The Ant-Man cometh

The final poster was released for Ant-Man recently and, along with that, news that Ant-Man will be appearing along with MANY other Marvel heroes in the upcoming Captain America: Civil War movie...

Disney announced the cast for what could be the most comic book character-loaded Marvel movie yet. Captain America: Civil War will have (as it stands now) up to 16 comic book characters in its cast. It’s almost the whole Marvel Cinematic Universe — well, besides Thor and Hulk. 



But now onto the massive cast. Here’s who’s returning, plus the new players, along with their rumored roles: 

Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America, Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man, Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier, Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/Falcon, Paul Bettany as The Vision, Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye, Don Cheadle as Jim Rhodes/War Machine, Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch, Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man,  Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa/Black Panther, Emily VanCamp as Sharon Carter/Agent 13, Daniel Brühl who recently revealed he’ll be playing Baron Helmut Zemo (but Marvel does not confirm this in the press release), Frank Grillo as Brock Rumlow/Crossbones, William Hurt as General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, Martin Freeman who is rumored to be playing Everett K. Ross

Lordy...that really is just about everyone and it's also likely that Spider-Man is going to show up in this one too.

::mind blown::

I'm in.

Super Tuesday

Chris Evans has just signed to play Captain America in the upcoming Marvel film, The First Avenger: Captain America.

It's an odd choice, since he already played Johnny Storm (the "Flame-ON!" guy) in the previous Marvel Fantastic Four movies (which are going to be redone again with a new cast). He'll also play Captain America in the upcoming "Avengers" movie, which will also include Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), the Hulk (Edward Norton), and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) all in one movie.



Filming has already begun on a stand-alone Thor movie with Chris Hemsworth (he played Kirk's young father in the last Star Trek movie), which will also co-star Anthony Hopkins and is being directed by Kenneth Branagh.

It will be cool to see an Avengers movie with all three characters (and probably more) and the same actors starring in them for once. It's a shame that Warner Bros. still hasn't be able to get their Justice League movie off the ground. Maybe Avengers will help give them a bit of a competition push...



However, the DC Universe is still going strong, there is a new Batman movie and Superman and X-Men movie reboots in the works and, of course, we have Ryan Reynolds currently filming the Green Lantern movie...so I'm looking forward to those as well.



The new Conan movie was also cast recently, with Stargate Atlantis actor Jason Momoa taking over Arnold's infamous loin cloth (hopefully it was dry-cleaned first).

I'm sure that Jason's main competition for the role, Kellan Lutz (from the movie Twilight and recent Calvin Klein ads), was bummed when he didn't get the barbarian role. But, I'm sure he's over it now...



It was announced today that Kellan has been cast as the Greek god Poseidon in the upcoming movie War of the Gods, which will also star Mickey Roarke (who also co-stars in the upcoming Iron Man 2) as King Hyperion.

Gold's Gym must be very busy lately with all of these Superhero, Warrior, and and Greek God movies coming out.

I certainly don't see any of these actors "preparing for their roles" at my local 24 Hour Fitness.

He is Us

This week, Entertainment Weekly features Chris Evans on their cover from his upcoming movie Captain America.



I don't know much about the Captain America character other than he carries around an indestructible shield and fights Nazis. According to his comic lore, "Weakling Everyman Steve Rogers ingests the Super-Soldier serum and gains incredible strength and agility."



Every man does not look like that.

I think "Super-Soldier serum" is now known as Steroids. The results are evident when viewing the variety of ox-shouldered guys at the gym whose ginormous arm trunks haven't casually relaxed against (or touched) their hips since their "treatments" began.



Now that looks natural.

Catnips

Black Panther joins Captain America and Iron Man on the upcoming new cover of Entertainment Weekly to promote Captain America: Civil War.

I don't know anything about that character, other than the fact that I know he's scheduled to have his own movie in a few years.



So...it should be interesting to find out what powers he has (giant claws and wielding an ancient scratching post?) and how he fits into the whole Marvel Universe.

Super Cool

I feel that it's important to point out when regular folks do something special just to bring a smile to people in need. These guys get a gold star...

A Pennsylvania window washing service sent a quartet of workers in superhero costumes to brighten windows and spirits at a children's hospital. Edward Matuizek, president of Allegheny Window Cleaning Inc. in Springdale, said the company did not charge the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh for Monday's window-washing by Spider-Man, Batman, Superman and Captain America. 

"This isn't about us. This is about them," Matuizek said. 

"The kids were loving it," said Errico, who wore the Captain America suit. "Everywhere we went, they were coming in from different rooms."



It's wonderful to see that there really are some super folks left out there in the world.

We definitely need them.

Marvel Movies: Phase Three

Not to be outdone by DC announcing their recent slate of upcoming movies, Marvel Studios went ahead and announced their next phase of movies today at the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood.



Of note is that the 3rd Avengers movie will be split into two parts (Hello, wads-o-cash!), there will be a Captain Marvel movie (the female version, which I was unaware was even a thing), and a Black Panther movie (never heard of him, but Marvel fans seemed to be psyched).

So, there's that.

Still, kind of awesome.

Here's more info…

At a live event at Disney’s El Capitan Theater in Hollywood today, Marvel Studios officially announced the titles of several of their previously untitled movies. After Warner Bros. surprised fans a couple weeks ago by announcing several DC Comics movies at a shareholders meeting, many had speculated correctly that today’s fan event would be Marvel’s turn to tout their upcoming releases. Marvel Studios officially announced the following movie titles and release dates. 

2015: May 1: The Avengers: Age of Ultron 
         July 17: Ant-Man 

2016: May 6: Captain America 3
          November 4: Doctor Strange 

2017: May 5: Guardians of the Galaxy 2
          July 28: Thor: Ragnarok 
          November 3: Black Panther 

2018: May 4: The Avengers: Infinity War, Part One
          July 6: Captain Marvel 
          November 2: Inhumans 

2019: May 3: The Avengers: Infinity War, Part Two



Ms. Marvel doesn't have an "M" on her suit.

How am I supposed to know who she is?

Get that lady an M, stat!

Me time

I guess this explains why Thor wasn't in Captain America: Civil War...he was hanging out with his new roommate, Darryl.



If you have to have a roommate, I think that Thor might not be a bad option.

At least you'd always have a hammer nearby.

Underoos!

The final Captain America: Civil War trailer was released today and a certain arachnid Avenger shows up on the scene...



This one is definitely more action-packed than the last trailer and, besides Spider-Man, features a bit more Black Panther and  Ant-Man.

It's looking really good.

May 6th...your money is on the dresser.

Shrinky Dinks

A new photo from Ant-Man and the Wasp was released today and it finally shows the two of them together in costume. Here is the film's synopsis...

From the Marvel Cinematic Universe comes Ant-Man and The Wasp, a new chapter featuring heroes with the astonishing ability to shrink. In the aftermath of Captain America: Civil War, Scott Lang grapples with the consequences of his choices as both a super hero and a father. As he struggles to rebalance his life with his responsibilities as Ant-Man, he’s confronted by Hope van Dyne and Dr. Hank Pym with an urgent new mission. Scott must once again put on the suit and learn to fight alongside the Wasp as the team works together to uncover secrets from the past. 

Their helmets are very retro...not sure whether I like them or not.

Guess I'll decide once the movie opens on July 6th.

Hear her roar

Wonder Woman had a great opening weekend....

In her maiden outing, Warner Bros’ Wonder Woman dominated the international box office — and came in higher than estimated on Sunday. The well-reviewed DC warrior cuffed a final $125M on 34,775 screens in 55 markets this weekend – up from yesterday’s estimate of $122.5M on 34,300. And that’s without such major hubs as France, Germany and more. 

In overall terms overseas, the start outperformed such key (and male-led) superhero comps as Thor 1 and 2, Iron Man 1 and 2, Guardians Of The Galaxy 1 and 2, Doctor Strange, Captain America 1 and 2, Ant-Man and Man Of Steel — and is now on par with Deadpool. 

The global cume on the Patty Jenkins-helmed DC pic is $228.1M. 

Domestically there was clearly extra girl power behind the $103.1M opening, yet internationally the sentiment is that to have reached the numbers Wonder Woman ascended to, the film is appealing to all audiences.

That's awesome news and I hope that it just keeps doing better. It's really a great film and one of the few Superhero movies that I think women will enjoy as much as men, if not more.

Thank Hera for Patty Jenkins directing this film and not allowing Warner Bros. to make another dark/angry DC movie.

This one has hope and joy, which is a very welcome change.

Marveling

The costume concept art for Marvel's upcoming "Captain America" and "Thor" movies was recently released.



Not a lot of "Wow"-factor...but they look like you'd think they should.

Although, I don't think that Edna Mode would be very happy that Thor has chosen that big red cape.

You know how she feels about capes....

New Spider-Man Announced

Tom Holland has been chosen to play the new Spider-Man...

Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios are proud to announce that after a full worldwide casting search, Tom Holland will play Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the next Spider-Man film, in theaters in IMAX and 3D on July 28, 2017. 

The film will be directed by Jon Watts, director of "Cop Car," the upcoming thriller that made its debut earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival. Marvel and Sony Pictures, and producers Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal conducted an extensive search for both the actor and the director. The studios and producers were impressed by Holland’s performances in "The Impossible," “Wolf Hall,” and the upcoming "In the Heart of the Sea," and by a series of complex screen tests. Following Marvel’s tradition of working with the brightest next wave of directors, Watts also went through multiple meetings with Feige, Pascal, and the studio, before winning the job.

This will be the first Spider-Man to also be included in a variety of upcoming Marvel Universe movies, including Captain America, Thor, and the Avengers.

It will be interesting to see how they integrate him in with all the other upcoming films.

Gary Shandling

Very sad news...

Garry Shandling, the writer, actor, producer and comedian best known for his long-running and influential HBO series The Larry Sanders Show and his groundbreaking sitcom It’s Garry Shandling’s Show, died today at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. 

He was 66. 

Running for 89 episodes from 1992-98, The Larry Sanders Show was instrumental in establishing HBO as a producer of original quality television programming and had enormous influence on TV comedy, particularly the deadpan, laugh-track-free tone and the frequent appearances by celebrities playing themselves. 

Shandling was known to younger audiences for his appearances as Senator Stern in the Marvel films Iron Man 2 and Captain America: Winter Soldier. Other film roles include the Mr. Show film Run Ronnie Run, Zoolander, Dr. Dolittle and Over the Hedge. His final appearance in filmed entertainment was in a January episode of Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee entitled “It’s Great That Garry Shandling Is Still Alive.”

He was a very funny guy who will definitely be missed by many.

He's the boss

A new trailer was released today for Avengers: Age of Ultron with lots of new action...



And Captain America wins for doing this...



Why must you take so long to get here May 1st?!!

Civil War

The first trailer for Captain America: Civil War was released recently...



It looks like there's going to be a lot of in-fighting amongst the various Avengers, which for an audience...isn't necessarily a bad thing at all.



The movie opens May 6h.

Marvel-ous

The Avengers movie made just a little money this weekend...

Marvel’s The Avengers is on pace to put the Disney film’s 3-day record-breaking opening weekend’s domestic cume about $205M and its global total near $650M.

Here are just a few records it broke:

    Biggest domestic opening weekend of all time.


    Fastest film to reach $200M (3 days).


    Highest Saturday of all time: $69.7 M.


    Passed international box office totals of Captain America
    ($192M), Iron Man ($266.7M), Thor ($268.3M), and Iron
    Man 2 ($311.5M) in 12 Days of release.


    Highest grossing opening weekend in IMAX's history.

Not too shabby.

Oh, and very few people were aware that Ellen was in the movie as well...

I think "The Rambler" really is a nice addition to the cast.

I hope she gets her own spin-off soon.

Summer Lovin'

Entertainment Weekly is releasing a series of Captain America: Civil War covers that, when combined, merge into one larger image (above) for their Summer Movie Preview issue.

Here are closer looks at the individual covers...









Enjoyable.

Can't wait to see this movie when it opens on May 6th!