Captain America 3 Inspired by Civil War, Robert Downey, Jr. Returning as Iron Man
Finally, Marvel's largest comic book event in the past decade, Civil War, is getting the film treatment. The months-long event featured Captain America and Iron Man butting heads over the "Superhuman Registration Act" in which Iron Man argued those with super powers must register themselves and their identities with the US government in order to be covered for any liabilities following an accident in which Stamford, CT was decimated. Captain America fought against the legislation, arguing that it infringed upon superhumans' civil liberties/secret identities. The feud split the superhero community into two, those on Cap's side and those on Iron Man's side, with Spider-Man playing a central role in the whole ordeal.
On the film side of the news, this extends Robert Downey, Jr.'s contractual obligations to Disney/Marvel, as well as the size of his wallet. Given that he'll play a central role in the film, Variety is reporting the actor will receive $40m for the role PLUS benefits if the film outperforms this year's Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Variety also reports that Marvel and Downey, Jr. butted heads over the actor's salary, even going so far as to potentially have Iron Man written out of the plot entirely. However, given the nature of the film and the precedence it'll set for Marvel's Phase 3 films, Stark/Iron Man's participation was central to the litany of films that will follow the fallout of the the Civil War-inspired storyline.
What's more, this lends credence to the rumors that Marvel is looking into a partnership with Sony to have Spider-Man crossover into their universe. Again, given his large role in the Civil War storyline, it's almost necessary for the character to appear. The film isn't scheduled for release until May 2016, so we'll definitely have a lot more about the film, its cast, and any changes that may be made to adapt the storyline to the big screen soon enough.
[via Variety]
Captain America and Marvel's Diverse Future
Since 1940, Captain America has [mostly] been portrayed by Steve Rogers, a blonde-haired, blue-eyed All-American archetype meant to represent American ideals in the face of the then-threat of Nazi Germany. The title "Captain America" has outgrown the man as Captain America represents an icon, an idea, a belief of American justice and patriotism. Without getting too into the fictional story behind the Captain America comics or Steve Rogers, many story arcs have analyzed the definition of who and what Captain America is.
Many stories have seen other characters take the mantle of Captain America outside of Rogers. For instance, Isaiah Bradley was the first black character to share the Captain America name in the 2003 limited series, Truth: Red, White, & Black, which took the initial super soldier serum story that gave Rogers his powers, but also drew parallels to the Tuskegee syphilis experiments that took place from 1932 to 1972. However, whereas Truth: Red, White, & Black depicted an alternative Captain America never meant to replace Rogers, Marvel's new direction for the character will not only re-envision the future of the Captain America brand, but also represents Marvel's willingness to update and modernize their stories and characters to befit current American culture.
Last week, the company announced that Sam Wilson AKA The Falcon (portrayed by Anthony Mackie in Captain America: The Winter Soldier) will become Captain America this fall in the pages of All-New Captain America #1. With Wilson in the fray, Marvel will not only be able to move away from the "displaced man from history" trope that Rogers always represented, but can depict a Captain America that holds different values and views that differ greatly from Rogers', but still correlate to what the stars and stripes represent. Captain America editor Tom Brevoort elaborates:
“[Sam] didn’t grow up in the 1930s, he’s a modern day man in touch with the problems of the 21st Century. For most of his professional life, Sam has worked as a social worker, so he’s seen the worst of urban society up close, and how crime, poverty, lack of social structure and opportunity can affect the community. So he’s got perhaps a greater focus on the plight of the common man, and perhaps a greater empathy for the underprivileged than maybe even Steve himself[...] Sam, like Steve, will be led by his personal morality and beliefs as to what is right and what is wrong—and where his beliefs may differ in their shading from those of the previous Cap are where the interesting stories will be found.”
The move makes sense from a creative and narrative standpoint for Marvel. However, it also represents something much larger than a simple comic book: Marvel's willingness to adapt and modernize decades-old establishments that have, for better or worse, become outdated. Three years ago, the company introduced a new Spider-Man to their Ultimate universe, Miles Morales, a young half-Black, half-Latino teenager who took over the Spider-Man name after Peter Parker's death. In the three years since his debut, Morales has become one of the company's most popular characters. However, while he may be the star of the Ultimate line of comic books, he didn't replace the standard Peter Parker found in the main Marvel comic books, instead representing a push towards a spotlight on minorities on a smaller scale within the Ultimate line. Still, the willingness to introduce a multiracial character into a large role was huge for both Marvel and the reception and acceptance of minorities in major pop culture circles.
Earlier this year, Marvel introduced the first Muslim character, Kamala Khan, to have their own comic book with Ms. Marvel, the fourth character to take the name of Ms. Marvel. Khan, a Pakistani-American teenager, has been viewed as a window through which non-Muslim readers can see. Also announced last week was Marvel's intentions to replace the current Thor character with a woman. With a black/hispanic Spider-Man, a Muslim Ms. Marvel, a female Thor, and a black Captain America, Marvel is flipping the white hegemony historically found in comics by elevating a wide range of racially-diverse characters into the spotlight under the names of the company's most iconic heroes.
Furthermore, it's the perfect time for a mainstream entertainment juggernaut like Marvel to feature a minority character in a substantial role. It's one thing to create a new character with a new background, mythology, etc.; it's another to include a character in the long-line of history and prestige that something as iconic as a brand or name carries with it. By appointing Sam Wilson as the next Captain America, Marvel is showing their investment and faith in the character, the comic's writers, and audiences' acceptance of the shifting status quo.
Naysayers may just see the move as a gimmick. And to be honest, those are very real concerns, especially considering the entire Captain America franchise outside of the comics. For example, Captain America: The Winter Soldier finished its box office run with above $700m in revenue. Considering the announcement of a new Captain America was just announced, it will be many years before the possibility of a black Captain America hits the screens. By that point, will Sam Wilson still be in the stars and stripes? Will Marvel even want to portray a character not named Steve Rogers as Captain America on the big screen? Earlier this year, when current The Amazing Spider-Man star Andrew Garfield expressed his support of Miles Morales appearing underneath the Spider-Man mask in theaters, Marvel balked at the idea of another character portraying one of their tentpole characters.
Marvel took a major step towards the diversification of their characters and brand. In doing so, they also acknowledged the changing landscape of American culture, setting forth a precedent where it won't be news that the next Iron Man will be Chinese or Spider-Man will be Filipino/Colombian. For now, all of us minorities can be happy that a company with such prestige as Marvel's is willing to buck the American white hegemony for one that better represents modern-day America.
Edgar Wright Has Left Ant-Man
News has just broken that Edgar Wright (The World's End) has left Marvel's upcoming Ant-Man film adaptation due to creative differences with Marvel. Considering Wright was attached to the project even before the first film in Marvel's box office domination with 2006's Iron Man, Wright's departure comes as extremely surprising news. Marvel has already stated they have found a new director to replace Wright, but haven't publicized who that person is. Fortunately, the split was amicable, potentially leaving the door open for Wright to return to the House of M.
Ant-Man is still on track to meet its July 17, 2015 release date. The film stars Paul Rudd, Michael Pena, Patrick Wilson, Micheal Douglas, Evangeline Lilly. When more news comes out, we'll be sure to report any potential changes made to the film or the film's direction.
[via /Film]
Mondo Announces Mike Mitchell x Marvel x Mondo Art Show
Keen readers will remember that one of my very first posts on Ruby Hornet was on a Mondo Gallery show that artist Mike Mitchell had last spring. The show featured Mitchell's color-filled portraits of various film characters, including Pulp Fiction's Mr. Pink, Oldboy's Oh Dae-Su, Drive's Driver, and more. The artist and Mondo have teamed up once again for a new show that will focus on the marvelous side of comic books: Marvel.
The new show, entitled "Mike Mitchell x Marvel x Mondo," will run from April 25th until May 17th, with a special opening night event on April 25th from 7pm - 10pm with Mitchell himself in attendance. The pieces, some of which can be seen below, will highlight some of Marvel's iconic characters, like Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus, alongside lesser known figures, including Bullseye and Power Man-era Luke Cage. Considering Marvel's growing stable of film properties (let alone the rising portfolio of Sony and Fox owned Marvel film properties), it's only a matter of time before lesser-known characters like MODOK, Iron Fist, and Nova are plastered onto underwear, shirts, and billboards everywhere with The Avengers and X-Men.
Some of the pieces will also be available for sale at the show in limited quantities for $60 each. You can find the list for the available pieces below. If you do attend the "Mike Mitchell x Marvel x Mondo" show, let us know how it is!
[Video] New Concept Art for The Avengers: Age of Ultron Revealed
Yesterday, Marvel revealed some behind the scenes concept art for their upcoming 2015 blockbuster, The Avengers: Age of Ultron. The first looks at the designs for Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) are the most promising, as Disney is adapting their character designs in a significantly better way than Fox is with their out of touch, techno take on Quicksilver for X-Men: Days of Future Past.
Also revealed in the video is art of The Hulk and Black Widow, plus Iron Man's Hulkbuster armor. Sounds like an Iron Man vs. The Hulk fight is being set and prepped for Age of Ultron; it might not be able to top the funny Thor vs. The Hulk fight from The Avengers, but anytime Iron Man has to bust out the Hulkbuster armor is no laughing matter.
You can watch the video grab below, as well as a better look at the aforementioned concept art of The Hulk, Black Widow, Quicksilver, and Scarlet Witch.
[via /Film]
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Disney Movies Anywhere Launched As Disney's First Movie Streaming Service
Disney, while a huge industry in itself, has a huge market for most of its productions. Creating many works that families can trust to watch as a whole, the characters and plot lines of every story becomes a huge potential for money and legacy years after each release. A company invested in expanding whenever possible, Disney launched today that a new streaming service called Disney Movies Anywhere will be available for consumers to stream their favorite Disney films with an app for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Apple TV will also be providing the cloud-based service access, but consumers can log in to the website on a computer or laptop as well.
Disney's streaming option has been speculated for the past few years with many wondering if they would join with UltraViolet, another popular digital streaming service. However, they decided to go their own route and team up with iTunes as the main destination for film purchases. They're the only major studio that won't be affiliated with UltraViolet, and their separation as well as Apple's from the digital movie service is being blamed for the slow-rising popularity. However, with iTunes consumers will have the ability to select from about 420 films produced by Disney, Pixar, and Marvel with the appeal of a "buy once watch anywhere" approach. Content previously purchased on the web as well as digital copies can be accessed from accounts as well. The hope by both Disney Movies Anywhere and UltraViolet is that digital movie purchases will become more appealing to all.
It seems that the bait trying to lure consumers into the Disney digital kingdom will be the ability to purchase Disney's latest blockbuster Frozen three weeks before its release on DVD and Blu-Ray. Another push for consumers to join will be a free digital copy of the Disney-Pixar classic The Incredibles. Disney, while creative all on levels, seems to approach everything they do as an enterprise, and this is only going to increase their market value more than it's already worth.
[via Variety]
[Video] Meet the Guardians of the Galaxy
Guardians of the Galaxy is at the top of my most-anticipated films of 2014 list, and with good reason. Not only does it represent a new frontier for Marvel and Disney, both in terms of scope and tone, but it also represents the comic book company's biggest cinematic risk since they properly entered the film industry with Iron Man. Simply put, while Marvel is setting its eyes on Guardians of the Galaxy being its next major Marvel Studios property, the characters and story aren't very well-known to both casual fans and comic book diehards alike.
Instead of keeping potential fans in the dark, Marvel has released a series of short videos that feature the film's primary actors introducing their characters, with some of the videos featuring even more footage not seen in the film's first trailer that released earlier this week. While the Guardians of the Galaxy may not be a household name on the same level as The Avengers, I believe that they'll definitely attain their own popularity come the film's release this August. You can also see the film's first official poster below, as well.
Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper)
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Groot (Vin Diesel)
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Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista)
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Gamora (Zoe Saldana)
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Star Lord (Chris Pratt)
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Johnny Depp rumored to portray Marvel's Doctor Strange
Following yesterday's surprise casting of Michael Douglas in the Ant-Man film, the rumor mill has been running with more casting speculation, this time for 2016's proposed Doctor Strange film adaptation. When the shortlist for Ant-Man was revealed to include Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Paul Rudd (who ended up getting the role), there were conflicting rumors that also included Joseph Gordon-Levitt being considered for the aforementioned Doctor Strange role. As is the case for all online film rumors, especially pertaining to superhero castings, it's all taken with a grain of salt.
It appears as if another name has been thrown on top of the growing mound of salt as frequent Tim Burton collaborator Johnny Depp has reportedly met with Marvel about the role. Latino Review, who has correctly reported on some of the major confirmed superhero rumors as of late, was the first outlet to to break the rumor. Confirmation (or denial, even in the form of a red herring) will sure to come down the line, but considering Doctor Strange's planned 2016 release, it could be awhile before anything substantial comes to fruition.
One major aspect to the rumor is that, if it is true, it means Disney is comfortable with altering the plans from having a younger Doctor Strange for a more mature one. Granted, Depp has been blessed by the Fountain of Youth and looks nowhere near his 50 years of age, but to build a potential franchise around him would illustrate Disney's complete faith in the actor. I'd still prefer to have a younger actor in the role, but it would good to see Depp play a role that isn't a total cartoon caricature... then again, Doctor Strange is a practitioner of the mystic arts...
[Latino Review, via Collider]