How about an update from Asgard? We've got two new posters and a TV Spot from the brain-trust at Marvel and I'm liking them!
The posters reflect a touch of classic artistry and a stunning lack of... sparks. Going out on a limb aren't they? Frankly I like the clean lines of the work. More of the same please! The first poster depicts Heimdall (played by Idris Elba) in his standard guardian pose with death reigning down to Asgard. Malekith (played by Christopher Eccleston) is in mid-pose placing his mask on during an invasion it seems. The TV Spot (revealed during AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.) is very engaging. Loving how Jane Foster played by Natalie Portman is playing a much more important role this time around. It humanizes the Asgard environment which will be key for continued suspension of disbelief.
Here's the official storyline for the movie: Marvel’s Thor: The Dark World continues the big-screen adventures of Thor, the Mighty Avenger, as he battles to save Earth and all the Nine Realms from a shadowy enemy that predates the universe itself. In the aftermath of Marvel’s Thor and Marvel’s The Avengers, Thor fights to restore order across the cosmos…but an ancient race led by the vengeful Malekith returns to plunge the universe back into darkness. Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all.
THOR: THE DARK WORLD opens in 3D on November 8. More info when I get it!
Check the new behind the scenes (BTS) featurette for THOR: THE DARK WORLD! The clips include some BTS shots but not the quantity or duration I would prefer. Undoubtedly there are more coming though and this is a good appetizer! Packed with segments from key cast interviews that will surely be included in the boxed disc releases for home entertainment next year, it shows off the impact that the scale of the movie is having on the stars. Or it's pure marketing fluff. :-) I'm leaning more towards the epic scale knowing how Marvel justly treats it's properties.
It's also interesting to see how Tom Hiddleston's character Loki has evolved into arguably the most popular in the franchise, and that's an impressive feat given the movie titles all have THOR in them! His appearance at Comic-con this year has helped seal that deal I think.
Here's the storyline for the movie: Marvel’s Thor: The Dark World continues the big-screen adventures of Thor, the Mighty Avenger, as he battles to save Earth and all the Nine Realms from a shadowy enemy that predates the universe itself. In the aftermath of Marvel’s Thor and Marvel’s The Avengers, Thor fights to restore order across the cosmos…but an ancient race led by the vengeful Malekith returns to plunge the universe back into darkness. Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all.
Love the cosmic feel of this movie! Before time? WOW. Thor has always been about god-like powers so why not talk about such things?
Keep in mind that the director stepping into Kenneth Branagh's shoes (who did the original THOR), is TV's Alan Taylor (GAME OF THRONES, MAD MEN, THE SOPRANOS, DEADWOOD) - a very experienced and versatile helmer. Really looking forward to see what he is bringing to the franchise.
Great seeing the old characters return to the franchise and the thought of Thor and Loki teaming up, if even for fleeting moments, truly is quite exciting!
Here's the storyline for the movie: Marvel's THOR: THE DARK WORLD continues the big-screen adventures of Thor, the Mighty Avenger, as he battles to save Earth and all the Nine Realms from a shadowy enemy that predates the universe itself. In the aftermath of Marvel's THOR and Marvel's THE AVENGERS, Thor fights to restore order across the cosmos...but an ancient race led by the vengeful Malekith returns to plunge the universe back into darkness. Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all.
Director: Alan Taylor Writer: Robert Rodat Studio: Marvel Studios Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Rene Russo, Kat Dennings, Ray Stevenson, Zachary Levi, Stellan Skarsgard, Christopher Eccleston, Idris Elba, Chris O'Dowd
THOR 2!!! Yes. And another major villain! Mads Mikkelson perhaps? I think that's the safe bet as he is confirmed to be joining the production as a villain - and you don't get much better than him really. I am a big fan of his work - you could see his raw talent going as far back as PUSHER. He can say so much with just a look - he doesn't even have to verbalize.
So some questions! What villain will Mikkelson be playing? Will he be teaming up with Loki (Tom Hiddleston) who is definitely in the sequel? Some have been speculating that Mads will be playing The Executioner. Hmmm.
One thing is for sure: Thanos will NOT be worshipping death in this movie. Producer Kevin Feige spoke about the super villain and THOR 2 to Empire: "No, future, future. But there will be a major new villain. A major, major new antagonist..."
I have to agree with Marvel's line of thinking here. Keep the uber villain until THE AVENGERS 2 and keep bringing out the rich library of antagonists from Marvel's vault. And I certainly want these villains to be authentically from Marvel and not newly created villains. Why on earth would you do that?
So what else did the super producer have to say about THOR 2?Says Feige: "We're going to see the other side of Asgard. It's not all polished and golden in this film. And the events of Avengers will have affected Thor for sure. His relationship with Loki will continue to evolve, and the biggest part is Natalie and Thor returning with Jane Foster."
Mads Mikkelson in VALHALLA RISING
THOR 2 is looking exceptionally bright with the addition of Mads. Man I love how Marvel casts their movies! Joining Mads will be Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Natalie Portman, Idris Elba, Anthony Hopkins, Stellan Skarsgard, Jaimie Alexander and Ray Stevenson.
Marvel will begin shooting the production this summer in London and it is being directed by Alan Taylor (GAME OF THRONES). You can set aside theater time in your calendar for the movie starting on November 15, 2013.
Marvel And Disney are slating the return of Chris Hemsworth in THOR 2 however this time around Kenneth Branagh will not direct - I would suspect some sort of producers role though (via Variety). Further, Natalie Portman probably signed a multi-picture deal but with stars of higher caliber anything can happen. I hope she is back.
Hemsworth is indeed returning and that is definitely good news. I loved how THOR ended setting up plenty of future action in that universe.
Don Payne is already writing the sequel.
IRON MAN 3 will fly into theaters May 3, 2013 so we will have plenty of Marvel goodness to look forward to what with THE AVENGERS hitting next year.
Marvel is enjoying solid returns for THOR this year with $437m in worldwide box office. CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER should continue that trend if not exceed it!
Ahh! All this time I have been thinking that CAPTAIN AMERICA will be the biggest of the two Marvel releases in the coming months, but now that I have seen the latest trailer for THOR, I don't know!
Snapshot: The powerful but arrogant warrior Thor is cast out of the fantastic realm of Asgard and sent to live amongst humans on Earth, where he soon becomes one of their finest defenders.
Director: Kenneth Branagh Writer: Mark Protosevich Studio: Paramount Pictures S3D: Conversion Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston Release: May 6, 2011
Have a look. Much more character development and the special effects look amazing. What do you think??
We just saw a new image of THOR and now comes the first official trailer! And it looks darn good. Out of all the avengers, Thor was the one I was most worried about as Marvel has to introduce mythology into the modern 'Tony Stark' world.
To me, it seems like they may have succeeded. I still can't point my finger and say 'YES!', but I can say I am not disappointed. Yet.
So check out the trailer:
What do you think? After seeing this trailer and the possibilities of CAPTAIN AMERICA, THE HULK and IRON MAN joining forces in THE AVENGERS - are you amped up about what lies in store in the coming years?
Active negotiations are now underway (THR) for Natalie Portman to join Alfonso Cuaron's much hyped 3D project GRAVITY. Portman is now the top contender after another A list actress bowed out - I won't point out who it was again because it seems her saying no to the project has more Internet traction than the movie itself! Ridiculous.
Anyway I am VERY happy with Warner Bros. targeting Portman for the role but she has to break out the chops for this one. She will be owning the screen for much of the movie in a solo capacity. Can she swing it? I hope so. She will have to dig deep. I like her in the role much more than Scarlett Johansson.
Here is the supposed storyline (via Scriptshadow - SPOILER ALERT):The script follows Ryan Stone, an engineer whose career path unexpectedly puts her on a space shuttle, doing repairs. (In a more recent draft, she’s working on repairing the Hubble.) She’s paired with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalski. But things go very wrong. The Russians just blew up something that “creates a chain reaction of spraying debris that hits multiple satellites, which also end up exploding, and all of a sudden thousands of pieces of debris are heading straight towards the space shuttle.”Cutting forward a bit, that debris destroys the shuttle and eventually leaves Ryan alone, trying to make her way to the International Space Station and rescue.
Everything that can go wrong does go wrong as the movie becomes a series of near death experiences. Ryan must jump from point to point – whether it be to a vessel, a station, or an oxygen tank – and survive long enough to make the journey to the next point after that (and so on). Each destination is accompanied by dangerous debris, dropping oxygen, and the strong chance that whatever she’s trying to get to might not be there. Think Apollo 13, but with the odds stacked 1 million times higher against you, if that’s possible.
See what I mean? Portman will have to be perfect. I think she can do it. Can't wait for those long lingering space shots from Cuaron!!
Wow! Some on the edge action oriented movies just got a whole lot more endearing for me.
I have always been a huge Liam Neeson fan and especially after TAKEN took the world by storm at the box office, he has been on a bit of a action genre smorgasbord. Variety says that next up for Colonel Hannibal Smith is actually playing an Admiral in Universal's BATTLESHIP.
**Note: Even though director Peter Berg is not shooting the movie in 3D, I am still covering it in case Universal decides to convert it in post production (and hopefully doing a good job of it). After all, the project did start out as being shot in native 3D.
Neeson joins Rihanna, Alexander Skarsgard, Brooklyn Decker and Taylor Kitsch on the cast.
The movie is centered on an alien invasion with the entire planet in jeopardy.
Look for BATTLESHIP in theaters May 18, 2012.
**AND**
Michael Caine is reportedly (THR) close to signing on for JOURNEY 2: THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND. Yes, the legend himself will have significant screen time and will be involved in several action sequences supposedly involving giant bees!
Caine will be joining Dwayne Johnson and Josh Hutcherson on the cast. Hutcherson's and Johnson's character set out to find his grandfather (played by Caine) who has been lost on a mythical island. You can read more info on the casting of The Rock right here.
Solid, legitimate acting has just been added to these two projects and my expectations just rose quite a few notches. Here's hoping they can deliver.
Another casting possibility of note is Natalie Portman reportedly being offered the lead in GRAVITY, Alfonso Cuaron's space thriller with Robert Downey Jr. The $80 million sci-fi is about a female astronaut sent to make repairs on the Hubble Telescope. She becomes the sole survivor when space debris hits her transport and will have to find a way back home. Apparently Portman has yet to read the highly anticipated movie's script, so I have not posted on this yet in full form. I will if she grabs it!
