JOHN WICK Actress Bridget Regan Joins Marvel's AGENT CARTER

Marvel has announced that actress Bridget Regan (John Wick, White Collar) will have a reoccurring role in the eight episode run of Agent Carter. Bridget will play Peggy's next-door neighbor in the show. The mini-series will air in January 2015 on ABC.


SOURCE: MARVEL

Casting Updates On Joss Whedon's S.H.I.E.L.D. Series

Deadline reveals that Ming-Na Wen (Stargate Universe, E.R.) has landed the role of Agent Melinda May in ABC's S.H.I.E.L.D. pilot. The series is created and written by Joss Whedon who is now the creative guru of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It was recently announced that Clark Gregg would head up the show reprising the role of Agent Coulson.

Summer Glau (Serenity, Firefly, Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles, Dollhouse, Alphas) was asked by IGN if she had talked to Whedon about role in the series.

Well, I have my fingers crossed behind my back. I try not to say anything to Joss about anything he’s doing because he has so many actors, and I know we all want to work for him. So I don't know, but if I could be a part of it in any way, of course, you know I want to.

SPECULATION: Marvel Axing HULK TV Series To Focus On Film For 2015?

Today, we learned that Joss Whedon would be putting together a television series based on Marvel's S.H.I.E.L.D. for ABC. The odd part of this announcement is that it's going straight to pilot while the Hulk pilot has yet to be greenlit. My opinion is, Marvel might have axed their plans for a Hulk series after the massive success of The Avengers. Along with the call from fans for another Hulk film. Mark Ruffalo and Joss Whedon have already teased plans already being in motion around the time of Avengers' release in May.

The Hulk series seemed to be a giant headache for both ABC and Marvel. Considering how difficult it is to develop a compelling/cost effective show that included a good amount of CGI. Effects, that aren't cheap to begin with and could end up looking terrible. I believe that Marvel could have pushed S.H.I.E.L.D. into production to cover their asses with ABC to fill the pilot slot left by Hulk. Plus, why throw away perfectly solid plot points that could be used for the film franchise in a TV series?

Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy 1-2, Blade 2, Pacific Rim) had been attached to direct the series pilot but is likely in talks to helm the film instead. The writer/director has had a long standing history with Marvel starting with making Blade 2 for New Line. He was also in talks for years to direct Doctor Strange. However, with recent talk from Marvel producers that a new Hulk film is being aimed for a 2015 release date (after Avengers 2?).  This is all speculation on my part but I wouldn't doubt that a script from Joss Whedon (who mentioned interest in writing the film) with Guillermo del Toro directing enough to bring new life to the Hulk franchise. Del Toro has a bunch of projects in development but has dropped films before to focus on passion projects.

Joss Whedon To Make SHIELD Series For ABC, Movie Unlikely?

It's good news for Whedon and Marvel fans as Disney/ABC announces via Deadline that Joss Whedon will write, produce and possibly direct a SHIELD pilot. The series will see his longtime writing collaborators Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen also involved with the project. No word if the likes of Samuel L. Jackson (cameos?) or the more TV friendly Cobie Smulders will be appearing on the series. This seemingly gives the impression that Marvel Studios won't be pursuing a SHIELD film and will likely be absorbed into the Captain America and Avengers franchises.

It's likely that actors such as Eliza Dushku (Buffy, Dollhouse), Summer Glau (Serenity, The Unit, Terminator) and Adam Baldwin (Firefly, Chuck) along with other loyal Joss Whedon cast members could be involved with the pilot.

'INCREDIBLE HULK 2' Coming In 2015?

The Avengers will end up becoming Marvel's biggest hit as it made $178.4 million in 39 international markets over the weekend. These numbers don't even include huge markets like North America, Russia, China and Japan which will get the film this Friday. One of the biggest wins of the film was finally a great interpretation of both Dr. Bruce Banner and The Hulk played by Mark Ruffalo. Fans of the green hero and Avengers have been curious when we could expect a new Hulk film. There was talk from both Ruffalo and Kevin Feige that there were talks about a new film. Leading Mark to let slip that he wanted to get Joss Whedon involved.

Now word from Marvel's Paul Gitter in a new Forbes interview revealing that along with a new TV series on ABC produced by Guillermo del Toro (who is also directing the pilot) we could be seeing a new film in 2015. Having a new live-action TV series should gather up a new solid fanbase not to mention Hulk's appearance in the Disney cartoon series.

"If Hulk’s successful turnaround continues, Gitter says Marvel “will spin him off to a stand-alone program next year,” supported by a big budget franchise movie in 2015."

I wouldn't be shocked to see Guillermo's (Hellboy) name on the list of possible directors when it finally moves forward. Del Toro has a tendency to switch up his projects on the spot. He went from The Hobbit to Mountains of Madness to settle on Pacific Rim. A project that wasn't even in his large waiting-list of films in development. He'll be directing the pilot for the Hulk television series previously working with Marvel on Blade 2 and had been lined up for a Doctor Strange film.

So we very well could end up getting Incredible Hulk 2 in 2015. Will it be Banner working for SHIELD, still on the run or a different direction like with Planet Hulk? Seeing Hulk facing off cosmic creatures that can give him a run for his money would be my personal choice. However, considering how baldy John Carter did Disney might be scared off to a film like that. I wouldn't be shocked to see the series developing a story that could lead into the new film.