Marvel Comics Upcoming Films List

With the superhero film craze going on, I've decided to devote this post to a list of Marvel superhero movies that are currently in development.


The Inhumans
     Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures
     Producer: Marvel Studios
     Synopsis: "Aliens who were put on Earth as sleeper cells aliens to eventually call back their race to take over the planet. Ultimately, the group of aliens fully assimilates and don't want to cause war" (Movie Insider).
     Phase: Announced on March 8, 2011
     Director: N/A
     Starring: N/A
     Screenwriter(s): N/A
     In Theaters: TBA (To Be Announced)

Doctor Strange
     Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures
     Producer: Marvel Studios
     Synopsis: "Dr. Strange was a self-centered New York surgeon robbed of his touch after a car accident. After a stint as a wandering derelict, he encounters a healer in the Himalayas and learns to tap into psychic powers to battle wrongdoers" (Movie Insider).
     Phase: Development since June 21, 2010
     Director: N/A
     Starring: N/A
     Screenwriter(s): Thomas Dean Donnelly (Conan the Barbarian, Sahara), Joshua Oppenheimer (Conan the Barbarian, Dylan Dog: Dead of Night, Sahara)
     In Theaters: TBA

Ant-Man
     Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures
     Producer: Marvel Studios
     Synopsis: "The character, bio-scientists Dr. Henry Pym, debuted in 1962, as 'The Man in the Ant Hill,' who discovers a liquid that evaporates into a gas, reducing a man to the size of an insect. Inhaling the fumes Pym shrinks in size, scurries along the floor and soon finds himself trapped in an ant hill. Eventually he returns to his normal size, deems the forumla too unpredictable and locks it away" (Movie Insider).
     Phase: Development since October 24, 2008
     Director: Edgar Wright (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead)
     Starrring: Nathan Fillion [Rumored] (New in Town, Super, Serenity)
     Screenwriter(s): Joe Cornish (The Adventures of Tintin, Attack the Block)
     In Theaters: TBA

Untitled Hulk Film
     Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures
     Producer: Walt Disney Pictures, Marvel Studios
     Synopsis: "A stand-alone movie featuring the Hulk" (Movie Insider)
     Phase: Development since April 30, 2012
     Director: N/A
     Starring: Mark Ruffalo [Rumored] (The Avengers, Shutter Island, Rumor Has It, The Kids Are All Right)
     Screenwriter(s): N/A
     In Theaters: TBA 2015

X-Men Origins: Deadpool
     Distributor: 20th Century Fox
     Producer: Marvel Studios, The Donners' Company
     Synopsis: "Wade Wilson, a mercenary who is dying of cancer, submits himself to the Weapon X genetic alteration experiment and emerges as an indestructible semi-sane anti-hero" (Movie Insider).
     Phase: Development since December 9, 2009
     Director: Tim Miller (debut film)
     Starring: Ryan Reynolds (Safe House, Green Lantern, X-Men Origins: Wolverine)
     Screenwriter(s): Rhett Reese (Zombieland), Paul Wernick (Zombieland)
     In Theaters: TBA 2014

The Wolverine
     Distributor: 20th Century Fox
     Producer: Seed Productions
     Synopsis: "Set in Japan, Wolverine trains in the way of the samurai in a bid to control his primal urges, during which time he falls in love with Mariko Yashida, heir to a Yakuza family" (Movie Insider).
     Phase: Pre-Production since March 26, 2010
     Director: James Mangold (Kinght and Day, 3:10 to Yuma, Walk the Line)
     Starring: Hugh Jackman, Will Yun Lee, Hiroyuki Sanada, Jessica Biel
     Screenwriter(s): Christopher McQuarrie (The Tourist, X-Men, Killshot), Mark Bomback (Total Recall, Unstoppable, Live Free or Die Hard)
     In Theaters: July 26, 2013 (Nationwide)

Untitled X-Men: First Class Sequel
     Distributor: 20th Century Fox
     Producer: 20th Century Fox, Bad Hat Harry Productions
     Synopsis: "Potentially set in the 1970's or 1980's, but could also show Magneto's involvement in the assassination of President Kennedy" (Movie Insider).
     Phase: Development since April 6, 2012
     Director: Matthew Vaughn (X-Men: First Class, Stardust)
     Starring: Jennifer Lawrence [as Mystique] (The Hunger Games, Like Crazy, Winter's Bone)
     Screenwriter(s): Simon Kinberg (X-Men 3: The Last Stand, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, XXX: State of the Union)
     In Theaters: July 18, 2014

X-Men 4
     Distributor: 20th Century Fox
     Producer: 20th Century Fox
     Synopsis: "A sequel involving the storyline and cast from the X-Men movie that was released in 2000" (Movie Insider).
     Phase: Development since June 3, 2011
     Director: N/A
     Starring: N/A
     Screenwriter(s): N/A
     In Theaters: TBA


Other Marvel Comics-inspired films include: Avengers 2, Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Thor: The Dark Worlds, Iron Man 3, Iron Fist, Deathlok, Luke Cage, Nick Fury, Runaways, Silver Surfer, Sub-Mariner, The Black Panther, The Black Widow, Fantastic Four (reboot), Daredevil (reboot), and an untitle Spider-Man/Venom Spin-off project.

Next Wednesday, we'll look at DC's superhero film line-up, which includes Wonder Woman and Superman, among many others.




 - Edessa, signing off

Batman Reboot

Who will rise to take over the cowl?

With The Dark Knight Rises debuting in theaters today, I figure now would be a good time to discuss what Warner Bros. has in store for Batman, arguably DC's most iconic character.

If you keep up with movies, you've probably already heard what I'm going to say. But for everyone else I have two words for you: Batman reboot.

Yes, that is correct. Distributor/Producer Warner Bros. Pictures is already working on rebooting the Batman franchise even though Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises just debuted today.

The question you're probably asking right now is why. Why is Warner Bros. rebooting the franchise? Particularly, why are they rebooting it now? Why not in at least ten years? Didn't they think that Nolan's trilogy was good?

From what I can gather after reading various statements (particularly Nolan's recent one stating that he no longer wishes to direct anymore Batman films), press releases, and even message boards, this so-called "reboot" isn't exactly a "reboot."

Allow me to explain.

In a reboot a whole new cast and crew are hired to re-do a film that was made years earlier (The Amazing Spider-Man would be a good example). Usually reboots are not made less than ten or so years after the original film was released (though, again, The Amazing Spider-Man is a good example of when that timetable does not occur).

With this new Batman movie projected to release sometime in 2015 (three years from now) and Nolan's refusal to direct anymore Batman films, many people are beginning to believe that this "reboot" is really more of another director's interpretation of Batman. True, Nolan's cast and crew will not be working on this new film, but since it's projected to release so soon it appears as though Warner Bros. is just giving another director a shot at interpreting the superhero's life.

Either way, this untitled Batman film is already in the Development Phase and Warner Bros. isn't stopping it. The screenwriter is David S. Goyer. If that name sounds familiar it's because he has writen many film screenplays, and seems to specialize in superheroes: Blade: Trinity, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Unborn, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, The Dark Knight Rises, and Man of Steel (the new Superman reboot releasing in 2013) among many others. As it stands currently, Goyer is the only official crew member working on the film, though the casting and hiring process begins during the Development Phase. As I mentioned in the paragraph above, this reboot (or reinterpretation, however you wish to view it) will be in theaters sometime in 2015, though that could change between now and whenever filming begins. No plot details have yet been released.


I'll break from my usual "do you think this film will be Good, Bad, or Ugly" question for now. Instead, I'd like to ask you who you would like to see under Batman's cowl, which enemy you think he should battle in this reboot, and who you think should be in the director's chair. I want to hear your responses, so comment away!




 - Edessa, signing off