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Because I get to do what I want, I'm going to post awesome clips/pictures of my favourite scenes from each of the MCU movies. (Since Ant-Man appeared in Civil War, he is added to the roster.)

Technically, Captain America should be the first of the films to watch, but I'm going to treat it as a "flashback" movie and stick it before the Avengers, because when Cap wakes up, a lot of the events in the first two Iron Man movies, the Hulk, and Thor have already taken place.

(Because I tend to love ALL the scenes from the movies, I'll limit myself to a total of five per movie - I'll aim for three, but I can go up to five. Does that seem fair? Thank you s' much.)


Iron Man 1:

Iron Man 2:





The Incredible Hulk:
(I have only watched The Incredible Hulk once, and this was after I'd seen The Avengers and had embraced Mark Ruffalo in the role of the Hulk. So, I didn't much care for Ed Norton as the Hulk, but he had some cute vulnerable scenes, and the movie overall had some good parts.)






Thor:






Captain America: The First Avenger:







The Avengers:

Ugh! There are too many good scenes in the Avengers! I'll do my best to only choose five of the best... even though I could pretty much post the entire movie and say, "I loved it all!" But the best scenes, IMHO:







Iron Man 3:







Thor: The Dark World:







Captain America: The Winter Soldier:







Avengers: Age of Ultron:







Ant-Man:






Captain America:  Civil War:

 This movie had more scenes that broke my heart than probably any other MCU movie out there. I think it's because Steve and Tony are my GUYS, and having them angry at each other was the hardest thing in the world. Steve is the man who is already on the moral high ground and who we aspire to become, and Tony is the man who gives us the hope of attaining that moral high ground by conquering ourselves more and more each day. I couldn't stand to see them fighting.

So this is more a collection of favourite bro scenes/scenes that broke my heart (there are more pictures here because there were too many good ones NOT to post...):












And that's all for now, folks! I hope that put you back in the mood to rewatch all the Avengers movies (in order, of course!) and get totally caught up in the character development again.

Until next time, that's a wrap!

God bless!

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Some high res stills from the Hulk/Ant-Man battle for a soft drink have been released. None of them feature the Hulk, but he’s shy. These debuted in last night’s Super Bowl spot for new Coke Mini cans, which will feature six Marvel characters. including Sam Wilson Captain America. Also see storyboards for this in our […]

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Marvel Studios returns to some familiar names for their bug-sized sequel

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The Academy expanded the field of visual effects contenders to 20 films this year.

The post 20 Films Shortlisted for Visual Effects Oscar appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

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Surprise! On the first day of NYCC, Marvel Studios has announced a few changes related to their Phase 3 slate of films. First things first, the biggest news: there’s an Ant-Man sequel coming. Set for July 6, 2018, Ant-Man and The Wasp will feature the adventures of Scott Lang and Hope Van Dyne (Paul Rudd […]

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Howard Stern fans got a candid interview with Paul Rudd the star of the well received and latest semi-successful Marvel film, “Ant-Man.” The interview took place on Monday after Stern admitted that he tried to buy the film rights because he believed in the character well before anyone else did, and Rudd discussed how he […]

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Last weekend, the Paul Rudd led Ant-Man flick took home $58 million, shy of parent company Disney’s estimates of $60-65 million.  This was enough to give it the number one slot that weekend,, but it also gives the insect-inspired hero film the dubious honor of having the second worst opening of any of the MCU movies, beating out only 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, which actually had a higher per-screen average than Ant-Man on its opening weekend.

Audiences aren’t very interested, and frankly, that’s quite understandable.  The film has been riddled with production issues, the most prominent of which has been the departure of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and Cornetto Triology director Edgar Wright.  Known for his outstandingly witty scriptwriting ability and technically dynamic approach to directing, many including myself were excited to see Wright take on a Marvel property and make it his own.  Many turned against Ant-Man when he left the project and never gave it another chance.  I was also one of those people.  Going into opening weekend, I was still bemoaning the loss of the visionary auteur, but I went to see Ant-Man anyways.

To my surprise, Ant-Man didn’t suck.  More than that, the movie was really, really good.  Most importantly, the picture is emblematic of what Marvel films should be in several important ways.   Thus, I’m here to ask you to give this movie a second chance like I did.  I want you to fall in love with Ant-Man too.

[There are no Ant-Man spoilers below, but I do go into a bit of detail on the humor and some of the general story beats. I actually do spoil Marvel movies that came before Ant-Man.]

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Ant-Man is an awesome genre-bender

Most Marvel movies are relatively simple beat-em-ups.  They’re action movies with a few nice character moments and several large, sprawling set pieces that are inevitably torn apart by a big battle.  However, the Marvel movies that stand out to me are the ones that play with genre.  Captain America: the Winter Soldier is, in my opinion, the best movie to have come out of the MCU.  It’s not just an action movie.  It’s Marvel’s take on a superpowered political thriller.  In a similar vein, Ant-Man isn’t just an action movie about a man who can shrink and control insects with his mind.  Ant-Man is a superpowered heist film in the vein of The Usual Suspects and The Town.

The entire movie hinges around several “jobs” that Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), Luis (Michael Peña), and the rest of their gang work to pull off.  They’ve got the lookout, the brain (Lang), and even the muscle (Peña, in a hilarious running gag, knocks out anyone he punches with one swing).  The big climax centers around breaking into a highly secure vault and stealing the Yellowjacket suit, which works similarly to the Ant-Man suit, before Hank Pym’s protegee Darren Cross (Corey Stoll) can sell it to the highest bidding military organization.  The very fact that Ant-Man‘s goal isn’t just “beat up the bad guy” allows the film to do some really cool utilitarian things with Ant-Man’s powers, including short out a security system using a species of ant that conducts electricity.  You wouldn’t see that in a more straightforward film like The Avengers, where Loki’s solution to a locked door is to have a possessed Hawkeye rip out the eye of a man whose credentials are in the door’s security system.  The latter is brutal.  The former is interesting, fun, and innovative.

“Fun” and “innovative” are probably the two best words one could use to describe Ant-Man.  It’s a curious beast of a picture, stuffed between two huge Avengers movies in Age of Ultron and Civil War.  No matter what director Peyton Reed did, the film was going to feel small in comparison.  So, the Ant-Man team took the high road and embraced that smallness.  The big climactic set piece takes place in a bedroom instead of a city and yet was way more interesting and entertaining than Age of Ultron‘s final battle (Thomas the Tank Engine is a running joke, people. Please).

The most memorable character was Peña’s powerless con Luis, whose fast-talking personality, enduring positive attitude, and strangely well-cultured background had the theater audience around me in stitches throughout the entire movie.  He stole the show, and he did it without any fancy CGI.  Ant-Man is a film where Marvel let normal people have their day in the sun.

Now, knocks where knocks are due: Evangeline Lilly’s role as Hope Van Dyne never feels as fully realized in the film as it should have been.  According to some, her role was expanded from Wright’s original script, but her role basically amounts to her and the audience not understanding why she isn’t the character entrusted with Hank Pym’s incredible shrinking suit.  She’s better than Lang at literally everything. She’s a better fighter, an equally skilled thinker, has spent more time with the technology, and doesn’t need to be trained– which you’d think would be a big plus considering they only have a few days to steal Cross’ suit.  But nope, Pym insists on training Lang anyways, and even after you finally find out why Pym won’t let his daughter take the Ant-Man role for herself, it doesn’t really seem fair to her.

Luckily, however, it seems like Marvel is setting Van Dyne up for a much bigger role in the MCU, so not all is lost on that front.  Plus, I don’t think the bad here outweighs the overwhelming good. Ant-Man is not the socially progressive Marvel movie people are clamoring for.  It is, however, a movie with a lot of heart, an interesting perspective that breathes new life into an old genre, and a prime argument against Marvel’s notion that more explosions = more fun.

Edgar Wright’s departure did NOT hurt the film

Before we go on, let’s just address the elephant in the room.  I love Edgar Wright.  Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is one of my favorite films and the editing in all the Cornetto Trilogy films is so inspiring that I want to be a director whenever I watch any of them.  To be clear, I majored in English and minored in Computer Science. I don’t know the first thing about directing or being anywhere near a film set.  I basically cried when I heard Wright would be making a Marvel movie and I did cry when I found out he was off of Ant-Man.

Yet, even though Wright didn’t end up directing the formicidaphilic caper, I could feel his sticky hands all over Ant-Man.  There’s a musical gag during a fight sequence based around a Cure song. That’s Wright.  Thomas the Tank Engine is a running gag. Definitely Wright.  Peña does a bang up job relating two job tip conversations to the audience where countless different people, men and women of various shapes and sizes, all speak with his voice. That’s actually not even Wright, but the editing and comedic styles feel like his.

Adam McKay and Paul Rudd did a great job rewriting the film while sticking to Wright and co-writer Joe Cornish’s original vision for the script, and Reed did a great job realizing that vision as director on Wright’s behalf.  Will this movie always live in the shadow of what could have been?  For better or worse, yes.  Did Marvel play bad politics with Wright?  Perhaps.  That said though, even if Wright was ultimately shorted, the Ant-Man film we got stands quite tall in spite of its production woes.  It’s a great film on its own merit, and its success could mean more like it IF we support it as an audience.  Which leads me to my final point:

Ant-Man is the kind of Marvel movie you should want to see MORE of

The Marvel train is unstoppable.  Even if Ant-Man doesn’t do well, Marvel movies are slated up until I hit my first midlife crisis in the late 2020s.  If we as viewers can’t stop this train, we should at least be able to steer it.  I don’t know about you, but I am really sick and tired of:

Drone Armies

 

Space Holes

 

Big faceless ship fights where things explode

 

Now, I like Marvel movies for what they are.   They’re fun pieces of action-filled entertainment that do a particularly outstanding job of developing characters that are interesting and rich despite their absurd and campy origins.  However, ever since The Avengers, Marvel has been in a size competition with itself, its directors competing to see who can make the largest-scale fight sequence or blow up the most vehicles in a half-hour span.  It’s gotten so bad that the studio collectively seems to have forgotten that the point of a movie climax is to bring the development of all characters, protagonists and antagonists, to a head, not just fuck up the world around the protagonist(s) and see how they respond.

Marvel has always had a villain problem.  No one except Tom Hiddleston’s Loki has ever felt fully realized as a character outside of their relationship to a protagonist.  However, villains like Jeff Bridges’ Obadiah Stane in Iron Man and Hugo Weaving’s Red Skull in Captain America: the First Avenger were still interesting because they had character arcs of a sort that were satisfactorily resolved by their climatic third-act battle.

While it’s rare (and stunning) to have a film where the audience actively wants the villain to win, movies are much more affecting when you can stake a claim with both the “good side” and “bad side.” The Avengers took the third act away from its villain, Loki, and even away from  Thanos the master puppeteer, leaving our protagonists to band together against a faceless horde that we could stake no emotional claim to.  We would have felt bad seeing Loki or Thanos win in The Avengers. We would have felt cheated if the Chitauri beat the Avengers.  The same goes for Ultron’s faceless robot army in Age of Ultron, the Dark Elves in Thor: the Dark World, and inversely, the faceless N.O.V.A. Corps soldiers who died staving off Ronan the Accuser’s invasion in Guardians of the Galaxy.

Yeah, more soldiers make for bigger fights, but who cares about the size of the battle when you know who’s going to win based off plot mechanics? Who cares about the big final fight when your protagonists aren’t even actually facing the antagonists you’ve been building up for the past two hours?

Now, I’m not saying Ant-Man solves Marvel’s villain problem.  Despite Corey Stoll’s great acting, Darren Cross comes off about as two dimensional as Stane in Iron Man.  Their backstories and motivations are even somewhat similar.  That said, I like that Marvel didn’t feel the need to cover Lang and Stoll’s final battle with pointless window dressing.  The big climax was a twenty minute fight between just the two of them, and that was perfect.  It brought both their character arcs to a suitable finish and created a legitimate sense of tension throughout.  As I’ve said time and time again, the fight was also very cleverly concepted, more or less set entirely in a briefcase, a backyard, and a bedroom.  Ant-Man was a slimmer Marvel movie and it was better for it.

I’ve heard people say that Ant-Man feels like an early phase one MCU movie, and I think that’s true.  Those older Marvel films weren’t as big as their Phase Two brethren, and instead lived and died by the merits of their stories.  I’d like to see Marvel return to that method of thinking, and I think an Ant-Man success would prove to them that I’m not alone in this.

Go see Ant-Man.  It’s hilarious, well acted, and generally clever.  Most importantly, a vote for Ant-Man is a vote for a slimmer, better Marvel movie where story comes first.

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After a painfully long production process, Marvel’s smallest big-screen hero has finally arrived, and according to studio estimates (which could see some adjustment by Monday morning) Ant-Man is looking at about a $58 million domestic haul.

For what it’s worth, that’s the second lowest debut for a Marvel Studios picture, just shy of 2008’s The Incredible Hulk opening to $55 million and on the low end of Marvel’s projections for the property.

Ant-Man was always a bit of a dicey proposition for Marvel; he’s a little-known “C-list” hero, and while I doubt most members of the general audience know Edgar Wright from Edgar Bergen, there had been a certain level of tough buzz surrounding the production of the film due to Wright’s storied exit just before shooting was to begin in Atlanta.

Strangely enough, Guardians of the Galaxy was seen as an equally tough sell and opened in a worse month (August), yet it thrived. Both films had an “A” Cinemascore, the not terribly scientific polling of audience-goers who actually attend these screenings, so they were equally well received.

So why did Guardians thrive in its opening weekend (at $94.3 million) where Ant-Man failed to reach similar heights? If I had to guess, marketing was likely the key issue. It never seemed as though the studio knew how to actually sell the picture. Was it a fun romp for families? Was it a 20’s-30’s male leaning comedic affair? And Marvel’s last-minute attempt at stressing the connections to their shared cinematic universe with a number of ads to that effect didn’t really do the trick either.

That’s not to say $58 million is a flop by any means, because it’s not, particularly given Ant-Man‘s more modest $130 million budget (not counting whatever was sunk into marketing). But, this is a case of Marvel becoming a victim of their own success a bit. With each opening since 2010 ranging from $65-210 million, the inevitable film that hit below that was going to face some scrutiny.

It’s possible that Peyton Reed‘s newest directorial outing may find some legs in the coming weeks, and the international numbers are only now coming in ($56.4 million and counting), but as of now Ant-Man‘s “Avengers bump” is a bit non-existent it seems.

For the record, I don’t think if Wright stayed on as director it would have really done much, if any, better.

What did you think, readers? Was Ant-Man all you hoped it would be?

 

 

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Since they weren’t at Comic-Con, most of the media attention has not been focused on Ant-Man, Marvel’s next entry in their Marvel Cinematic Universe snowball, which shows no sign of stopping, and which becomes ever more complex and unfathomable with each movie.  (Why do I suspect that ALL of the Phase Three heroes will become Avengers, including Doctor Strange?)

Of course, every Marvel movie has “credit cookies”, little snippets of film tucked into the final credits. Sometimes they are little oddball moments, like the Avengers having lunch, and sometimes they foreshadow upcoming movies, like Thor. They add a bit of excitement to the movie, as well as generating lots of free advertising as numerous websites post analyses and explanations on what was briefly seen.

Being a heist movie with some humor, and being the last Phase Two movie, I expect Ant-Man to include some of these.  What might they be?

Well… Ant-Man can shrink. What happens when he shrinks too small? He ends up in the Microverse.

Where’s that?  It’s a sub-atomic realm in the Marvel Universe, home of the Micronauts. Like G.I. Joe and Transformers, Marvel created a fictional universe for the toys, currently owned by Hasbro. (IDW will be publishing new stories soon.) But how can Marvel use these characters? Well, they can’t. But they do own the rights to three characters which appeared in the series: Arcturus Rann, Marionette, and Bug.

My prediction?  “Bug” will make a cameo.  Why would this be likely?

1. The Microverse, home to these characters, is connected to Pym particles, as miniaturization allows one to access the dimension.
2. “Bug” is a bit of a pun reflecting off “Ant-Man” and the other insect themes in the movie.
3. Bug, according to the official Marvel Universe Wiki, is “an Insectivorid master thief and adventurer from the planet Kaliklak in the Microverse (a.k.a. Inner Space), a “sub-atomic” realm actually accessed via the energies of shrinking. Known as a humorous, lighthearted flirt, he is also a charismatic leader and adept warrior.”  This reflects Scott Lang’s character nicely.
4. Marvel can then use this teaser to develop “Ant-Man 2″, which would be a Fantastic Planet/Fantastic Voyage mashup set in the Microverse. (If Marvel is REALLY smart, one of the Infinity Gems is hidden there.) This would also allow Marvel to develop another dimension in the MCU, which can serve as a substitute for the Negative Zone, which is part of the Fantastic Four movie rights.  (Marvel is already developing the Inhumans as a substitute for mutants and X-Men, and the Darkforce dimension will be mentioned in the next season of Agent Carter.) AM2 can also be used to spin-off the Microverse into a cartoon series, similar to He-Man (high-tech swords and sorcery). Of course, the irony would be that Hasbro would probably market the toys!

So, this doesn’t sound so crazy after all, does it?  But I know this won’t happen, at least on Earth-1218. It’s too smart and perfect, and Marvel doesn’t think that hard. Heck, Marvel had two excellent opportunities to introduce Damage Control into the Marvel Universe via The Avengers movies, but hasn’t yet. (What’s Damage Control? They’re a corporation which repairs the property damage caused by superhero conflicts. Super-high-concept, right? Instant television series. Cold open with a superhero battling a supervillain and damaging something. Then segue to the office…)

So anyway, I’ll leave this here. Advance buzz on the movie is favorable (currently 76% at Rotten Tomatoes), so I probably won’t be disappointed watching the movie. Well, at least not while I’m watching the movie. Afterwards, I’ll probably nitpick it with a fine-tooth comb. (A little joke. Bon moths, if you will. Thank you, you’ve been a wonderful audience. Try the casu marzu.)

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Released today, this Ant-Man clip shows Hank Pym meeting up with none other than…

The Falcon!  Ant-Man comes out July 17th.

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Happy Father’s Day weekend from Marvel’s #AntMan! On July 17, spend some time with your hero: http://t.co/SDsYoFglRx https://t.co/f3ihZMjTuZ

— Ant-Man (@AntMan) June 20, 2015

Marvel dished out a Father’s Day treat for Ant-Man fans in the form of a new trailer. The tweet embedded above features the full video.

This movie, starring Paul Rudd and Michael Douglas, will hit theaters on July 17. Click on these links to watch the first trailer and the teaser. (via Deadline.com)

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By Nick Eskey

Funko, the company best known for their “POP!” line of figurines, will be releasing a plethora (great word huh?) of Comic Con exclusives this year. A new list of additions will be released every Monday, Wednesday and Friday until June 29^th, so make sure you check back for the latest news.

This year to the pleasure of some Con-goers, and dismay of others (especially resellers), Funko is not offering a pre-buy option. So those who want these hot toys better fight for their lives.

Without further ado, here’s a peak of what’s in store so far:

If you love those little black and white flightless birds of the Madagascar movies, this Cheesy Skipper is waiting for you. Complete with a bag of their favorite “cheezy dibbles,” this leader of the covert penguin group also is sporting a cheese flavor-dust motif.

Just in time for Marvel’s newest movie, Ant-Man makes the scene equipped with his black and red power suit. Get him before he shrinks out of sight.

Need a personal healthcare companion who also knows how to kick major butt? This 6 inch Baymax Unmasked is your man. Err… robot. Don’t let this super-sized lover of hugs get passed you. Just look at those giant eyes!

Hannah-Barbera cartoons have a place in animated history. This little blood sucker, affectionately named Lil’ Gruesome, is from the “Wacky Races” series. Changing it up from his normal purple to a truly gruesome green, this monster will be racing straight to Comic Con.

What’s better than an Arnold Schwarzenegger Terminator? A shape-shifting cop Terminator! From Terminator 2, we have this somewhat posable T1000 figure reminiscent of the toys sold in stores in the 70’s and early 80’s. Adding to the cool factor is the hole in the head from one of the movie’s most famous scenes.

And last on our Monday reveal list is this gem from classic Japanese cinema. This Metaluna Mutant is packaged in a black and gold box and limited to 500, so it’ll be a must get for all exclusive toy collectors.

Stay tuned and check back for our Wednesday reveal!

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– Remember how we were discussing the release of the webseries prequel to the upcoming Bruce Timm produced Justice League: Gods and Monsters? Well, the first episode is officially here and can be watched below:

Episodes 2 and 3 will see release on the 10th and 12th of this month respectively.

– In spite of the strides that have been made on the production side of DC-related film properties, all’s been rather quiet on The Sandman front even though it’s been in the works with the current team (headed up by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) since December 2013. MTV recently caught up with the actor/director and got an update on the project:

It’s really good, man. It’s slow but steady. It’s a really complicated adaptation because those comics, they’re brilliant. But they’re not written as a whole. It’s not like ‘Watchmen,’ which is a graphic novel that has a beginning, middle, and end. ‘Sandman’ was written over the course of whatever — I forget exactly, six or seven years. One at a time. One little 20-page issue at a time. And to try to take that and make it into something that’s a feature film — a movie that has a beginning, middle, and end — is complicated. I’m feeling really good about it, but it is a process, so please be patient.

Big spectacular action movies are generally about crime fighters fighting crime and blowing sh-t up. This has nothing to do with that, and it was actually one of the things that Neil Gaiman said to me, he said ‘Don’t have him punch anybody.’ Because he never does. If you read the comics, Morpheus doesn’t punch anybody. That’s not what he does. It’s going to be like a grand spectacular action film, but that relies on none of those same old ordinary cliches. So, that’s why it’s taking a lot time to write, but it’s going to be really good.

Gordon-Levitt is reportedly set to direct the film, with a script by Jack Thorne. No actor has been set in the role of Morpheus as of yet. I’m really keeping my fingers crossed for this one, and hopeful that no news remains good news, but in Hollywood, that often means development hell.

– This weekend sees the release of the new relaunch of the Jurassic Park franchise in Jurassic World. I’ll be catching it tomorrow at the press screening, but for those who are taking a look at in IMAX this weekend, you’ll be in for a treat as Marvel is debuting a 6-minute preview for Ant-Man in front of all IMAX presentations of the film:

Any readers that catch it over the weekend, let me know how it looks!

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We’re a little over a month away from the release of Marvel’s next big adventure, the Paul Rudd starring Ant-Man. Today sees a new television spot that showcases some not yet seen footage, including a bit featuring Michael Peña, whose role looks to be along the lines of additional comic relief. That seems like a bit of a waste of a talented actor, but I will not judge until the finished product is seen (a repeatable mantra regarding this project if I’ve ever heard one).

Here’s the new spot:

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– Avengers: Infinity War, which it’s been revealed will have a grueling nine month production schedule (it is two films after all), will also be shot completely in IMAX using IMAX and ARRI’s next gen 2D digital camera. This marks the first time a Hollywood feature film has ever been shot completely with IMAX cameras and utilizing its larger aspect ratio.

Here’s a statement from the Russo Bros on this announcement:

The intent with the Infinity War films is to bring ten years of accumulative storytelling to an incredible climax. We felt that the best way to exploit the scale and scope required to close out the final chapter of these three phases, was to be the first films shot entirely on the IMAX/ARRI Digital camera.

Some select action scenes of Captain America: Civil War will also utilize the IMAX camera and format.

– This week, the broadcast networks are finalizing their pick-up decisions and what will make it onto the Fall and Spring schedule. Supergirl, for example, was picked up for a full series order yesterday by CBS, while iZombie was also renewed by The CW. The Flash and Arrow have also already been renewed for their second and fourth seasons respectively.

Now, all eyes are on ABC and NBC, as the former will be making its decisions regarding Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (which will surely be renewed) and Agent Carter (where things are far more uncertain), while the latter holds the final fate of Constantine in its hands.

My prediction? Agent Carter gets renewed for another short season, while Constantine finally sees its long-expected axe.

But even Powers got renewed, so I guess anything could still happen.

– 20th Century Fox has revealed the cover art for the upcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past “Rogue Cut”, which will include 17 minutes of additional footage, including all of Anna Paquin‘s sequences that were cut from the theatrical release:

– We’re only a week away from Mad Max: Fury Road hitting theaters across the country. While critics are still embargoed at this point, there’s a lot to be excited about, which I elaborated on a few weeks previous. Here’s a new featurette for the film:

– Here’s the new poster for Ant-Man, which is sadly pretty underwhelming, though that’s kind of par for the course with most blockbuster movie posters these days. Floating heads, so many floating heads!

 

– And in fun stuff, it looks like Captain America vs. Crossbones has started early:

Don’t underestimate the benefit of awe. Take time to be amazed by things. By anything. By everything.

— Chris Evans (@ChrisEvans) May 7, 2015

@FrankGrillo I’m amazed you can read. Be honest, your kids are helping you sound out the words. — Chris Evans (@ChrisEvans) May 7, 2015

@ChrisEvans I can read the hospital report for you after wake up from that that little snooze your gonna take hero boy.

— frank grillo (@FrankGrillo) May 7, 2015

I’m really looking forward to Civil War.

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Here’s a fun way to open your Monday morning; the next trailer for Ant-Man has appeared before your eyes.

In all the marketing push for Avengers: Age of Ultron (which opens next month), it’s almost easy to forget Marvel has another film opening this year, but here’s your newest look at the Paul Rudd-starring adventure.

There’s some nice humor here in small doses, but everything around it still seems rather stiff, unlike Guardians of the Galaxy, which sold its blend of action and comedy well in the first trailers. I’m not sure that’s the case here, but Marvel remains bulletproof thus far, and even a fairly rough Thor sequel hasn’t derailed them yet.

The last bit is very cute, though.

Ant-Man is the weird lost film of Marvel’s Phase 2 (it’s no longer considered a part of Phase 3), so its marketing push is coming at just the right time.

Ant-Man opens July 17, 2015

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It is popular now to say that Guardians of the Galaxy was a risky movie and everyone thought it would suck until it turned out to be the biggest movie of the year but…from the first time they showed the footage at San Diego, it looked like EXACTLY what it was. A big SF actioner with heart, a quirky sensibility and actual humor. It was still risky because no one know who Starlord was, but the movie always looked like a fun ride.

And now we have the distant drumming of Ant-Man’s july debut coming from over the hill, with all sorts of promo pieces landing yesterday. The pig with the apple in its mouth of this particular banquet was the trailer.  If you’ve been following the Ant-Man saga at all you know this is probably the most troubled MCU movie, with the project starting under director Edgar Wright, who developed it for eight years or so before parting ways with Marvel a few months into production over creative difficulties. It seemed that for eight years, no one had noticed that Wright wanted to make an Edgar Wright movie, while Kevin Feige wanted to make a Marvel movie. Even with new director Peyton Reed, some vestiges of the Wright version remain—funny man Paul Rudd is in the title role, and the movie is still about a guy who gets very tiny, which is funny.

But the trailer delivered was…well, I thought it was awful.  All the generic trappings that are the worst part of the MCU—gotta be a hero talk from an older white man, in this case Michael Douglas, a winsome child to motivate the hero, and the hero himself looking anxiously into a darkening sky. And then, to show that it is silly after all, Rudd delivering what is sort of a funny line but with a listless demeanor.

This was no GotG trailer, sorry. And a lot of people have been saying the first trailer is always dark and brooding, and that’s so. I’m sure the humor will be saved for later trailers, because, as Guardians showed, no one wants to see a humorous Marvel movie starring a hilarious actor as a hero with weird powers.

Like I said, I’m sure I’ll be proven wrong, and I retain an open mind.

Luckily, even if the trailer lacked the humor I required, people on twitter were there to supply what I craved!

 

“He’s the tiny dude riding an ant we deserve, but not the one we need right now. So we’ll hunt him. With some glue traps maybe.”

— Glen Weldon (@ghweldon) January 7, 2015

“Oh no! Yellowjacket’s put the kettle on! We’ve only got two minutes to escape!” — Steve Morris (@stevewmorris) January 6, 2015

“Oh Ant-Man, we’re stuck! Ultron’s laid a line of talcum powder across the entrance to his base!”

— Steve Morris (@stevewmorris) January 6, 2015

Plus it seems Paul Rudd got mad fit for the role.

 

Speaking of mad fit…Agent Carter. I forgot to DVR his so only saw the last hour and only paid half attention while I tried to knock off a few levels of Bubble Witch Saga 2. But Hayley Atwell is both super fit and super can do, and it was nice to see a heroine who is just as dedicated and driven as a Marvel guy hero. I liked her banter with Jarvis. I did not like it when occasional beat contributor James Urbaniak, assaying his usual “creepy doctor guy in a lab coat” role, was smacked repeatedly in the face, but I guess he’s a bad guy and that’s what happens. Anyway, Hannah Lodge will be around with more pertinent thoughts in a bit.

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Today has been a day of Ant-Man related reveals…from the first poster for the film…

 

To the unveiling of Paul Rudd in full Ant-Man regalia in this weekend’s issue of Entertainment Weekly…

 

Finally tonight, after the second part of Agent Carter‘s two episode premiere, Marvel released the first full teaser for the film; giving us a look at not only the central struggle of Rudd’s Scott Lang, but also the mentor-like role that Michael Douglas’ Hank Pym will play in this Marvel Cinematic Universe iteration of the Ant-Man origin tale.

 

 

Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Peña, Judy Greer, and John Slattery also star.

Ant-Man, directed by Peyton Reed (Bring It On, Yes Man) and the 12th film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, opens on July 17th.

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Yesterday, Marvel Studios released an “ant-sized” version of the teaser for the Ant-Man trailer that is debuting during the premiere of Agent Carter on ABC this coming Tuesday night. Today, they sized it up into viewing shape and it gives us our first in-action glimpse of Paul Rudd as Scott Lang, Evangeline Lilly as Hope Van Dyne, and Corey Stoll as Darren Cross.

Given its production history, Ant-Man will be a fascinating entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, for hopefully positive reasons, but there’s a lot of concern circling the project. Here’s the current plot synopsis:

Armed with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, con-man Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) must embrace his inner-hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), protect the secret behind his spectacular Ant-Man suit from a new generation of towering threats. Against seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Pym and Lang must plan and pull off a heist that will save the world.

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By Kyle Pinion

Today, Marvel resumed their semi-regular “Next Big Thing” conference calls with comics press, focusing this iteration on the upcoming Ant-Man launch in January. The soon to be Marvel movie featured Scott Lang is the star of this new series written by Nick Spencer (Morning Glories, Superior Foes of Spider-Man) joined by artist Ramon Rosanas (Night of the Living Deadpool)

Joined by Marvel Editor-In-Chief Alex Alonso and series editor Wil Moss, the team came swinging out the gates with the news that Cassie Lang, Scott’s long departed daughter who was murdered by Doctor Doom in Avengers: The Children’s Crusade, would be returning to life. Spencer elaborated:

The darkness around Scott’s life is starting to lift. Cassie Lang is going to be coming back…if you want some details on that story, you can find [them] in Avengers World #16, which is going to be out next week. Scott is going to get a new shot at being a dad.

Spencer also stated how important the character of Cassie is to his run, going so far as to say that the concept of a “superhero single dad” was an integral part of his initial series pitch to Marvel.

Moss, speaking to Spencer’s assignment on the series, stressed that his “strong and unique voice” allows the book to stand out and give the book its own identity. Alonso chimed in that the goal for the series was to create a book that is “big and bold and very widescreen” but insisted that humor and poignant character moments will be present and Alonso cited the breadth of Spencer’s work from Superior Foes of Spider-Man to his broader dramatic titles underlines just why he was the top choice of the series.

But the praise wasn’t just reserved for Spencer, as Moss and Alonso had many a kind word for series artist Rosanas, highlighting his versatility and page density. Alonso added:

He really makes you feel like you’re in a lab, the everglades. He moves the camera very well. When Nick suggested the change of venue for Ant-Man, I knew this was exactly the kind of detail that Ramon could handle.

‘Ant-Man’ #1 variant by Skottie Young

To that point, one of the big changes set for the series is that Scott is relocating to the Marvel Universe version of Miami, which Spencer called “a great setting for a comic” and that its bright colors make it look just like a comic book city. The writer went so far as to visit Miami for series research. When asked by a member of the press what the Marvel U version of Miami looks like, he spoke at length:

I’ve got a million ideas for what the Marvel Universe version of Miami looks like, and the kind of stories that can bring out. It’s just like Marvel Universe New York…you take true elements of a city, and blow it up. It’ll be a Miami that people recognize, but just blown up 10 times. It struck me as the perfect place to set a book. When you’re in the city, there are all these primary colors and the neon… you can just see how fun it is of an environment for your stories. And it’s a port city, obviously, it’s a very international city. For me, I did a lot of this on ‘Avengers World,’ on a global scale. I’m always interested in getting out of New York. As much as I love Marvel New York, I get excited when Venom goes to Philadelphia, things like that. For me, it’s interesting to see the other cities and I know it’s fun for fans in the cities, as well.

As has been reported previously, Tony Stark will be playing a role in Ant-Man, to which the newly christened Superior Iron Man will precipitate Scott’s move to Miami. Spencer wanted to give a nod to his protagonist’s former recurring role in the Iron Man, and says that the dynamic between the two of them in the first issue is a lot of fun.

The team then discussed the series’ aim to build up Ant-Man’s rogues gallery, which was described as “meager at best”. One of the first attempts to enhance it will be with the third issue’s inclusion of Taskmaster, of whom Spencer proclaimed that he “will look for any excuse to write” and that he’s appeared in his last three Marvel titles in some varying form or another. He went on to say that the villain is the “closest thing Scott has to an arch-enemy…the two have faced off a number of times” and that beyond Taskmaster there would be a number of new and old villains that will play a role in the series.

Spencer also spoke to the tone of Ant-Man, relaying that while it won’t have the outright comedic tone of Superior Foes, it will contain many moments that will make readers laugh and cringe (initiated by Scott). But he maintained that the “hero’s journey” is key to the story being told, specifically citing Mark Waid’s Daredevil and Ultimate Spider-Man as key influences.

Other questions raised by members of the press included…

Will Darla Deering (Scott’s semi-love interest in Matt Fraction and Mike Allred’s FF) make an appearance?

Spencer said we will be seeing Darla briefly in Issue #1; he also stated, in response to another question on the topic of Scott’s FF tenure, that this history will be touched upon but his primary goal is to make Ant-Man a great solo book.

Will Hank Pym play a role?

Spencer had to provide a no-comment answer here, but he emphasized Pym’s role in the Ant-Man legacy. On a similar note, another question was raised regarding the third Ant-Man, Eric O’Grady, and if he might appear. Spencer said that “it would be fun” and that “their relationship is interesting, as they are part of the same legacy but have never met”. O’Grady’s tenure in the costume will have ramifications for Issue #2 as well, according to Moss.

Will the series carry a Marvel Studios tone to line up with the upcoming film?

Spencer said he was a big fan of Paul Rudd, and that he’s very excited for the movie, but that the series is “the book they would have done, whether there was a movie or not”. Alonso chimed in that the key is to “write a really great Ant-Man story and make it accessible” and that readers don’t have to be Ant-Man fans to understand who Spencer’s version of the character is.

On the subject of accessibility, we asked about the structure of the series and whether it would be composed of “done in one” stories ala Hawkeye and She-Hulk or more multi-part arcs?

Spencer replied that it would be a bit of a mix, that the first two issues are self-contained stories, while the next few past that are more connected and there definitely be some multi-issue stories going forward.

We also asked about any new characters that Spencer is introducing that he may be excited about:

“There are characters that are new to Scott that I’m excited about, including a couple that are new to Scott, but regulars in the Marvel Universe.” Spencer also said there would be some continuity nuggets there for longtime Ant-Man fans, especially given that the character grew up in Coral Gables.

How will Scott’s criminal past affect the character going forward?

Scott hasn’t always had the greatest moral compass…Even in FF, he starts out with wanting to end Doom, and everybody needs to walk him back from that, and say that’s not really the heroic thing to do. That’s always been a part of Scott’s character. He wants to be a hero, if only to inspire his daughter and be a good dad …he wants to do the right thing, but he’s not always entirely sure of what that is.

Circling back to the topic of Miami, is part of the fun of setting the book in Miami establishing the character’s identity away from the other heroes of the Marvel Universe?

Yeah, definitely…it’s a less crowded space. But also it’s fun in a city like that…what does the costumed community in a city look like? Miami is a city that you see in a lot of crime fiction, because it’s a port city. It’s fun to say, how does that play out in a series like this? That was definitely part of the fun, to take those things and build them out. When Scott moves to a place like Miami, he thinks he’s going to be the only show in town, and that may not end up being true, which is part of the fun.

Spencer also said, in response to another question regarding Scott potentially roaming the area beyond Miami’s downtown, that the creative team will be making the most of the new location. And in a query regarding any potential inventive uses of Scott’s powers, Spencer emphasized that it was important that they found new and novel ways to utilize his power-set, including the way he communicates with ants. Issue #3 was singled out as an upcoming example of that effort.

Ant-Man #1 will be available January 7, 2015; Marvel has graciously provided us with the following preview images for your perusal.

 

 

 

 

 

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By David Nieves

Next year will be a big year for Ant-Man as the character gets ready to hit the big screen in next Summer’s Marvel Studios film. Announced today at New York Comic Con was a new Ant-Man title written by Avengers World scribe Nick Spencer and drawn by Ramon Rosanes.

This book will feature Scott Lang in the costume. Spencer talked a little about the upcoming book saying, “Scott is a character I really connect with, Scott wants to be a hero and he wants to be a good guy, but he’s got a checkered past, he has a tendency to take shortcuts and get in his own way… all these marks of a great Marvel character.”

Spencer said that if readers enjoyed Superior Foes of Spider-Man or Cloak and Dagger, they would enjoy the laughs and drama of this book. Ant-Man will launch January 2015.

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As triumph so often turns to tragedy, just as what is arguably Marvel Studio’s greatest achievement—the extremely well reviewed, successful and genre busting Captain America: The Winter Soldier—showed that they could take any old character and craft a taut, suspenseful narrative, and excitement was growing for Guardians of the Galaxy, along came the big Ant-Man kersplat. Just as a reminder, the film was in development for eight years with quirky director/writer duo Edgar Wright and Joe Cornell, and Marvel so believed in that vision that they put up with delays, both personal and scheduling, for EIGHT YEARS and yet just as the film was going into production, things were suddenly not so hunky dory and the director and Marvel parted ways, probably over a rewritten script.

Plucky Marvel insisted that the film would still meet its July 17, 2015 release date and even claimed to have a director on board already, so there. But this evolved into them trying to FIND a director and three candidates lining up, all on the comedy end of the spectrum, Adam McKay (Anchorman), Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland) and Rawson Marshall Thurber (Dodgeball). As soon as McKay’s name leaked out, he assured everyone he was not actually going to direct Ant-Man. Now there is a report of kinda dodgy origins that Thurber is also out. I’m not giving this a 100%, but it kind of sums up the shambolic state this project has now fallen into. Often acerbic comics commentator Alex Pappedemas has a piece called Marvel Grits Teeth, Rolls Forward With Ant-Man Movie Literally Nobody Wants that pretty much sums up the basic problem: eight yes were spent developing a film based on a very obscure character because of the unique and well-defined approach of the filmmakers. Trying to adapt that vision into whatever the studio now wants is hardly a prospect that inspires folks to shout “This is my dream project!”

Seriously there was ONE HUMAN BEING for whom Ant-Man was a dream project and that is Edgar Wright, who is no longer making an Ant-Man movie.

Pappedemas and other observers suggest that Marvel is moving forward with this movie out of sheer stubbornness. Maybe so, I trust the Marvel machine to make an entertaining movie, probably with the aid of Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo guest starring. Actually “Ant-Man and the Hulk” — that would be a fine movie.

Perhaps the greatest tragedy in this is that if the film isn’t made, Paul Rudd will have gotten all buff for no reason at all. I’ve mentioned that Marvel has an excellent physical therapy department, and they turned 275 lb couch potato Chris Pratt into a guy confident enough to take his shirt off for Instagram and Starlord. And so they turned 45-year-old Rudd into another beefcake specimen who would have been proud to show off a skintight suit. Those Marvel guys are good, we told you.

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Veteran Hollywood sleuths Kim Masters and Borys Kit poked around the story of Marvel and directors Edgar Wright parting ways on Ant-Man—despite Wright having worked on the idea for eight years—
and back up reports of Marvel’s one-size-fits-all approach:

“Kevin Feige [and his top lieutenants] run Marvel with a singularity of vision, but when you take a true auteur and throw him into the mix, this is what you get,” says a source. “They don’t want you to speak up too much or have too much vision. People who have never worked there don’t understand how they operate, but if you trust them, they have an amazing track record.”
Ant-Man’s tone might have been too quirky for the Marvel universe. Insiders say Marvel feels it already might have gone outside its comfort zone with August’s Guardians of the Galaxy, a space adventure heavy on odd humor and featuring a talking raccoon. In 2011, Sony’s similarly comic The Green Hornet with Seth Rogen failed to launch the franchise for which the studio hoped.

In addition, although Marvel Studios has vowed to keep the original July 17, 2015 start date, key crew members have left the production, which was slated to start next week.

Mike Fleming at Deadline has his own thoughts — and even steals my James Bond analogy! Apparently Wright may move right on to a Kolchak The Night Stalker reboot with Johnny Depp.

The exit of Wright is more surprising, considering he came to Comic-Con several years ago and showed a sample of the shrinking technology that would anchor the film. Then, Wright got Feige’s blessing to postpone the movie while he did The World’s End because Working Title partner Eric Fellner had a life-threatening health matter and Wright felt honor bound to see through the final leg of the Cornetto trilogy. The fact that Wright is so revered among the demo that Ant-Man will have to appeal to shows the confidence that Marvel has in Feige’s vision — and, indeed, the movies under his watch have been so good it’s hard to argue. It seems similar to the hold that producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson wield over the James Bond franchise. How many huge directors have expressed desire to helm a 007 film but were rebuffed or stepped away because the ultimate creative call resides not with any filmmaker but the producers who are the flame keepers of the franchise?

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WHOOPS here’s the bad news to get you off on the weekend — Edgar Wright has left Ant-Man the film he’s been working on for…like…EIGHT YEARS. Marvel released a short statement and Latino Review had a short mysterious addendum

Marvel and Edgar Wright jointly announced today that the studio and director have parted ways on ANT-MAN due to differences in their vision of the film,” a statement read. “The decision to move on is amicable and does not impact the release date on July 17, 2015. A new director will be announced shortly.

Stay tuned as more develops! Will update the story as I find out more. I been hearing things but coughed it up to gossip. Unfortunately, it was true. I’m just shocked that production being this close that Wright bails.

Okay will you all go back and read this post by moi again? Marvel movies are good but homogenous and Edgar Wright—Scott PIlgrim, Shaun of the Dead, The World’s End—was an autuer. Not a Spielberg-esque auteur, but a guy who makes movies that are his OWN.

And MArvel had no room to do that. I’m guessing here but…is there any other way it could have played out?

Wright has been attached to Ant-Man since 2006 and even showed footage at Comic-Con a few years ago. On paper this looked like a weird, quirky film. Maybe that’s not what Marvel was looking for.

Ant-Man is still slated to come out in 2015, starring Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Michael Pena and Patrick Wilson.

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