In this edition of The Week in Spandex, we look at Ant-Man, Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man, Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Captain Marvel, The Punisher, Ghost Rider, Blade, Daredevil, Agent Carter, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H., Ultimate Spider-Man vs. The Sinister 6, Avengers: Ultron Revolution, Fantastic Four, Deadpool, Suicide Squad, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Justice League Mortal, The Question, Arrow, Gotham, Justice League: Gods and Monsters Chronicles, LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes – Justice League: Attack of the Legion of Doom!, DC Super Hero Girls, Hit-Girl, Heroes Reborn, Stan Lee’s Lucky Man, The Wicked + The Divine and more…
There’s less than six weeks to go until Marvel launches its second superhero movie of 2015, and so the studio has stepped up its promotional efforts for the Paul Rudd-headlined Ant-Man with a batch of new images from the movie, as well as three new TV spots, which offer up a tonne of new footage [watch them here, here and here]. Meanwhile, Poster Posse unveiled its gallery of artwork for the miniature superhero [see here], and Latino-Review claimed that the film will contain lots of references to Spider-Man (for reference, they did say the same thing about Avengers: Age of Ultron)…
…We do know that Spider-Man will make an appearance in Captain America: Civil War, and it looks like we won’t have long to wait until we find out which actor will be under the mask, with Marvel and Sony screen testing six actors this week in Asa Butterfield (Ender’s Game), Tom Holland (The Impossible), Judah Lewis (Demolition), Matthew Lintz (Pixels), Charlie Plummer (Boardwalk Empire) and Charlie Rowe (Red Band Society) this week. Meanwhile, it’s also said that the shortlist for the director of 2017’s Spider-Man solo movie has Ted Melfi (St Vincent) and Jonathan Levine (Warm Bodies) as frontrunners, with John Francis Daley and Jonathan M. Goldstein (Vacation) and Jon Watts (Cop Car) also possibilities…
…Despite assembling pretty much the entire cast of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it seems there’s no room for Nick Fury in Captain America: Civil War, with Samuel L. Jackson stating this week that he won’t be appearing in the film, but is keen to extend his Marvel contract beyond the two remaining films: “I’m not in Captain America 3. I can’t figure that out, but I’m not. I guess I’m still out there, trying to figure out what happened to S.H.I.E.L.D. and who these other people are. Of course [I’m interested in returning]! I’m looking for a contract extension right now, year. I’m looking to re-up… It’s an amazing honor to be that guy, to be Nick Fury, to be in that particular world, and to be a character that people believe. It’s great. I’m as grateful for being in that, as I was being in Star Wars with George [Lucas] and to play a character that people remember, like Mace Windu. It’s all great. It’s hard not to be a part of something that you know, if people study film for the next 200 years, they’ll be talking about Star Wars and The Avengers series, and all that stuff…”
…James Gunn announced this week that’s he’s finished the first draft of Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (which apparently left Chris Pratt with tears in his eyes), while the director has also spoken about the development process, revealing that we’ll be getting one major new character in the follow-up to last year’s cosmic superhero ensemble; read his comments here…
…Wild rumour / speculation time now and this week has brought claims that we’ll get to see General Thunderbolt Ross’ monstrous alter-ego Red Hulk in Captain America: Civil War, while potential details about Martin Freeman’s character have surfaced which you can read here if you want to run the risk of possible spoilers (although I have a feeling you’ll be safe)…
…Continuing with the dubious rumours of the week and OK Magazine reporting that Mad Max: Fury Road star Charlize Theron could be set to take on the role of Carol Danvers in Captain Marvel, with Angelina Jolie (Unbroken) directing. Personally, I’m chalking this one down to pure speculation, but this isn’t the first time that Jolie has been linked to the project…
…And speaking of pure speculation, El Mayimbe has been tossing around some “insider knowledge” about Marvel’s Netflix slate, claiming that The Punisher, Ghost Rider and Blade are all on the streaming service’s radar (which has been rumoured on numerous occasions previously – particularly Frank Castle), while Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange is wanted for The Defenders, and Hawkeye and Black Widow could also potentially make the jump to the streaming service…
…El Mayimbe’s former outlet Latino-Review also posted a Marvel / Netflix rumour of its own, suggesting that British action star Jason Statham is wanted for the role of Bullseye in Daredevil season two, and that Mr. Fate and Mysterio could also feature. While talk of Statham’s casting certainly raised some excitement, several sites contacted Marvel for confirmation, and – as we’ve come to expect from Latino-Review – it turns out there’s no truth to it whatsoever…
…Marvel’s Agent Carter series is finally set to make its way to the UK, with Fox picking up the rights to broadcast the first season of the Captain America spinoff on these shores. The eight-episode series will get underway on July 1st, while a second season is confirmed to go into production later this year…
…As fellow ABC series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. gears up for its third season, it’s been announced that Henry Simmons’ Alphonso ‘Mack’ Mackenzie and Luke Mitchell’s Lincoln Campbell have both been promoted to series regulars, where they’ll join Clark Gregg, Ming-Na Wen, Brett Dalton, Chloe Bennet ,Iain De Caestecker, Elizabeth Henstridge, Nick Blood and Adrianne Palicki…
…On the Marvel animated front, we’ve got a clip from this weekend’s episode of Marvel’s Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. – entitled ‘Days of Future Smash: Part 5 – The Tomorrow Smashers’ – which you can watch here, while Disney XD has announced that Ultimate Spider-Man and Avengers Assemble are set to undergo a rebranding when they return next year and will be titled Ultimate Spider-Man vs. The Sinister 6 and Avengers: Ultron Revolution; take a look at the official synopses for the new seasons here…
…Click below to continue on for Fantastic Four, Deadpool, Suicide Squad, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Justice League Mortal, The Question, Arrow, Gotham, Justice League: Gods and Monsters Chronicles, LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes – Justice League: Attack of the Legion of Doom!, DC Super Hero Girls, Hit-Girl, Heroes Reborn, Stan Lee’s Lucky Man, The Wicked + The Divine and more…
Originally published June 6, 2015. Updated November 29, 2022.
