Daredevil Goes Back to Basics For Film Reboot
Marvel’s been in the business of relaunching, rebooting and retooling lately, and all that activity hasn’t just been limited to their comic book franchises! The biggest news recently has been the collapse of the Spider-Man film franchise, with plans for a fourth installment of the Sam Raimi directed series now gone in favor of a reboot that will take Peter Parker back to his high school origins. Now it seems that another Marvel character is getting an overhaul. ”The man without fear” himself, Daredevil, is going back to the drawing board, and a screenwriter and producer are already on board! Read more
Spider-Man Relaunch to be Directed by Marc Webb
Sony has wasted no time in moving forward with their relaunch of the Spider-Man franchise! Marc Webb has been tapped to helm the new film series. After a much publicized falling out with director Sam Raimi, who steered the course of the first three Spider-Man films, the company is looking at a grittier reboot of the series, and Webb has been tapped to lead the series in a new direction. Read more
Spider-Man 4: No More! Raimi and Maguire Out!
And things seemed to be working themselves out. News today that hit harder than a punch from Venom, the planned follow-up to Spider-Man 3, Spider-Man 4, will NOT in fact be made, not with the current director, Sam Raimi, or franchise anchor Toby Maguire. Multiple news sources began reporting that Raimi, who had been in disputes with the forces at Sony over the creative direction of the series going back to the last film, walked away from the project. Pressure to meet a 2012 release deadline have been said to be a factor in the decision for Raimi’s split as well, especially with tension over the script. That’s not the only big news that Sony laid out concerning the wall-crawler! Read more
Marvel Heats up Fight with Kirby Family, Seeks to Retain Copyrights
Iconic artist Jack Kirby certainly contributed to some of the most famous battles, scenes and story arcs in comic book history through his storytelling and distinct artwork, but perhaps even he couldn’t imagine the epic battle that’s about to be waged between members of his estate and Marvel Comics! Several months ago, the members of Jack Kirby’s estate served Marvel with notices of copyright termination, stating their intent to reclaim the rights to characters such as The Fantastic Four, The Hulk, Spider-Man and The Avengers. Current law permits creators to seek to reclaim rights to their work after a period of waiting over several years. Read more
Spider-Man 4 Clashes Lead to Pushed Back Release!
It appears that the battles Spider-Man gets involved in don’t just happen on the big screen! Originally slated for a May 6, 2011 release Spider-Man 4 is now in limbo due to some very intense creative differences. According to The Hollywood Reporter, director Sam Raimi is at odds with Sony over who to choose as the main villain in the upcoming and highly-anticipated release of the multiple-blockbuster franchise. Differences between the two were originally rumored back in December, but Sony denied the rumors, saying that script tweaking was a natural process in the creation of a film. Sony has wanted the villain of the film to be female burglar The Black Cat, to not only serve as an antagonist in addition to another villain, but to help with a romantic sub-plot. Read more
Thor Cast Picks up Anthony Hopkins!
Adding more and more star-power to the Kenneth Branagh-directed Marvel film Thor, revered actor Anthony Hopkins has been cast in the role of Odin, Thor’s father and the leader of the Norse gods. This is certainly big news for the project, which had already landed a high-profile actress, Natalie Portman, for the role of Thor’s love interest, Jane Foster. Read more
Jack Kirby’s Family Seeks to Reclaim Rights From Disney, Marvel
Acclaimed comic book artist Jack Kirby was responsible for co-creating some of the most memorable characters in comic book history, as well as illustrating some of its iconic and classic battles. Now, Kirby’s children are possibly creating an epic battle of their own. According to the L.A. Times, the late Kirby’s four children have filed what has been referred to as “notice of copyright termination” for 45 characters to companies such as Marvel Entertainment, Disney, Universal Pictures, the owners of Hulk distribution rights, and 20th Century Fox, owners of the movie rights to distribute X-Men and Fantastic Four films. Read more
Spider-Man 4 Gets an Official Release Date!
Well, the collective holding of breath is over! Variety magazine is reporting that the holy trinity of director Sam Raimi and stars Toby Maguire and Kirsten Dunst are all on board to make Spider-Man 4 a reality, with a release date of May 6, 2011 being confirmed! Even better, the film will be released in both traditional theaters and Imax as well on the same day. Writer Gary Ross will take scriptwriting responsibilities, and expectations are high from fans given the mixed reception Spider-Man 3 received. Read more
Fantastic Four to get Film Overhaul
There was something in the water that said this might happen. After some tentative speculation, rumors of a relaunch of the Fantastic Four film series are confirmed. According to Variety, 20th Century Fox will re-boot the two-film series, and it’s unclear at this time if any of the actors and actresses who starred in the first two films, Ioan Gruffud, Chris Evans, Jessica Alba, and Michael Chiklis specifically, will reprise their roles in the new series. Based on the announcement of the new creative talent behind the film, it is perhaps highly unlikely. Read more
SCREAM 2009 Awards Nominees Announced!
Spike TV’s 4th annual SCREAM Awards are coming up on October 17th at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles. Before we get to that ceremony however, first come the nominees! Announced late this afternoon, the nominees for the awards, which honor the fan favorites in comic books, sci-fi, horror and and fantasy, certainly comprise a number of blockbusters and fan favorites from the past year. J.J. Abram’s sci-fi masterpiece Star Trek leads the way with a total of seventeen nominations, including Best Science-Fiction Movie, Best Director and Best Ensemble. Read more
