Marvel Phase One Blu-Ray set to be released in 2013

Remember that Marvel Cinematic Universe Blu-Ray box set we were supposed to get like 3 months ago? The one that was going to be released in the Tesseract briefcase?

If you don't then you will be pleased to know it will finally see the light of day April 2, 2013.
If you do then you know why this is such a "finally!" moment. We were supposed to get this box set around the time The Avengers was released back in September, if I remember correctly, and it was indefinitely delayed because the company who made the briefcase didn't approve for Marvel to replicate it and sell it. So in short, they sued Marvel which ultimately halted the set. But we are set to get the box set just before Iron Man 3 is released next year and to make up for the delay Marvel is including sneak peeks of Phase Two including Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Guardians of the Galaxy.

Personally I am not paying over $200 for this seeing that I already own all the Phase One movies, so I look forward to watching the sneak peeks on YouTube like many others.

EDIT: Here is the original posting I did on this story back in September.

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.

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.

[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/

Natalie Portman to star in Jane Got a Gun

Jane Got a Gun is an upcoming western movie being directed by Lynne Ramsay (We Need to Talk About Kevin). The basic plot released so far is as follows:

"A woman whose outlaw husband returns home barely alive and riddled with bullet wounds. She is forced to reach out to an ex-lover and ask if he will help defend her farm when her husband’s gang eventually tracks him down to finish the job. "

I am a big Portman fan so this intrigues me. I don't think I would have ever pegged her in a film like this (by 'like this' I mean a western), but I am open to it. The plot sounds kind of interesting.
After her baby and post-Oscar break she is starting to fill her plate up once again. In addition to this new project she has two films being directed by Terrance Malick and Thor 2. Bring it on, Natalie. We're ready. =^D

http://collider.com/natalie-portman-lynne-ramsay-jane-got-a-gun/167999/

Idris Elba confirmed for Thor 2

Along with Chris Hemsworth, Jaimie Alexander, and Natalie Portman returning for Thor 2 it was recently confirmed that Idris Elba, aka Heimdall, will be returning as well. I'm pretty excited, tbh. I loved Heimdall.

OPEN THE BIFROST!

http://www.darkhorizons.com/news/22810/idris-elba-set-to-return-for-thor-2

Natalie Portman spewing fire at Marvel over Thor 2

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/thor-2-natalie-portman-marvel-patty-jenkins-272978

So apparently Natalie Portman is shooting fire at Marvel over the firing of Patty Jenkins, the director who was set to direct Thor 2. First off, Marvel is claiming they weren't happy with how "indecisive" Jenkins was proving to be and thought that she would cause the film to not meet its November 2013 release. It's only about halfway through December 2011 and Jenkins was only hired in October. November 2013 is a little less than two years away. Give me a fucking break. However, seems like if Portman wasn't contractually obligated to the project she would have already walked away due to this. She is expressing anger and irritability toward Marvel for this decision. Marvel is apparently working to smooth over the situation to keep Portman happy and is also involving her with the selection of a new director. Marvel is now also claiming that Jenkins was hired based on Portman's endorsement and enthusiasm in the first place and that the studio became uncomfortable with Jenkins during her involvement with screenwriter interviews and script reads.

I like Natalie Portman and all, but what makes her the star of the show to the point that she demands being involved in choosing a director and gets all pissy and threatening when a female director is released from a project? Just because she won the amount of awards for Black Swan and thinks she is hot shit? Bullshit. I understand wanting more women in the director's chair but I don't think that was Marvel's intention. Some people just aren't meant for certain projects, male or female. Not to mention the fact that none of Portman's previous roles have had a female director and for the most part have been quite successful, specifically Black Swan which was directed by Darren Aronofsky. One more film directed by a man won't hurt anyone or anything so she needs to shut up. She has no right in any way, shape, or form to personally hand pick who she wants to direct the film. That is the responsibility and job of the studio. Marvel is doing their job. They thought Jenkins wasn't going to work out so she was replaced. It happens and Portman should know that.
I personally think she is doing this on purpose to stall production. She has repeatedly stated that she didn't even know if she wanted to continue acting after giving birth to her son. What better way to do that than piss Marvel off and act like a child making the production 10x more difficult than it needs to be. Really low on her part, tbh, not to mention it's embarrassing. It makes her look like a spoiled brat.

ffs.