MCU Spider-Man Revealed!

The Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to grow, especially with Civil War on the horizon. Marvel and Sony Pictures announced who will play the famous web-slinger and who will direct!

Tom Holland has been cast as Peter Parker and Jon Watts will direct. We're excited about this new Spider-Man, as it will be great to see Spidey return to his high school roots. Now, who will we have as a villain?

Tom Holland

Here's what Marvel announced:

Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios are proud to announce that after a full worldwide casting search, Tom Holland will play Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the next Spider-Man film, in theaters in IMAX and 3D on July 28, 2017. The film will be directed by Jon Watts, director of "Cop Car," the upcoming thriller that made its debut earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival.

Marvel and Sony Pictures, and producers Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal conducted an extensive search for both the actor and the director. The studios and producers were impressed by Holland’s performances in "The Impossible," “Wolf Hall,” and the upcoming "In the Heart of the Sea," and by a series of complex screen tests. Following Marvel’s tradition of working with the brightest next wave of directors, Watts also went through multiple meetings with Feige, Pascal, and the studio, before winning the job.

Commenting on the announcement, Tom Rothman, Sony Pictures Motion Pictures Group Chairman, said, “It’s a big day here at Sony. Kevin, Amy and their teams have done an incredible job. The Marvel process is very thorough, and that’s why their results are so outstanding. I’m confident Spider-Man will be no exception. I’ve worked with a number of up-and-coming directors who have gone on to be superstars and believe that Jon is just such an outstanding talent. For Spidey himself, we saw many terrific young actors, but Tom’s screen tests were special. All in all, we are off to a roaring start.”

Feige commented, “As with James Gunn, Joss Whedon, and the Russo brothers, we love finding new and exciting voices to bring these characters to life. We spent a lot of time with Jon and find his take and work inspiring.”

Pascal added, “Sony, Marvel, Kevin and I all knew that for Peter Parker, we had to find a vibrant, talented young actor capable of embodying one of the most well-known characters in the world. With Tom, we’ve found the perfect actor to bring Spider-Man’s story into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.”

Sony Pictures will finance and release worldwide the next installment of the $4 billion Spider-Man franchise on July 28, 2017, in a film co-produced by Kevin Feige and his expert team at Marvel and Amy Pascal, who oversaw the franchise launch for the studio 13 years ago. Together, they will collaborate on a new creative direction for the Web-Slinger.

Spider-Man, embraced all over the world, is the most successful franchise in the history of Sony Pictures, with the five films having taken in more than $4 billion worldwide.



More on Marvel.com: http://marvel.com/news/movies/24758/sony_pictures_and_marvel_studios_find_their_spider-man_star_and_director#ixzz3dw8t1Zde

Ant-Man Trailer 1 - Sweet like a honey ant!

The second Ant-Man trailer was released today! This time around we get a much better idea of the tone of the film and get to see more of the characters.

Let's start with my favorite thing about this trailer - the ants. I'm already a fan of the Formicidae, but it was way cool to see different species of ants get starring roles in this trailer. What looked like red, black, and potentially honey ants will grace the big screen in July. Something like this probably hasn't been seen since Them! (Kill one and two take its place!) in the 1950s. The red ants even exhibit rafting behavior to protect Scott!

Yellowjacket is seen in all of his gold and black glory. The suit he wears is way cool for a villain. Not only tech but has a very arthropod look and feel to it. Yellow jackets are mean insects to begin with and this villain seems no different. It appears that we have a man who does not understand power, but craves money and respect above all else, no matter the cost.

I'm really excited about the fight sequences, too. Changing size in the middle of a punch, running up a gun barrel, it all seems fresh and new and will hopefully be as astounding and fun as we see here. 

We also get a good sense of the tone of Ant-Man. It's fun and quirky, much like Guardians of the Galaxy, but still retains a serious tone about powers and what that means for the individual and for the public. Powers like these must be used responsibly. Especially after Age of Ultron hits, it'll be a different MCU.

I also love the color palette in this film, the reds, blues, and yellows. We also get to see more of Hank Pym and Hope Van Dyne. I really like seeing Michael Douglas as Pym. He brings a lot of wisdom to the role that seems to have been learned through mistakes. Evangeline Lily as Hope Van Dyne appears to be quite the ally and she alludes to being Wasp perhaps? I mean, she does seem to know a lot about the suit and its powers.

Overall, great trailer and I am beyond excited for this film that will end Phase 2 of the MCU!

Spider-Man and Kingpin in the MCU

Ever since it was announced that Spider-Man will join the MCU and have his own reboot film, there has been speculation about whether or not Spidey will be Peter Parker or Miles Morales or some other version from the Spider-verse. Especially with the idea of the Civil War storyline looming in the third Captain America film, where will Peter be in his life?

Kevin Feige, the man who is overseeing the MCU, had this to say:

“We want to play with Spider-Man in the high school years because frankly there’ve been five Spider-Man films and the amazing thing about it is, even though there’ve been five Spider-Man films, there are so many things from the comics that haven’t been done yet. Not just characters or villains or supporting characters, but sides to his character. The most obvious being the ‘young, doesn’t quite fit in’ kid before his powers, and then the fella that puts on a mask and swings around and fights bad guys and doesn’t shut up, which is something we want to play with and we’re excited about.”

     -Collider.com 

I am quite thrilled that the MCU will see Spider-Man as the one and only Peter Parker. He'll be brought back to his origins, which will put him in an interesting place in the universe. In all the film versions, Peter has been at the end of his high school career. Tobey Maguire played him as the lovable geek and Andrew Garfield played him as the smart, somewhat angsty, popular kid (maybe popular is a strong word but he sure wasn't a geek). Both versions got the smart part right, but what about the smart-aleck? Where were the quips and puns and witty banter that is one of Spider-Mans greatest powers? I guess that's the writers fault. I can't wait to see how the Avengers, Doctor Strange, and Daredevil handle this kid who swings through New York and delivers the one-liners like a vaudeville act.

What is also interesting now is the  introduction of Wilson Fisk, or Kingpin, in Marvel's Daredevil on Netflix. This MCU Kingpin is ruthless and violent. Fisk will prove to be a formidable foe for our teenage hero, giving rise to a dynamic that will surely fit right in. The introduction of Kingpin will hopefully open up some wonderful villains and storylines in the MCU. 

Here's what wikipedia reminds us about Civil War and Spider-Man:

Fisk appears in the Civil War War Crimes one-shot, in which he offers information about Captain America's Resistance base to Iron Man, the leader of the pro-Registration forces in exchange for a reduced sentence. However, as his status in prison is threatened for collaborating with Stark, he betrays him. He then puts out a hit on Spider-Man and his loved ones after Iron Man convinced Spider-Man to publicly reveal his identity as a means of demonstrating his support for the Superhuman Registration Act. This results Spider-Man's Aunt May gravely wounded by a sniper's attempt to kill Spider-Man. After tracing the event back to Kingpin, Spider-Man confronts Kingpin in prison and badly beats in front of his fellow inmates. He decides to let the Kingpin live with the humiliation of his defeat, news of which will quickly spread through the Underworld. He vows, however, to kill the Kingpin if May dies.

Remember MCU creative folks, with great power comes great responsibility. I trust you can do it!

Spider-Man and Marvel, together again

Announced on February 9th, 2015, Spider-Man will join the Marvel Cinematic Universe! It's hard to express how absolutely thrilling and amazing this news is. Looks like Sony will have a lot of control in this new deal and it appears that the spin-off films (Sinister Six and Venom) are still a go, but on hold.

The MCU films have been moved around a little bit, but at last Spidey will find his place right where he belongs! Will he be in Captain America: Civil War before he gets his own film in 2017? Four films have new release dates, starting with Thor: Ragnarok, shifting to November 3, 2017. Black Panther hits on July 6, 2018. Captain Marvel moves to November 2, 2018. Finally, Inhumans will now hit July 12, 2019, putting that film after the release of both parts of the two-part Avengers: Infinity War, which keeps its release dates of May 4, 2018 for Part 1, and May 3, 2019 for Part 2.

Here is the the press release from Marvel:

Marvel's Kevin Feige to Produce Next Installment of the Spider-Man Franchise with Amy Pascal

(Culver City, California, and Burbank, California February 09, 2015) – Sony Pictures Entertainment and Marvel Studios announced today that Sony is bringing Marvel into the amazing world of Spider-Man. 

Under the deal, the new Spider-Man will first appear in a Marvel film from Marvel's Cinematic Universe (MCU). Sony Pictures will thereafter release the next installment of its $4 billion Spider-Man franchise, on July 28, 2017, in a film that will be co-produced by Kevin Feige and his expert team at Marvel and Amy Pascal, who oversaw the franchise launch for the studio 13 years ago. Together, they will collaborate on a new creative direction for the web slinger. Sony Pictures will continue to finance, distribute, own and have final creative control of the Spider-Man films.

Marvel and Sony Pictures are also exploring opportunities to integrate characters from the MCU into future Spider-Man films.

The new relationship follows a decade of speculation among fans about whether Spider-Man – who has always been an integral and important part of the larger Marvel Universe in the comic books – could become part of the Marvel Universe on the big screen. Spider-Man has more than 50 years of history in Marvel's world, and with this deal, fans will be able to experience Spider-Man taking his rightful place among other Super Heroes in the MCU.

Bob Iger, Chairman and CEO, The Walt Disney Company said: "Spider-Man is one of Marvel's great characters, beloved around the world. We're thrilled to work with Sony Pictures to bring the iconic web-slinger into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which opens up fantastic new opportunities for storytelling and franchise building."

"We always want to collaborate with the best and most successful filmmakers to grow our franchises and develop our characters. Marvel, Kevin Feige and Amy, who helped orchestrate this deal, are the perfect team to help produce the next chapter of Spider-Man," said Michael Lynton, Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment. "This is the right decision for the franchise, for our business, for Marvel, and for the fans."

"Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios share a love for the characters in the Spider-Man universe and have a long, successful history of working together. This new level of collaboration is the perfect way to take Peter Parker's story into the future," added Doug Belgrad, president, Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group.

"I am thrilled to team with my friends at Sony Pictures along with Amy Pascal to produce the next Spider-Man movie," said Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige. "Amy has been deeply involved in the realization on film of one of the world’s most beloved characters. Marvel's involvement will hopefully deliver the creative continuity and authenticity that fans demand from the MCU. I am equally excited for the opportunity to have Spider-Man appear in the MCU, something which both we at Marvel, and fans alike, have been looking forward to for years."

Spider-Man, embraced all over the world, is the most successful franchise in the history of Sony Pictures, with the five films having taken in more than $4 billion worldwide.

                                                     

ABOUT SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT

Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production, acquisition and distribution; television production, acquisition and distribution; television networks; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; and development of new entertainment products, services and technologies. For additional information, go to http://www.sonypictures.com/.

ABOUT MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT

Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world's most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media over seventy-five years.  Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing and publishing.  For more information visit marvel.com. © 2015 MARVEL

More on Marvel.com: http://marvel.com/news/movies/24062/sony_pictures_entertainment_brings_marvel_studios_into_the_amazing_world_of_spider-man#ixzz3ROpQokw9