Screen Rant » iron man 2

Iron Man 2 War Machine Updates

Kofi Outlaw — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:31:39 +0000

Checking back in with next summer’s most anticipated movie, Iron Man 2, we have some new updates about War Machine, the armored battle suit worn by Jim “Rhodey” Rhodes, who will be played by Don Cheadle in the sequel, taking over the role from Iron Man’s Terrence Howard.

The first update comes from Cheadle himself, talking about his performance as Rhodey/War Machine armor and hinting at how much screen time the actual armor will get. The second update comes our way via Sam Rockwell, who stars as Iron Man 2’s evil mastermind industrialist Justin Hammer, the man who (we now know) will be responsible for creating the War Machine armor and sticking Rhodey in the cockpit.

Both of these updates come our way via MTV Splash Page, who have been diligent about keeping up on all things Iron Man 2.

First let’s check out what Don Cheadle had to say about playing Rhodey/War Machine:

“I think the character that I play, my CGI character worked as much as I worked,” he said. “The stuntman worked as much as I worked. It’s a huge undertaking. It was great. It was a really different experience than I have worked on before.”

And what about snagging the role from Terrance Howard – were there any hard feelings between the two actors?

“Terrence is a friend of mine…But the actual playing [of Rhodey], I just felt like it was my role. I wasn’t made to feel like I had to sort of take care of what was done before. I really feel like I could make it my own.”

I like what Cheadle says about his CGI and stuntman counterparts ‘working as hard as he did’; it at least suggests that we’re going to get some good War Machine sequences in the movie. As for the Terrence Howard thing… no offense to Howard but I think people quickly got over the re-casting “scandal” once they learned an actor the caliber of Don Cheadle was being tapped as a replacement…

Onto the interview with Sam Rockwell, from which we have this lovely video:

In case you didn’t catch the vid, here’s the quote you want to pay attention to:

“Don’s character, Rhodey, needs to work with me. He has no choice…So we team up and we build this fabulous War Machine.”

We already know from earlier reports/photos that Iron Man 2 will focus (in part) on Tony Stark’s attempts to keep the Iron Man technology out of the hands of those who might misuse it (including the government), while simultaneously trying to fulfill his obligations as a newly-outed hero. An MTV interview with Don Cheadle during Comic-Con this past summer also hinted at growing friction between Tony and Rhodey, as the former sets off down his own path, while the latter has to honor his obligation to the military.

Just check out this video from that Comic-Con interview and then tell me if YOU think we’ll be seeing an Iron Man vs. War Machine showdown:

Finally, some big news: Splash Page’s most recent talks with Cheadle revealed that the actor will indeed have a starring role in The Avengers! Will War Machine be joining in the adventures of Captain America, Thor and Ol’ Shellhead? Will he be an obstacle in their path? Either way, we’re all eager to find out!

What do you think about the latest word on War Machine in Iron Man 2 and The Avengers? Are you on ‘Team Cheadle’ or are you still cheerleading (in vain) for ‘Team Howard’?

Source: MTV Splash Page

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How Iron Man & Thor Can Play Together In The Avengers

Rob Keyes — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 02:47:26 +0000

Over the last several months, we’ve heard many industry folk chime in the Marvel Studio’s plan of bringing together their superstar superheroes into one shared project, the most ambitious project in comic book movie history: The Avengers.

From Matthew Vaughn (the original director attached to Thor) admitting his desire to helm The Avengers, Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier’s idea of a four-part series of Avengers films to writer Zak Penn’s fear that the epic team-up project is so complicated that it may “suck.” There’s been plenty of talk from the folks behind the cameras about Marvel’s on-screen future, but what about the characters?

One question for the filmmakers has been to figure out how Jon Favreau’s tech-based Iron Man can work together with the mystical Asgardian God of Thunder, Thor? It’s easy in the comic books, but how will they adapt it into live-action and have it make sense? Marvel comic writer Brian Michael Bendis knows it can work – check out his thoughts on The Avengers after the jump.

Brian Bendis is one of the biggest names in the comics industry and is one of the folks responsible for the creation of the Ultimate Marvel Universe. MTV had a chance to speak to the artist and writer and get his thoughts on The Avengers film.

“My advice is, has been, and will be, that much like the comics, you look at movies like the ‘Oceans’ movies that have all these different flavors, you put the flavors together and you cook ‘em… It absolutely can be done.

Look at ‘The Great Escape’ or other movies that have all these big elements to them, and even elements that don’t seem that they would fit can rub up against each other in a very excellent way… They really can create something you wouldn’t even imagine you had before.”

Bendis explained that by bringing in different types of characters to form unexpected teams or partnerships, you can often get something special and amazing out of it. It’s one of his favorite parts of writing team-up books like New Avengers and he gave an example of the relationship formed between Spider-Man and Luke Cage in the books.

“Having read the ‘Captain America’ movie script and the ‘Thor’ movie scripts and ‘Iron Man 2′ and everything, and seeing them all develop, nothing is more exciting to me than the ‘Avengers’ movie… It’s absolutely going to be something better than— different than—anything we’ve seen before.

I think the challenge is absolutely there… It’s an immense amount of work, but the payoff will be gigantic.”

I hope it all plays out right and everyone wins in the end. They’re really banking on Captain America and Thor’s solo outings not only winning over the fans, but bringing in a hefty profit. They can’t really have a weak link bringing down the team (in more ways than one) but I’m confident that because it’s in the hands of Marvel themselves as opposed to another studio, that we’ll all have our wishes come true.

Click to continue reading about Iron Man 2 cameos and The Avengers…

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Stan Lee Talks Iron Man 2 & Thor Cameos

Paul Young — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 23:18:49 +0000

Is there anybody that doesn’t know or respect Stan “The Man” Lee, the official godfather of comics? The octogenarian artist is responsible to bringing many of the comic superheroes that readers have come to love and that movie audiences are now becoming familiar with as well. One of the fun points in the each of the Marvel films is a “Where’s Waldo?” style game that is played with Stan Lee standing in for Waldo.

Starting way back in 2000 with X-Men, he’s appeared in majority of the Marvel Comics-based movies. The one he was most notably missing from is this summer’s blockbuster (financially) X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Steve at Collider had a great interview with him at Scream Fest, where Stan explains that he likes doing the cameos but that they weren’t his idea and doesn’t do them if he has to travel far. Since Wolverine was filmed in Australia, that would explain his absence.

In the upcoming Iron Man sequel, Lee says director Jon Favreau called him up and said “put on these thick black glasses and these suspenders; you’re playing Larry King.” Watch the entire interview after the jump.

Well I for one think having Stan Lee as Odin in Thor would have been cool; maybe not the right casting choice, but still cool in a geeky way. Someone on YouTube has put together all of Lee’s cameos in a video that you can watch below. One thing you will notice is a progression from background cameos to speaking parts and more foreground cameos.

Does anyone remember Stan’s cameo during the television show The Incredible Hulk? He was a juror during a trial with Dr. Bruce Banner on the witness stand. One thing leads to another and Banner “hulks” out and Stan shows up in the scene a couple of times. Unless I’m mistaken, this might have been his first cameo. Watch below scene at YouTube here.

I also love the way Stan Lee is so approachable and friendly. He truly looks and acts like a grown up geek that is just having the time of his life. I can understand a bit of his frustration though about going to Comic Con. He probably wants to just walk around and visit the booths and see what all the young artists have to offer and where the future of comics is heading; but because he has a very recognizable face, that’s hard for him to do.

That being said, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of anyone complaining that he was a rude jerk to them for asking for an autograph or posing for a picture. In fact, our own Rob Keyes got to chat with him at an after-party during this summer’s San Diego Comic-Con and had nothing but great things to see about him. I’m not sure who has the bigger smile -- Stan or Rob.

What do you think Stan Lee’s cameo will be in Thor and do you enjoy looking for them in the Marvel films?

Source: Collider

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Iron Man 2 Mark VI Armor Revealed

Paul Young — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:18:30 +0000

“When I was a child I spoke as a child I understood as a child I thought as a child; but when I became a man I put away childish things.” I Corinthians 13:11 – Paul

I would like to think that Paul, the author from the Bible who many think wrote the above quote, would have modified the end of that sentence to read, “…unless it’s a comic book movie toy, especially from Iron Man 2, because those are awesome!” Readers and followers of movie news find some of the most interesting things about upcoming films through their toys and other marketing aimed at children.

Remember how the blog world was set ablaze when the first images of Cobra Commander from G.I. Joe circulated because of the toy images that were released? Well the toys we have today aren’t as disappointing; in fact they are downright cool. Coming Soon has produced a couple pictures of Iron Man 2 action figures – an early Mark II design but more importantly the latest, greatest, Mark VI armor. Click on each picture for a larger view.

I like figures like this; my son will immensely enjoy terrifying my daughter’s Barbies with War Machine’s missile launcher. One thing that does strike me as odd, though, is the chest piece for Iron Man’s Mark VI armor. In a picture that Editor-in-Chief Vic Holtreman took this past summer at Comic Con, you get a good look at the Mark IV version of the armor (which we can only assume is the version Iron Man 2 opens with). Look at the pictures side-by-side below and tell me what you see different.

So I’m guessing that Ol’ Shellhead gets several new sets of armor by the end of Iron Man 2 and this latest toy reflects the final thinner, sleeker, design (the Mark VI). Of course, it could just be the toy makers and studios are releasing the Mark VI design just to sell more toys. For the first movie, there were a bunch of Iron Man armor types released in toy form that never made it to the screen. In all likelihood, though, the Mark VI will be what we get; can’t wait to see the enhancements they add to it.

What do you think of the new look of the Iron Man Mark VI armor? My wife sometimes tells me the only reason I had kids was to eat their snacks and play with their toys but what does she know? Whatever, I’m off to finish eating my fruit snacks and pudding cups while building with my Lincoln Logs and Erector Set.

Iron Man 2 blasts into theaters May 7^th 2010.

Source: Coming Soon

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New Iron Man 2 Behind The Scenes Video

Anthony Ocasio — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 01:57:36 +0000

The folks over at Geek Tyrant dug up a wonderful seven minute behind-the-scenes look at Iron Man 2. The video, which comes from the French movie channel Canal Plus includes enough behind-the-scenes tidbits to calm even the most rabid of Iron Man fans (for 7 minutes, at least).

Now, I know you’re thinking that because this video is from France that it’ll be in another language and you’ll just have to watch it and pretend to understand what they’re saying. No need to worry as the language in this video and how I like my salads have a lot in common: Not very much French.

Inside you’ll not only see interviews with director Jon Favreau and Iron Man himself, Robert Downey Jr., but you’ll also get a little tour of Tony Stark’s updated workshop and take a glimpse of the filming of several scenes -- including being able to see an awesome green screen rig they have set up at the racetrack.

So what are you doing still reading? You should have skipped down below already and started watching the video. (I just don’t know about you guys with all this reading. Pshh Reading is so 90’s. Much like the Urkel Dance.)

I don’t know about you, but this film keeps looking better and better. Tony Stark has his own particle accelerator! (and I thought the only way to get one of those was to become a Ghostbuster. Remember: It’s not a toy)

I would have had this video posted earlier, but I kept watching it over and over. (and I had do the Urkel Dance)

Thoughts? Concerns? Baguettes? They’re all welcome.

Iron Man 2 hits theaters May 7, 2010.

Source: Canal Plus [via: Geek Tyrant]

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Jon Favreau Will Not Direct The Avengers

Kofi Outlaw — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:22:37 +0000

MTV News recently spoke to Iron Man 2 director Jon Favreau about his involvement in the super sequel and where he fits in the larger scheme of Marvel movies.

In that interview (which we have for you below), Favreau dropped a bomb on the collective heads of fanboys everywhere: he will NOT be directing Marvel’s 2012 superhero team-up event, The Avengers! In addition to that bit of Donald-Downer info, Favreau also threw another jab of bad news: We shouldn’t get our hopes up about seeing a cameo from The Hulk in Iron Man 2.

Here’s what Favreau had to say on the subject of The Avengers:

“They’ll have to [find a different director], because I’m not going to be available,” he explained. “It’s something I’m being the executive producer on, so I’ll definitely have input and a say.”

Now before you go all ga-ga with worried speculation over WHY Favreau isn’t onboard for The Avengers (as was previously rumored), his reasoning is pretty sound. See for yourself:

“That’s why it’s good that you have the guys from Marvel like Kevin Feige, who knows the books well and has been involved with the making of all the movies, and he’ll be very involved with ‘Thor’ and ‘Cap,’” said Favreau. “You need somebody who has the perspective of all the different franchises to bring them together. I have the myopic vision of just knowing and loving Iron Man.”

Those are the two quotes I know you want to see, but for more of what Favreau had to on the process of making Marvel movies leading up to Avengers – including Captain America and Thor – you can read the entire transcript of Josh Horowitz and Rick Marshall’s post over at MTV Splash Page, or just check out the video below:

(Sorry to our International readers, MTV videos are U.S. only)

So first let’s discuss the obvious points: Favreau not directing Avengers is a bummer, and hearing that Hulk won’t be in IM2 is a letdown – especially after the back and forth volley of comments recently made by Incredible Hulk star Edward Norton.

However, there are several things to consider:

Favreau may be resolved in his decision not to direct The Avengers RIGHT NOW, but once Iron Man 2 comes out (and if it does gangbusters business at the box office as expected) then Marvel might be motivated to throw quite a few zeroes behind a director’s fee to ensure that The Avengers turns out just as well. It would be hard for anybody to say no to the right price.
This no Hulk “confirmation” could be a red herring to throw eager Internet hounds (read: us) off the scent. In the interview he does make a point of referring to the surprise cameos as a “cat and mouse game.” So is Hulk in IM2 still possible? Or have I slipped into the warm embrace of wishful thinking?

One interesting question this raises: SHOULD Avengers be helmed by somebody who has worked on one of the individual character films? Or should a new person be tapped to do the super teamup? And as a crazy third option, should the directors of the individual films – Favreau, Joe Johnston (Cap) and Kenneth Branagh (Thor) – perhaps collaborate on The Avengers film?

Let us know what you think in the comments.

Iron Man 2 will be in theaters on May 7, 2010.

The Avengers is slated for a May 4, 2012 release.

Source: MTV Splash Page

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Is This Crimson Dynamo From Iron Man 2?

Rob Keyes — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:54:43 +0000

Game Revolution posted an early preview for the upcoming Iron Man 2 video game tie-in, which is trying to distance itself from the awful Iron Man 1 tie-in game. The Iron Man 2 game will supposedly act as a companion piece with the movie, rather than a re-hashed playthrough of the film’s story.

In their report, the developers would only discuss and confirm one villain from the game: The Crimson Dynamo.

What’s so special about that? Well, when news of Mickey Rourke’s possible involvement with Iron Man 2 first starting spreading, there was a lot of talk and speculation that he would be playing a Russian villain, whose description seemingly pointed towards The Crimson Dynamo as Iron Man’s next dance partner.

“Rourke is in discussions to play a villain described as Tony Stark’s Russian alter ego, a heavily tattooed bruiser who is in the arms trade and battles Iron Man in his own nuclear-powered armored suit.”

Later, when Rourke officially signed for the role, his role wasn’t so clear as half of the reports explained that he would be playing the character of Whiplash and the other half were unclear or still speculating he would be The Crimson Dynamo.

It was eventually confirmed that Whiplash would be the featured villain of Iron Man 2 and that his on-screen incarnation would sort of be a combination of Whiplash and Crimson Dynamo, from what director Jon Favreau described, in that he’d be designed after Whiplash, only as a Russian. The first official image of Mickey Rourke in costume as Whiplash hit the web soon after:

The photo above is from the race track scene where Tony Stark is ambushed by Whiplash. As you can image, speculation began that this costume in the pic above might just be the first version we see in the film, as Rourke is obviously not armored at all and probably couldn’t do much against Iron Man’s latest suits.

So, what would Whiplash’s full-on armored suit look like? Well, a preview comic for Iron Man 2 got solicited on Marvel’s official website and it featured the following piece of artwork of an armored variant of Whiplash to be featured in the comic.

Continue to pg. 2 for the first images of The Crimson Dynamo…

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The Hulk’s Return Is Only A Matter Of Time

Rob Keyes — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 10:35:56 +0000

Edward Norton sure knows how to keep fans guessing and anticipating. Now he’s saying his involvement in The Avengers just boils down to scheduling…

Ever since Mr. Norton played the part of Bruce Banner in The Incredible Hulk, a film that featured and marketed a cameo by Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, fans have been eagerly anticipating the moment when they will share screen time together as part of The Avengers team.

Rumors surfaced at the beginning of August that both Norton’s Bruce Banner and his large green counterpart, Hulk, would appear in a cameo role in Iron Man 2, repaying the favor for RDJ doing the same in his solo affair.

This was all confusing because of the conflicting reports on Norton’s future with Marvel Studios President of Production, Kevin Feige, not giving direct answers on the topic and Norton’s back and forth between being seemingly disinterested and interested in playing the role again.

On that note, two weeks ago Norton was asked at the Toronto International Film Festival about the truth to the rumors and his response confirmed that there’s nothing to them, Hulk-smashing the Iron Man 2 rumors. That’s assuming he’s not misleading fans which may not be too hard to believe, looking back at some things that have been said before by those involved with the first Iron Man.

“I heard that. I don’t know where that’s coming from… I am not in ‘Iron Man 2′ to my knowledge.”

Then, keeping on track with his flip-flopping, Norton seemed all positive and interested again about the Hulk’s future, revealing his thoughts on the idea of Hulk playing a villain in The Avengers, or at least some source of conflict as we’ve seen from the history of Marvel Universe in the comics.

“In the comics, there was always a tension between the rest of the superhero community and he was always this problem… They treated him as this problem”

“I think that’s a fun way to go with it”

It was partially hope-inspiring for those wanting to see Norton reprise the role of Banner to hear him say that. He wasn’t shying away from the topic or shooting down the question. Although, we had still yet to have any official word on Norton’s future one way or another with his future in the franchise and the deserved role in The Avengers.

Anyway, back on topic – from that interview MTV conducted with Norton where they discussed the Hulk-villain idea, they just put up an interview segment where they directly asked him whether he’ll be playing Bruce Banner when The Avengers movie or Iron Man 2 come out.

“It’s purely a function of time… It’s always about just working things out on the schedule.”

“I get very busy. You have to deal with the demands of your moment… I tend to keep my head in the thing I’m doing and I don’t speculate or worry too much about what two or three blocks down the thing is going to be. I know all these things will reveal themselves and work themselves out.”

Here we go again…

Click to continue reading Edward Norton and The Hulk’s future with The Avengers…

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Iron Man 2: New Behind the Scenes Footage

Paul Young — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 15:27:00 +0000

The most anticipated movie of 2010 is, without a doubt, Iron Man 2. Come May of next year, James Cameron’s Avatar will be a distant memory and the only thing fans boys and girls want to see is Iron Man(Robert Downey Jr), Whiplash (Mickey Rourke), War Machine (Don Cheadle) and the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson).

Last night Entertainment Tonight aired a six minute segment that included new behind the scenes footage from the set of Iron Man 2 which included some spectacular crash scenes, a little more information on the Tony Stark/Pepper Potts/Natasha Romanoff love triangle and a never before scene of Whiplash cutting a car in half.

Of course there are very little-to-no finished special effects in the footage but that is to be expected. The meat of the footage and interviews were shot during the Indy car race in Monaco, where Whiplash is introduced to the story, and where director Jon Favreau used one of the biggest green screens I’ve ever seen (and which Screen Rant reported on this past July). During the interview Rob Downey Jr. said this about the action so far:

“We have been blowing things up, and I have been trying to avoid [Whiplash's] laser whips. Come on, it doesn’t get any better than this.”

Enough banter – watch the video then read further for a cool piece of speculation:

What do you think? Cool, right? My geek factor exploded when Whiplash (Mickey Rourke) throws his whip towards Happy Hogan’s (Favreau) limo and cuts the side of it off. According to RDJ, “the car gets cut in half and then in half again. This is where he meets his nemesis, and this big kind of action sequence unfolds on the track…“ (I’ll explain in a moment why I emphasized “unfolds”). It would appear that the action in Iron Man 2 is going to be better than in the previous film and that can only be a good thing. I think Jon favreau has quickly become the most trusted comic book director (sorry Brett Ratner) in Hollywood among fanboys worldwide. Says Favreau during the interview:

“Every day we come to the set we try to discover new ways to make the story interesting and unexpected.”

I don’t think there is anyone that doesn’t believe he is sincere with that comment. I’m still waiting for the Comic-Con footage to be released online, but until then we still have the campy re-enactment footage to get a sense of what happened.

And now for some exclusive speculation…

Did you happen to notice what Pepper Potts (Paltrow) throws out the car window towards Tony Stark during the Whiplash attack scene at 04:29 into the clip? Yes, it’s a fancy looking briefcase – big deal, you say? Well if you’re not a long time Ferrophile (the Iron Man equivalent of a Trekkie) you may not be aware that in the comic book, for many years the armor was collapsible – and Tony Stark carried it with him everywhere in a briefcase.

Now put the aforementioned scene in the context of the above information, and take a look at the enhanced image below. It sure looks a lot like a case that could contain the foldable armor Tony Stark uses from the older comics. Look at these photos and tell us what you think? It would explain how Tony is able to run Whiplash off in Monaco while his armor is back in Malibu.

The mysterious briefcase in a scene from the film

A classic panel from the comic book, and Tony carrying another mysterious case

If that is truly the case (pun intended) then my heart may have just stopped from the sheer power of geekiness! You heard it here first people!

Iron Man 2 stars Robert Downey Jr.(Tony Stark/Iron Man), Gwyneth Paltrow(Pepper Potts), Mickey Rourke(Whiplash), Scarlett Johansson (Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow), Don Cheadle (Col. James Rhodey/War Machine), Sam Rockwell (Justin Hammer), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury)and Jon Favreau (Happy Hogan).

What did you think of the new behind the scenes footage? Does it get you even more excited for the real thing in a few more months?

Iron Man 2 blasts into theaters May 7^th, 2010.

Source: Entertainment Tonight

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Ed Norton Thinks Hulk As Avengers Villain Would Be “Fun”

Rob Keyes — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:44:57 +0000

Edward Norton spoke exclusively with MTV at the Toronto International Film Festival where the actor is promoting his film, Leaves of Grass, and without surprise the topic of Hulk came up yet again.

The last we heard from Norton was a few days ago when he Hulk-Smashed the Iron Man 2 rumors about him appearing in the film in a cameo role to much disappointment of fans. Now he’s back on the positive band-wagon discussing the role of Hulk in The Avengers and what that may entail…

Will he appear in The Avengers? Will Hulk be a villain or hero? Read on for the details…

In the interview, Norton was flat-out asked if he could see Hulk appear in The Avengers to duke it out with Thor, Cap and Iron Man.

“In the comics, there was always a tension between the rest of the superhero community and he was always this problem… They treated him as this problem”

“I think that’s a fun way to go with it”

He knows the comics and he’s passionate about the work he does. We can easily see that with his history and some of the issues surrounding the production of The Incredible Hulk involving different perspectives on how the movie should play out. Either way, the movie was great and Norton was perfect as Banner.

I want to see him play the character again in The Avengers and also in The Incredible Hulk 2 down the road, although I’ve never been a fan of the Hulk-as-a-villain idea and it seems like a big waste to me. The abomination almost took him down, why do they need The Avengers to? How is Captain America going to fight one-on-one with The Hulk on screen?

The conflict surrounding the character which Norton points out could play an interesting factor of the story, but him as the central villain is a weak idea – let Banner be a hero as part of the team. I’d love to see Norton on screen with Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth and [insert Captain America actor here].

The villain has to be someone (or something) bigger – not physically, I mean in terms of the story.

Why can’t we get some confirmation on the future of Hulk? No one will ever let this go and will continue to ask Norton at every single press event until we get some info…

Click to continue reading about Hulk in Iron Man 2, The Avengers and what villains may be in The Avengers…

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Johannson Auctioning Iron Man 2 Premiere Tickets For Charity

Ross Miller — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:27:47 +0000

People magazine is reporting that the premiere of Iron Man 2 next year will be particularly memorable for two lucky fans – two premiere tickets are being auctioned off by star Scarlett Johannson, in aid of Oxfam.

Along with the two Iron Man 2 premiere tickets, the winning bidder of the charity auction will also get a meet-and-greet with Johannson, herself an Ambassador of Oxfam. The auction begins tonight on, September 17th, at 10:00pm EST on Ebay.com/Oxfam, and will run for a week, until Thursday, September 24th. 100% of the proceeds from the auction will go to Oxfam America, an organization long dedicated to finding lasting solutions to poverty, hunger, and social injustice around the world.

Johansson gave this statement – “I’m so thrilled to be a part of this eBay charity opportunity, again raising funds for Oxfam… Oxfam is an incredibly worthy organization that I’m most passionate about.” This is the second year Oxfam and Ebay have teamed up to offer Hollywood-style experiences featuring Oxfam Ambassadors, others being Giada De Laurentiis and Colin Firth.

As a bonus (like another incentive is needed…) the winner will also get a complimentary session at the Cristophe Salon in Beverly Hills to prepare for the red carpet before the premiere screening of the Iron Man sequel (they wouldn’t want you looking a mess on the red carpet, now would they? ).

I’m betting fanboys have wondered at least once about whether they’d rather go to a superhero movie premiere or meet Scarlett Johannson in-person. Well, if they’re feeling generous, and have an Ebay account, they can maybe win a chance to achieve both goals. After seeing Johannson in the Black Widow get-up, I don’t know if there’s any movie fan who’s not at least thinking about bidding…

Will you be bidding for the Iron Man 2 premiere tickets and a chance at a Scarlett Johansson meet-and-greet? Go on – it’s for a good cause!

The Iron Man 2 premiere will take place next Spring, and the movie opens theatrically on May 7th, 2010.

Source: People

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Hulk Smash Iron Man 2 Rumors!

Rob Keyes — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 02:45:20 +0000

At the beginning of August, rumors surfaced about Ed Norton that said he might be making one wish of many Marvel fans come true in having an appearance in Iron Man 2 as Bruce Banner and possibly The Hulk.

This would have confirmed Norton’s involvement in Marvel’s upcoming slate of films and Hulk’s position on the roster of heroes in The Avengers.

Unfortunately, Norton doesn’t seem to know much about that nor does he have that much to say about it…

MTV News caught up with Ed Norton at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and asked him about the rumor and if he’ll be in Iron Man 2.

“I heard that. I don’t know where that’s coming from… I am not in ‘Iron Man 2′ to my knowledge.”

Maybe he just doesn’t know yet…

Damn. That sounds like a big “no” but if he was, I doubt he’d be allowed to talk about it yet. Every time I think about this, I wonder how he couldn’t be in The Avengers or have a cameo in IM2. Robert Downey Jr. had a cameo in his Hulk movie after all – He’s gotta repay the favor!

On that note, we will get to see at least one hero make a cameo and that’s likely Chris Hemsworth who’s of course playing Thor. He and Downey have screentested together and all the upcoming movies will likely have the other main characters make an appearance, building toward their epic team-up.

On the other hand, I wonder if Mr. Norton really wants to be a part of Marvel’s future after the little issues surrounding the production of The Incredible Hulk. He didn’t seem to enthused about the idea of The Avengers when asked about it last summer (actuallly, a year ago yesterday). Here’s what he said back then on the topic:

“The minds of Marvel are sometimes opaque,”

“I won’t say [they're] obtuse, but I don’t have any idea what they want to do.”

“They’ve got this notion of collecting the Marvel characters”

“Who knows where they’ll go?”

That didn’t sound promising at all, at the time, but since then, things haven’t sounded so gloom with all the speculation about a Hulk sequel and his possible appearances in the other Marvel films.

Click to continue reading about Ed Norton Hulk and their involvement in The Avengers & Iron Man 2…

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SR Picks [Video]: Marvel vs. DC vs. Disney Musical

Rob Keyes — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 11:28:48 +0000

One of the only reasons I still go to YouTube is to watch videos from ItsJustSomeRandomGuy, the mastermind behind the “I’m a Marvel…and I’m a DC” web series where he uses DC, Marvel and other action figures to touch on current happenings in the comics/movie/tv universe and poke fun at the characters through well-written all-audience parodies.

With that said, of course there had to be a parody made on the Disney-Marvel merger… and of course it had to something special. So what did he do? He made a musical!

They put a lot of work into this one… if you can’t bare the sing-along, stick with it till the end because Batman and Spider-Man have a little conversation about the Disney acquisition.

What do you think?

We here at Screen Rant love these vids and have posted several as Screen Rant Picks.

Have your feelings on the Disney-Marvel deal changed at all?

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Disney-Marvel Deal: Stan Lee’s Approval & New Hybrid Characters

Rob Keyes — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 03:31:19 +0000

The recent Disney/Marvel partnership is still sending ripples out across the blogosphere. How will it affect the current state of comics? What impact will it have on Marvel Studios’ production schedule? So much was already happening at Marvel Studios with their epic slate of upcoming films, now they’ll be capable of exploring new territories as we (hopefully) get to see an expansion of their production capacity thanks to Disney’s vastly superior resources.

In light of the major news surrounding Disney and Marvel, we have for you some pictures of new characters born out of the merger between the two media juggernauts as well as some words about the corporate happenings from Stan Lee, the genius creator behind so many of the comics and characters we know and love today.

Stan Lee, a legend of the comic book industry, couldn’t be more happy about the Disney acquisition. In a statement to MTV, he revealed his feelings about the merger and how he believes it’ll benefit everyone greatly in the long run:

“I couldn’t be happier with this agreement… It’s [a] great move for Disney, for Marvel and for my company Pow! Entertainment since Pow! has a first-look deal with Disney. From every point of view, the merger of Disney and Marvel is a match made in heaven.”

“Just imagine… with this deal Marvel gives Disney a library of literally hundreds of unique and colorful characters that have the potential to make great, high-concept movies and long-lasting franchises—and nobody knows how to play in that ball park better than Disney… This is a great day for the two companies and for the entertainment community as a whole. To sum it up as simply as possible, when you combine the best with the best, everyone wins!”

Obvious biases aside, Stan the Man makes some good points and he’s not wrong in anything he’s optimistic about. The hopes of myself and I’m sure all Marvel fans and moviegoers is that we get many more movies from Marvel Studios. I’m excited for the first announcements of what will come in addition to the Marvel Studios films already in development, including Iron Man 2, The First Avenger: Captain America, Thor and The Avengers.

Now, on to the fun stuff… New characters!

Click to continue reading about the Disney-Marvel Deal and new Hybrid Characters…

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Iron Man 2 (and 1) to be 3D?

Kofi Outlaw — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 16:19:56 +0000

Hollywood has a lot of new digital 3D projects on deck, most notably James Cameron’s highly-anticipated film, Avatar. While films like Avatar are being shot in digital 3D from the start, older films are also entering the third dimension – case in point being Disney’s upcoming Toy Story/Toy Story 2 double feature, which will be showing in limited engagement this Fall.

Well, AICN is exclusively reporting that Iron Man 2 has landed somewhere in the middle ground of old/new 3D: a new movie shot with regular film that is being considered for 3D conversion before its release.

Oh, and did I mention that Iron Man 1 might be getting the 3D treatment as well?

So before we get into the details of Iron Man 2 possibly being converted to 3D, we need to rewind the clocks a bit, back to almost exactly a year ago, when we first reported that Iron Man 2 might be filmed in 3D/Imax. Our own Vic Holtreman (a serious Iron Man fanboy) was pretty psyched about the notion…which unfortunately didn’t pan out by the time IM2 started its principal shoot.

Reasons for Favreau foregoing the 3D/IMAX approach reportedly included the fact that his cinematographer, Matthew Libatique, prefers to shoot on film (modern 3D uses digital filming techniques) and the fact that the process would add too much expense to the budget. Rather than try an force the issue, Favreau opted to look ahead, planning for Iron Man 3 to get the 3D/IMAX treatment.

Jump back to the here and now, and AICN is reporting that Marvel and Paramount (and now Disney?) are going bananas over a one-minute demo clip of Iron Man 2 that has been converted into 3D. The clip was apparently so impressive that the studio has allegedly reached out to three different companies specializing in 3D conversion, to see if it isn’t worth their time and money to convert all of IM2 into a 3D format. AICN’s same source on this is also reporting that the studio is simultaneously mulling over whether or not to convert the original Iron Man into 3D as well, to serve as a 3D theatrical pre-release/promo for Iron Man 2 in 3D.

Personally, I think getting BOTH Iron Man films in 3D would be awesome, and I know that Vic would probably curse my name forever if I were to say anything less. But why would I? This WOULD be pretty awesome – especially if they offered moviegoers the one-two punch of heading back to the theater to enjoy Iron Man all over again, followed closely by the sublime experience of Iron Man 2 in 3D. I would happily shell-out (get it?) for that experience, and I’m pretty certain a lot of you would, too.

And if the returns are good (pretty bloody likely) and Iron Man 3 is shot from the get-go in 3D / IMAX, you Blu-ray fans would end up with an “Ultimate Collector’s Edition” Iron Man Trilogy that you could enjoy in HD 3D from start to finish. Imagine THAT movie marathon on a rainy weekend afternoon…

Wanna see Iron Man again in 3D?

As AICN also points out: if Marvel sees big returns from this venture, will we see forthcoming films like Captain America and Thor in 3D as well? Because seeing Cap jump from a plane over a hellish WWII battlefield or Thor raining down thunder in 3D would make for a pretty epic experience. Here’s hoping it all comes to pass.

What about you: would you like to see your Iron Man films get the 3D treatment?

Iron Man 2 hits theaters on May 7, 2010. We’ll keep you updated on when/if you can catch Iron Man re-released in digital 3D.

Source: Ain’t It Cool News

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Louis Leterrier Would Do Hulk Sequel – More Likely To Happen Now?

Rob Keyes — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 05:46:08 +0000

Today has been a big day for Marvel.

If you haven’t already heard, Marvel was acquired by Disney this morning in a massive $4 Billion agreement.

Looking at this optimistically, what that may simply mean for Marvel Studios, is more financial support and marketing resources to (hopefully) push into development more feature film projects. Perhaps, this could even fast-track some projects that are being considered for years down the road… perhaps a sequel to The Incredible Hulk?

The last we heard from Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier was his idea for an Avengers quadrilogy of films – something he wants to be a part of along with the directors of each of the other Marvel Studios solo films. Part of his idea is to have each director helm a chapter of the series of Avengers movies and they could all release within a relatively short window.

At the time, Leterrier also reflected on how much a challenge it was making The Incredible Hulk and hinted that he’d rather work with a different superhero next time around.

“Hulk was such a challenge. It was to reboot something and follow [the Ang Lee-directed 2003 “Hulk”] movie that was absolutely adored by part of the fan population and then absolutely hated by another part. It was complicated for me. I wasn’t sure what to do with that history. I did my Hulk but it was not easy. If I do another Hulk film it will always be compared to the Ang Lee thing, and my first one … if I come back I’d love to do another superhero, something different that I can really put my touch on.”

Now it seems that he’s much more open to working on The Incredible Hulk 2, perhaps knowing that he’s likely not going to get another different Marvel gig before it. He did a great job with the Hulk reboot and fit it nicely into the shared Marvel film universe.

In speaking with Moviehole the other day (prior to the Disney acquisition announcement), Leterrier had great things to say about his leading actor and about the potential of his involvement in a sequel.

“Yeah, he’s a great actor and a great Hulk… Sure. I’d return to it. I have some ideas. So many ideas for so many things.”

I really enjoyed The Incredible Hulk and Leterrier made a solid film on a character that’s not as appealing in live-action to movie-going audiences compared to other notable comic book heroes. It deserves a sequel in my mind and if they could cut down on the budget requirements for it, I think it’s an easy money-maker for Disney/Marvel.

What I really want to see though, as I’ve noted time and time again, is for Ed Norton to reprise the role of Bruce Banner in The Avengers. Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk were the first two films produced by Marvel Studios as an independent production house and they crossed-over very well, both leading into future solo films and the Avengers team-up. To not bring in Mr. Norton would be such a disappointment and a waste.

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So Disney Bought Marvel… What Does It All Mean?

Paul Young — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 02:24:08 +0000

To quote the late Queen of Blues, Dinah Washington, “What a Difference a Day Makes.” Just recently all anyone was talking about in the movie industry was whether The Final Destination was in indeed final and if Rob Zombie was done butchering horror films (to answer that last question, NO, he’s trying to tackle The Blob next – and I’m not referring to my first girlfriend from high school). But here we are, just a scant twenty-four hours later and the biggest fish in the marketing sea has just eaten the biggest fish in the comic book sea.

Of course, I’m talking about the news that Walt Disney Co. acquired Marvel Comics, Inc. for the meager sum of $4 billion dollars. It’s a great deal of money, and I don’t care what the nay-sayers out there gripe about, if I owned a prospering business and a mega-company offered to buy me out for an exuberant amount of money, I’d sell too. Heck, I’d go buy a special pen just to sign the papers! Anyone who says otherwise just isn’t being honest with themselves.

Disney C.E.O Roger Iger

Let me start by saying that like most of you, I too thought this was pretty much the end of hardcore Marvel comics, films and cartoons. Disney isn’t exactly synonymous with violence, so at first I can see how this would be a cause for concern. Read this quote from Disney chairman Robert Iger:

“We believe that adding Marvel to Disney’s unique portfolio of brands provides significant opportunities for long-term growth and value creation.”

Wait – that didn’t make you put down the Rolaids yet? Try this one:

“The acquisition of Marvel offers us a similar opportunity to advance our strategy to build a business that is stronger than the sum of its parts.”

Still nothing? Well on the conference call with investors shortly after the announcement, Iger said, “I think there’s a phrase, if it ain’t broke.” This is nothing new to anyone familiar with Disney’s business practices. They did not spend this much money just to ruin what they bought. Saying that just because Disney now owns our favorite comic book superheroes it will water them down and ruin them, is like saying you would go out and buy a Rolls Royce and then paint it to look like an ice cream truck just to sell ice cream to kids. Much like the aforementioned high school girlfriend – that’s just plain crazy; and if anything can be said about Disney, it’s that they are not EVER crazy when it comes to a business decision. Want to know the real reason they bought Marvel? Read this statement:

“We believe that adding Marvel to Disney’s unique portfolio of brands provides significant opportunities for long-term growth and value creation. The acquisition of Marvel offers us a similar opportunity to advance our strategy and to build a business that is stronger than the sum of its parts. [These shows are] right in the wheelhouse for boys.”

Disney has always struggled to find its place in the world when it came to reaching the teen/young teen male audience. It’s no wonder, because shows like Hannah Montana, The Jonas Brothers and every freakin’ princess movie ever made is geared and marketed towards girls of every age. Disney finally started trying to hit the boy demographic when it started up the TV channel Disney XD, which already shows 20 shows from Marvel’s arsenal, but it was having trouble finding an audience with its current lineup of characters. I don’t think they have that problem anymore. Now, with more than 5,000 characters to choose from, Disney can now move forward with some interesting shows.

Let’s go through a list of possible new ideas Disney could be kicking around:

TV Shows

Besides the obvious fact that we could see many new cartoons on the Disney channel, let’s not forget that Disney purchased ABC a few years back and has had much success with its lineup of shows – or have you forgotten about Lost? This same argument about watered down, kid-friendly, ponies, rainbows and flowers nonsense was floating around back then too. I don’t hear too many people saying that now.

Imagine if you will no more Marvel origin movies in theaters. All of them are now shown on TV running on a regular series and the movies can now focus on just being pure bad ass-ness fun. Does an origin story really need two hours to be told properly or could it just be done in forty-five minute segments over the course of a TV season? Keep the major characters in theaters, Avengers, Thor, Iron Man and such, but now audiences would get the chance to see more of the Marvel Universe and appreciate and enjoy lesser known characters like some many hardcore fans already do. It would also give those lesser characters a chance to build an audience that would potentially follow them to theaters.

Continue Reading ‘So Disney Bought Marvel: What Does It All Mean?’

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Disney Buys Marvel

Paul Young — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:44:45 +0000

OK, so just a few minutes ago Twitter literally exploded with news of a major financial announcement: according to The Associated Press, The Walt Disney Co. will acquire Marvel Entertainment Inc., for $4 billion in cash and stock.

Woah! If you ever wondered how much the Marvel Universe is worth, I think you just found out.

Under the deal Disney will now control and own 5,000 Marvel characters, including Iron Man and Spider-Man. If Marvel shareholders approve the deal, they will receive $30 per share and will also receive .745 Disney shares for each Marvel share they own. Both the Disney and Marvel board of directors have approved the deal, but it still has to go through an anti-trust review. I don’t see there being any problem with the anti-trust review nor do I see the marvel shareholders turning up their noses to such a fantastic offer. Most likely, later this week, we should see final word on the resolution of this agreement.

Said Ike Perlmutter, Marvel’s Chief Executive Officer:

“Disney is the perfect home for Marvel`s fantastic library of characters given
its proven ability to expand content creation and licensing businesses…This is an unparalleled
opportunity for Marvel to build upon its vibrant brand and character properties
by accessing Disney`s tremendous global organization and infrastructure around
the world.”

So what does this mean to comic books fans? Well, it could be both very good and very bad at the same time. Let’s look at some quick pros and cons shall we?

Pro – Disney is a universal name with pockets so deep that God’s hand would have a hard time reaching the bottom. Marvel is no slouch either in the household name department – but let’s face it, they are no Disney. All that extra money, means way more marketing and increased traffic within the theme parks (sorry Universal but looks like you might lose the X-Men characters in your parades.)

Con – With movies like Iron Man 2, Spider-man 4, The Incredible Hulk 2, Thor , The Avengers and Captain America on the horizon, what does this mean for their development? Iron Man 2 is already in full swing so I doubt we see any type of delay with that one, but with no other pre-production or principle photography under way on some other films, could we see some eventual delay(s)?

Pro – On the flip side, with Disney having such deep pockets, that means much more available funds to push MORE movies into production. It’s not like Disney is buying Marvel because they were threatened by Marvel’s market share and were trying to buy out the competition. No, Disney bought Marvel to use the property rights, not sit on them. This could mean we start seeing Marvel characters pushed into multiple forms of media. More cartoons, more comics, more live action TV shows and definitely more movies.

Con – We could find ourselves over-saturated with watered down superheroes, quickly written scripts and under produced adaptation that are Disney is just looking to make a quick buck with. They are, after all, trying to re-coup $4 billion dollars of investment. It is distinctly possible that quality could suffer. Hopefully that won’t be the case, because whether Disney knows it or not, they are now under intense scrutiny from one of these largest, if not the largest, fan base in the world.

There are plenty of other pros and cons and we may discuss them in detail later today but for now we thought the news was worthy enough to get to you quickly.

What do you think of this mega-acquisition of Marvel by Disney? Does it make you as apprehensive as me for the future or elated that we may have an enormous opportunity to see more comic films in the future?

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Screen Rant will keep you updated as news come out.

[UPDATE: For our analysis of what this could mean for future Marvel movies (and TV shows) check out our follow-up: So Disney Bought Marvel - What Does It All Mean?]

Source: The Globe and Mail

Disney Marvel Logo: Spoiler TV

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Iron Man 2 Stuntman Talks Whiplash Weaponry (And More!)

Kofi Outlaw — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 21:06:55 +0000

We recently got a look at what (we think) Mickey Rourke’s finished Whiplash armor (above) will look like in Iron Man 2; now we have Rourke’s own stunt double describing what Whiplash’s weaponry – his energy whips – are like and how much havoc they actually wreak in the film.

Garrett Warren was recently crowned the 2009 Stunt Choreographer of the Year at the Hamilton Behind the Camera Awards, and he sat down for an exclusive interview with Movieline to describe what it’s like working on films like Tintin, Alice In Wonderland, James Cameron’s Avatar, and yes, getting crazy with those whips on the set of Iron Man 2.

I know a lot of you Iron Man fans have been curious (read: slightly nervous) about how Whiplash is going to be portrayed in the finished film – especially since that first photo of Rourke costumed in an early Whiplash prototype surfaced on the Net. So if you want to know what Warren had to say about living la vida Whiplash check it out.

[WARNING: The quotes contain spoilers!]

“Iron Man 2 had a double-whip sequence, and I am a whip specialist. There’s not very many of us in Hollywood that do double-whips… double-whip basically means that you have two whips in your hands…I don’t know if I’m at liberty to say what the whips will look like, but they’re going to be these super whips that have an awful lot of power. They can cut through cars, they can do an awful lot of damage…you’ll see that he doesn’t do just whip-cracks and grabbing people. He lays waste to an awful lot of vehicles and street pieces and other things…

…And when it comes to the whip routine, I have to admit, Mickey Rourke did a really good job with the whips. However, the suit was very painful at times. It was this big metal piece that wasn’t very comfortable, so he didn’t always want to do the whip routines every take. So I’d go in and do the whip routines…

…[the suit] covers the whole body in metal rods, but you are shirtless [underneath]. That was the part that was hard. When you move, it was metal digging into skin, cutting your shoulders, wrists and back and so forth.”

2009 Stunt Choreographer of the Year Garrett Warren

I don’t know if I even gave you enough there to call it the tip of the iceberg. You’ll have to head over to Movieline if you want to hear Garrett Warren talk more about Whiplash, the motion-capture innovations of Speilberg and Peter Jackson’s Tintin; the fantastic experience that is James Cameron’s Avatar; or what it’s like playing in Tim Burton’s Wonderland.

It’s an awesome interview with a lot of good info, so be sure to check it out!

Before you do, though, let us know how you feel about this description of Mickey Rourke’s Whiplash weaponry (which doesn’t seem to exactly match the image above). Personally, I think the concept is going to play better on film than I ever expected. Do you agree?

Iron Man 2 hits theaters on May 7, 2009.

Source: Movieline

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