Black Widow Confirmed For Marvel's CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR

The directing duo The Russo Brothers have confirmed during an interview in China that they're indeed bringing back Black Widow for Captain America: Civil War revealing Scarlett Johansson is apart of the cast. An aspect that had yet to be made official by either Marvel or the actress.

I had some concerns that Scarlett Johansson's participation as the lead in Rupert Sanders' Ghost In The Shell could conflict with her taking a role in Civil War. However, this was cleared-up when the release date for Shell was confirmed by Disney for April 2017 giving the actress plenty of time to do both movies. Luckily, both projects are under the Disney umbrella which is likely the reason it's worked-out for Scarlett.

As it stands the cast officially includes Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Chadwick Boseman, Sebastian Stan, Scarlett Johansson and Daniel Bruhl in a mysterious role. The assumption being that Daniel could be playing a villain the film which could be Baron Zemo, Baron Mordo or someone else entirely.

Check out the interview with the Russo Brothers below.



If you didn't already know Marvel and Chris Evans are huge in China and the country I'm sure is dying to see more of Captain America.

China's film market has been boosting many films international box office recently, mainly due to the country opening-up theatres to show more western films than previously. It's a market you'll be seeing studios leaning towards setting-up more promotional events and even could reflect a greater representation in the films.

Marvel actually partnered with a Chinese film company for Iron Man 3 which had a Chinese cut of the film that included scenes western audiences never saw.

Chris is also currently the face of Activision's promotional campaign for their China-only game Call of Duty Online. Evans taking the role of the "Hollywood action hero" in the game's very funny live-action trailer.

Badass Digest was the first to suggest her return, while people like myself were a bit concerned she might not make it out of Avengers: Age of Ultron alive. We know in the Ultimates comics Natasha does die and her fate could be paralleled in the films as well. It's looking like she'll be around for a little longer and we're happy to see that since Marvel has a limited amount of female badasses at the moment.

Digest also stated that Cap's lineup of his team is said to include War Machine, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch and The Vision, Falcon and Black Widow. That's not leaving too many people signing-up to side with Stark in this conflict.

I'll be curious to see if Captain Marvel is also apart of the film since it's been suggested she could be on Team Cap at the end of Age of Ultron.

I have my own sneaking suspicions that Ant-Man and Wasp will also be in the film, and could be apart of Team Stark since he doesn't seem to have really anyone and his side at the moment.

Fans disappointed that Black Widow wasn't getting her solo movie should take solace that she'll likely have her origins and solo adventures explored in most of the films she'll be apart of as a supporting character.

An incarnation of a Black Widow film did exist at one time with X-Men and Watchmen writer David Hayter set to write and direct the feature. David even named his daughter after Natasha when she was born during it's development.

This was way before Emily Blunt and Scarlett Johansson were in the mix for the role.

Marvel would partner with Lionsgate on the project, who had handled the two Punisher movies. The two characters were eventually paired-up in the animated feature Avengers Confidential: Black Widow And Punisher.

After the disastrous receptions from Fox's Elektra and Warner Bros' Catwoman, Lionsgate pumped the breaks and pretty much ditched the project entirely fearing that audiences had completely rejected female superheroes and not that the quality of those films were lacking.

This move would be echoed in Hollywood as many studios slowed-down/halted any superhero movies with female leads. It was only just in 2014 that major studios announced plans to make films like Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel as tentpole features. Funny, since it's likely both those films will end-up having budgets twice or triple the size of Hayter's Widow film which was considered a risky amount of money at the time.

Later on, a writer was tasked to update Hayter's script that was Guardians of The Galaxy co-writer Nicole Perlman. She's come out and said that her contributions were years ago, and had really nothing to the do with the project currently. I have to assume this was likely around the time of Iron Man 2 and the shooting of Avengers, since there was a lot of talk of developing a spin-off around that time.

Kevin Feige, has suggested Marvel currently doesn't have plans to pursue a film focusing on the character but she is integral as a supporting member of the cast for the Phase Three lineup which will be launched by Civil War.

It's possible that the Black Widow film and it's concepts have been folded into Age of Ultron and Civil War. As Marvel has done this previously with their in-development Nick Fury movie which the studio had been considering on making post-Iron Man.

Instead, elements of that film which was basically a cinematic take of the comic Nick Fury Vs S.H.I.E.L.D.  was combined with Ed Brubaker's Winter Soldier comics for the Captain America sequel. The Nick Fury film essentially has vanished and will likely not be happening any time soon. We could see the material from a Black Widow film used to bulk-up other Marvel films which might be the reason behind Kevin Feige's statements hinting she is more useful as a supporting character.

In the two trailers for Age of Ultron we clearly see some flashbacks to Natasha's Russian past, with a shot of her being experimented-on and hints to her past as a ballerina.

Are you excited for more Black Widow?


SOURCE: LATINOREVIEW

Live-Action GHOST IN THE SHELL Movie Lands Spring 2017 Release Date

Disney has lined-up a bunch of new release dates which includes their adaptation of the manga turned anime film/series Ghost In The Shell. The film directed by Snow White And The Huntsman's Rupert Sanders is now set for an April 14th, 2017.

It will be coming out a week after Guillermo del Toro's Pacific Rim 2.

The manga, anime and series focuses on a covert Japanese police force Section 9, who is mostly made-up of cyborg cops that tackle cyber crime and terrorists in the year 2029.



We actually haven't learned what Disney's plans for their film version of the movie. It's extremely possible that the film could indeed still be set in Japan and take many cues from it's source material.

Scarlett Johansson (Her, Lost In Translation, Under The Skin) has been previously been cast as the film's lead as The Major. This is after a reported $10M offer from the studio to take the role after they passed on Margot Robbie (Wolf of Wall Street, Tarzan, Suicide Squad).

Other sources claim the studio were also looking at Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Lawrence for the role.

This is seemingly a role in Scarlett's wheelhouse with action roles in films such as Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Solider, The Island and last summer's huge success story with Luc Besson's Lucy.

A French film set in Taiwan and France with a mostly foreign supporting cast with a budget of $40M but earning $459M worldwide at the box office.

The film went head-to-head with Dwayne Johnson's Hercules it's opening weekend in the U.S. and managed to squash it. Proving Scarlett is ready to evolve to action heroine, even if Marvel isn't about to give her a Black Widow film.

Her addition to the cast is considered somewhat to controversial to some. Yet, it's unknown what direction the film is going and that is highlighted by the studio not releasing an official synopsis for the film. People are being quick-on-the-draw to claim whitewashing but that's far from the case so far.

Let's be a bit more open-minded.

I personally don't see it that way considering The Major's body is a robotic shell and ethnicity doesn't really come into play here. It's possible the manufacturing company could dictate what her robotic "shell" will look like.

Who is to say the company making the bodies isn't from the west or that in fact The Major is from Japan but has a western background?

It's possible that Scarlett's version of The Major was born or raised in Japan. There is a growing group of western immigrants flooding into Japan. An influx of foreigners do live in Japan a lot of people are ignoring this fact. The increase is due to the alarming birth rate decline as the country has one of the lowest in the world. An aspect that isn't really reflected in the Japanese film industry.

There could be a point where the Japanese will be minority in their own country if they can't get their birth rates up.

Having some non-Japanese on a police force is going to be common place in the future, which is the film's setting since it's 14 years in the future.

I'd also like to point-out that Major's shell does have blue eyes in the original anime film.

I am against Americanizing the film entirely but also open to some slight changes that are likely going to happen when Disney and Hollywood get's involved.

We didn't lose our minds when Edge of Tomorrow changed Tom Cruise's character from Japanese to American or Emily Blunt's Rita from American to British from the original book All You Need Is Kill. That film ended-up becoming a badass adaptation.

Ghost In The Shell is a completely different property than Akira, which is hugely a Japanese story and even has a Japanese title. Shell is slightly different identity and allows for a bit more wiggle-room for a cinematic re-imagining than Akira does.

A science fiction story that mimics fears of too much military power, war mongering and looming nuclear threats to a civilian population. Warner Bros. handling of the film was serious whitewash treatment on all fronts.

The studio searched for actors and actresses about twenty of them for the major roles in the film. Looking at only white actors for roles, not just for one role but all of them.

The location was being moved from Neo Tokyo to Manhattan. Seemingly muting the nuclear holocaust themes that were linked to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. An extremely Japanese aspect essential to the film's story, psyche and identity.

They were even changing a majority of the Japanese names to give them a western spin. Something we don't expect will be the case with the characters in Shell.

I'm also in the belief that since they are hunting international cyber and artificial intelligence terrorists in a global community. We should be seeing an international task-force to combat it but based out of Japan.

Having Scarlett surrounded by a large and talented Japanese cast similar to films like Black Rain and The Wolverine is also very likely. I still believe we're going to be getting a Japanese centric film but it being lead by Scarlett Johansson

I'm not entirely convinced Rupert Sanders is the best director for the job but he did an excellent job on the live-action ads for Halo 3: ODST. Gathering more emotion than the entire runtime of Huntsman. There is some expectation he could bring that edge to Shell. 



We'll being seeing a huge push by the creators to get the word out about the property. As a new untitled anime film is on it's way this summer from the creative team behind the prequel Ghost In The Shell: Arise. I assume the film will eventually make it's way to Netflix like Arise.

They've also developed a first-person shooter game Ghost In The Shell First Connection that looks beyond cool with may land Stateside at some point before the live-action film. I'm hoping the film mixes the design artwork from the original manga/film with this new game.



SOURCE: DISNEY/DREAMWORKS

Teaser For New GHOST IN THE SHELL Anime Film Coming In 2015 With A Score By Cornelius

CrunchyRoll has word from the official Ghost In The Shell website that a third untitled anime film will be coming out around summer 2015. I have no idea when it will or if it will be released in North America but it would be a good idea to at least have a limited release. I'm stoked to see what direction they'll be going here, since it's apparently linked to the four-part Ghost In The Shell Arise prequel series with the same writer and director.

Japanese pop artist Cornelius is scoring the film which is beyond cool. I was a big fan of his music in the early 2000s but haven't listened much in a long time. He helped a bit with the music for Edgar Wright's Scott Pilgrim, so he's not a stranger to film. It's possible the music in it's short teaser is from him. Cornelius also scored the series Arise which is currently on Netflix.

It's excellent timing but we really need to see this film getting promoted in the U.S.. Mainly, because Dreamworks' needs to get the word out the mainstream about this property since they are aiming to release a live-action film. Having director Rupert Sanders and starring Scarlett Johansson it's release could come sometime in either 2016 or 2017. A first person shooter game is also in the works, and will hopefully be released worldwide before the live-action film's release.

I loved the original film and liked the first viewing of the second film Innocence, enjoying only a few scenes in the sequel with return viewings. I couldn't get into the series because of the inferrer animation style but I'm sure there is plenty of awesome episodes there.

Below is the teaser poster and trailer for the film. The trailer doesn't show much, but it cements the film is coming. While Ninja Scroll 2's release has been delayed for years and no sight of release date.

SOURCE: CHUNCHYROLL

Scarlett Johansson Confirmed As The Major In Rupert Sanders' GHOST IN THE SHELL Movie

Variety is confirming that Scarlett Johansson has indeed has taken the lead role of The Major in Rupert Sanders' (Snow White And The Huntsman) Ghost In The Shell adaptation. The film is based on the wildly popular anime film and series, which was adapted from a manga. A new first-person-shooter game is also in development, so the franchise has been hinting all media market points. Steven Spielberg who originally obtained the film rights is still listed as a producer, which is good news.

The story revolves on a futuristic Japanese secret police unit of augmented humans and cyborgs. Who are tasked to fight technology based crimes and terrorism with extreme force. Scarlett's character The Major, is a key team leader in the unit.

The actress isn't a stranger to Japan or Asia, as her first breakout role was in Sophia Coppola's Tokyo-set Lost In Translation opposite Bill Murray. Also recently, shooting in Taiwan for Lucy (speaking Korean in the film) and shot in South Korea for Age of Ultron. The understanding is that the film should and will be still set in Japan. As we haven't heard otherwise, considering Scarlett's history with shooting in Asian countries. The assumption is they will be shooting on location in Japan. I have zero doubts we could even see her speaking Japanese in the film.

However, Hollywood has whitewashed and Americanized manga/anime properties before. Warner Bros. famously tried to limit the Japanese influence in their Akira film, looking at all white actors for the leads. Along with moving the setting to Manhattan and not Neo Tokyo. I'm sure this sort of information will be released once the film is officially greenlit.

Scarlett's rise is in-part thanks to her widely beloved role as Marvel's Black Widow in Iron Man 2, Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron. Over the summer her breakout French-produced action hit Lucy made $458.8M on a budget of $40M. Proving the actress has international awareness, not to menion beating Dwayne Johnson's Hercules (a film budgeted over $100M) it's opening weekend (the two films opened the same weekend). The international take in Russia, China and other Asian markets prove that audiences can handle an American actress in a foreign setting.

It's been reported by Deadline the actress was offered $10M for the role. Which would she her acting quote sky-rocket for future film contacts. It's doubtful the notoriously stingy Marvel Studios would be willing to pay her $10M a film, if she only has a supporting role in the cinematic universe. Robert Downey Jr. has figured-out a way to get paid $50M an appearance, but Scarlett isn't as essential to the MCU as Robert is at the moment.

Kevin Feige has since axed all talk about developing a Black Widow spin-off movie, and has confirmed her place is as a supporting character. I'm still unsure if Widow will come out of Age of Ultron alive, as this sort of talk gives the impression they could kill her off before having to draw-up a new and very expensive contract. This looks to be a smart power move on the part of Scarlett who is quickly becoming equally known for her action hero status as her dramatic and indie projects.








SOURCE: VARIETY

Scarlett Johansson Wanted Badly For GHOST IN THE SHELL, Studio Offers Actress $10M

While Marvel Studios sleeps on the opportunity to make a Black Widow franchise. Other studios are taking advantage of Scarlett Johansson's rising action stardom. Lucy recently broke $400 million worldwide, beating the huge budgeted Hercules on opening weekend domestically. Even though, the French production cost $40 million to make.

Dreamworks wants Johansson baldy for their adaptation of the manga/anime Ghost In The Shell. Deadline reports the studio is offering the lead role, along with a $10 million payday. Margot Robbie was originally linked for the role, but could take a lead in Suicide Squad instead. An offer she would unlikely be getting from Marvel Studios. Her contract with Marvel is coming to an end, and it's unlikely the studio will want to re-up her contract. Knowing she would be asking for more money, and possibly her own feature.

Director Rupert Sanders (Snow White And The Hunstman, Live-Action Halo Commercials) has been tapped to direct Shell, and could become a launching-point for a very cool female-driven action franchise.







SOURCE: DEADLINE

Robert Downey Jr Weighs-In On BLACK WIDOW, HAWKEYE And HULK Movies

Robert Downey Jr. is in a cool position, as he's signed-on to reprise the role of Tony Stark one more time in Avengers 3. The third installment isn't due until 2018-2019. Meaning, the elder statesman of the Marvel cinematic universe isn't going anywhere for some time. Allowing him to be outspoken about Marvel chatter concerning rumors and future projects. Speaking to USAToday, Robert did just that addressing Marvel's delay in announcing a Black Widow spin-off film.

The delay has sparked a bit of criticism, not having a female superhero officially announced as part of Marvel's future releases. Even more so, in the wake of the female Spider-Man spin-off at Sony and unofficially Warner Bros. solo Wonder Woman movie. Robert simply states the obvious and rational question, "doesn't Scarlett deserve a break?"

“Look, I think that the interesting thing particularly after [Guardians of the Galaxy] with Zoe [Saldana], even from the first Iron Man where Pepper was kind of this really – to me the Iron Man franchise would never have taken off without [Gwyneth] Paltrow. There’s something about her that grounded the story. She’s not your typical lady in a superhero movie, and then by Iron Man 3 she’s swallowing serums and putting on suits and kicking [butt] and all that stuff. It would be kind of more appropriate for a character that already was like a Black Widow [to lead a movie]. It just seems like whatever Scarlett does people want to go see it.” 

He makes some valid-points. Scarlett has played Black Widow in four movies, and could be expected to be apart of future projects. We all understand the demand for her own solo adventure. But it's really up to her when she wants to go back to making films, as a new mother. I think we can all respect that, even if it might delay production on a solo outing for a couple of years.

Oddly enough, Robert continues the discussion by pondering solo movies for both Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Hulk (Mark Ruffalo). The latter we've been hearing for sometime development on a new Hulk film, going back to 2012. Indestructible Hulk and Planet Hulk story theories have been circling for a couple of years. Ruffalo and Joss Whedon teased in Avengers press tour, that two could work together on developing a new film (Whedon possibly writing the script).

“The funny thing is honestly at this point everyone deserves a franchise. I think Jeremy Renner is — when folks see the Avengers: Age of Ultron he’s just a rockstar, a badass. And Ruffalo is pumped. He does great (work). I’d like to hear them talk even more seriously about a Hulk franchise, because that’s been one of the toughest ones to get right. But I’m sure that my parent company is feeling expansive and and bold after the summer they’ve had.”

Again, we hear from RDJ how impressive Jeremy's role in Avengers: Age of Ultron will be, hyping-up the character even more. It's possible Clint Barton could have an equally strong role in Captain America 3 as well. Originally, filmmakers wanted and wrote Barton into The Winter Soldier. Renner had to decline due to other projects. I've been under the impression that Renner could lead a West Coast Avengers film. That's if Marvel indeed plans on splinting the main group into two teams. Which is already rumored for Age of Ultron, leading up to the events of Civil War. Finally, giving Hawkeye more of a main character role than previous movies.


SOURCE: USATODAY

Listen-Up Marvel, Neil Marshall Wants To Direct That BLACK WIDOW Spin-Off

British director Neil Marshall has made a career making fun B-movies, from Dog Soldiers to the more serious cult horror hit The Descent. He's also known for having strong female characters in his projects, his last two films having been more female-driven (Centurion and Doomsday) than his peers. Neil is responsible for two of the big event episodes of Game of Thrones as well, directing episodes Blackwater and The Watchers On The Wall. Easily, the two more action-heavy episodes of the series.

The director's next project will be a sequel to the classic tale of King Kong entitled Skull Island: Blood of The King, set 25 years after the original events. He recently directed the pilot episode of NBC's Constantine, which is based on the DC comic series Hellblazer. That might be the only comic book property the director is willing to dip-his-toes-in with, as he tells VanityFair that he'd take a shot at making a Black Widow film. Explaining why he believes the super-spy would work as a feature film.

I would love to do a Black Widow movie. That’s perfect, I would love to do that. That character is really interesting, she doesn’t have any superpowers, she just has extraordinary skills, and the world that she comes from, being this ex-K.G.B. assassin, I find that really fascinating, yeah.

As it stands, Marvel has quieted their talk of a Widow spin-off. So much so, that Kevin Feige has basically stated Natasha is more valuable as a supporting character. This does make sense, considering she has helped-out three Marvel franchises (Iron Man, Avengers, Captain America). We know that screenwriter Nicole Perlman (Guardians of The Galaxy) confirmed herself, that she did work on a new script treatment back in 2010/2011. Resurrecting the previous incarnation that was setup at Lionsgate back in 2008 by writer-director David Hayter (Watchmen, X2, X-Men).  New development on the project is currently unknown, and is considered in limbo. It's assumed that Marvel might put resources towards a Ms Marvel/Captain Marvel movie first.

Scarlett has proven herself as a box office draw this summer with Lucy opening number one (beating Dwayne Johnson's Hercules which opened the same weekend), and her character appearing in huge box office installments are definitely helping awareness/demand. The character's mysterious past concerning the events in Budapest and Osaka could be fun to explore, but being left as a mystery might be better too. Also, Scarlett's recent pregnancy could slow-down her action roles for next little while.



While we'd prefer a female director handling the female hero films at Marvel Studios, I don't think we should automatically dismiss Neil from the running. Considering a majority of his films are female-positive and has given solid roles to women in his previous work. He could also be the next Russo Brothers or even James Gunn, with a little help from Marvel. Plus, we already know that the studio people are fans of Game of Thrones, since they ended-up hiring Alan Taylor to direct Thor: The Dark World.

SOURCE: VANITYFAIR 

Marvel Isn't Making A Female Superhero Film Anytime Soon, Could There Be A Reason For The Delay?

We've been hearing (from Kevin Feige and Scarlett Johansson) for years that a Black Widow solo spin-off movie was coming in the future. More recently, Guardians of The Galaxy's Nicole Perlman had scripted a new draft for the resurrected project (originally given the axe by Lionsgate back in 2008). I've also been hearing from fellow bloggers that Carol Danvers (Ms Marvel/Captain Marvel) will indeed appear in Avengers: Age of Ultron.  Joss Whedon confirmed to HeyUGuys that we would see a fourth female lead in Age of Ultron. So, where is our announcement concerning a female superhero film from Marvel?

Marvel's Kevin Feige has finally come out and commented on the status of a female-driven movie at the studio. The statements via ComicBookResources includes the realization of the demand, but also points-out they might not be ready for that film to be put into production. Feige mentions other new franchises being their current focus, but they might have something else up their sleeves.

“I think it comes down to timing, which is what I’ve sort of always said, and it comes down to us being able to tell the right story. I very much believe in doing it. I very much believe that it’s unfair to say, ‘People don’t want to see movies with female heroes,’ then list five movies that were not very good, therefore, people didn’t go to the movies because they weren’t good movies, versus [because] they were female leads. And they don’t mention ‘Hunger Games,’ ‘Frozen,’ ‘Divergent.’ You can go back to ‘Kill Bill’ or ‘Aliens.’ These are all female-led movies. It can certainly be done. I hope we do it sooner rather than later.”

“But we find ourselves in the very strange position of managing more franchises than most people have — which is a very, very good thing and we don’t take for granted, but is a challenging thing. You may notice from those release dates, we have three for 2017. And that’s because just the timing worked on what was sort of gearing up. But it does mean you have to put one franchise on hold for three or four years in order to introduce a new one? I don’t know. Those are the kinds of chess matches we’re playing right now.”


We've seen a large upswing in female casting in recent Marvel films, so we should also point that out as well. Guardians, Winter Soldier, Iron Man 3 and Age of Ultron have a great number of female leads/supporting characters, who are more than just love-interests or eye-candy. Finally giving us a taste of female villains, mentors and fellow heroes. Feige sites hugely-successful female-led projects like Frozen, Aliens, Hunger Games and Kill Bill, as examples of successes, but also mentions the stigma from previous unsuccessful comic book adaptations. He gives the impression that they understand the demand, but just don't have anything to put out in theatres. This could be another reason why the studio didn't make title announcements for a majority of the new release dates. Because, they are still mulling-over which "new" franchises should come next. Inhumans (another cosmic team film with two major female leads) and possibly Black Panther are on-deck for the studio.

The level of development for both Black Widow and Ms Marvel, have never been made public. Trades have sited that the studio is working a Ms Marvel script, but it's writer and it's stage of development hasn't been revealed (it could still be in the extremely early stages). They could still be trying to outline stories for these characters, for their own feature films.

It's extremely difficult for writers of Widow, since they keep using her as secondary leads in films like Winter Soldier, Age of Ultron and likely Captain America 3. Adding updates from other scripts that feature her, mean that rewrites would be needed on a regular basis. Making it a very complex problem to give her own film, when she's getting strong character development and exposure as a supporting character/secondary lead. A prequel sounds like a way to break away from the tropes of the recent/future films.

Another reason for delaying a Black Widow film, is that Marvel could be thinking of killing-off Natasha in Age of Ultron or future films. In the Ultimate comics (MCU is inspired by these stories), she is revealed to be a traitor and is killed by Hawkeye, when it's revealed she was also responsible for the death of Barton's family. They've well-established her as a character with a dark-streak, and Whedon is known for manipulating are feelings for characters. Joss has teased that major characters could get bumped-off in the sequel.

They could be delaying for another reason, they want to focus on a superpowered heroine. Widow is great, but Carol Danvers (or Kamala Khan) has actual powers and could have more spectacle in a solo outing. Not to mention involving the cosmic-side of the MCU, something that could come in waves post-Guardians. First, placing her in Age of Ultron (I assume giving her origin there), then having larger roles in future films (Guardians 2?), leading to her own spin-off. A similar way Marvel ramped-up Natasha's role in the MCU.

The studio will be upping the yearly releases to three starting in 2017, so this could lead to more new films getting released. This move could lead to projects like a female-driven film fast-tracked.

New Poster For CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER, First Trailer Coming Thursday

Gentle Giant's Black Widow Statue From CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER Gives Us The First Look At The New Costume

Luc Besson's Next Action Flick LUCY Starring Scarlett Johansson Begins Shooting

Luc Besson's (Nikita, Leon The Professional) next film has begun production (via ThePlaylist) and will be a crazy sounding sci-fi action flick titled Lucy which stars Scarlett Johansson. Lucy (Johansson), a drug mule has the goods (super soldier formula?) get into her system making her a badass super assassin (think Bradley Cooper's character in Limitless meets Matt Damon's Jason Bourne). The film co-stars Morgan Freeman and Old Boy's Choi Min-sik. It's also a perfect role for Scarlett Johansson post-Winter Soldier and pre-Age of Ultron to keep the actress in fighting shape.

First Teaser Trailer For Sci-Fi Thriller UNDER THE SKIN Starring Scarlett Johansson From SEXY BEAST Director

Elizabeth Olsen In Final Talks To Play Scarlet Witch In AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON

BleedingCool recently reported on rumblings that Marvel was keen on having Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene) take on the role of Scarlet Witch in Avengers: Age of Ultron. THR is supporting the story that early talks with Olsen are indeed true. She recently wrapped production on Godzilla which co-stars Aaron Johnson, who is currently the front-runner for the Quicksilver role. Olsen and Johnson are basically the same age which would be needed since the siblings are twins. There is also word that the pair will be using British accents instead of having a rumored Eastern European background (ala Black Widow).

AVENGERS 2 Contract Issues Leading Marvel To Replace Actors?

While Marvel is looking to wrangle Robert Downey Jr. into a new contract. The same can't be said about the other actors. New behind the scenes information via Deadline gives the impression that both Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth were almost replaced before their respective sequels went into production. Not to mention the studio has threatened to replace actors. Scarlett Johansson is also sounding off stating she's not willing to take a pay cut either. This isn't a hard request to fill since the last film soared to make $1.5 billion in box office. I wouldn't be shocked if post-Avengers 2 we end up seeing new actors playing Thor, Cap and Widow or even before then.

RDJ is the iconic leader of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and it's possible he could be trying to help his fellow cast members get more money or at least fair compensation. I don't see Marvel getting new actors unless they have to but I get the impression that Evans and Hemsworth might end up walking if they can't win them back with their demand rising along with their quotes. It's a sad story since Marvel has been trying develop their own stars but when they find success elsewhere and can't pay them their worth they will loose them.

No word if Jeremy Renner will be back since his name hasn't been mentioned. However, with Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver being linked for the sequel it's possible Widow and Hawkeye might be edged out of the sequel. Giving the two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents the bench for superpowered heroes to join the ranks.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER Set Images With Chris Evans And Scarlett Johansson, Confirms New Agent Rogers Costume

Is Black Widow The Secondary Lead In CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER?

Marvel has been trying for years to put together a Black Widow movie. It started when the project was at Lionsgate but that would eventually go into limbo after Catwoman and Elektra bombed. Widow would be played by Scarlett Johansson in Iron Man 2 which fuelled talk of a new spin-off. A new script was penned by Nicole Perlman who wrote the original draft of Guardians of The Galaxy but seems like it's still in development.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier will include her and from this synopsis gives the impression that Natasha will have a larger role than previous Marvel films. It could actually be more of a secondary lead, as she's rumored to have connections with the shadowy enemies (her Russian employers?) and will be partnering up with Rogers to battle them. It's possible Widow having her character get more of a spotlight might mean her spin-off is right around the corner.

"Captain America: The Winter Soldier” will pick-up where “Marvel’s The Avengers” left off, as Steve Rogers struggles to embrace his role in the modern world and teams up with Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow, to battle a powerful yet shadowy enemy in present-day Washington, D.C."

First Official Still From CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER As Production Begins

SOURCE: Collider

Robert Redford Confirms Role In CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER, Is He Playing Alexander Pierce?

LATimes was able to directly ask the legendary Oscar winner actor Robert Redford about joining the cast of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Robert confirmed he'll be in the film and talked a bit about the reasons for agreeing to make it. The rest of cast includes Chris Evans, Sebastian Stan, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Anthony Mackie, Emily VanCamp, Cobie Smulders, Frank Grillo, Toby Jones and Georges St-Pierre. His character named Pierce will be a higher-up in S.H.I.E.L.D. It's possible he could be a combination of Agent Alexander Pierce and the classic Sgt. Nick Fury.

“I'm doing this film because it's different. It's a new thing for me... I like the idea of stepping into new territory. I'm excited by it. I also think it's a good bunch of people who really know what they're doing.” 

Georges St-Pierre To Play Villain Batroc The Leaper In CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER

LatinoReview is reporting yet another inspiring casting choice by Marvel as the studio has cast Canadian MMA fighter Georges St-Pierre in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. GSP will play Marvel villain Batroc The Leaper, a French mercenary with exceptional fighting skills. I assume Batroc will be on the same villain squad as Crossbones (Frank Grillo) and The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan). This addition begs the question, will we end up seeing a female baddie in the film?

FIRST LOOK: Scarlett Johansson And Joseph Gordon-Levitt In DON JON'S ADDICTION