Our weekly round up of all the big news stories from the world of movie superheroes…
Due to this weekend’s London Film and Comic Con, this edition of ‘The Week in Spandex’ arrives a little early (and somewhat abridged), but there’s still plenty of superhero goodness to catch up on…
…The Amazing Spider-Man was released this past Tuesday, where it set a North American record with an opening day of $35m. The Marc Webb-directed reboot had already amassed $50m from international markets, and is currently hovering around the $XXm mark globally; Sony has wasted little time in capitalising on this success, announcing the film as the first instalment in a new trilogy “that will explore how our fave hero’s journey was shaped by the disappearance of his parents.” See, there was a reason they completely forgot to wrap that whole storyline up after all…
…Although audiences seem to be reacting positively to Andrew Garfield’s new spin on Spider-Man, a few members of the writing team here at Flickering Myth found themselves hugely disappointed by this latest offering, with Oliver Davis, Luke Graham and Rohan Morbey all posting negative reviews. That viewpoint wasn’t entirely unanimous though, with Martin Deer full of praise in his ★★★★ review, describing it as “a terrific film [that’s] fun, witty, and has tonnes of heart.” Personally, I went in with low expectations and was pleasantly surprised; I wouldn’t go as far as to say it’s fantastic, but it’s certainly a solid enough effort and I’m looking forward to seeing how the series develops with The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (and 3)…
…In other Spidey news, Marc Webb took a moment to explain his decision to drop the “with great power comes great responsibility” line, as well as discussing the possibility of a future Avengers crossover (and a potential Spider-Woman spin-off) in a chat with EW. Producers Avi Arad and Matt Tomach also touched upon future instalments in their Spider-Man universe in an interview with Collider, teasing the eventual inclusion of the Sinister Six, as well as confirming that Sony hold the rights to the Kingpin, who had only been on loan to Fox for the Ben Affleck-headlined Daredevil. Finally, if you were wondering just who the hell that was with Dr. Curt Connors in the mid-credits scene of The Amazing Spider-Man, Rhys Ifans doesn’t know either. But he does know it’s not who we were all thinking…
…Moving on to The Dark Knight Rises and the running time for Christopher Nolan’s final Batman feature has been confirmed, with the hotly-anticipated sequel clocking in at a meaty 164 minutes and 27 seconds, ensuring that Nolan has plenty of time to wrap up his Dark Knight trilogy in style…
…Elsewhere on TDKR front, a new synopsis has emerged, as well as a some extended samples from Hans Zimmer’s score, an extended TV spot and new banner featuring a stencilled image of Bane (Tom Hardy), two new posters, an official version of the MTV Movie Awards footage, and an absolute tonne of production notes…
…Sticking with The Dark Knight for a moment and La-La Land Records has announced a ‘second edition’ reissuing for the original Batman: The Animated Series soundtrack album, as well as a San Diego Comic Con release for Batman: The Animated Series – Original Soundtrack From The Warner Bros. Television Series, Volume Two (not to mention expanded scores to X2: X-Men United and The Phantom); head on over to WorldsFinestOnline for more details, including the track listing and cover art…
…Ahead of the San Diego Comic Con, Marvel Studios released a piece of concept art from Iron Man 3, which gives us our first glimpse at Tony Stark’s (Robert Downey Jr.) new ‘Extremis’ Iron Man armor in the Shane Black-directed sequel…
…Iron Man 3 is of course the first stage in ‘Phase Two’ of the Cinematic Universe, and Marvel exec Jeremy Latcham took part in an interview with Newsarama where he discussed the studios’ plans post-The Avengers. See what he had to say about IM3, Thor 2 and Captain America 2 – as well as the possibility of Doctor Strange, Luke Cage and Power Pack enjoying their own movies – here…
…While we’re on the subject of the Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Strange arrives on Disney XD this Sunday for a special guest appearance in Ultimate Spider-Man; watch a clip from the upcoming episode here. Meanwhile, be sure take a look at some promotional art from two of Marvel Animation’s upcoming projects – Avengers Assemble and Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. – both of which will feature heavily in Marvel Television’s SDCC panel next weekend…
…Last week we heard that Walt Disney Animation were prepping a feature based around the superhero team of Big Hero 6, and the rumours were on the money, with Entertainment Weekly securing confirmation from Disney reps that the project is “in the early stages of development”. Expect an official announcement on this – and the live-action Guardians of the Galaxy movie – during the Marvel Studios panel at Comic Con on July 14th…
…Marvel will also take the opportunity to premiere their latest ‘One-Shot’ short film Item 47 at Comic Con, ahead of its official release as a bonus feature on The Avengers Blu-ray later this year. The twelve-minute short is set to star Lizzy Caplan (Party Down) and Jesse Bradford (Flags of Our Fathers) as a young couple who stumble upon a discarded Chitauri weapon in the aftermath of The Avengers, and soon have two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents – Maximiliano Hernández (Thor) and Titus Welliver (Lost) – on their trail. Check out a few more details about Item 47 here…
…And finally, if you happen to be attending the LFCC this Saturday, I’ll be there peddling copies of Holy Franchise, Batman!, so do stop by and say hello if you get the chance. Look for the bearded fat bloke wearing a Joker T-shirt, just to narrow it down a bit.
Holy Franchise, Batman! – Available now via Amazon.
“Hands down this is by far the most comprehensive guide to Batman on screen available” – Mark Cassidy, ComicBookMovie.com.
“Holy Franchise, Batman! makes the bold claim of being ‘the Caped Crusader fan’s bible’, and lives up to its assertion” – Rob Smedley, CultBox.co.uk.
