Is Matthew Vaughn Off Thor?

First, Marvel Films announced their entire slate of projects for the next three years. Among the films included Thor coming summer 2010 - June 4, 2010 to be specific.

And now comes word that director Matthew Vaughn (i.e. behind last year's Stardust and the original director for X-Men: The Last Stand) is off the film.

To be honest, I'm surprised this film is going to see the light of day to begin with.

Thor's basically known by the general public for having a big-ass hammer and appearing in Chris Columbus' 1987 comedy Adventures in Babysitting.

Marvel Superhero Movies Through 2011!

After the huge opening weekend of Iron Man, nobody should be surprised to hear a Shellhead sequel has been greenlit for a summer 2010 release - April 30, 2010 to be exact.

No, ladies and germs, the surprise is that Marvel Films has come outright and announced their entire slate of projects from now to 2011.

Marvel Studios Movie Update

So what's happening with Marvel Studios? We've got the invincible-looking Iron Man opening May 2, 2008 and The Incredible Hulk smashing into theaters June 13. But what about the other planned movies, such as Thor and Ant-Man, both rumored for release in 2009? What about other movies?

Marvel's ultimate goal is to have total control over the filmed adaptations of their characters; mission accomplished. However, their other goal of two films per year appears to be in danger. Due to the Writers Strike debacle, things have been delayed. Unlike a major studio, which has billions to spend on 24/7 re-writes, Marvel Studios only has about $525 million from Merrill Lynch, though that number could be higher with other investments, with movie budgets ranging from $45 million to $165 million. Paramount Pictures is distributing (except Hulk, which is Universal--a holdover from the Ang Lee film).

Is A Deal Close To End The Writers Strike?

Looks like a deal between the striking writers and the studios and production companies could be imminent. If so, a lot of people will be going back to work, possibly giving us a few new episodes of our favorite shows before the end of the 2007/08 season. Many of these shows that have been off the air due to work stoppage.

Following the Directors Guild of America (DGA) deal made with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) last month, along with a number of side deals the Writers Guild of America (WGA) have made with production companies and mini-studios like David Letterman's Worldwide Pants and Marvel Studios, we may be close to seeing an official deal between the WGA and AMPTP.

Writers Strike Update: Marvel and Lionsgate Sign WGA Deals

Marvel Studios and Lionsgate are the latest production houses (or indie studios) to sign interim deals with the Writers Guild of America (WGA), so writers can get back to work on screenplays. Looks like that re-write on Thor can happen; the movie was temporarily shelved due to a script with a $200 to 300 million budget, and a re-write couldn't take place due to the strike.

Other studios or production houses that have interim deals with the WGA include United Artists, Worldwide Pants (David Letterman's company), The Weinstein Company and more. A complete list can be found at the link below.

With these high profile deals, along with the very recent Directors Guild of America's deal (DGA) with the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) and major studios, I think we may see the strike ending soon, in a way that benefits everyone. Plus, the WGA and AMPTP have come back to the table, after talks broke down more than a month ago.

Source: Superhero Hype!

Justice League Movie Update

I've read some rumors from trusted sources online that the JLA movie will be called Justice League instead of Justice League of America. I think Nikki Finke's tongue-in-cheek reaction said it best:

"[N]o doubt its proper name Justice League Of America would be too jingoistic for the foreign market."

Why do studios keep doing this? I have commented that a Captain America movie may end up being called Captain UN or Captain International to remain politically correct. And don't forget, G.I. Joe won't be a "real American hero" anymore, instead a real "international hero." Sigh...

In related news, JLA, er, JL is rumored to only feature four superheroes, according to Finke. Why not all seven?!

Movie News Grab Bag

A guy just can't take a vacation around here... leave for a few days and ya miss a boatload of movie news. So here's a quick summary of a few items worth noting:

- Yahoo! Movies has a trailer up for Slipstream, a time travel movie directed by and starring Anthony Hopkins. It looks interesting but I'll be damned if I can tell what the story is from the trailer. Maybe that's the point...

- It seems that Brett Ratner will be directing the remake of Escape from New York. Uh oh.

- Vin Diesel as the Terminator directed by McG? I suppose that half of that is good news... And sorry, I just wasn't in the mood to do one of those half Terminator/half Vin Diesel photoshop jobs that everyone else has attached to this story. :-)

Are We Getting A Teen Thor?

The last we'd heard, Kevin McKidd was on the short list of possible actor to portray Thor in Matthew Vaughn's upcoming live action superhero movie by the same name.

Late yesterday word came out the McKidd wasn't even aware of this until he asked his agent about it after hearing the rumors (ain't the internet great?). However the news isn't quite what we expected to hear...

McKidd stated:

Will Tyler Mane Raise The Mighty Hammer Of Thor?

Tyler Mane (Michael Myers in the Halloween prequel/remake-prequel and Sabretooth in X-Men) may be up for the part of Thor in Matthew Vaughn's (the guy who just did Stardust) upcoming adaptation.

The thing is, this is the second time Mane's name has been associated with the God of Thunder.

Is This Thor?

The rumor coming out of Moviehole (yes, I meant to write that) is that Kevin McKidd of the HBO series Rome may be the guy to play Thor in the upcoming film to be directed by Matthew Vaughn.

My gut check on this is that he's not the right face for the part. I've never been a huge fan of Thor in the comic books, but I never pictured him as having a rough-hewn look. For some reason, more of a smooth yet chiseled jawline look comes to mind when I think of the Norse god of the comics.

The Weekly Rant - August 12, 2007

Ok, ok... it's been a while. No excuses, I'll just give you the scoop on this week's topics:

- Marvel's Thor is moving forward.

- A remake of Enter the Dragon, that isn't, really.

- Here comes another giant robot movie: Voltron.

- My thoughts on Stardust, which opened this weekend.

The Mighty Thor Is Coming To The Big Screen!

I'm very excited about this film! I love Thor, maybe not as much as Harry over at AICN does, but Walt Simonson's take on the character is legendary.

Anyway, Matthew Vaughn, who left X-Men 3 because of the rushed nature and bad script, and whose Stardust opens today, will be helming the film.

The script, which I heard is great, was written by Mark Protosevich (he penned the upcoming I Am Legend), and Marvel wants to get started this winter because of the potential actor, writer and director strikes. Any one of these unions might strike and cripple Hollywood. There's a big rush of films going into production, just like the potential strikes in the early part of the decade.

Ton 'O Marvel Superhero Movies On The Way

Holy cow, Marvel is planning on releasing a TON of superhero movies. Will they all be great? Not likely... I'm sure they'll have some Ghost Riders in there, but on the other hand they may strike gold with some depending on who is writing and directing.

Here's a quick breakdown of what's in the pipeline beyond what's already currently in production: Wolverine, Magneto, Punisher 2, Silver Surfer, Sub-Mariner, Thor, Avengers (maybe) and Captain America. Whew!