Festival, Norton said he could definitely see the Hulk character becoming something that the rest of Marvel’s superheroes joined forces to battle. After all, Hulk’s never been shy about telling the world he’s “the strongest there is.”
“I think that’s a fun way to go with it,” said Norton.

If Norton likes the idea, which he does, then he could return as Bruce Banner in The Avengers. When The Incredible Hulk came out Norton and Marvel weren’t the best of friends as they had disagreements over the final cut and Norton didn’t receive credit for rewriting the script. At the time I am sure Norton wouldn’t have wanted to work with Marvel again, but time as passed and he may be up for it again. He’s probably contracted to return anyway.

Scarlett Johansson talks about Black Widow’s future

Liam — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 13:22:30 +0000

Scarlett Johansson recently spoke to IrelandOn-Line about playing Black Widow in Iron Man 2, and she also spoke about where she would like to go with the character in the future.

“She has many different incarnations and different storylines so I’m hoping she will be able to continue in that way. I’m hoping that if the fans like the character and support the character, we’ll see her again.”
As well as a movie based on the Black Widow, Scarlett has hinted the character will return to screens in the hotly-anticipated ‘Avengers’ movie.
The 24-year-old star added: “I hope I get to come back and do it again. The character certainly comes back. We see that she does in the comics and certainly she is a big part of The Avengers. I don’t know if that is where it’s going to go but she is definitely a big part of The Avengers.”

We have been getting hints that Black Widow will appear in The Avengers, so that’s where she will likely pop up next. I doubt we will be getting a solo Black Widow movie. Female superhero have been taking a back seat over recent years thanks to a few bad movies. However, if she kicks ass next May people might actually be up for seeing one.

When will we next see The Hulk on-screen?

Liam — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 19:14:43 +0000

In 2012 there’s a superhero party and everyone’s invited. Well almost everyone anyway. Last week producer Kevin Feige revealed that The Avengers line-up will consist of Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and Nick Fury. We may also see appearances from some members of the Hulk universe and Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow. But who are these Hulk universe people? And what about The Hulk himself? Well Edward Norton was recently asked if The Hulk was in his future and he responded with:

“I probably won’t comment on that just because they keep a pretty tight rein on what they are letting out,” Norton said in a group interview today.
Deferring to Marvel suggests a cordial relationship with the studio. Rumors surrounded the release of The Incredible Hulk that Norton was not happy with the final cut. Already he seemed an unusual participant in a major superhero movie, and the scant press he did fueled rumors that he preferred an alternate cut of the film. Now he is suggesting that he’s following company orders.
“I’ll let them [address it],” Norton said.

Now, I don’t really like reading too much into quotes out of context, but if he wasn’t going to be playing Bruce Banner again wouldn’t he just say “no”, rather than what he did say? What makes this more interesting is that NuketheFridge are reporting that we could be seeing Bruce Banner in Iron Man 2:

Our Marvel Movie mole has informed Nuke The Fridge of yet another cameo in the upcoming “Iron Man 2” film due out next summer. Our confidential source first reported that Stan Lee will make a brief appearance in the second Iron Man film as Larry King. Now rumor has it that Edward Norton will have a possible cameo as both Bruce Banner and the Hulk.

This should be taken with a pinch of salt and if it is true we probably won’t know until Iron Man 2 is released next May. However, Robert Downey Jr. did appear in The Incredible Hulk in a scene after the credits, so maybe Marvel want Edward Norton to return the favour?

If Edward Norton and The Hulk do appear in Iron Man 2 then it could mean The Hulk may be attending the superhero party after all. And who wouldn’t want to see The Hulk in The Avengers?

The Avengers line-up revealed

Liam — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 13:19:40 +0000

Some Iron Man 2 footage was shown at Comic-Con yesterday (read a description of what was seen here) and afterwards producer Kevin Feige took part in a Q&A session. As Marvel have IM2, Thor, Captain America and The Avengers coming up there are hundreds of questions people would like to ask, however one person asked a question everyone wants to know: Which heroes will be in The Avengers line-up?

I think we know. I think it’s going to be Iron Man and Thor, Captain America and Nick Fury. I think it’s safe to assume that there will be some members of the Hulk universe in the film as well. In terms of the additional I think Black Widow, sure. The SHIELD organization for sure. What’s exciting, for me, about The Avengers movie is seeing those four characters interact with each other. I think anywhere from the first issues of The Avengers to Civil War the dynamic between Steve Rogers and Tony Stark is just awesome, it’s fascinating. It brings out sides in others that won’t be brought out in the other franchises. Going forward with the mix is a whole other thing, I think it will be cool. So to pile on another 15 or 10, frankly more than four would be too many.
Is the Hulk in it?
Zak Penn is outlining it as we speak, so we’ll see.

In the past there has been talk of The Hulk actually being a villain in the film, which I think would be kinda cool.

What do you think of the line-up? Are there any other characters you think should appear in the film?

Nick Fury is still just a talker in Iron Man 2

Liam — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:52:06 +0000

Samuel L. Jackson had a brief scene after the credits as Nick Fury in Iron Man, and he will be meeting up with Tony Stark once again in Iron Man 2, however Jackson revealed to SplashPage that Fury won’t be doing anything bad-ass just yet.

“Not this time, not yet,” Jackson told MTV News of the likelihood we’ll see his character become the action hero fans know in “Iron Man 2.” “We still haven’t moved Nick Fury into the bad-ass zone. He’s still just kind of a talker.”
Asked whether fans will have to wait until the superhero team-up in “The Avengers” to see Fury get ready to rumble, Jackson simply said, “Looking forward to that, yeah.”

Jackson signed a 9 movie deal with Marvel back in February so there is plenty of time for us to see Nick Fury do this thing. He will probably just be a talker in Thor and Captain America as well to connect the worlds. The Avengers will be where it all goes down.

Zak Penn is meeting with the Captain America and Thor people next week

Liam — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:40:16 +0000

Iron Man 2 director Jon Faverua has a fair amount of pressure on his shoulders as he has to make a sequel that builds and improves upon the first film. Thor director Kenneth Branagh has a different type of pressure as he has the task of making the Thor world believable, and making it fit in the Iron Man and Hulk worlds that we’ve already seen. However, Zack Penn probably has the most complicated job in the Marvel movie universe, as he has to combine all of the worlds and characters into one film, The Avengers. Penn spoke to Scifi Wire at a recent event in Los Angeles and said that he would be meeting with other creative people to see how he will pull off the greatest crossover in movie history.

Now that Marvel is itself producing movies as a company, Penn said, “It is a world of difference; it is a lot easier to do things like that, and they encourage it.”
Penn said he is meeting this coming week with the team writing the other movies so they can piece together storylines and overlap some of the film plots.
“They’re doing Captain American and Thor first, and then Avengers is coming out,” Penn said. “They want to see that they’re all connected, not like the Fantastic Four can’t come into the X-Men world, like I was told. I’m taking a meeting next week with the Thor and Captain America people, and we are all going to get together, and I will see what is going to happen. I’ll see where they are leaving the characters; it’s pretty complicated. … There’s a board that is tracking what is happening. [We'll see] how this movie overlaps in that movie. … Marvel is autonomous now. It is night and day: Everyone has read every comic. They know how to make a cool movie.”
And although Penn holds the responsibility for bringing all the characters of the other films together, he remains insecure. “It’s hard to make a good movie,” he said. “We all have the best intentions, and it still might suck.”

That last sentence wasn’t very encouraging. I will be cheering Penn on and hope that it doesn’t suck, however his past work isn’t the best. He wrote Elektra, X-Men 3, and his Incredible Hulk script was rewritten by Edward Norton. While some of his past turds may be the result of crappy directors, his scripts were probably a reason for them not being that great. Hopefully with a good director (possibly Jon Favreau) and the Marvel Creative Committee Penn can produce gold.

Kevin Feige talks Thor, Captain America and The Avengers

Liam — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 11:17:12 +0000

UGO recently got the chance to interview Marvel Films President Kevin Feige (click here to read the full interview, highly recommended) and he revealed a lot of interesting info regarding the future Marvel movies (Thor, Captain America, The Avengers). Here are some of the best bits:

Update: UGO were not supposed to post it yet! I’ll post again when it’s allowed to go up.