Tuesday, August 20, 2013

This Week in Marvel News...

By: Stephanie Meleady

Well, to say stuff has been happening in the Marvel Cinematic Universe over the past week would be an understatement. 

From trailer leaks to casting rumours to extra filming, Marvel has been everywhere. And we can't get enough.



First Look at Guardians of the Galaxy

Fans who were lucky enough to attend last month's San Diego Comic Con were treated to exclusive looks at all of the upcoming Phase Two films, including the highly anticipated Guardians of the Galaxy. The footage seen was complied after only 12 days of filming, but appeared extremely polished. One person in attendance was brave enough to record the trailer, and last week it popped up on the internet to the delight of fans around the world. Now I'd try and attach a video, but Marvel has done a brilliant job of wiping all traces of the video from the internet. I'm sure if you Google hard enough, you'll find something.

Our friends at Buzzfeed were able to capture several GIFs of the leaked trailer, which gives us a first look at the movies main characters. Feel free to hum Hooked on a Feeling by Blue Swede while looking at these!

Groot, rumoured to be voiced by Vin Diesel.


Nebula, played by Karen Gillan.


Peter Quill AKA Star-Lord played by Chris Pratt


Drax the Destroyer played by Dave Bautista


Gamora played by Zoe Saldana


And finally Rocket Raccoon. There hasn't been any official voice casting news for Rocket yet, but once something is released, you'll be the first to know. All we can say at this point is that he looks totally kick ass.


At the end of the trailer we saw the Guardians in a sort of police line up.


We also learned to from director James Gunn that no official HD version of the Comic Con/ D23 footage will ever be released. But with Thor: The Dark World due out later this fall and Captain America: The Winter Solider next spring, an official trailer can't be far off. August 1st, 2014 can't come soon enough.


Captain America: The Winter Soldier Footage Leaked

Last week was like Christmas came early for Marvel fans, as we also got our first look at the new Captain America movie which just recently finished filming. Much like the Guardians footage, Marvel was quick to scrub the clip from the internet. I was lucky enough to see it before it disappeared and I can give you a description of what I saw. *Note, much like Guardians, the Google rule probably applies to this clip.


Interior of an elevator. Steve Rogers is in his full Cap costume and is surrounded by a number of men in suits.

Steve: "Before we get started (he turns to face the men), does anyone want to get out?"
Fighting and chaos ensues before the clip ends.

While it's a short clip, it gives us a taste of what we can expect when The Winter Soldier is released next year.

Tom Hiddleston Shoots More Scenes for Thor: The Dark World

Much to the delight of MCU fans it was reported this week that Tom Hiddleston, who plays Loki, God of Mischief filmed additional scenes for the upcoming Thor movie that will hit theaters in November. The reason given for the filming was director Alan Taylor's wish to feature more scenes with fan favourite Loki. This of course is nothing new for Marvel, as they are known for tweaking and perfecting their films right up until the day they are released.

Also in Thor news, a featurette for TDW was released by Marvel, giving us interviews and behind the scenes footage. It looks amazing.


Disney / Marvel has also announced that Asgard will be be coming to its Disneyland this fall. There aren't a lot of details on the exhibit yet, but fans will have the chance to "visit Asgard this fall and come face-to-face with the Mighty Avenger, Thor."

North American audiences will get to see Thor: The Dark World when it hits theaters on November 8th.


Mark Wahlberg to be the next Iron Man?

Many news sources reported late last week that Mark Wahlberg was "very interested" in taking over the role of Iron Man/ Tony Stark from Robert Downey Jr when he steps down from the role. This came as a surprise to many of Iron Man and RDJ's fans as Downey Jr just recently signed a new two-picture deal with Marvel, presumably the next two Avengers movies. This is coupled with Marvel Generalissimo Stan Lee stating in many interviews that Robert was exactly who he pictured playing the character. So fear not, there are current no job openings for Tony Stark - we can all breathe a little easier.


Simon Pegg to play Ant-Man?

The internet practically exploded this week when Simon Pegg posted a picture on his twitter account with him subtly pointing at a picture of Ant-Man, who is slated to be part of MCU's Phase Three.



Pegg was quick to squash the rumour, saying that he was simply paying homage to his best friend and Ant-Man director Edgar Wright. That didn't stop him from having fun with his Twitter followers.













Of course there hasn't been any Ant-Man casting news yet, but many believe Pegg could be a contender for the role.
Also on the Ant-Man front this week, Edgar Wright spoke about the small detail of Ultron appearing in the Avengers movie before Ant-Man is scheduled to be released. Speaking with the Huffington Post, Wright said that it was never an issue because he had no plan to use Ultron.

"It was never in my script. Because even just to sort of set up what Ant-Man does is enough for one movie. It’s why I think ‘Iron Man’ is extremely successful because it keeps it really simple. You have one sort of — the villain comes from the hero’s technology. It’s simple. So I think why that film really works and why, sometimes, superhero films fail — or they have mixed results — because they have to set up a hero and a villain at the same time. And that’s really tough. And sometimes it’s unbalanced."

It sounds like Wright knows his stuff and will keep the ball rolling with his interpretation of Ant-Man.


Just Over a Month Till Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D Premieres!

As it stands right now, we're just over a month away from the premiere of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D on ABC/ CTV. For those who aren't familiar with it, it takes place in the Marvel Universe but focuses not on the superheroes from the Cinematic Universe, but rather the everyday agents. Fan favourite Phil Coulson (played by Clark Gregg) is back and starring in the series, and we can assume his 'ressurection' will play some major part of the story line of the show.

We don't know much about the show yet, but the trailer is pretty awesome.


The show will premiere on September 24th at 8 p.m. on ABC and CTV.

So that's it for this week. With Guardians still in production and Thor: The Dark World getting ready for its release, you can expect to see a lot more Marvel in the news in the coming weeks. It's so great to be a fan!

Twitter: @Stepherland

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