Marvel Announces Specific Plans for Upcoming Movie Releases

[GrnMarvl14]

Original article.

Marvel Studios Engages All-Star Roster For New Film Slate

Jon Favreau To Direct Iron Man

Los Angeles, CA (April 28, 2006) – Aggressively pursuing its strategy to develop and produce a new slate of feature films, Marvel Studios - a subsidiary of Marvel Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: MVL) - has engaged director/actor/writer Jon Favreau to direct the highly anticipated big screen adaptation of Iron Man. Additionally, the studio has tapped several screenwriters to pen scripts based on some of its marquee Super Hero franchises. The projects to which screenwriters are now attached and have officially begun development include Iron Man, Incredible Hulk, Ant Man, Captain America, Nick Fury and Thor. The announcement was made today by Avi Arad, Chairman of Marvel Studios.


* Iron Man (character bio)
For the legendary Super Hero Iron Man, Jon Favreau will direct the film and develop the script with the writing team of Arthur Marcum and Matt Holloway (Convoy). Favreau's directing credits include Elf and Zathura: A Space Adventure.


* Incredible Hulk (character bio)
Zak Penn, who previously collaborated with Marvel on X2, Fantastic Four, and the upcoming X-Men: The Last Stand, will write a new Incredible Hulk film, inspired by the larger-than-life green giant. Under Marvel's arrangement with Universal, Marvel will develop and produce the Incredible Hulk as a major theatrical release, with Universal retaining various distribution rights.


* Ant Man (character bio)
Writer/director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz) will direct, and co-write with writing partner Joe Cornish, the feature film based on cult-favorite Ant Man. Edgar will also co-produce with his Big Talk Productions partner Nira Park.


* Captain America (character bio)
David Self has been tapped to write Captain America, inspired by Marvel's venerable all-American super soldier. Self's credits include Thirteen Days and Road to Perdition, in addition to numerous rewrites on various studio films. He also worked with Marvel on two other projects: Namor, the Sub-Mariner for Universal, and Deathlok for Paramount.


* Nick Fury (character bio)
Marvel's Super Hero with military roots, the iconic super spy Nick Fury,
will be brought to life by action/adventure screenwriter Andrew Marlowe. Marlowe's
credits include Air Force One, End of Days, and Hollow Man.


* Thor (character bio)
The legendary Norse Thunder deity, Thor, will hammer his way to the big screen with the help of screenwriter Mark Protosevich. Protosevich wrote one of this summer's highly-anticipated films, Poseidon. His credits also include The Cell.



"We are incredibly excited to be able to attract some of Hollywood's top talent to help Marvel launch the first wave of our independently-produced film slate. These screenwriters and directors are at the top of their game, and each brings a unique passion for the individual characters and projects they will be working on. Our goal is to
combine great characters with exciting action, and we've assembled a team who will do just that," said Mr. Arad. "In fact, some of these writers have already helped us create major Hollywood blockbuster franchises like Fantastic Four and X-Men. With our independent slate, we look forward to delivering to movie-goers the same type of high-action, gripping entertainment they have grown accustomed to with the Marvel brand."

With screenwriters and directors on board, Marvel is commencing discussions with other talent and visual effects houses as it gears up for full-scale production on the new slate, with the first release anticipated in 2008. These projects are expected to be financed with Marvel's $525 million revolving film financing facility and distributed under Marvel's overall distribution arrangement with Paramount, except for The Incredible Hulk which will be distributed by Universal.

President/COO Michael Helfant will oversee the company's growth to accommodate this newly expanded production activity. The projects will be shepherded and produced by Kevin Feige, President of Production, and Ari Arad, Executive Vice President of Production.

This is big news. The first word on a director for Iron Man, the first word on a screenwriter for Thor, some specific future plans for Hulk 2, the first word on a screenwriter for Nick Fury, and the first word on a writer AND director for Ant-Man. And from the bio it links to...it appears we'll be seeing the Henry Pym version of Ant-Man. They also reveal who's doing work on Namor and Deathlok.

This is fantastic, though. These films ARE going to happen, and now...we can only hope they'll be good.

 

[Doctor Oak]

Captain America is going to be extremely painful. >_>

I'd be surprised if they didn't fill half of it with Pro-war-on-terror propaganda.

 

[Zeta]

Ant-Man? A movie about an abusive misogynist who can speak to ants?

Great.

Captain America is going to be extremely painful. >_>

I'd be surprised if they didn't fill half of it with Pro-war-on-terror propaganda.

Depends on which version. 616 Cap is a liberal democrat who hates unnecessary violence and only fights to maintain peace. He frequently comes into conflict with the power-hungry US government and its attempts to control himself and other superhumans. So much so that he's moving to Canada because he's had it with recent US policies, fictional and real.

Ultimate-verse Cap is your standard old fashioned gung-ho Republican war-lover, "obey the country or get out", though. They could always do the "What If" story and have Republican Cap and Democrat Cap swing it out for the fate of the country, though.

 

[GrnMarvl14]

Captain America is going to be extremely painful. >_>

I'd be surprised if they didn't fill half of it with Pro-war-on-terror propaganda.

Actually, with the exception of the third series, he's always been more about the American dream than about fighting America's enemies (outside of the Nazis, but...c'mon...we can all agree that that was a good thing). I can see three possible enemies: Red Skull (PLEASE let him be German), Hate-Monger (this could work EXTREMELY well), or the US government (they could rehash the Secret Empire storyline where the President is actually a terrorist in disguise, and he's forced to confront his own naivety).

Ant-Man? A movie about an abusive misogynist who can speak to ants?

Great.

I'm really sick of NO ONE letting that go. The man had a mental breakdown. He was under INTENSE stress, and he snapped. But look at the films that the director's done...this is NOT going to be a serious film.

They could always do the "What If" story and have Republican Cap and Democrat Cap swing it out for the fate of the country, though.

Cap VS US Agent. Can't be beat.

 

[Zeta]

I'm really sick of NO ONE letting that go. The man had a mental breakdown. He was under INTENSE stress, and he snapped. But look at the films that the director's done...this is NOT going to be a serious film.

It's really become the entire characterization of the Ultimate Pym.

 

[GrnMarvl14]

It's really become the entire characterization of the Ultimate Pym.

Yes, and it's one of the million and a half reasons why I hate the Ultimate line. Actually...after reading something today, I'm up to 1,500,002. And still it grows.