8:15 AM, Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013 - Posted by Brant Fowler
Yesterday, Marvel released the new trailer for Marvel's AVENGERS ASSEMBLE, the new animated series coming to Disney XD in July, and shared it with CR. If you head over to our YouTube page you can watch the trailer there. Below is the information about the series:
The Biggest Heroes. The Biggest Threats. The Biggest Stakes!
It's the most anticipated new animated series to launch this year and this July, Marvel's Avengers Assemble reunites Marvel's most iconic Super Heroes - Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Hulk, Hawkeye, Black Widow & Falcon! Featuring the team that took the world by storm in Marvel's The Avengers, no fan can miss the action-packed adventures of Earth's Mightiestas they must protect the Marvel Universe from the biggest threats they've ever seen - all while working together as a team!The world's most dangerous Super Villains don't stand a chance when the Avengers Assemble!
Don't miss the miss the premiere episode of Marvel's Avengers Assemble SUNDAY, JULY 7 with a special one-hour preview on SUNDAY, MAY 26 (both at 11:00 a.m., ET/PT) inside the Marvel Universe programming block on Disney XD.
Official Press Release:
THE WORLD'S MOST POPULAR SUPER HEROES ASSEMBLE IN
"MARVEL'S AVENGERS ASSEMBLE," PREMIERING SUNDAY, JULY 7
ON MARVEL UNIVERSE ON DISNEY XD
A Special One-Hour Preview Debuts Sunday, May 26
On Marvel Universe on Disney XD
"Marvel's Avengers Assemble," a new animated series reuniting some of Marvel's most iconic Super Heroes - Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Hulk, Hawkeye, Black Widow and newcomer Falcon -- premieres SUNDAY, JULY 7, with a special one-hour preview on SUNDAY, MAY 26 (both at 11:00 a.m., ET/PT) on Marvel Universe on Disney XD.
Featuring the team that took the world by storm in "Marvel's The Avengers," "Marvel's Avengers Assemble" follows the action-packed adventures of the iconic Super Hero team, the Avengers, as they find a way to put their differences aside and work together to defend the planet from threats no single Super Hero could withstand. The world's most dangerous Super Villains don't stand a chance when the Avengers Assemble.
Special one-hour preview (11:00 a.m., ET/PT) on Marvel Universe on Disney XD. In the episode "The Avengers Protocol: Pt. 1," when Captain America is apparently destroyed by Red Skull, Iron Man re-unites the team to try and avenge his friend and stop Red Skull's army. In "The Avengers Protocol: Pt. 2," M.O.D.O.K. and Red Skull steal Tony Stark's armor, which forces the Avengers to put aside their differences and galvanize the team to stop the evil duo from destroying New York City.
At DisneyXD.com/Marvel, fans can take on the role of Hawkeye in the new side-scrolling action defense game, "Avengers Tower Assault." Players can help the Avengers defend Stark Tower and an ancient powerful artifact from the oncoming hordes of Red Skull's minions.
Monday, May 27
"The Avengers Protocol: Pt. 1" and "The Avengers Protocol: Pt. 2" episodes will be available on iTunes.
Friday, June 28
A special 2-minute preview of the premiere episode will air during the 8:30 p.m., ET/PT telecast of "Jessie" on Disney Channel.
Preview episodes are available on DisneyXD.com, WATCHDisneyXD.com and the WATCH Disney XD app for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. Additionally, verified WATCH Disney XD viewers will be able to watch the series premiere. WATCH Disney XD delivers a live feed of the network online and to mobile devices, as well as on demand episodes of popular shows.
Series premiere (11:00 a.m., ET/PT) - In the episode "Ghost of a Chance," the rookie Falcon stands alone to save his team and stop a full scale invasion of Earth after the Avengers fall victim to the body-swapping Space Phantoms.
At DisneyXD.com/Marvel, a second game will launch.
Starring are Adrian Pasdar ("Heroes") as Iron Man/Tony Stark, Fred Tatasciore ("Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness") reprising his role as Hulk/Bruce Banner, Roger Craig Smith ("Wreck-It Ralph") as Captain America/Steve Rogers, Travis Willingham ("Shelf Life") as Thor, Troy Baker ("Marvel's Ultimate Spider-Man") as Hawkeye/Clint Barton, Bumper Robinson ("The Game") as Falcon/Sam Wilson and Laura Bailey ("The Super Hero Squad Show") as Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff.
The creative team consists of executive producers Alan Fine ("The Avengers," "Iron Man," "Thor"), Dan Buckley ("The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes," "Marvel's Ultimate Spider-Man"), Joe Quesada ("Marvel's Ultimate Spider-Man") and Jeph Loeb ("Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."); co-executive producers Stan Lee ("Spider-Man"), Eric Radomski ("Spawn," "Marvel's Ultimate Spider-Man") and Man of Action Studios ("Marvel's Ultimate Spider-Man," "Ben 10"); and supervising producers Todd Casey ("Thundercats"), Cort Lane ("The Super Hero Squad Show") and Eric Radomski ("Spawn," "Marvel's Ultimate Spider-Man"). "Marvel's Avengers Assemble" is produced by Marvel Television and carries a TV-Y7-FV parental guideline.
Disney XD is a basic cable channel and multi-platform brand showcasing a compelling mix of live-action and animated programming for Kids age 6-14, hyper-targeting boys and their quest for discovery, accomplishment, sports, adventure and humor. Disney XD branded content spans television, online, mobile and VOD platforms. The programming includes series, movies and short-form, as well as sports-themed programming developed with ESPN. In the U.S., Disney XD is seen on a 24-hour, advertiser supported network that reaches over 78 million households via its basic cable and satellite affiliates. For more information visit http://www.DisneyXD.com/
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 over 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media over seventy years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing and publishing. For more information visit http://www.marvel.com/
8:00 AM, Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013 - Posted by John Wilson
Microsoft unveiled the Xbox One today, and embedded in its bounty of announcements relating to the new console was the exciting news that Steven Spielberg is developing and will produce a live-action TV series based on the popular Halo franchise. Microsoft has been trying to get a big screen iteration of Halo off the ground for years, with Peter Jackson previously producing the feature film effort that Neill Blomkamp was poised to direct. Things went sour when Blomkamp's vision for the film didn't jibe with Microsoft's strict rules regarding how the franchise was to be handled, but it worked out alright with Blomkamp instead making his directorial debut with the stellar 2009 sci-fi pic District 9.
Now it appears that Microsoft will go it alone with regards to a narrative Halo effort, and they've got Steven Spielberg on their side.
This isn't the first time that Spielberg's name has been connected to the Halo property. Rumors swirled back in 2011 that Spielberg would be producing the Halo movie at DreamWorks, but obviously that never came to pass. It would appear that Spielberg and Microsoft have found a different avenue in which to explore a Halo adaptation, and 343 Industries is onboard to develop. Here's what Spielberg had to say about the TV show in a pre-recorded statement:
"The Halo universe is an amazing opportunity to be at that intersection where technology and myth-making meet to produce something truly groundbreaking."
Spielberg will act as executive producer of the series, but not much else is known at this point. The filmmaker lends his name to a number of properties in executive producer capacity with varying degrees of involvement, so while he'll certainly have creative input, I wouldn't expect Spielberg to be intimately working on the Halo series.
8:00 AM, Tuesday, May 21st, 2013 - Posted by John Wilson
Still not happy with Wolverine's past depicted on screen? Well, Marvel Knights Animation is going straight to the source and coming out with a new panel-by-panel graphic feature based on Wolverine: Origin, the comic book limited series written by Paul Jenkins from a story by Joe Quesada.
In this upcoming deluxe DVD, fans will have access to not only the 66-minute feature presentation, but also a bevy of behind-the-scenes content including interviews with the creators and illustrators to provide a retrospective look at the development and production process of the original story.
Marvel Knights Animation's Wolverine: Origin is priced to own at $14.97 and hits home entertainment shelves on July 9. Pre-order is now available at Amazon.com.
6:00 PM, Saturday, May 18th, 2013 - Posted by John Wilson
Clark Gregg has hinted that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will feature surprise appearances by Marvel's superheroes.
ABC recently unveiled the first trailer for the highly anticipated series, which included brief glimpses of beings who appear to possess super powers.
Gregg - who plays Agent Coulson - has now revealed to Access Hollywood that fans can definitely expect to see superheroes in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
"We're out to kind of find the new threats and deal with old Marvel business and maybe you'll see some kind of surprising villains and surprising superheroes every once in a while," he teased.
The actor went on to express happiness that Agent Coulson has been included in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., despite the character having been apparently killed off in The Avengers.
"I got a call saying, 'We're going to take another step. This is the comic book universe, you might not be completely dead'," Gregg recalled.
"It's awesome for fans, it's really awesome for me."
The supporting cast for Marvel's series includes Angel's J August Richards, former ER star Ming-Na, Ian de Caestecker and Elizabeth Henstridge.
4:00 PM, Saturday, May 18th, 2013 - Posted by John Wilson
Joss Whedon has clarified the position of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV series vis-à-vis the Marvel cinematic universe that spawned the show, stating: "We're absolutely on top of all the movies. We never contradict or replicate. We will be flowing in between them. Maybe occasionally we'll throw something in that foreshadows or echoes (what's happening there), but we're very much beholding to the Marvel cinematic universe."
Of course there is one major wrinkle for Whedon and the other Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. writers to pull off—namely the resurrection of Agent Phil Coulson, who appeared to be very much dead when last seen in Whedon's The Avengers. The exact method of Coulsen's reanimation remains unrevealed, but actor Clark Gregg, who played Coulson in the films and who admitted to the Los Angeles Times concerning his demise that "there was a lot of blood, I felt pretty dead," appears to be satisfied with the method and credibility of his resurrection, saying "As soon as I heard the concept and saw the script I realized it was worth doing. There's very little I can say about it at this time. It's post Avengers, and it works with the Avengers universe. That's what's exciting about it to me."
Whedon is also pleased with the S.H.I.E.L.D. narrative that brought Coulson back to life, telling The Times: "I've worked in comics, TV, and fantasy for a long time and I know there is a right way and a wrong way to do stuff like that... it's all about earning everything, so that people don't believe you lied, or that you put one over on them, that you have an explanation that you buy."
Whedon obviously wanted Gregg to be a key player in the S.H.I.E.L.D series from the beginning, saying, "I wouldn't want to do it without my man Phil Coulson, without Clark. He's got a thing I call a Columbo thing. He's so low-key. He's never overselling, and then he turns out to be the smartest man in the room."
The creator of the highly successful Buffy the Vampire TV series told TV Fanatic one of his key secrets for creating compelling television, "Everything has to push 'character' forward, including action. We don't want 'spectacle' characters. We want some spectacle that addresses character. We always want the two to mix."
The S.H.I.E.L.D. series will appear on Tuesday nights on ABC in the fall.
8:00 AM, Saturday, May 18th, 2013 - Posted by John Wilson
A rumor started a few weeks ago that Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch would be joining the team in the upcoming Avengers sequel. Further signs continued to point towards the characters' inclusion in the film and now writer/director Joss Whedon has confirmed the characters will appear in an interview with IGN. In the interview, he spoke about their involvement in the film.
"You know, they had a rough beginning. They're interesting to me because they sort of represent the part of the world that wouldn't necessarily agree with The Avengers. So they're not there to make things easier. I'm not putting any characters in the movie that will make things easier."
We've learned exclusively at SuperheroHype that Irish actress Saoirse Ronan is the "prototype" for their version of the Scarlet Witch, but no casting has taken place.
Whedon also spoke about how the ending to Iron Man 3 (spoiler ahead!) showed a potentially changed Tony, but he's still tied to The Avengers.
"Well, I feel like in Iron Man 3, even though he said, ';I've changed' -- he blew up his remote suits, but I don't think anybody thinks he doesn't have one anymore. The question is, if The Avengers are called, does he show up? And the answer is, ';Yes!'"
Casting for The Avengers 2 is still coming together with many rumors flying around about potential actors being replaced. Regardless of who ultimately assembles for the sequel, Marvel's The Avengers 2 hits the big screen on May 1, 2015.
4:00 PM, Friday, May 17th, 2013 - Posted by John Wilson
The third Iron Man film included some pretty good twists that caught most fans off guard, and now director Shane Black has explained why they decided to make a shocking change to the comic canon.
Spoilers ahead!
As we know by now, the threequel reimagined the iconic Iron Man baddie the Mandarin as a fake figurehead played by Ben Kingsley, who turns out to be a hilarious Shakespearean actor just trying to work the gig. This opened the door for Guy Pearce's Aldrich Killian to be the real villain, rocking some fiery Extremis technology.
So why the fakeout? Why not use Iron Man's most frightening villain as an actual, you know, villain? Basically, because it was too easy. Here's Black's reasoning:
"I would say that we struggled to find a way to present a mythic terrorist that had something about him that registered after the movie's over as having been a unique take, or a clever idea, or a way to say something of use. And what was of use about the Mandarin's portrayal in this movie, to me, is that it offers up a way that you can sort of show how people are complicit in being frightened.
They buy into things in the way that the audience for this movie buys into it. I think that's a message that's more interesting for the modern world, because I think there's a lot of fear that's generated toward very available and obvious targets, which could perhaps be directed more intelligently at what's behind them."
Fans have been divided on the decision, but for the most part, it really did work. It caught viewers off guard and subverted expectations in a pretty satisfying way. Pearce was a serviceable villain and actually had a pretty legitimate bone to pick with Tony Stark, as opposed to the Mandarin just popping up out of the shadows three movies into the franchise.
If you will excuse a personal observation, I think they missed a stellar oppurtunity by basically turning the Mandarin into Dudley Moore's Arthur character. They have been building the idea of the Ten Rings from the beginning and they ruined all connections with the Mandarian's Rings. They could have easily established the story of the Mandarian taking the rings from a crashed alien craft, as extraterrestrials have already been established in Avengers. Dealing with aliens again would have given Tony Stark true motivation to deal with his anxiety.
1:00 PM, Thursday, May 16th, 2013 - Posted by John Wilson
The debut of the first full trailer for "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." immediately led to fan speculation that the mysterious hooded and super-powered character played by J. August Ricards might be Marvel's Luke Cage. In a new interview with Executive Producer Jeffrey Bell, however, IGN has learned that the character in question is someone else altogether, although his identity remains a secret.
"It's not the [character] people are talking about," Bell said when asked about the potential of Richards playing Cage. "...Honestly, we were looking for this part, and we just said, 'Look, all our parts are open to all diversity.' So the fact that we have a black dude who is awesome and it's J was just because he was the best actor. It wasn't like, 'You know who...!'"
So the speculation continues with the hint that the character's ethnicity may not correspond to his comic book counterpart, whoever that might ultimately be.
What is known is that Clark Gregg will reprise his role as Agent Phil Coulson from Marvel's feature films and that the series will follow him as he assembles a small, highly select group of Agents from the worldwide law-enforcement organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D. Together they investigate the new, the strange, and the unknown across the globe, protecting the ordinary from the extraordinary.
Coulson's team consists of Agent Grant Ward (Brett Dalton), highly trained in combat and espionage, Agent Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen) expert pilot and martial artist, Agent Leo Fitz (Iain De Caestecker); brilliant engineer and Agent Jemma Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) genius bio-chemist. Joining them on their journey into mystery is new recruit and computer hacker Skye (Chloe Bennet).
From Executive Producers Joss Whedon (Marvel's The Avengers, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"); Jed Whedon & Maurissa Tancharoen, "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." pilot co-writers ("Dollhouse," "Dr.Horrible's Sing-Along Blog"); Jeffrey Bell ("Angel," "Alias"); and Jeph Loeb ("Smallville") comes Marvel's first TV series. "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." is produced by ABC Studios and Marvel.
12:00 PM, Thursday, May 16th, 2013 - Posted by John Wilson
Wizards of the Coast and parent Hasbro have sued three Sweetpea entities, alleging trademark and copyright infringement because of Sweetpea's plans to make a Dungeons & Dragons movie with Warner Bros., according to court documents released by Hollywood Reporter. Hasbro/WotC also had plans for a D&D movie, at Universal, a situation that, as we predicted, has now ended up in court.
Sweetpea is the company that produced the recent Book of Vile Darkness TV movie for Syfy, a 2005 Syfy D&D movie, and a 2000 D&D feature that was released theatrically and did around $34 million worldwide. WotC and Hasbro allege in the complaint that Sweetpea's rights to make a sequel to the 2000 theatrical feature have reverted because production was not initiated within the time required by the contract.
Anticipating a claim by Sweetpea that the TV movies fulfilled that requirement, Hasbro argues that those were always intended for TV release, under the TV rights provisions of the contract.
Hasbro/WotC asked the court to prevent Sweetpea from proceeding with the movie at Warners, plus damages.
This isn't the first time Wizards of the Coast has gone into court to try to get its movie rights back from Sweetpea. Then subsidiary TSR sued in 1998 because Sweetpea hadn't begun photography on a film under its license, asking that the court determine that the rights had reverted to TSR. A settlement in that suit was eventually signed, and Sweetpea has since made the three productions (one theatrical, two TV) listed above.
1:00 PM, Wednesday, May 15th, 2013 - Posted by John Wilson
"Last spring, Bob Iger sent us some bonus footage from The Avengers, with a simple question, ';Is there a show here?'" said ABC Entertainment Group chief Paul Lee at the network's upfront presentation today. Obviously the answer was yes, and next fall the ABC series Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. takes the Tuesday 8 PM slot previously given to Dancing With The Stars which moves to Monday night for a 2-hour block.
Joss Whedon was nervous and rambling as he faced TV media buyers and advertisers right before the end of the presentation. He appeared on stage with the entire cast of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Clark Gregg, Ming-Na Wen, Brett Dalton, Chloe Bennet, Iain De Caestecker, Elizabeth Henstridge. Whedon at first tried to be funny. "I'll be brief. I was born..." But then he grew serious. "I wasn't born. I was grown in a lab... and fed on Marvel Comics — and that turned out OK for me." As to why Avengers was so successful, Whedon said, "It worked because everyone felt included" and predicted the TV show would have the same effect on viewers. He praised S.H.I.E.L.D.';s unorthodox leading man Clark Gregg as "an actor so talented even I couldn't kill him" so Whedon said he "built S.H.I.E.L.D. around him" because he "had a story to tell [how] to be an ordinary person in an increasingly extraordinary world. We wanted to say that everybody could be a part of this - men, women, children and "grownups who love comic books".
Earlier in the day Paul Lee told reporters that SH.I.E.L.D. "tested so well in all four quadrants".
Microsoft unveiled the Xbox One today, and embedded in its bounty of announcements relating to the new console was the exciting news that Steven Spielberg is developing and will produce a live-action TV series based on the popular Halo franchise. Microsoft has been trying to get a big screen iteration of Halo off the ground for years, with Peter Jackson previously producing the feature film effort that Neill Blomkamp was poised to direct. Things went sour when Blomkamp's vision for the film didn't jibe with Microsoft's strict rules regarding how the franchise was to be handled, but it worked out alright with Blomkamp instead making his directorial debut with the stellar 2009 sci-fi pic District 9.
Gregg - who plays Agent Coulson - has now revealed to Access Hollywood that fans can definitely expect to see superheroes in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Joss Whedon has clarified the position of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV series vis-à-vis the Marvel cinematic universe that spawned the show, stating: "We're absolutely on top of all the movies. We never contradict or replicate. We will be flowing in between them. Maybe occasionally we'll throw something in that foreshadows or echoes (what's happening there), but we're very much beholding to the Marvel cinematic universe."
A rumor started a few weeks ago that Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch would be joining the team in the upcoming Avengers sequel. Further signs continued to point towards the characters' inclusion in the film and now writer/director Joss Whedon has confirmed the characters will appear in an interview with IGN. In the interview, he spoke about their involvement in the film.
Spoilers ahead!
"It's not the [character] people are talking about," Bell said when asked about the potential of Richards playing Cage. "...Honestly, we were looking for this part, and we just said, 'Look, all our parts are open to all diversity.' So the fact that we have a black dude who is awesome and it's J was just because he was the best actor. It wasn't like, 'You know who...!'"
Sweetpea is the company that produced the recent Book of Vile Darkness TV movie for Syfy, a 2005 Syfy D&D movie, and a 2000 D&D feature that was released theatrically and did around $34 million worldwide. WotC and Hasbro allege in the complaint that Sweetpea's rights to make a sequel to the 2000 theatrical feature have reverted because production was not initiated within the time required by the contract. 
"Last spring, Bob Iger sent us some bonus footage from The Avengers, with a simple question, ';Is there a show here?'" said ABC Entertainment Group chief Paul Lee at the network's upfront presentation today. Obviously the answer was yes, and next fall the ABC series Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. takes the Tuesday 8 PM slot previously given to Dancing With The Stars which moves to Monday night for a 2-hour block.
