Idris Elba spoils Age of Ultron cameos

It was recently revealed, and more like spoiled, by actor Idris Elba regarding cameos that will be in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Elba confirmed that he will be appearing in the sequel as Heimdall, the gatekeeper of Asgard. He has already appeared in both Thor and Thor: The Dark World and it seems that his presence is needed once more.

In addition to his cameo, he also revealed that he will also be sharing a scene with... wait for it... Tom Hiddleston. Yes, that means we will once again see Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Given how The Dark World ended and with the announcement of a third film, Thor: Ragnarok, it does kind of make sense to include Loki once more.

Marvel reveals a female Thor

After teasing a massive reveal coming on The View, Marvel has announced that the role of Thor will be filled by a female in the Thor comics.

This marks the first time a female will yield Thor's mighty hammer, Mjolnir. She will make her first appearance in the new, relaunched Thor comics this fall. Many are speculating this is hinting a replacement for Chris Hemsworth in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a lot of comic events have served as a precursor to film events.

Writer Jason Aaron released a statement warning readers about this new woman:

"This is not She-Thor. This is not Lady Thor. This is nor Thorita. This is THOR. This is the THOR of the Marvel Universe, but it's unlike any Thor we have seen before."

The current Thor is apparently being named "unworthy" and will be replaced as the classic God of Thunder we all know. In replacement of Mjolnir he will be equipped with a giant axe called Jarnbjorn.

Thor 3 announced by Marvel; writers locked down

This hasn't been a major, formal announcement but hiring screenwriters is enough to confirm that a third Thor film is in the works by Marvel. The studio reportedly has hired Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost to pen the script. The pair previously wrote the animated X-Men: Evolution series. Yost also worked on Thor: The Dark World while Kyle moved his way up in the Marvel executive offices and is currently the senior VP of production and development. Chris Hemsworth will also be returning as the God of Thunder.

This comes soon after the Russo brothers began negotiations to return and write the third Captain America film. There are no plot details released for the third installments of either Thor or Captain America, but there is a possibility we might see either of them in 2016 or 2017. Marvel has locked up dates during both years for untitled projects. There are a number of projects that could go to these dates such as Thor 3, Captain America 3, Iron Man 4, a new movie about the Hulk, or it could go to the rumored Doctor Strange project. There are even talks of a Black Panther movie and it is also possible 2017 could be The Avengers 3. Either way, there are a lot of stories being tossed around at Marvel and they have until 2021 to get it all done. I would imagine they'll wrap up the characters we have now before fully moving onto Phase Three characters (like Ant-Man and Doctor Strange), but you never know.

Here is the current timetable of Marvel films coming our way:

2014 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier (April 4th), The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (May 2nd), X-Men: Days of Future Past (May 23rd), Guardians of the Galaxy (August 1st)

2015 - The Avengers: Age of Ultron (May 1st), Fantastic Four (June 19th), Ant-Man (July 17th)

2016 - X-Men: Apocalypse (May 27th), The Amazing Spider-Man 3 (June 10th), Untitled Marvel Project

2017 - Untitled Marvel Project

2018 - The Amazing Spider-Man 4 (May 4th)

Thor: The Dark World - Review

Thor struggles to defeat an enemy neither Asgard nor Odin can overcome while attempting to balance his reunion with Jane Foster and impending rise to the throne in Thor: The Dark World.


To go more in depth to the synopsis:
A long-standing war is brought to Asgard as Malekith, the leader of the "extinct" dark elves, seeks to try and reclaim the Aether, a powerful weapon kept in Asgard's weapons vault. Malekith attacks Asgard as Jane Foster wanders into an alternate dimension in the UK and obtains an unknown source of Aether. During this event, Heimdall notifies Thor that Jane has disappeared from his watch, so Thor returns to Earth and swoops her to Asgard with him. They soon learn that Malekith is after the Aether and will follow no matter where they attempt to keep or hide Jane. Thor winds up turning to his warrior friends and his untrustworthy brother, Loki, to defeat Malekith and the dark elves once and for all.


Now... I want to start by saying this movie was very, very well done. It has a very different theme than Thor did and was a lot more eventful. Thor fully embraces his birthright and is much more aware of his responsibilities as the future King of Asgard as well as the downsides to the throne. I also thought despite the darkness to the overall plot, it balanced humor very well. It was serious, it was funny, and it was very well balanced. And yes, there was a Stan Lee cameo.

As far as acting goes, I think a lot of the roles were switched in comparison to the first movie. Thor was far less arrogant and seemed to embrace his responsibilities more. Chris Hemsworth handled that very well and it shows how in control of the character he is. Tom Hiddleston was great, as always, and Natalie Portman also showed her control of Jane Foster as she had a bit of a different tone in this one as well. Instead of being awestruck over Thor she was a bit defensive but still longing. Her character was definitely left open for at least one more movie. I do have to say that I think the one who dominated this movie was Christopher Eccleston as Malekith. He was just fantastic to watch and very menacing. Definitely a great villain actor.
The shift in directors probably was for the better now that I have seen both movies. Initially when it was announced that Kenneth Branagh wasn't going to return for The Dark World a lot of people had mixed reactions. Some loved that and some hated it. I think Alan Taylor did a fantastic job and brought a new evolution to the characters that was very necessary. It is important to establish these characters outside of The Avengers, and Taylor was very successful.
One more thing to mention here before I get into spoilers is the visual effects. I think this one had some of the best visual effects in a Marvel movie thus far, obviously excluding The Avengers. Asgard is beautifully rendered and the attack for the Aether was handled well, too. I also didn't think the Aether was too cartoonish either. It maintained fantasy but was a pretty good reality borderline.

As the Marvel Cinematic Universe currently stands, here is my list:

1. The Avengers
2.  Iron Man
3. Thor
4. Thor: The Dark World
5. Captain America: The First Avenger
6. Iron Man 3
7. The Incredible Hulk
8. Iron Man 2


And now it is time for spoilers, boys and girls. If you haven't seen Thor: The Dark World I would encourage you to not spoil it for yourself and come back after you have seen it.

You were warned.



Last chance.



Seriously.

New trailer for Thor: The Dark World

For all the Loki buffs, enjoy this trailer. I have a feeling he won't be as big a part of this movie as the trailer suggests but you never know. It is apparently Loki's last appearance so if he goes out with a bang good for him. Apart from that I think this trailer looks great. Minus the cheesy last scene with the rock monster.

First trailer for Thor: The Dark World

This is the UK trailer, but it is the same as the US trailer.

I am a bit confused by this, to be honest. It looks really... CGI filled. Like, unnecessarily. I am excited and it's not like I'm going to skip it, but it is a lot different looking than I expected. I also am keeping in mind that it is a teaser, though. I'm sure the full trailer will be a bit different.

New images from Thor: The Dark World

We have yet another image of the Asgard version of Jane Foster along with a couple more of Thor. I am still very excited for this.

First poster for Thor: The Dark World

It was also announced that the first trailer for Thor: The Dark World is supposed to surface sometime next week just in time for CinemaCon.

Pretty generic poster but still exciting enough.

First images from Thor: The Dark World

Kind of.

More screencaps from the Marvel Cinematic Universe box-set are surfacing and it includes some concept art for Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy along with some first images from Thor: The Dark World.

It looks like Thor is busy battling even more bad guys and also shows Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) looking pretty Asgardian.

The Avengers 2 to begin filming in 2014

The Avengers 2 will be filmed in the UK at Pinewood-Shepperton Studios in early 2014 putting pre-production at the end of this year. Thor: The Dark World previously filmed at the same location late last year and are prepping to film Guardians of the Galaxy as well.

We also have a sneak peek at Phase Two which was included in the Marvel Cinematic Universe box set which finally got released.

Iron Man 3 to have international IMAX release

Iron Man 3 is set to open here in North America on May 3rd, but it will have an international opening on April 25th in the IMAX 3D format. The film will be digitally remastered for sound and picture to achieve the format. Iron Man 3 will be the fourth Marvel film to take advantage of the IMAX 3D format. Previously The Avengers, Thor, and Iron Man 2 were released in IMAX.

The reason for this? The previous three movies to be released in IMAX broke box office records. =^D

First image of Thor from Thor: The Dark World

Thor is back in action!

Thor 2 official synopsis revealed

We now have an official synopsis for Thor: The Dark World which is set to be released next November.

"Thor: The Dark World continues the big-screen adventures of Thor, the Mighty Avenger, as he battles to save Earth and all the Nine Realms from a shadowy enemy that predates the universe itself. In the aftermath of Marvel’s Thor and Marvel’s The Avengers, Thor fights to restore order across the cosmos, but an ancient race led by the vengeful Malekith returns to plunge the universe back into darkness. Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all."

I cannot wait. I loved Thor.

More casting news for Thor 2

Two long standing actors have joined the cast for Thor: The Dark World.

Starting off we have Richard Brake (Batman Begins) who has been cast as the captain of the Einherjar warriors. In the Marvel universe the warriors, led by Ander, are responsible for the training of Thor. It is unclear whether Brake is playing the role of Ander but he has been officially added.

The other person added is Clive Russell (Sherlock Holmes, Game of Thrones). He will be playing Tyr who is Thor's older brother and Asgard's God of War.

Adewale Akinnuoye cast in Thor 2

Adewale Akinnuoye (Lost) has landed a villain role for the upcoming Marvel film Thor: The Dark World. He will be playing a duel role of Algrim who later morphs into Kurse.

The basic line for these characters is Malekith the Accursed gets Algrim to fight Thor but he is later injured and betrayed by Malekith. Algrim heals and morphs into Kurse who is said to be stronger than Thor.

Christopher Eccleston cast in Thor: The Dark World

It has been revealed that Christopher Eccleston will be replacing Mads Mikkelson for the role of Malekith the Accursed in Thor: The Dark World, the upcoming sequel to the 2011 Marvel film Thor.

You might recognize Eccleston from Gone in 60 Seconds, Dr. Who, and 28 Days Later. He usually plays villains, to my understanding, and is British. That's about all I know about the guy. I was happy with Mikkelson but he had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. So yeah...

Thor: The Dark World is scheduled to hit theaters November 8, 2013 with Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, and Tom Hiddleston all reprising their respective roles.

Comic-Con: Upcoming Marvel titles revealed

We have the official titles for the upcoming sequels to Captain America and Thor as well as a title for another upcoming Marvel project.

Thor's sequel is now Thor: The Dark World.

Captain America's sequel is now Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

And of course, the new Marvel project is Guardians of the Galaxy.

I don't know if this is just rumor or if it's fact, but I read that Guardians of the Galaxy is a set-up for The Avengers 2 and will feature Thanos and introduce him for the Avengers sequel. Whether that is true or not I think is still up in the air but I think that it's probably true. There will be a lot of new characters in the Marvel Universe introduced in Guardians of the Galaxy.

And of course we have the next Marvel release, Iron Man 3.

[Update] Mikkelson will not be in Thor 2

It was previously confirmed that Mads Mikkelson was set to play a villain in the upcoming Marvel film, Thor 2. However, new news has surfaced that Mikkelson will not be in Thor 2 after all. Mikkelson was nabbed for Hannibal Lecter so he unfortunately had to drop out of the project. He has also dropped out of the upcoming Daredevil reboot.

Oh well.

Thor 2 gets a new release date

Disney announced a couple release date switches including Thor 2 and The Lone Ranger.

Thor 2 was originally set for November 15, 2013 but has been pushed to November 8, 2013. The Lone Ranger was originally set for May 31, 2013 but has been pushed to July 3, 2013. I guess Disney wants to capitalize on the big 4th of July weekend box office for The Lone Ranger. The move for Thor 2 doesn't really make sense to me but I'm not complaining about getting it a week earlier than we originally thought.

http://www.geeksofdoom.com/2012/06/01/new-release-dates-for-the-lone-ranger-thor-2-announced/

Kevin Feige hints at news of Thor 2 villain

Will the villain in Thor 2 be Thanos?!




Unfortunately... not. Kevin Feige has revealed that Thanos was a hint to the future but that doesn't necessarily apply to Thor 2. So far all we know is Mads Mikkelsen has signed onto the project to play the main villain but we do not know which villain he will be. Rumors are circulating that it could be Executioner but who knows. There are people also talking about Executioner and The Enchantress (aka, Amora). Filming starts this fall so I am sure we'll know before too long.

http://collider.com/thor-2-sequel-kevin-feige/169494/