Joss Whedon Responds To Directing CAPTAIN MARVEL; Reveals Female BATMAN Movie Idea

BuzzFeed was able to get writer-director Joss Whedon to sort of expand on his comments from his interview with Digital Spy, where he voiced distain for Hollywood's handling of the female superhero genre. Mainly, about Marvel Studios moving forward with Captain Marvel.


Yes, and not expecting it to get any traction, honestly. That’s something that [Marvel Studios chief] Kevin [Feige] has been working on for a while. And I obviously was a cheerleader, but he had to get all the ducks in a row and get all the minds in agreement. I think being a part of Disney maybe makes it easier, because they’re open to it. And Marvel now is in a position to shake up its own paradigm, because it’s got such a success record. 

Honestly, you know, Guardians [of the Galaxy] might have helped it, just because that was outside what was considered to be their box and did so well that— Well, let’s put it this way: If a raccoon can carry a movie, then they believe maybe even a woman can.

They then directly ask him if he'd be willing to make Captain Marvel.

Um, I would never rule anything out, because I like working here. By the same token, the biggest thing for me is that I need to do something that I create myself. It’s been way too long since I created a universe. The last thing I did before The Avengers was [directing an episode of] Glee, and in between I did Much Ado About Nothing. So I haven’t created my own universe for over five years. That feels wrong. You know, my own universe might be a book of haiku. I’m not necessarily saying I’ve got a grand scheme. 

I will say that when I was thinking about, Well, if I wasn’t going to do Avengers 2, what would I want to do? — of course the first thing I thought of was “turn-of-the-century female Batman.” Not Batman actually. But, you know, something cool. One person. Can’t stress that enough. Movie about one person — not a team, not 10, just one. But [I would] do a nice sort of hard action movie that combined all my favorite things. Something that would be the love child of Sam Fuller and Edward Gorey. You know, I’ve had many thoughts since then. Oh, I could do this! Oh, I could do that! But it is my instinct to want to tell those stories. 

Captain Marvel I don’t know as well. There have been a few [versions] of her. I have the first issue of Ms. Marvel, back when she was that, and had the Farrah hair. My only issue with her is that she always felt sort of on top. She was very driven. A winner. I always like to dig into the soil of things to find my heroes, if I can.

This is actually the first time we've heard Joss talk about making a turn-of-the-century female Batman film. We know he tried to get Warner Bros. to make his Wonder Woman adaptation, maybe they'll warm-up to this idea now that they know he's open to developing new superhero projects.

I mean, what studio in their right mind would reject a superhero film project from Joss after The Avengers? Plus, this isn't the first time DC Comics has played with timelines with their heroes.

Imagine Whedon making a steampunk Justice League movie.

SOURCE: BUZZFEED 

Joss Whedon Fuelling Talk Russo Bros. Will Direct 'AVENGERS INFINITY WAR'

We've been hearing for months that The Russo Brothers will be taking huge steps to be the masterminds behind Phase Three movies starting with Captain America: Civil War. There's been chatter that they'll even be taking over directing duties on the Avengers franchise from Joss Whedon on Avengers Infinity War.

In a new interview with Empire Magazine (via Comic Book Movie), Joss Whedon is seemingly hinting to his exit of the Avengers franchise. Leading us to assume that the Russos will indeed be replacing him. Here's what Joss had to say when asked if he'd be returning to make more films.

"I couldn't imagine doing this again," he reveals, referring to the time and effort which has gone into the sequel. "It's enormously hard, and it be, by then, a good five years since I created anything that was completely my own. So it's very doubtful that I would take on the two-part Infinity War movie that would eat up the next four years of my life. I obviously still want to be a part of the Marvel Universe - I love these guys - but it ain't easy. This year has been more like running three shows than any year of my life. It is bonkers."

We haven't seen Marvel allow a director to make more then two installments within these franchises and it's looking like they won't be making the exception for Whedon.

This doesn't mean he's completely done with the Marvel universe, we know he's been trying to develop a new Hulk film and he could even be involved with Captain Marvel.

It should also be noted that there is a lot of material in Age of Ultron which is setting-up Black Panther, so that's a third project he could end-up working on.

Also, check out the first non-cartoon group photo of the Avengers on the cover of Empire.

SOURCE: EMPIRE 

Marvel Looking To Reboot SPIDER-MAN Without Andrew Garfield

LatinoReview has sparked a bit of hope that Sony will have to make some sort of deal with Marvel Studios concerning future Spider-Man films. The best sitution for everyone involved if you ask me. However, it seems like Andrew Garfield might be getting the short-end of the stick in the new deal.

As the site has an update concerning Marvel's creative control on that new trilogy, they want the all-female project and Aunt May pretty much axed right-off the bat. That isn't surprising since those seemed to be a bit much for Marvel to handle, Sony seemed even a bit overwhelming by that high level concept. The Aunt May movie being the most ridiculous of the two, since they should have just pursued a spy thriller with Parker's parents. In one of the "What-If?" comics they were SHIELD agents, which would have made a lot more sense for the revised origin in Amazing Spider-Man.

Anyways, I'm noticing there is nothing said about the fate of Drew Goddard's Sinister Six film. We know that Drew has a close working relationship with both Marvel Studios and Avengers' Joss Whedon. Working with Whedon on projects including his feature directorial debut with Cabin In The Woods, which he co-wrote with Joss and co-starred Thor's Chris Hemsworth. Before being plucked to tackle Six, Drew was working with Marvel's television division on the Netflix series Daredevil.

BadassDigest has claimed earlier that Sony had been considering a soft-reboot of Spider-Man in Sinister Six. Could that have been coming from Marvel and not Sony? We know that Amy Pascal has been fighting-hard to keep Marvel away from getting creative control, which would mean her star Andrew Garfield would be recast by the other studio. It's starting to look like that's going to be a sticking point with Marvel moving forward. This would follow how they've handled their own reboots of The Hulk and Daredevil. In my opinion this could be an excellent way for Marvel to reboot the character without having to rehash the origin we know nobody wants to see again.

It's very unlikely that the very busy Kevin Feige will be able to oversee this new trilogy. Having a Marvel friendly filmmaker like director and screenwriter Drew Goddard already involved with the franchise. I could see Marvel putting the task of rebooting the franchise to Drew Goddard, and backing him up on his Sinister Six film. I don't see how this movie couldn't be the first installment in Marvel's reboot of the character. We know Marvel won't want to rehash Spidey's origin and will likely have him already established as a hero, who has already built-up a rogues gallery.

I'm might also speculate that Joss Whedon not returning for Infinity War, could mean his role at Marvel Studios might be changing. Could he end-up taking the reigns of projects like Spider-Man for Marvel?

This news might be disappointing to fans and equally as much Andrew Garfield who has been quick to point-out his dedicated fandom since childhood. Yet, this is kind of how Marvel will rebrand the franchise and make it their own. Fans have been clamouring for a crossover, and rebooting the Spider-Man franchise to be included within the MCU is sort of a means to an end. Let's not forget all the canonical plot holes that would be attributed to just shoving this Spidey into the MCU without explaining why he's never shown up to the crazy shit during Incredible Hulk and The Avengers. Not to mention having zero presence in the Netflix shows, which are all set in New York's Hells Kitchen.

It's a shame the connective issues and Andrew being the face of the failing franchise could see him getting pushed out of the role.

They also reporting what we've all been assuming, that Parker won't be apart of Captain America: Civil War. Unless he's only given a small cameo, it's unlikely that both a deal and a new actor will have been chosen by then.

So who should replace Andrew Garfield as Marvel's new Peter Parker?

I've been vocal on this for a while and have been campaigning for rising Texas actor Tye Sheridan. The young actor, who just turned eighteen is the right age for the role and has some extremely impressive credits within his body of work. Working alongside Jessica Chastain and Brad Pitt in Terrence Malick's Tree of Life. Another role in Mud saw him working with Matthew McConaughey, which was apart of Matthew's era of career resurrection. His performance opposite Nicholas Cage in Joe, earned him the Marcello Mastroianni Award award at the Venice Film Festival.

He will also be apart of the cast of Dark Places starring Charlize Theron, which is based on the novel from Gillian Flynn the author of Gone Girl. Tye is also not opposed to genre material, as he's co-starring in the zombie flick Scouts Vs Zombies.  The Yellow Birds would see him working with Doctor Strange himself Benedict Cumberbatch. Tye seems down to Earth while extremely focused on his craft, he's definitely more in the Marvel mould of actors than what Sony would be interested in.

SOURCE: LATINOREVIEW 

PAN Writer Might Collaborate With Michelle MacLaren On WONDER WOMAN Script Rewrites

THR is reporting that Pan screenwriter Jason Fuchs is in negotiations with Warner Bros. to collaborate with director Michelle MacLaren (Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, Walking Dead) on the Wonder Woman script. Fuchs's background with fantasy writing might be a good fit considering the Wonder Woman mythology. Rumor has it that Diana will be the daughter of Zeus, which could increase the level of fantasy elements in the film. The studio is also expecting Pan to become it's own franchise.

There have been two Wonder Woman scripts previously, first one was by Joss Whedon when he was attached to direct. That was given the axe, which led to Whedon taking-on The Avengers. The more recent script was from Green Lantern and Arrow writer Marc Guggenheim, who also co-wrote one of the Flash scripts. I believe this was the script they've had in place for a while now, but with MacLaren on board they might likely want a page-on rewrite depending on her vision. Not to mention taking into consideration the events from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad. The rewrites might also involve the recent rumored setting being in the 1920-30s.



SOURCE: THR

Emily Blunt Finally Talks About CAPTAIN MARVEL And How Likely Is Joss Whedon Directing?

While promoting her new Disney musical Into The Woods, Emily Blunt spoke to ScreenCrush who brought-up the Captain Marvel role. Seemingly unfamiliar with both the character and her fan-favorite status. This isn't a new phenomena, actors such as Paul Rudd and Benedict Cumberbatch have played dumb in-front of reporters. When questioned about the possibility of playing Marvel heroes. This is the first time Emily has ever been asked about the character directly, so she can very easily pretend to have no knowledge of her.

It might be a bit harder to come-off ignorant of the character the next time she is asked about her. I'm sure it'll end up start becoming "it's all, rumor man". That said, she could be generally unaware of the character. Yet, that feels off to me since her husband tested for Captain America and she was cast as Black Widow. You'd think she would have more of an awareness to what the studio is up to, even more so since the Phase Three news was in every trade and news outlet.




This is the entire interview with ScreenCrush, enjoy!

Are you aware of the Internet buzz surrounding you playing Captain Marvel?

Somebody told me about it this morning! I knew because my brother told me.

People want you to play Captain Marvel.

Which is kind of amazing.

You were in ‘Looper’ and ‘Edge of Tomorrow,’ you have that cred now.

I know. What’s she like, though? I don’t know anything about her. What’s it like, this character?

She’s great.

Cool. Is she fun? Or is she just like, straight…

No, she’s witty and strong. That’s why people keep bringing your name up. They don’t want a boring actor. A lot of personality.

Oh, cool.

I think people really liked what they saw in ‘Edge of Tomorrow.’

But it’s not the same type of character?

No. It’s weird I’m explaining this to you...

I know. Someone told me this morning, my brother, actually. They call it fan casting?

Yes.

Which is lovely. It’s my favorite kind of casting! I wish it was always like that.

Sometimes fan casting works.

Which would be cool.

Maybe they can make ‘Captain Marvel’ a musical now that you’ve done ‘Into the Woods.’

[Laughs] ‘Captain Musical Marvel.’ Let’s just call Marvel about that right now. We’ll call Kevin Feige about that. “Kevin Feige, we have one hell of an idea.” Yeah.

“Only if it’s a musical will you get your dream casting.”

Exactly.

But in seriousness, it does appeal to you?

I think, it’s always for me, it’s always about—and now, more so—what am I putting out there? What would be interesting for me and what would be interesting for people to see. So, if it’s an awesome part, it doesn’t matter if it’s a Marvel movie or a tiny movie, I’d be up for it.

You’d be a hero for every 10-year-old girl out there right now.

Really? Then that’s huge.

There’s no Marvel female superhero who has her own movie yet.

That’s huge. How awesome. I love this. No one has actually called me about it, so, we’ll hold our breath. [Laughs] I don’t know if I’ll get the call ever if I pitch it should be a musical.

Blunt talked to New York Magazine in March 2012 and her reluctancy to be involved with supporting Marvel roles like Peggy Carter. Sort of echoing what Jessica Chastain has said about passing on Iron Man 3. Perhaps, giving the impression what kind of comic book role she would be interested in playing.

"Usually the female parts in a superhero film feel thankless: She's the pill girlfriend while the guys are whizzing around saving the world," offered Blunt. "I didn't do the other ones because the part wasn't very good or the timing wasn't right, but I'm open to any kind of genre if the part is great and fun and different and a challenge in some way." 

"I would love to do a comic-book movie or a science-fiction film that would scare the bejesus out of me," she continued. "Maybe I need to be James Bond! I just did 'Looper,' because it's so original and breathtakingly cool. The time-travel aspect is just a backdrop to visit this heightened world, where you're atoning for something and attempting to be more than you've been."

Here's my case that Marvel wants Blunt for the role of Danvers.

We've been hearing Emily Blunt's name rumored for Carol Danvers since TheDailyMail (known for breaking Bond news) first linked her and actress Ruth Wilson for the role in Avengers 2. That happened to be back in October 2012, around the same time the studio was putting together ideas for the sequel. Before it's ultimate announcement next July at SDCC13 as Avengers: Age of Ultron. This is also around the same time that talk of a Black Widow spin-off slowly winded-down.

Funny, since we've been hearing from trusted sites and sources that there was a Ms Marvel cameo in the final Age of Ultron script. Which could still play-out at the end of Age of Ultron, unless Marvel axes the nod completely, seemingly the practice when these things leak. Basically, it was predicted back in 2012 that Danvers could be showing-up in Avengers 2, and it might actually happen. Shocking!

To those naysayers, this might be the reason why we never heard other names in the mix since that original rumor. It's extremely possible that Marvel took in consideration that Blunt was forced out of the Black Widow role by 20th Century Fox. Emily also tested for the role of Peggy Carter but passed on the character. We assume because the role wasn't meaty enough for her at the time, and it's quite possible in late 2012 Marvel put her on a candidate list for Carol Danvers. The studio is known to put actors on wish-lists without their knowledge.

A trade report in 2013 confirmed that a draft for Captain Marvel existed. It's possible that Marvel's screenwriting program developed an outline in-house and it's perhaps how they've been able to keep the development hush-hush. Kevin Feige stated that a Captain Marvel film had been in development at the studio almost as long as Doctor Strange, which could be true. Since the in-house script program wouldn't have revealed writers and what scripts they were working on. There are a pile of these scripts with unnamed titles and writers in their offices.

Some claim it was way too early for Marvel to consider casting for the role, which is kind of stupid if you ask me. Marvel is known for introducing characters in other installments, other than their solo adventures. Black Panther being a prime example, as he'll be first seen in costume in Captain America: Civil War and will get his own film in 2017. Marvel had been looking at actors for Panther for years before they announced Chadwick Boseman. I have a suspicion that Danvers might also have a role to play in Civil War as well.

Why would Marvel cast an actor before a director is even attached? It's likely a simple answer, they have a director already lined-up (Feige said we'll hear a director before casting) or they always knew they wanted Emily for the role (hence name on the top of their list). Due to her previous casting as Black Widow in Iron Man 2. I'm sure this was done without the awareness of Blunt, but they could have promised her another role in the future.

So who could they have in mind to direct? A bit of speculation on my part, but I have a sneaking feeling that Joss Whedon might be person behind this film. Clearly, early development took place behind closed-doors and Kevin Feige seemingly hints a director might be already chosen. We already know that The Russo Brothers are apparently wanted to direct the two Infinity War installments. Where does this leave Whedon if he's not making Avengers anymore?

That's a question a lot of people haven't been asking, automatically thinking he's done with Marvel (even though he has talked about writing a new Hulk film). Joss did show-up to that Phase Three announcement at the El Capitan, odd since none of his films are apart of that slate. I think it would be sort of odd that he would show-up just for his sneak peek. I'm sure he wanted to hear the fan reaction just as much as Feige did. What if he was directing one of those announced films?


Joss is known for writing strong female characters and already has a working relationship with Kevin Feige/Marvel. It wouldn't be hard to imagine Marvel insisting Whedon develop the film. He did plan on writing-directing Wonder Woman for Warner Bros. It would eventually get killed, and he would move on to Avengers instead. That potential for a female-driven superhero story could be refocused with a film like Captain Marvel. We've heard some interesting things from Whedon about the character. However, a recent interview with HeyUGuys gave some insight he or Marvel may have cracked the character. This eventually became true as the solo film is expected to come out July 2018. Whedon is known for keeping his mouth shut about scripts, and is the kind of writer to keep a secret Marvel script from scoopers.

If Joss Whedon is making Captain Marvel why are they waiting until 2018 to release it? I think we know the answer to this as well, he's going to be fucking exhausted once he's completed with the press rounds for Age of Ultron. It also might have to do with the overall release plans of Marvel and not just Joss possibly wanting to make more indie films. Whedon went straight into shooting A Much Ado About Nothing right after the Avengers release, that could happen again taking up a good chunk of his time. Having him tackle a smaller production would also give him enough time to put together the best script possible. I'm not excluding the idea that we'll see her possibly in both Age of Ultron and Civil War too.



SOURCE: SCREENCRUSH

AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR Split Into Two Movies And Thanos Confirmed As Villain

Plans for Avengers 3 were also revealed, confirming reports that indeed the movie was being split into two parts. Titled Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 coming May 2018 and Avengers: Infinity War Part 2 May 2019, the installments will be shown in theatres a year apart. A short teaser clip was shown, as seen above with Thanos holding the infinity gauntlet. The ultimate cosmic weapon in the universe. This confirms that Josh Brolin's Thanos will indeed be the villain of the film. It looks the footage is test-shots from Guardians of The Galaxy, which isn't surprising since he'll show-up again in the sequel.

The movie is said to be set mostly in space, which could mean that the Guardians will be crossing-over to fight a common enemy. It's unknown if we'll see characters like Captain Marvel or The Inhumans in the first installment, since their solo films will come after Part 1. There is already rumblings via BadassDigest that Thor will be sitting this one out, make of that as you will.

They didn't name writers, but it's been reported that when the Russo Brothers wrap-up Captain America: Civil War they could direct these two Avengers films. I'm not sure what this means for Joss Whedon, as the director might look at one of these other Marvel properties to direct. I wouldn't rule-out a new Hulk movie in Phase Four, or even taking a crack Captain Marvel.


SOURCE: MARVEL

Claudia Kim Might Be The Fourth Lady In AVENGERS AGE OF ULTRON But What Is Her Role?

Besides the reveal of Andy Serkis in the teaser trailer for Age of Ultron, one more thing fans are curious about. Who is that third woman at that party scene with the rest of the Avengers? It hasn't been confirmed but it looks like it just might be Claudia Kim.



Claudia's role in Avengers Age of Ultron might be bigger than we are expecting. Considering she very well might be the third lady at the party Ultron crashes in the recent teaser trailer. A lot of people were claiming this was just Jane Foster played by Natalie Portman, but she was never added to the film's lineup. Kim actually confirmed her role in the film to ScreenSlam on the red carpet of the premeire of Captain America: The Winter Soldier.



I think it's more mysterious who her character might turnout to be in the film, rather than the fact she's getting screen time in the teaser. Mainly, because there are so many female roles to be filled for the Marvel cinematic universe. Sometimes we can over estimate a supporting actresses' role the Marvel films. However, Joss Whedon confirmed to HeyUGuys that fourth female character fit into the film somehow. Is it possible that Kim's character is that fourth lady?

At this point all we know about Claudia's character is that she is "a doctor/sciencetist who is friends with Tony Stark". A pretty damn vague character description, which must make Marvel less nervous about her talking to press about it. Who could Kim be playing?

That list is a long one, but a couple of key characters might fit well into this storyline. One name that comes to mind is Betty Ross, the scientist peer of Bruce Banner. Kevin, Mark and Joss have all spoke to the increased role Banner will have in the sequel, so it wouldn't be hard to imagine having important people in his life show-up, now that's living stateside.

We know that it's extremely possible the rest of the Incredible Hulk cast will be rebooted, having a new actress play Betty would be a natural step. Even more so if Marvel was indeed planning on moving forward with a new Hulk film. Betty also worked with SHIELD during the Ultimates, which the movies are heavily influenced by. She would also eventually become a hulk herself (Red She-Hulk). Including her would be a possible way to get around the use of Jennifer Walters and another green hulk, for the moment. Would Marvel push forward with another superpowered heroine other than Captain Marvel?

The friend aspect might clue us in as well. We do know that Tony's best buddy is Jim Rhodes who works for the Air Force. Well there is a female Marvel character that also works for the Air Force. That would be Carol Danvers (not to mention the C.I.A. and NASA), better known as Ms Marvel/Captain Marvel. It wouldn't be much of a stretch to make Carol friends with Rhodey, placing her into Stark's circle of friends. Danvers has a background with the C.I.A. and they've already established Sharon Carter is working with them after leaving SHIELD. There have been rumblings Claudia's character could have twist and his hiding among the Avengers for other motives. It's possible she's spying for the US Government (C.I.A.?) or whatever SHIELD has become after it's fall.

Carol isn't a stranger to science as well, and does spend some time working for NASA. This working environment could lead to the accident that gives her powers, or something similar to what happened in the comics.

Marvel is in active-development of a Captain Marvel film, and a script had already been drafted at one point. There was even early casting talk back in 2012, which was linked to the Avengers sequel. We've also heard buzz about her cameo in the film, being referred to as Ms Marvel at the end of the film. It would seem odd to have her at the end of the film. Could this be the reason why Marvel hasn't announced Captain Marvel, because they want to keep her a secret for Age of Ultron?

Another idea is that she's a member of the every sneaky HYDRA, who already have a presence in this film with Strucker creating the twins (Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch) and likely Captain America 3. A super-spy character like this wouldn't have much trouble embedding herself with someone like Tony Stark or the Avengers. We've been dying for Madame Hydra to finally show-up, in the films, and they are lacking in the way of developed female villains in the MCU. Marvel still owns the rights to use Madam Hydra as she's a long standing Captain America and Avengers villain. One of her aliases "Viper" was used in The Wolverine, mainly because of her connection to the hero and the X-Men. While none of her connections to Hydra were used in the film, including her codename/title or real name. Although, they did make Viper a doctor/scientist in the film. We know that Marvel has a slight issue with Fox, and have no problem pushing forward with characters already in the X-Men stable that they share. Adding Madame Hydra to the fold wouldn't surprise me a bit.

Another aspect to Madame Hydra is her roots with Asia. She has ties to the Yakuza in Japan, not to mention is the ruler/dictator of the fictional island country of Madripoor. HYDRA controlled country modelled after Singapore, that just happens to be located in Southeast Asia. The island is the launching-ground for many of the group's terrorist plots. While the island is very James Bond, it existing might explain where they could be setting up shop, once they've been rooted out of North America and Europe. Yes, the location is connected to X-Men, but I think the fact it also has a Hydra link might give them the ability to share it with Fox. Hiring an Asian actress like Kim for the role of Ophelia would make sense, but it also wouldn't be a requirement.

Marvel shot on location in South Korea, while I doubt they would replace the country with the fictional location of Madripoor (Hydra's base of operations). There is already talk of Italy doubling for Marvel's fictional Eastern European country Latveria (home of Wanda and Pietro Maximoff), and possibly (unlikely) that the South Africa shoot would include scenes for Wakanda (birthplace and kingdom of Black Panther). All three locations are fictional Marvel countries and could be a way to expand the scale of the Earthbound mythology for future movies.

We already know that Marvel is ramping-up Captain America 3, and having Hydra return in a big way is key. Tony Stark getting involved in the film brings-up a lot of possible story angles, which will spark the events of Civil War. Stark resurrecting SHIELD, for selfish reasons or restore the legacy of his father (Howard Stark helped create the organization). He eventually becomes the director of SHIELD (already rumored Tony takes a Fury role in MCU) and this could put the events in motion that sees the Avengers team split-up and fight each other.

What could possibly piss-off Rogers even more than rebuilding SHIELD after he spent all that effort and blood tearing it down? Working with the enemy to get results. Stark might not have that strong connection fighting Hydra, and might see them as an asset if twisted in his favor. There is point where he makes deals with the likes of Baron Zemo and the Thunderbolts (the return of Crossbones?). Tony working with a now legitimized Hydra could push Steve over the edge. Fuelling another attempt to takedown a bulling government organization that Rogers sees as corrupt and harmful to the world. These possible actions mixed with a "join SHIELD or be imprisoned" policy with the SRA, could lead to some crazy shit going down.

The thought of Stark becoming the unintentional villain of Captain America 3 would be worth seeing come together. Giving that amazing edge that we saw in Winter Soldier, where basically the rules of a superhero film are kind of thrown out the window to give us a strong/compelling story. The title Captain America: The Fallen Son could also allude to Stark's heroic status slowly fading away.

Could Kim take on the villainous role of Ophelia Sarkissian, alongside Baron Strucker and the modern incarnation of HYDRA? Will she playing more of a supporting role as Betty Ross or the future heroine Carol Danvers? The answers are clearly, we don't know for sure. And until someone get's confirmation from studio sources we're going to be in the dark for a little while. Who do you think Claudia Kim is playing in the Avengers sequel? And remember HAIL HYDRA!

A Better Look At Paul Bettany As The Vision Via Promo Art From AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON

CBM was able to find a banner image of promo art for Avengers: Age of Ultron, likely for the toys. This image gives us our best look at Paul Bettany as android hero The Vision. Even though it's low resolution, we have a great idea of what to expect from the character's costume design. A teaser trailer is expected in the coming months, which I assume will feature the Vision. Not to mention, Marvel's usual promotional blitz will soon go into full-gear.

SOURCE: INSTAGRAM

Marvel's Kevin Feige Finally Confirms Active Development On CAPTAIN MARVEL And BLACK PANTHER Movies

It looks like we all missed-out on the coolest tidbit of information about Marvel's upcoming projects, that Marvel's Kevin Feige briefly mentioned to IGN at SDCC. He was asked point-blank about Black Panther and Captain Marvel movies. In which Kevin replied in a much more positive way, than previously when asked about the projects. It's the first time Feige has confirmed development on a Captain Marvel film, which I've been talking about being in development for months now.

"There both characters that we like..development work has been done on it, and it continues to be done on...and certainly the public.. It's the question I get asked more than anything else...More than Iron Man 4, more than Avengers 3, and that's sort of the first-time that's ever happened to us...So I think that makes a difference, I think that's something we have to pay attention to."

He was asked if public opinion or online demands fuel Marvel's choices to what to make next. Kevin reaffirmed that they have their plans set out in advanced (likely by phases), and that fans attitudes change frequently. While stating Black Panther and Captain Marvel might be exceptions to this. It's also extremely possible that Marvel has been keeping plans in-house for the moment, and wanted to see Guardians success before moving forward with similar "risky" projects.

"But in this particular case, I think it's a groundswell, and I think it means something substantial." 

It's sort of a big-deal for this to happen, considering we have Marvel about to release their 11th film in May. None of the films have included female or non-white solo leads. Having Marvel's most recognizable female and black superheroes in theatres is something fans have been demanding since Avengers. It could change the landscape of the genre, and open-doors to actors/characters which might have been ignored for tentpole potential.

I have a feeling we'll see a bit of diversity casting when it comes to Jessica Jones, Iron Fist and Luke Cage. However, making the jump to the big-screen, might ruffle the feathers of the studio dinosaurs, who have been blocking the change-up. Warner Bros. has both Aquaman and possible Wonder Woman films in development, which won't have the typical white-male lead. Sony is actually the first of the new wave to announce development on a female-driven Spider-Man spin-off coming in 2017. The likelyhood is that film will focus on Felicia Hardy aka Black Cat. Kevin might be saying it's fan demand, but it's also pressure coming from competing studios.

As it stands now Marvel has two in-house scripts for both Panther and Captain Marvel. Both characters are expected to be hinted-to in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Not unlike Doctor Strange's Stephen Strange in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The former project has a draft by Mark Bailey, which Marvel seemingly likes but could eventually get extensive rewrites. The latter has a script, which is rumored to have been written by Guardians of The Galaxy co-writer Nicole Perlman.

It was told to me that the Captain Marvel script was written in-house (as usual), and by someone who has already produced scripts for the studio. Nicole also wrote an updated draft for the Black Widow script while being apart of Marvel's screenwriting program. It's actually unknown how many scripts Marvel had her working on, because Marvel hasn't made that information public. Considering both Guardians and Widow are female-heavy scripts, it would make sense that Perlman would at least get a shot at Captain Marvel. Perlman is also one of the best known writers from the program, and one of the few that has actually earned writing credit for her work.

Speaking of casting, we haven't heard much in the way of T'Challa, since LatinoReview first revealed Chadwick Boseman (Gods of Egypt, 42, Get On Up) as a strong candidate back in May 2013. Boseman himself has been coy, but recently stated.."Ahhh, I don’t know anything about that…Until the contract is signed, I don’t know". It's not definitive, but sounds like the usual runaround answers actors talking with Marvel would be expected to say. Chadwick is charismatic and charming as hell, and would make one hell of a Black Panther.

The only source concerning the casting of Captain Marvel goes all the back to October 2012, which comes from the DailyMail (usually right when it comes to Bond news). They said that both Emily Blunt (Looper, Edge of Tomorrow) and Ruth Wilson (Lone Ranger, Luther) were the main candidates for the role of Ms Marvel, at the time was linked for Avengers 2. Since then, we've got confirmation that Ms Marvel indeed appears in the Age of Ultron script, and could make a cameo in the sequel. Interesting enough, Joss Whedon confirmed to HeyUGuys a fourth major female lead in Age of Ultron, which some have assume is actually Ms Marvel/Captain Marvel.

It would make sense that Emily Blunt would be in the mix for this role, considering she was forced out of the Black Widow role in Iron Man 2, because of a contract with 20th Century Fox. She's been since linked to a few other Marvel roles including Peggy Carter in Captain America: The First Avenger. I assume that she could become Marvel's go-to actress to head-up this franchise. We've seen her play badasses in both Looper and Edge of Tomorrow, which the latter seemed like a test-reel for a campaign to play Captain Marvel. I wouldn't rule out Ruth Wilson considering she's closely worked with both Thor alumni Tom Hiddleston and Idris Elba, but Blunt is currently my favorite for the role.



If I had to guess release dates, I would place Black Panther for either May or November 2017 (since we don't have a non-sequel announced for 2017, but have a cosmic one with GOTG2 and Thor 3 will take the Avengers-era spot), and Captain Marvel for a release in 2018 (since that year doesn't have either a cosmic film or new character). We can't be sure what Marvel's ultimate plan is until they make it official, but it sounds like Captain Marvel could be our next cosmic franchise and Panther our next new Earthbound hero.



SOURCE: IGN

Andy Serkis Joins AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON And Five Characters He'd Nail

Variety has word from actor Andy Serkis that along with consulting with Mark Ruffalo for his motion-capture scenes as The Hulk in Avengers: Age of Ultron. That he'll also have an unnamed role in the film as well. Considering his high-profile taking lead roles in films such as King Kong, Lord of The Rings, Rise/Dawn of Planet of The Apes and Star Wars: Episode VII, we should expect a big part for Andy.

"The Imaginarium is the performance capture consultant, and I’m playing a role,"

"I’m not at liberty to mention. But it’s all the same to me. I’ve never drawn a distinction when playing a role, whether it be live action or performance capture. Acting is acting. It’s just basically what you wear to the set that’s different."

I assume that this character could be more labor intensive, than say the voice work that Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel did for Guardians of The Galaxy. Considering he's basically the best performance capture actor working today (here's hoping the Academy eventually makes performance capture a category), I doubt this is the motion-capture work for Thanos or Ultron. I have a strong feeling he'll get his own character in the film, likely setting-up Avengers 3 or future Marvel films.

KANG: Another Marvel cosmic villain that could be teased at the end of Age of Ultron (similar to Thanos in Avengers) is Kang The Conqueror. Although Kang is from the future, placing him among the ranks of Thanos wouldn't be too difficult. Marvel has already placed cosmic villains such as Ronan The Accuser and The Collector into the service of Thanos, so it's possible other villains like Kang could become his pawns as well.

I'm not sure if Marvel is ready to throw the villain into the spotlight, but setting him up for Avengers 3 could make a lot of sense. Yet, we know that Marvel is changing the origins of Ultron, having him created by Kang, might also be a new angle for the villain. Having Serkis do a cameo as Kang would allow him plenty of time to make more Star Wars and Apes films, before taking a bigger role for Avengers 3, which is expected to be released in either 2018 or 2019. Kang would also make a great villain for future installments.

The time-travelling aspect is apart of the original Age of Ultron storyline, and if the film does end-up using that theme. Having a character like Kang, that possesses time-travelling abilities in the MCU could be a way to allow that to happen. Or, at the very least keep the time-travelling aspect in place, somewhat.

GORILLA MAN: Considering how much attention Rocket Raccoon is getting, it wouldn't be much of a stretch to see another animal mo-cap character join the MCU. Mainly, Gorilla Man one of the Agents of Atlas, the team also includes SHIELD agent Jimmy Woo and Namor's cousin Namora. The gun-wielding Gorilla Man is another heroic animal from the Marvel universe, and seems like an easy character to assume Serkis could play. Having played two iconic apes in the past already, with Caesar (Rise/Dawn of The Planet of The Apes) and King Kong. Of course, Gorilla is entirely different than those previous roles, which would mean a brand new ape character for Andy to play with. Plus, getting to do more action sequences as well.

ABOMINATION: There has been more than a few teases that we could see the return of The Abomination, and a massive battle between these two could result in major civilian causalities. Leading to the eventually plot points that start-off the Planet Hulk story. I actually liked Tim Roth's Blonksy, but hated the design of Abomination. Perhaps, another redesign is in order and possibly a recasting. Since Ruffalo is now Banner, we could see other Incredible Hulk characters recast with new actors. It would also be great to see Andy play a straight-up menacing villain.

RED HULK: We strangely haven't see William Hurt return as General Thunderbolt Ross. A possible sign that both Hurt and Liv Tyler might be getting recast for future films. I think that Serkis is able to age himself up enough to pull-off both the General and Red-Hulk versions of Ross. Apparently, Red-Hulk was expected to be a feature player on the axed ABC series. It's not hard to imagine Marvel wanting to use him in the films instead. Marvel has also been setting-up the "Hulks" with their animated series The Agents of SMASH. I'd actually love to see Andy play characters like this, ones with a mix of both live-action and CGI performances. Plus, Andy rocked a great moustache in King Kong.

SILVER SURFER: Currently, the rights to this cosmic hero are at Fox. However, at one point Marvel was trying to make a deal with 20th Century Fox to regain the rights to both Surfer and Galactus. The studio was trying to include the characters in the recent production of Guardians of The Galaxy. At the moment Fox isn't ready to move forward with old plans to make a Silver Surfer film. At best, he'll end-up another secondary character in the new Fantastic Four franchise. I'd personally love to see what someone like Serkis could bring to both Norrin Radd and The Surfer. It's extremely unlikely we'll see the Silver Surfer in Age of Ultron, but he's a character Serkis could really give dimension to.


SOURCE: VARIETY

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.

FIRST LOOK! Elizabeth Olsen And Aaron Johnson On Set For AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON In Italy (Doubling For Eastern Europe)

First unit is finally shooting in Italy for Avengers: Age of Ultron, as we get our first glimpses of the actors in costume. The high volume of photos are making the rounds Twitter and blogs-alike (JustJared). We see Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye (sans SHIELD patch) along with our first looks at Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch and Aaron Johnson as Quicksilver.

A stand-in for Ultron or his horde of bots also showed-up on set, but isn't a great representing the final look of the deadly robots. Since they're CGI characters and won't actually be shown in-camera with actors during set shoots. The Italian set is actually doubling for a Eastern European country, likely Serbia or the fictional country Transia.

CAPTAIN MARVEL Movie Apart Of Marvel's Phase Four Plans?

We've been hearing a lot of Captain Marvel talk in the last couple of months, and her possible addition to the Marvel cinematic universe. Carol Danvers has the potential to be a leading super powered heroine, who doesn't have a villainous origin. Having a troubled past is something that Black Widow and Gamora both have in common. It would be nice to finally see a lead female character shake-off the love-interest cliche and given level footing with the rest of The Avengers. It's been rumored for over a year that Danvers would be joining the Avengers ranks for Age of Ultron. The size of the role (Carol Danvers/Warbird/Ms Marvel/Captain Marvel?) has never been explained or revealed.

I started taking the news seriously when TheDailyMail reported, that Ruth Wilson and Emily Blunt were candidates for the role, back in the fall of 2012. This was the same source that recently confirmed Paul Bettany would be playing Vision in Avengers: Age of Ultron. I have solid reason to believe these two might actually be the ladies truly in the running for the role. I know this might disappoint all the folks who were fan-casting Yvonne Strahovski and Alice Eve.

Emily Blunt has a notorious history with Marvel, originally signing-on to play Black Widow (Johansson set to play Scarlet Witch) in Iron Man 2, only to have Fox call-up her contract for Gulliver's Travels. Scarlet Johansson would fill-in for Emily, and has been the female face of the Marvel films ever since. This wasn't the only role offered to Blunt, she turned down the part of Peggy Carter in Captain America: The First Avenger (which went to Ruth's co-star Hayley Atwell from the series The Prisoner) and possibly Gamora (rumored only) in Guardians. If I had to guess why, the roles weren't large enough for her commit that much time. The Marvel contracts are quite lengthly, usually anywhere from three to six films.

Emily has been kicking-ass in her recent films Looper and Edge of Tomorrow, the latter has her killing a bunch of aliens. She's proven the ability to play strong and complex characters, which means she could easily support a Marvel franchise on her own. Having a well-known actress in the role of Danvers, is sort of a must, as Marvel can't gamble with hiring talent on a project like this. It's go big or go home.

Ruth Wilson had recently taken two high-profile Disney roles in films Saving Mr. Banks and The Lone Ranger. Not to mention, previously co-starring with Marvel actors Idris Elba in the amazing series Luther, and with Tom Hiddleston in short-lived series Suburban Shootout. I love Ruth Wilson to-death, but I'd rather see her take a different role in the MCU. Considering her working relationship with two Thor actors, seeing her play Amora The Enchantress or Brunhilde The Valkyrie in Thor 3 would be sublime. That said, Blunt has a track record of turning down Marvel roles and it could be up for grabs, if Emily walks again.

Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica, Riddick) teased that she might have been in the mix for the role, but it's possible her commitments to the horrible sounding ExpendaBelles might exclude her participation in the film. Let's not forget that Ruth and Emily, have been in the mix since 2012. It's quite possible Katee's "meeting" with Marvel was for something else entirely, non-Avengers related. I wouldn't rule out something like Inhumans, which is being compared to a mix of X-Men meets Game of Thrones. A property better suited for Sackhoff, as a team-based project is in her wheelhouse. Then again, I wouldn't be upset if she actually turns out to be in the running.

Joss Whedon would comment on using Ms Marvel, cutting down the character and teasing Tigra with a joke instead. Around the same time he was talking up the villainous twins Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, hard to allow fans time to support Scarlet, if he was talking up Danvers (possibly a character with a smaller part in the film) as well. Let's not forget, Fox was going to include the mutant siblings in X-Men Days of Future Past. Joss needed to establish the twins as major players in the film. He's also not going to give everything away in an interview, keeping important elements and characters of the sequel a surprise. Baron Wolfgang von Strucker and Vision were recently revealed, which we weren't expecting to be added to the cast.


Whedon is supposed to be a "champion" of leading female characters, however, we don't have a franchise led by one (team-ups don't count). This is on the heels of Ant-Man (Wasp's inclusion only rumor at this point) kicking-off Phase Three in 2015. Along with mostly male-dominated projects like Doctor Strange, Inhumans, Black Panther and new Hulk film waiting inline for their own release dates. Yes, we have Jessica Jones finally getting her due, but that's television darling. Marvel could very well edge-out Warner Bros. by releasing a Captain Marvel film, before the studio can get their shit together to release Justice League or a solo Wonder Woman film. But, adding Carol to Age of Ultron makes sense and given the problems Joss has with her, he has the ability to fix those issues and create the cinematic version of that character.

Going even further than just a cameo, a rumor started circling that Marvel was strongly considering a Ms Marvel/Captain Marvel movie. We would later hear from THR, that Marvel Studios was working on a Captain Marvel script with an unnamed writer. I would assume it was coming from Nicole Perlman (Black Widow, Guardians of The Galaxy), who is apart of the Marvel screenwriters program (THR refers to the program). Perlman has a tendency to write the studio's female focused scripts (usually under the radar) and she is likely the writer spearheading the Captain Marvel script for Marvel.

There are plenty of entry points for Carol to get her powers, Age of Ultron is one and the Guardians of The Galaxy (or the sequel) is another. Ronan The Accuser (played by Lee Pace), a high-level member of the Kree Empire and will be seen in Guardians of The Galaxy, in the service of Thanos. I don't doubt that by the end of Guardians or even in the second film (expected for Phase Three), they could interact with Earth and it might involve Danvers (comic cannon suggests she'll get her powers by involvement of The Kree). The Kree connection would make things very tempting, to have her gain her powers within that franchise. It wouldn't hurt having another female team member either, it would also be a way to bridge Guardians and Avengers worlds without the need of Tony Stark.

Phase Three is quickly filling up with Ant-Man, Captain America 3, Thor 3 and possibly Guardians of The Galaxy 2 taking up the spots. There is still the expectation Marvel "might" make room for Doctor Strange. This means that Captain Marvel won't be ready until Phase Four. The Phase One characters will have their trilogies wrapped-up at this point, giving the new wave of heroes a chance to finally get their solo flicks released.