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

Could Daniel Bruhl Be Playing A Baron In CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR?

Marvel has confirmed that Spanish-German actor Daniel Bruhl (Rush, Inglourious Basterds) has joined the cast of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. His co-stars being Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr, Chadwick Boseman (as Black Panther), Sebastian Stan, and possibly Jeremy Renner. Production is about to begin soon with the Russo Brothers back as the directors, I'm sure more casting news will spring-up soon. However, Marvel isn't revealing who Daniel will be playing in the film, making the role a bit mysterious.

Variety is reporting that Daniel will be playing one of the villains in the film, not the main one. We have kind of figured that Tony Stark would be a theological villain of the film. They add he might be the main baddie of Doctor Strange. Which sounds weird to me, since Strange and Cap don't really share villains.

It might be a safe to assume that Brhul has taken the role of Baron Zemo, or a modern take of the current head of the Zemo family. Who has been active for generations, including during World War I and World War II. During the second World War, becoming a rival of the Red Skull and a collaborator with the Nazis. The character was even teased in a piece of museum concept art from Winter Soldier, a snow-covered battle scene named OPERATION: ZEMO. He's one of the only WWII era villains still unused, and is actually even more well-known than HYDRA's Baron Strucker from Age of Ultron.

Zemo has connections with both The Masters of Evil and The Thunderbolts, the latter might end-up that team that Stark puts together for Civil War. There is a point in the comics where Stark get's desperate and starts recruiting villains to help him takedown Cap. The rumored Cap team for the film sounded like there weren't going to be many heroes siding with Tony Stark. We also know that James Gunn has been talking-up a Thunderbolts film being another Marvel property he wants to tackle. Crossbones is a member of both villainous groups, having him acting on the behalf of Zemo or The Thunderbolts could work very well.

The legacy villain has been a fan-favorite and finding a place for him in the film universe has been a bit tricky. I really do hope they use Zemo instead of resurrecting Red Skull, since this could be our last romp with Rogers as Captain America. Flashbacks would be nice, but since Zemo is replaced by the next generation he could be around in present time too.

The connection to Strange might suggest the role might be Baron Mordo. This doesn't make too much sense, since we likely won't be getting an appearance of Strange or his antagonists in Civil War. Then again, Black Panther villain Klaw might be in Age of Ultron and Panther being in Civil War. They could try to setup Stephen Strange in a similar way, since the two productions are filming in the same year. However, Mordor doesn't really have connections to the Civil War story as much as Zemo. There is some speculation that the two characters could be combined, but that sounds like a waste to me. It should be noted that Doctor Strange frontrunner Benedict Cumberbatch co-starred with Brhul in the Fifth Estate. Re-teaming the pair wouldn't be hard to imagine.

The only thing I don't like about Baron Mordo, is his name. We already have a Baron villain with Baron Strucker and his last name is eerily similar to Middle Earth's Mordor. I wouldn't put it past Marvel to try to combine Zemo and Mordo into one character.

I also wouldn't rule-out the more obscure John Flasworth aka Baron Blood. A Nazi vampire who just happens to be a that could fit into both Strange's occult universe and Cap world of Marvel being setup in Doctor Strange. Since he's a vampire he would be ageless, I'm not sure that's the type of villain that would be suited for Civil War.





SOURCE: MARVEL

Robert Downey Jr. Joins CAPTAIN AMERICA 3, Film Sparks The CIVIL WAR

A huge update concerning Captain America 3 has just landed, thanks to Variety. The trade is reporting that Robert Downey Jr. is in final talks to play Tony Stark in the third installment. Captain America 3 is also said to be launching-point for the epic Civil War storyline. It's unknown at this point if the whole film will be apart of Civil War, or it will setup everything to actually happen in Avengers 3. The two films will likely round-out the actors' contracts with Marvel. They also mention this will lead to a whole group of heroes who will step-up. It might be safe to say one of these films will have the subheading "Civil War".

Civil War pertains to the comic book conflict between Iron Man and Captain America, as the government forces including Stark enact Superhero Registration Act. People with powers or abilities have to agree to reveal themselves and becoming a policing force or risk imprisonment. Each hero chooses a different side with Iron Man becoming the government mouth-piece, while Captain America rounds-up his own team willing to go toe-to-toe with Stark's. It's a huge story and likely will need many more characters than are already kicking-around the MCU.

I had already noticed possible seeds to Civil War, from set images of Stark seemingly resurrecting a new form of SHIELD. Something I'm sure will piss-off Rogers in Age of Ultron. This would explain why the future films and Avengers installments would focus on other heroes. Civil War is a way to kill or retire our main lineup, without having fans freakout about it. It would also be a great time for Thanos to show-up in Avengers 3, among the chaos of Earth's heroes at each other's throats.

Captain America 3 has a release date of May 6, 2016 with production set to begin this spring.



SOURCE: VARIETY

CAPTAIN AMERICA 3 To Begin Production In April And Title Reveal Coming Soon

While speaking with Collider the director siblings the Russo Brothers talked about Captain America 3, it's production returning to the States for an April start. However, the stage work will now be done in Atlanta, Georgia. Presumably on the new Pinewood Studios stage, where Ant-Man is currently shooting. This move is an interesting one, not only does the studio have a new location to film their growing number of projects. But, they will be shooting two movies at once, if Doctor Strange is still aiming for it's spring production start (confirmed by Kevin Feige). I have to assume that Scott Derrickson will be heading the UK and shoot Strange at Shepperton Studios.

The studio had been seemingly worried about having two film productions going-on at once. Possibly being too much to handle for the growing studio at the time. This has led to muted-talk of three Marvel Studios releases per-year. It's been now confirmed that starting in 2017, we'll have three Marvel Studios productions released annually. With production shoots now overlapping one-and-other, it's even possible the studio could push for four films a year. A mad notion, but considering the amount of people now involved with the studio and the production space in their hands, anything is possible.

Another tidbit was dropped by the Russo Brothers during their chat with Collider. They confirmed that the title for the third film will be announced in about a month or so. I have to assume the title is another villain reveal similar to The Winter Soldier or Age of Ultron. Considering how many unused major Cap villains haven't appeared in the film, any number of them could get top-billing. I'd hope that we'd finally get to see Baron Zemo and Madame Hydra, but I'm sure others want to see Alexander Lukin and Doctor Faustus take centre-stage in the film.

A great deal of rumblings have already started concerning the lineup of the film. The best guesses would that we'll see the return of Bucky Barnes, Brock Rumlow, Sam Wilson and Nick Fury. It's up-in-the-air if we'll see Natasha, Clint, Sharon or Maria return for the sequel. Since, it's rumored the Russos could be including T'Challa/Black Panther to the sequel, some characters might have to take a backseat.

SOURCE: COLLIDER

AGE OF ULTRON SET PHOTOS: Chris Evans And Black Widow Stunt Double Sport New Costumes

Chris Evans has finally joined the production of Avengers: Age of Ultron, as he was spotted on the set in South Korea. Evans was sporting a new costume with the Avengers logo. Scarlett Johansson hasn't showed-up but her stunt double was riding on a motorcycle and was also wearing an updated costume.

Marvel Announces CAPTAIN AMERICA 3 Coming May 2016

Marvel has finally announced what is coming after Ant-Man, Captain America 3 will be their second Phase Three film. The second sequel will be set for release on May 6th, 2016. The spot had been claimed by Marvel almost a year ago, but that didn't stop Warner Bros. from moving Batman Vs Superman on the same date. Considering, the massive buzz surrounding The Winter Soldier (some "claim" the best Marvel film to date) it wasn't shocking the studio would choose to move forward with a third installment.

The Russo Brothers recently confirmed to Collider they've signed-on to direct Captain America 3, and are currently working on the film's outline. Also confirming, they were speaking with franchise writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, about the script. It's the only Phase Three project (besides Ant-Man), that has both writers and director/directors on board.

When it comes to who will be returning or added to the line-up that remains to be seen. Sebastian Stan recently revealed he has a nine-picture deal with Marvel, something that only was reserved for actors like Samuel L. Jackson and Scarlett Johansson (I expect could be back depending on her new baby). It's possible this could mean that Bucky (villain or friend) might be showing up in Captain America 3, Avengers sequels, his own solo Winter Soldier prequels or could very well end up replacing Rogers as Captain America.

Thomas Kretschmann (playing villain Baron Wolfgang von Strucker in Avengers: Age of Ultron) also spoke about his future in the MCU. Stating he believes his character will have a place in future films. Strucker is primarily a SHIELD and Captain America villain, so having him being the main villain of Captain America 3 wouldn't be a shocker. The Baron originates the terrorist splinter group A.I.M. (first mentioned in Iron Man 3), which has ties to HYDRA. He very well could be the successor to Red Skull, and finally resurrect HYDRA in the modern age.

We could have a better idea of what to expect in the third film, after The Winter Soldier and Age of Ultron are released. I wouldn't rule out Crossbones (played by Frank Grillo), Baron Zemo (hinted to in Winter Soldier production artwork) or even Madame Hydra (Strucker's second in-command), also being apart of/introduced in the sequel.

The Russo Brothers Returning To Direct CAPTAIN AMERICA 3

Marvel's Kevin Feige had been hinting that Phase Three might only see two franchise sequels (aside from Avengers 3), it seemed that Thor 3 was one of those candidates. Variety reports that Captain America 3 could be our second one, stating that the Russo brothers who directed The Winter Soldier are expected to return. An official announcement hasn't been made but the Russos are currently working on an outline.

I would assume that franchise writers Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus will be back on script duties, but neither our mentioned in this report. There had been some speculation that villain Baron Wolfgang von Strucker's inclusion in Age of Ultron is expected to setup events for Captain America 3, possibly seeing the resurrection of Hydra. The talk of the town is, that Winter Soldier is better than any of the other Marvel Studios projects. I believe that Doc Strange and Thor 3 will more than likely take the 2016 slots, while Captain America 3 in 2017 could easily be the lead-up to Avengers 3 in 2018.


SOURCE: VARIETY

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

Teaser Poster For CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER And New Concept Art

International Teaser Trailer For SNOWPIERCER

CAPTAIN AMERICA 2 SET PHOTOS: Cap, Widow, Nick Fury, Maria Hill And First Look At Villain Winter Soldier

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

Promo Art For CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER Reveals New SHIELD Agent Costume For Rogers

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.” 

First Official SNOWPIERCER Poster

First Official Image From SNOWPIERCER And More Stellar Concept Art

Concept Art From SNOWPIERCER Starring Chris Evans

Frank Grillo Officially Cast As Villain Crossbones In CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER

Variety confirms that rising star Frank Grillo has landed a villainous role in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Grillo will play Cap baddie Brock Rumlock better known as Crossbones. The character is best known for famously killing the hero off in the comics. We should expect big things from Grillo who has appeared in films such as Edge of Darkness, The Grey, Warrior and End of Watch. He joins Anthony Mackie (Million Dollar Baby, Hurt Locker) as the second new addition to the franchise. Chris Evans and Sebastian Stan are back in their title roles with Samuel L. Jackson and Scarlett Johansson reprising their Avengers roles.