Everyone was left confused when it was announced that Tropic Thunder screenwriter Justin Therou would be penning the script for Iron Man 2. Why would Marvel Studios completely bypass the original screenwriting team of Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby (also of Children of Men fame) for a guy whose only screenwriting credit was a comedy film? No offense against Justin, but the choice just seemed extremely odd. Perhaps Thunder star Robert Downey Jr asked that Therou be brought in to write the sequel. Or maybe Fergus and Ostby were busy working on ideas for other Marvel projects. Fergus revealed to MTV that they are currently “talking intensely with Marvel [...]

FlawedHollywood has a photo of Eva Longoria leaving the offices of Marvel Studios with a business card and a hand full of reading material, an Avengers comic book on the top of the stack. Longoria’s television show Desperate Housewives will be coming to an end right around the time the Marvel comic book team-up is being adapted into a feature film. This has led many to speculate that Longoria might be in the running to play Janet Van Dyne aka Wasp, a founding member of the super team and eventual wife of Ant-Man. But does Longoria have what it takes to be a superhero?
via: latimesblogs

With Matthew Vaughn off directing Kick-Ass and his once-proposed $300 million Thor epic but a memory, DJ Caruso (Disturbia, Eagle Eye) is now expressing interest in bringing Marvel’s Son of Odin to the big screen. In an interview with IESB he said…
“…I would definitely tackle it and I sort of wrestled with it before and I was always a fan of Thor growing up as a kid. I know that they [Marvel] have a script, but there’s something, there’s a fear I have about Thor and depending on what Thor story you want to tell, whether you want to bring Thor into the modern world or if you want to [...]

UPDATE: So, Harry Knowles says there is no truth to the rumor. Ohlalala. I do think Luke’s quote is trivial, but we’ll see…
Not much to go on, but during an interview with MTV, actor Derek Luke (Miracle at St. Anna) said that “[Marvel] offered Will Smith Captain America” and added that “it just shows you how times have changed.” Other actors recently rumored for the Marvel character include Matthew McConaughey (thankfully, not happening) and Brad Pitt (who’s also been mentioned for Thor).
Entitled The First Avenger: Captain America and set for a May 6th, 2011 release—just weeks before The Avengers—Marvel Studios President of Production, Kevin Feige, confirmed over the summer that [...]

Ghost Rider’s passport just arrived in the mail. The Pope’s assistants have laid out the welcome mat. The only thing left to do is get the $60 t-shirts screen-printed for the “Flaming European World Tour” and it’s sequel time. Man of the hour, Nic Cage, is talking up Ghost Rider 2 during his press rounds for this weekend’s proto-ridiculous Bangkok Dangerous. Move away from any flammable materials and laughing gas before reading this quote…
“Yes, actually, had a nice meeting with the studio about 3-months ago,” Cage told Coming Soon, “and we talked about going international with that character. Taking him into Europe, having him go on a motorcycle tour through [...]

Marvel is teaming with Madhouse, the respected Japanese animation studio responsible for Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust and Ninja Scroll, to reenvision its comic book characters, their origins, and new characters for anime series. Iron Man and Wolverine have been tapped, but others characters were not specified. In a report by the NY Times, Marvel’s International President, Simon Philips, says the venture will create a “parallel universe” to the current canon.
He’s not exaggerating. In a press release from Marvel, Madhouse’s president, Jungo Maruta, confirms the scope, ambition and creative vision behind this partnership…
“We are incredibly excited to have this full collaboration with Marvel to create a completely new world that has [...]

I’ve put out the word for further confirmation from our staff—against terrible odds of hangovers and lipstick shenanigans—but a rumor is quickly circulating that Lionsgate/Marvel has kicked director Lexi Alexander off Punisher: War Zone. The film, which opens this December, is finished filming but apparently HUGE creative differences arose over…final cut? There’s a lot of speculation going around. Over at AICN, Knowles says the film’s composer is off the project as well, and Lionsgate is now transplanting the score with shitty heavy metal—as we suffered through yesterday while watching the rather kickass and ultra violent footage from Comic-Con.
Apparently Alexander’s candid potty mouth is contractually wired shut for the time being. [...]

I, Robot director Alex Proyas has denied rumors that he is attached to a big screen adaptation of The Silver Surfer.
“Unfortunately that is just a rumor. I don’t know where that came from,” Proyas told the crowd at Comic Con. “I do like Silver Surfer, but I’m not going to be doing it.”

Tropic Thunder screenwriter Justin Theroux is currently negotiating with Marvel Studios to pen the screenplay for Iron Man 2. The Hollywood Reporter also confirms that Jon Favreau is also in final negotiations to return for the sequel. Nikki Finke reported that it was pretty much a done deal last week. I have yet to see Tropic Thunder, but I’ve have heard it’s hilarious. But is actor turned screenwriter Theroux the right guy to tackle this material? It’ worth noting that the first film was co-penned by the guys who wrote the big screen adaptation of Children of Men..

Marvel has finally reached a deal with Jon Favreau to return for Iron Man 2. Nikki Finke reports that the deal was made after the studio relented and put out a “definitely” richer offer to Favreau. For the last two months speculation ran wild as to if Marvel Studios would bring Favreau back for the sequel. Inside sources said that Favreau wanted a modest raise, but the comic book turned movie production company’s initial offer wasn’t much more than what the filmmaker earned for the first film.
The second Iron Man film is scheduled for an April 2010 release. But with no screenplay in development, even Favreau has expressed concern over [...]

With the boffo box office and good worth of mouth for Wanted, we look toward the next violent and proud, R-rated comic book adaptation, Punisher: War Zone, opening this December. IGN received a new teaser poster for Lexi Alexander’s Marvel/Lionsgate reboot starring Ray Stevenson as Frank Castle, and besides the Indiana Jones rip-off tagline (look for future “LOL: Subway Vandals” Slashfilm posts), what’s not to like. Eyeballs equal overrated.
Discuss: Improve the poster’s tagline or ditch it and come up with a better one.
Update: /Film reader, Wizard in Tights, suggests, “I have a grenade.” Haha. Good job.

When I posted the teaser trailer for Punisher: War Zone last Thursday, the 70+ comments from you guys were impressively heated and divisive. Until then, the R-rated Lionsgate/Marvel actioner from director Lexi Alexander (Green Street Hooligans, karate) had flown under the radar, with many pegging the movie as a star-less runt in Marvel’s newly consolidated, unpredecented game plan. And many fans still do, even after the teaser, but Alexander appreciates the early attention and welcomes the hate. She was surprised, albeit pleasantly, by the teaser’s release, and once again, she’s emphasizing her flick’s generous helpings of violence and mayhem. Not to be sexist, but it’s pretty strange and cool to hear the rare female director who’s more excited about a comic book film filled with carnage than most geeks. From her blog…

“I’m not sure what [...]

Today, The Incredible Hulk opens in face of months of fanboy speculation (early consensus is quite positive), the looming memory of Ang Lee’s Bruce Banner, M. Night’s worst R-rated movie, and the celebration of Jason Voorhees. We want to hear what you thought of the big budget Marvel/Universal film all weekend long.
Things to consider: Is this the Hulk we’ve been waiting for? Better than Ang Lee’s? Was the CGI up to snuff? Is Edward Norton the definitive Banner? Does Norton have good reason to remain displeased with the film’s editing? How does Louis Leterrier’s film rank against Jon Favreau’s Iron Man and which film did you enjoy more? Is this [...]

Okay, you’ve heard the rumors of the behind-the-scenes battle between Marvel and star Edward Norton over The Incredible Hulk. I’ve been getting a lot of emails asking me to explain what exactly happened. Here is what I know/have heard or gathered:
Edward Norton turned down the project when he was first approached but Marvel insisted that he meet with director Louis Leterrier, and Norton relented. At the meeting Norton offered his version of The Hulk story, and Marvel agreed to hire a screenwriter to work with him on a rewrite of Zak Penn’s draft. But no screenwriter was ever hired and Norton did a substantial page-one rewrite by himself. Anne Thompson [...]

Opening with a scene/yelp recalling The Bride’s headshot in Kill Bill, the teaser trailer for director Lexi Alexander’s Punisher: War Zone plays it hard and fast underneath cyber-noirish lighting (Swordfish, much?) that is sure to turn some people off. However, besides an emasculated bit of firearm ballet atop a chandelier (re: marketing dept., ditch it!), there are hints that War Zone could be a solid R-rated action entry free of the sarcasm seen in Crank and Shoot ‘Em Up and much rougher than the barcoded dork-out that was Hitman. One film that seems to have inspired the editing here, per Frank Castle’s light flickering intro, is The Crow…if set inside [...]