Courtesy Walt Disney Pictures
Thor, Iron Man and Captain America have a stand-off.
Following the best piece of news I’ve heard all week with Joss Whedon returning to direct “Avengers 2,” I figured I’d update the latest on Marvel’s other movie projects since I last did a big Marvel roundup pre-San Diego Comic Con and a number of cool tidbits have been released since then.
Iron Man 3 [May 3, 2013]
Marvel Studios
Concept art by Ryan Meinerding. In “Iron Man 3,” Tony Stark suffers his most devastating attack, and must rely on his greatest assets – his ingenuity and instincts.
This one has a lot of the immediate buzz as it’s the next big Marvel release. Here’s what we know so far: Iron Man will get another shiny gold suit of armor, he’ll be facing off against Iron Patriot and that Ben Kingsley will be playing his arch-rival the Mandarin. No word yet on whether Mark Ruffalo will have a role since his Bruce Banner left with Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) at the end of “Marvel’s The Avengers.”
Thor: The Dark World [Nov. 8, 2013]
Marvel Studios
Thor (Chris Hemsworth) will face the Dark Elves in his next solo outing.
Christopher Eccleston (who really tried to make something out of “G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra”) has been cast as Malekith, the leader of the Dark Elves, and longtime foe of Thor. In the comics, Malekith gains possession of the Casket of Ancient Winters, which as the name implies, lets loose a wintery mix that even meteorologists couldn’t get wrong.
“Game of Thrones” director Alan Taylor is in the director’s chair now and this sounds like a perfect premise for a “GOT” director to tackle. Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), Odin (Anthony Hopkins) and everyone’s favorite bad guy Loki (Tom Hiddleston) are back for the sequel.
Captain America: The Winter Solider [April 4, 2014]
Marvel Studios
Captain America (Chris Evans) prepares for battle.
Captain America (Chris Evans) still tries to adjust to life in the modern world and while partnering with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and SHIELD, he learns of a mysterious new adversary that could be every bit his equal.
In the comics, Cap’s partner Bucky – who was thought to have been killed in action during World War II – was revealed to be The Winter Soldier under control of Russian spies. You’ll recall in “Captain America: The First Avenger” that Bucky (Sebastian Stan) was presumed dead after falling from a train and he’s signed on for the sequel so… make of that what you will.
In another yet-to-be confirmed, but appears to be all but certain now, Anthony Mackie (“Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter“) is rumored to be joining the cast as Cap’s new partner – Sam Wilson, The Falcon. While Cap doesn’t have the flying armada or a hammer that creates lightning, of the three solo Avenger films, this is the one I’m most interested in seeing. Mind you, I’m probably at an excitement level of 10 for “Cap 2″ and 9.8 for the others.
Avengers 2 [rumored 2015]
Courtesy Walt Disney Pictures
[From Left] Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Captain America (Chris Evans), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), and Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) prepare for the final battle
There hasn’t been a lot of chatter about whether Whedon plans to make good on his post-credit tease of having the team square off against Thanos yet, but here’s a look at the best guesses as to which heroes could join the Avengers for the sequel.
In a post Christopher Nolan-Batman world, this may the one movie I completely trust the director to do right by the characters and all I ask is for more Avengers to join the fun for “Avengers 2.”
