Marvel Studios Highlights Upcoming Slate With Open House Event

Marvel Studios opened its doors to members of the press for the first time on Monday afternoon.

In doing so, the studio offered up looks at its upcoming slate of films which will culminate with Avengers: Infinity War‘s two part adventures in 2018 and 2019. On the docket to Thanos’ big showdown with the Avengers is a handful of titles: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, and Ant-Man and The Wasp.

As the tour went on, various filmmakers and artists spoke about their recent work within the studio, including Ant-Man director Peyton Reed, Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi, concept artist Andy Park, and executive producers Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, and Kevin Feige.

Spider-Man: Homecoming

 

Spider-Man: Homecoming had a large presence at the Open House event. 

The movie which will see Peter Parker star in his own film for the first time within the Marvel Cinematic Universe plastered the offices in forms of posters and concept art. Much of the art was admittedly influenced by John Romita Jr. according to Andy Park.

Designs on the wall saw Peter lounging on a fire escape with his Spider-Man mask half on, an overly baggy version of the costume hanging from his teenage frame, close-ups of the webslingers attached to his wrists and images of the hero being snatched out of the air by Vulture.

Later in the event, several visual effects shots — none more than 2 to 3 seconds in length — were presented by D’Esposito. The takeaway from the shots is that the recovered Ultron tech will play a major role in the film, such as the division of the New York City ferry Spider-Man finds himself trying to rescue from peril. Additional shots to clips seen in trailers showed Vulture carrying Spider-Man into the sky, where he would wrestle the propellers of a jet engine and be left falling from the sky at one point.

A couple of clips also featured Logan Marshall-Green’s portrayal of Shocker using Crossbones’ gauntlet, beside Donald Glover’s character who was seen using a recovered piece of an Ultron bot turned into a weapon.

One extended clip saw Peter running into an alley way in a hurry to strip his clothes off in favor of his Spider-Man costume. When it was too big on him, he pressed the logo on his chest which compressed it to his body.

Thor: Ragnarok

Thor: Ragnarok continues to bring more and more elements of the fan-favorite Planet Hulk story line to its run time and all we have seen is one trailer and some photos!

Now, we have another character to add to the movie’s already impressive roster consisting of Thor, the Hulk, Loki, Odin, Doctor Strange, the Grandmaster, Valkyrie, and Hela. Both Korg and Miek of the Planet Hulk story will be brought to live action for Thor: Ragnarok. 

Korg, a Kronan character (known adversaries to Asgard), is played by Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi. During production, Waititi geared up in a motion capture suit and lent his voice to rock monster. According to Waititi, Korg will “introduce Thor to the world of Sakaar.

The details were revealed during an Open House event hosted by Marvel Studios on Monday afternoon. Going further than announcing Korg and Miek’s inclusion in the film, the director showed off their introductory scene from the film. In it, Thor is tossed into a gladiator jail, of sorts, on Sakaar. Always the hasty Marvel hero, Thor is eager to take on the Grandmaster. Korg, however, advises against it, in a much lighter than expected voice complete with Waititi’s New Zealand accent. It was an effort to make the character “really lovable” according to Waititi, who admits it is “difficult to make a character made of rocks lovable.”

Both Korg and Miek see a bit of a facelift for the adaptation. Korg resembles the same character in size and shape but loses his yellow coloring. Instead, the rocks which make up the ally to Thor and the Hulk are white and grey. He also carries a staff, similar to something Rey would wield in a Star Wars film, but larger and he whips it around much more violently.

Miek, looking a bit more like a giant hunk of defenseless larva than he did in the Planet Hulk books, receives a major upgrade in the form of an exoskeleton suit. The suit is responsible for giving the character not only legs complete with hooves for feet but arms which have swords attached to their ends, rather than hands.

The actor playing Miek was not revealed.

Concept art on walls showcased Thor doing battle with Hela, Valkyrie in costume with shading around her eyes, and Korg wielding his staff.

Black Panther

Of the footage Black Panther shown on Monday afternoon, none of it was complete. Several of the clips were taken straight from the daily reviews, meaning absolutely no editing had been done to them. They were raw footage. 

Still, they looked fantastic.

One of the first clips shown followed Lupita Nyong’o’s Nakia character as she approached soldiers in a jungle. As the soldiers opened fire, presumably aiming for the Dora Milaje, Nakia snuck up on several of them and beat them until they were not only disarmed but unable to fight back. She did this with several kicks, punches, and hip tosses, all in one smooth, well-choreographed effort.

A later clip saw Ulysses Klaw, as portrayed by Andy Serkis, entering a casino. Being narrated by Danai Gurira’s Okoye, the audience hears that he has eight men with him. 

After marching down the stairs, Klaw later comes to a meeting with Martin Freeman’s Everett Ross. Ross jokes that Klaw brought so many people they might as well be dropping a new mixtape. Klaw jokes back, clearly not taking the insult seriously. He wants a brieface.

After a cut, an action sequence ensues. T’Challa is protecting Freeman as they hide behind a table. He uses guns to take out several enemies, providing Ross with enough cover to take his briefcase and escape the casino.

Another pair of clips showed two boats approaching Warrior Falls for T’Challa’s crowning as King of Wakanda.

The first clip had Gurira’s Okoye at the lead of a ship. She was wearing gold while the rest of the Dora Milaje was wearing a light red color. As they camera crept towards the group, they chanted and stepped together, lead by Okoye.

In the following clip, a similar angle sees a group of Wakandan citizens, many dressed in extravagant colors, celebrating and dancing together as they approach Warrior Falls to see T’Challa become King. 

Both shots were surrounded by huge walls of blue screen which might be replaced with additional boats, endless ocean, or land.

Upon arrival at Warrior Falls, it is time for T’Challa to take on the mantle of King.

the first shot follows Chadwick Boseman’s character down a set of steps and into water at the bottom of Warrior Falls. As the camera follows T’Challa’s sight line, it pans up to reveal the people of Wakanda dancing in celebration of his arrival. He joins in and steps to a beat with a spear and shield in his hand.

The second shot was a reverse, medium close up, focused on T’Challa as he approaches the crowd.

Ant-Man And The Wasp

 

Ant-Man director Peyton Reed was on hand to discuss a new batch of concept art of the upcoming Ant-Man and The Wasp. 

The approach being taken for the upcoming film shows Scott Lang in both ant- and giant-form but goes further by introducing vehicles which can alter both their own dimensions and their passengers. In one piece of art, Luis’ van is seen dodging giant rain drops as it chases another car.

Elsewhere, a trio of designs for The Wasp were hanging. Reed pointed out that one was a classic Hope Van Dyne design while the two others featured an approach which mirrors the Ant-Man’s design and scheme and one which features a blue, gold, and white design.

Some fun pieces saw a dog eating a shrunken car, Ant-Man using a shaken bottle of Coca-Cola turned giant, and Ant-Man and The Wasp running from gigantic looking snake-like insects.

Captain Marvel

On display in one of Marvel Studios’ offices was a trio of concept art photos showcasing Larson in costume as Captain Marvel. 

The costume was pulled straight from the pages of Marvel Comics. The most notable difference is the downplaying of the yellow which grabs the eye of those looking at Carol Danver’s constume. Instead, it is a much lighter yellow, which can appear to be white at a glance. Otherwise, the suit on the cover of Kelly Sue Deconnick’s Captain Marvel #1 is a quite accurate representation of what fans can expect to see in live action.

Artist Andy Park did point out that the costume is still evolving and Larson has not yet tried on the design featured in the concept art images.

Beneath the pair of images which simply showed Larson in costume as Captain Marvel was a design of the character fighting a handful of mech-type enemies in city streets. The enemies had purple eyes, one pair of which were shooting lasers in the background, but Captain Marvel used only one hand to keep the immediate threat’s attempted punch away from her — and was making it look easy.

As for whether or not those images will be released online any time soon, it doesn’t sound like it. Larson will make her debut as Captain Marvel in Avengers: Infinity War which is deep into production but Marvel Studios is looking to keep the focus on the four remaining films prior to the ensemble: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Thor: Ragnarok, and Black Panther. 

Avengers: Infinity War

The future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe lays in the hands of Thanos. More accurately — the hand of Thanos. As the villain makes his rounds through the cosmos and collects the Infinity Stones, assembling them into the Gauntlet he slipped onto his hand in the post credits scene of Avengers: Age of Ultron, he is quickly becoming the single most powerful being.

Charged with playing the part of the Mad Titan in the live-action adaptation is Josh Brolin.

Speaking to select members of the press at an Open House event at Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige said Brolin is “killing it” as Thanos. The crew, currently filming Avengers: Infinity War in Scotland, has already shot “a good bit” of Brolin in the role.

It’s good news for anyone who thought Brolin joining the Deadpool films as Cable might affect his time as Thanos in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 

Feige is only supportive of his additional role and another Marvel Comics character. The President of Marvel Studios, an entity with zero ties to 20th Century Fox’s Deadpool products, is confident Brolin will excel in the role. “I think he’ll make one hell of a Cable,” Feige said.

Concept art of Thanos seen in the Avengers: Infinity War production start video were showcased on walls but one new image, showing the Mad Titan rocking a sleeveless number was also revealed.