…Guardians of the Galaxy returned to the top of the US box office last weekend and is expected to retain its position this time around, helping to extend its place as the biggest box-office hit of the summer. By close of play on Thursday, Guardians was sitting on $557 million worldwide and should find itself overtaking the original Iron Man in the coming days. It is yet to open in several markets, including Japan and China, so the James Gunn-directed solo sequel still has a chance at overtaking X-Men: Days of Future Past ($745 million). Meanwhile, in other Guardians news, some early concept art has arrived online showing how Jason Momoa could have looked as Drax the Destroyer, while James Gunn has detailed the original plan for Stan Lee’s cameo, which would have seen him featured as part of The Collector’s museum, and flipping the bird to Groot…
…On the subject of Stan Lee, the Marvel legend has weighed in on the possibility of Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow getting her own solo movie, stating that: ““We haven’t made a Black Widow movie but she’s been in some of our movies, and she will be featured more prominently as we move forward. And the chances are she will have her own movie because eventually all the superheroes are going to have their own movies. They are already working on Ant-Man, Doctor Strange and Black Panther, and there are others I am not allowed to talk about…”
…Also lending his support to a Black Widow movie is Johansson’s Iron Man 2, Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron co-star Robert Downey Jr., who appears to be lobbying for solo franchises for all of his fellow Avengers: “Doesn’t Scarlett (Johansson) deserve a break? Look, I think that the interesting thing particularly after Guardians with Zoe (Saldana), (or) even from the first Iron Man where Pepper was kind of this really – to me the Iron Man franchise would never have taken off without (Gwyneth) Paltrow. There’s something about her that grounded the story. She’s not your typical lady in a superhero movie, and then by Iron Man 3 she’s swallowing serums and putting on suits and kicking (butt) and all that stuff. It would be kind of more appropriate for a character that already was like a Black Widow (to lead a movie). It just seems like whatever Scarlett does people want to go see it… The funny thing is honestly at this point everyone deserves a franchise. I think Jeremy Renner is — when folks see the Avengers: Age of Ultron he’s just a rockstar, a badass. And (Mark) Ruffalo is pumped. He does great (work). I’d like to hear them talk even more seriously about a Hulk franchise, because that’s been one of the toughest ones to get right. But I’m sure that my parent company is feeling expansive and and bold after the summer they’ve had…”
…Speaking of Hawkeye, Captain America: The Winter Soldier co-director Joe Russo has detailed a deleted scene from the script of the solo sequel which would have seen Jeremy Renner reprising his role for a cameo, if not for scheduling conflicts; read Russo’s description of the sequence here…
…Although we caught a glimpse of Paul Bettany’s Vision during Comic-Con (albeit from the back), a new Avengers: Age of Ultron banner has been spotted, which gives us a much better look at the latest addition to the roster of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in next year’s Joss Whedon-directed sequel…
…In the build up to Marvel’s San Diego Comic-Con panel, it was reported that the studio had identified Joaquin Phoenix (The Master) as its number one pick for the role of the Sorcerer Supreme in Scott Derrickson’s Doctor Strange movie, although things have since fallen silent, with no official announcement regarding his casting. Now a new report has emerged suggesting that Phoenix is concerned about signing a multi-picture deal with Marvel, that that he “doesn’t know if he can work on this kind of movie” owing to concerns over the amount of VFX, green screen work and reshoots. With Doctor Strange expected to arrive in 2016, one has to imagine Marvel will be anxious to close the deal as soon as possible, or turn their attention elsewhere…
…With just over two weeks to go before Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. returns, ABC has stepped up the promotion for the second season of the show by releasing two promotional images of Chloe Bennet’s Skye and Nick Blood’s Agent Lance Hunter, along with a lengthy synopsis and a first-look promo for season two of the show…
…Disney has also continued its marketing blitz for the upcoming animated movie Big Hero 6, releasing a first clip and two new TV spots [see here and here], while Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Axel Alonso has explained to CBR that Marvel has “no plans” to release any comic book tie-ins based upon the obscure superhero team, stating that: “There are no plans. The characters and stories that have appeared in our comics are very different from what they are in the film. Releasing material that would be viewed as movie tie-in product would be a disservice to filmgoers. We wanted the Disney folks to be able to create their own unique style and story, unencumbered by those older stories. We have a catalog of stuff that we can reprint, but we have no intention of doing anything related to the movie.
…And finally, over at 20th Century Fox and it looks like the X-Men are set to return to Montreal for 2016’s X-Men: Days of Future Past follow-up X-Men: Apocalypse. It’s said that Fox will be opening a production office next month, with set construction beginning in December ahead of an April shoot. Bryan Singer is expected to return to the director’s chair, with James McAvoy (Professor Xavier), Michael Fassbender (Magneto), Jennifer Lawrence (Mystique), Nicholas Hoult (Beast), Evan Peters (Quicksilver) and Hugh Jackman (Wolverine) all set to return to the cast.
Gary Collinson is a writer and lecturer from the North East of England. He is the editor-in-chief of FlickeringMyth.com and the author of Holy Franchise, Batman! Bringing the Caped Crusader to the Screen.
