IRON MAN: TWO SEQUELS AND WAR MACHINE TO COME?

It has come to light that John Favreau, director of the eagerly anticipated IRON MAN movie, is looking forward to the future of the series, with two sequels currently being planned. He has gone on record saying that the second would probably introduce War machine properly, and also Iron Man’s classic nemesis, The Mandarin, which is also hinted at in this first Iron Man feature film.

Terence Howard has also talked about the possibility of War Machine showing up in the next movie, but he states nothing is set in stone yet. There are various teasers in the first movie that he will one day don his own version of Stark’s armour, and plans are afoot to bring the popular character to life in the second movie, or possibly even the third.

I do think we have something special to look forward to here. The Iron Man property isn’t as massive as Spider-Man or the X-Men, and as such expectations haven’t been boiling over quite so much. People seem to be stunned by how cool the trailers look, and judging from the early reviews that are filtering through, the film more than backs up the hype. Not long now!!!

THE HOBBIT: IT’S OFFICIAL- DEL TORO TO DIRECT!

As reported in every corner of geekdom, Hellboy and Pan’s Labyrinth director Benicio Del Toro has now been conformed to helm the two HOBBIT movies. To be made by New Line and MGM, the two films are to be shot in New Zealand, just like the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. The first of the two films will be a complete adaptation of the legendary book by JRR Tolkien, and the second (and more risky) part is to bridge the gap between the Hobbit and LotR, using Tolkien’s original notes to fill in the blanks.

While it was a no-brainer that there would end up being a Hobbit movie, I’m very pleased by Del Toro’s involvement and excited at the prospect of an original movie stuck in the middle of such a well-loved franchise. It is most certainly a risky move on the part of the studios, but in Del Toro’s more than capable hands we should be in for something spectacular and compelling added to the Lord of the Rings mythology. It will certainly be interesting to see what the second film will bring in terms of story, and I’m very curious as to what the title of the piece will be.

JJ ABRAMS TALKS STAR TREK AND CLOVERFIELD 2

Here’s a superb video in which JJ Abrams talks about the reasons behind the new Star Trek movie having its release date pushed back five months, and the possibility of a sequel to the Cloverfield movie. Interesting stuff.



I’m kinda glad Paramount have moved the new JJ Abrams Star Trek movie
to a more sensible release date. The original, Christmas Day, release was a nice idea but would have made for a lousy opening weekend if you think about it. This way it gives more time for the effects to be polished and the marketing to build up a bigger buzz for the film.

Michael Stahl-David, star of the first Cloverfield movie
, has recently stated that he doubts he’ll be asked back for the proposed sequel, unless it was just a glimpse on somebody else’s camera. As previously rumoured, Cloverfield 2 is said to follow the same events covered in the first film, this time telling the story from the perspective of a different set of characters. I do wonder if any of them will survive this time…

TERMINATOR 4 GETS ITS LEADING LADY

News on the forthcoming Terminator movie sequel, TERMINATOR SALVATION: THE FUTURE BEGINS, has been released- the film’s leading female character is to be played by a lady called Moon Bloodgood. Set to play a battle-hardened freedom fighter and colleague of John Connor (being played in the film by Batman star Christian Bale), Moon is to bring to life a major character in the film, and aside from being beautiful has a string of credible acting to her name, including work on Journeyman, Pathfinder and CSI amongst a lengthy list.

She is also currently filming the new video game film Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li, in which she plays Maya. I think we have the beginnings of a brand new Geek Queen here….The new Terminator movie is due for worldwide release in 2009.

G.I. JOE MOVIE- FIRST IMAGE OF SCARLETT

The G.I. Joe live-action feature film is starting to get interesting again. After the photo of Ray Park as Snake Eyes came to light recently, now various sources have posted a brand new image from the movie- that of the character Scarlett in full costume (click the image to see the larger version). She’s looking fantastic, too. Played in the big-budget toy line adaptation by Rachel Nichols (who is also in the brand new STAR TREK movie), who was previously best known for her role in the ALIAS TV show, the G.I. Joe character shows a definite change from her action figure counterpart. Updated for the contemporary audience, she looks great as the character, and it does look as though this movie is going to be a bit more interesting than your average run of the mill toy movie.

What worries me about the project now is whether it is being treated as an actual feature film with coherent plot, or as a lengthy advert for new toys. Hopefully a happy medium can be reached. I know there’ll be some fantastic merchandise available once the movie hits, but I’m hoping its placement in the film doesn’t end up detracting from the narrative flow or the audience’s enjoyment. We shall see.

INCREDIBLE HULK MOVIE POSTER REVEALED

The one sheet poster for the forthcoming Marvel Comics adaptation THE INCREDIBLE HULK has been revealed. Starring Ed Norton and Liv Tyler, the movie is certainly looking like a better prospect than Ang Lee’s decent but somewhat misguided version, and the poster looks pretty cool. Check it out:

The feel of this version of the Hulk feels a lot closer to the rest of the Marvel movies that have been released. Hell, even Elektra felt more like it took place in the Marvel universe than the first Hulk movie. Boasting a great cast and what appears to be some very admirable effects, the Incredible Hulk is gearing up to take on the world alongside the Iron Man movie. It’s weird- I don’t really see these two movies as being against each other at the box office. It really seems a case of the two of them working alongside each other in order to fill seats with Marvel Comics fans old and new.

STAR WARS: CLONE WARS MOVIE TRAILER REVEALED?

The geeks over at IESB have posted what appears to be the full trailer for the brand new animated CLONE WARS movie. Telling the tale of the Clone wars, those legends often talked of in the STAR WARS universe, the film is to help bridge the gap between the second and third instalments of the Star Wars prequel trilogy. It differs from the original animated Clone wars TV series in that this one is major-league CG as opposed to the cel-shaded style. The idea behind the big-screen release of the film is to kickstart the TV series of the same name which will follow later in the year. Essentially the first three episodes of the series edited together into feature length, the film looks like it is going to fill the gaps in very nicely, not to mention get the TV show off to one hell of a good start.

Judging from the trailer, the feel is very much that of the prequels in tone and storyline. The stylized artwork looks fantastic (and will no doubt kick off a whole new range of Star Wars action figures too), and is remarkably adventurous for such a large property. There does seem to be several nods towards the expanded universe in there, with all the extra characters hitherto unseen in a Star wars movie, and I honestly think this is going to be huge, and also surprise a lot of people with its conceptual complexity. Those detractors saying it’s a kids movie need to wait in line and see the damn thing before berating it.

Personally I think this is a brilliant way to start a TV series and would love to see more premieres air first as movies on the big screen, even in limited runs I think this would benefit both Cinemas and the TV companies that produce the shows. You want people to watch? Give them spectacle. Check out the Clone Wars when it is released for some major lessons in spectacle.