Marvel Movie News – Thor’s dad recast, War Machine soars and rumors spin for Spider-Man 4
Posted by dailypop on November 1, 2009
From ComicBookMovie.com
“The special effects, the amount of things that happen, the amount of CGI…it’s like getting to play with the best toys at the best level.“I think the character that I play, my CGI character worked as much as I worked. The stuntman worked as much as I worked. It’s a huge undertaking. It was great. It was a really different experience than I have worked on before. Robert [Downey Jr.] is a great guy to work with. Jon Favreau, everybody is quality. It’s a lot of fun, the series.”
The series? Since he wasn’t in the first Iron Man, is he referring to reprising the role of War Machine in The Avengers? Cheadle didn’t want to talk about The Avengers, saying that it was “down the road.”
About the controversy surrounding his addition to the cast, replacing Terrence Howard, Cheadle said:
“The sort of ancillary buzz around it was kind of weird, kind of strange. Terrence is a friend of mine. But the actual playing it, I just felt like it was my role. I wasn’t made to feel like I had to sort of take care of what was done before. I really feel like I could make it my own.”
From Cheadle’s soundbite it looks like we may have more War Machine to look forward to in Iron Man 3 or the Avengers film. I’m sure that most of the cast has signed on for multiple films which is standard for this kind of picture, but it doesn’t always come to pass. Remember Vinny’s multi-picture deal as the Juggernaut? Me neither.
The character of War Machine is a much-loved addition to the Iron Man cast of characters for comic book fans. Having him appear in Iron Man 2 may clutter an already crowded movie but from the looks of the trailer it appears that he will be a large part of both the story and Tony Stark’s ‘journey’ as a hero. From the trailer, it appears that Rhodey is working with the devious Justin Hammer and outfitted with every weapon in Stark’s arsenal that is on the open market. Having his double identity as Iron Man has placed Stark in an awkward position as he is facing the same problems that he thought were behind him when he turned away from weapons development. He may not be making weaponry any more, but as Iron Man he is a living weapon.
Iron Man 2 opens May 7, 2010.
From BBC News:
Sir Anthony Hopkins has joined the cast of Thor, Kenneth Branagh’s film version of the Marvel comic book, according to industry paper Variety.Based on Norse mythology, Thor first appeared in Marvel’s comics in 1962.
Described by Marvel as “a powerful but arrogant warrior”, the film sees him banished to Earth after reigniting an ancient war. Once there, he comes to humanity’s aid when invaders arrive from his home land of Asgard.
Apparently the casting of RSC actor Brian Blessed was a false rumor and I think that the film will actually suffer for it not being true. Known for boisterous and loud barbarian-types in Blake’s 7, Doctor Who and numerous Shakespearean productions, the casting of Blessed as Thor’s father struck me as inspired casting at the time. He’s also a close friend of Branagh’s from their work together on and off stage. Nothing against Hopkins, but as an actor he often requires more substance to his characters in order to truly shine. The two-dimensional warrior king of Odin will not offer this, I fear.
I will probably be the only dissenting voice on this casting announcement and for the success of the Thor movie I hope that I am wrong, but it looks more like ’stunt casting’ than anything else, much like the addition of Natalie Portman as Jane Foster. If the DeNiro and Law rumors turn out to be true… I fear for this movie’s quality.
The Mighty Thor strikes on May 20, 2011.
Spider-Man's back?
From Access at ComicBookMovie.com
Got this from an intern friend involved in storyboarding. It could be (and very well may be) a very creative fabrication, but it sounds awesome! His internship would be kaput if this lead back to him, but I had to share his summary! It has the return of Norman Osborne, the Scorpion, the Lizard, Black Cat, a new Venom, Alistair Smythe, and sets up for Carnage…AND IT ALL MAKES PERFECT SENSE. It also fills in the holes of the past 3 movies. AND he tells me they’re thinking of using Bruce Campbell as Scorpion/New Venom! Again,I don’t know how legit this is he could just be messing with me, but it stands alone worth reading. Enjoy- (read more at the link above)
What could be Raimi’s last attempt at a Spider-Man movie before stepping aside for another director to take a shot at webhead on the screen, Spider-Man 4 is likely to be an apology of sorts. Raimi has gone on record as saying that he is aware of the problems that the third movie had and is seeking to avoid them in his next outing. From the man who made the first two impressive Spider-Man films, that carries a lot of weight. Spider-Man 3 may have been a cluster of mis-matched ideas but it did rake in money for Sony and perhaps by playing ball with the studio (by including the character of Venom), Raimi may have earned another tack at his own vision.
The script leak reads a lot like fan fiction and is more convoluted and confused that can be imagined, but it will likely get fans and movie makers thinking about what will and won’t work in a fourth movie. The addition of more villains and Bruce Campbell as the Scorpion all sound very ‘off’ to me and are both ideas that I suspect Raimi is planning to steer clear of. The rumor is that Raimi is a big fan of the Vulture (who should have been featured in Spider-Man 3… maybe played by Matt Fruer?) and of the Lizard (who has appeared in the films to date as the meek Dr. Connors)… but are both going to turn up in this sequel? I know that Sony wants three more Spider-Man films which sounds a bit much to me, but easily doable given the size of Spidey’s rogue’s gallery and the capacity to get a hefty ROI on the films. Whether Raimi will be on board for Spider-Man 5 and 6 remains to be seen.
The fourth installment of Sony’s Spider-Man franchise currently has a May 5, 2011 release date.
