New Trailer, Poster, And Stills For The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Show Us Peter Parker's Greatest Battle Yet

While we gotten trailers for two of 2014's most anticipated Marvel releases; Captain America: The Winter Soldier and X-Men: Days of Future Past, in the last couple of months, we all still had yet to see a trailer for Marc Webb's upcoming sequel to The Amazing Spider-Man. Well now the wait's over, we finally have our first full footage of Spidey suited up (In a now much more classic looking costume) taking on his next batch of enemies; Jamie Foxx's Electro, Paul Giamatti's Rhino, and yes, Dane DeHaan's Green Goblin. With all the rumors that have been circulating throughout it's production, the trailer finally give us confirmation of what we should expect from the film.

Below is the official trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Which apparently isn't subtitled 'Rise of Electro' after all):

Okay so to start off, the trailer answers probably two of the most asked questions fans had while details of the plot first started emerging; is Green Goblin in it and who will end up becoming him? While that question may have seemed much clearer a year ago back when Chris Cooper (The Muppets) was announced as the franchise's Norman Osborn, as new information began to leak, it was seeming more and more like Norman's son Harry would be the one stepping onto to the famous glider instead. And sure enough, the trailer shows us a major focus on Harry, including a few shots of him seemingly taking the Oz serum, and what appears to be actor Dane DeHaan suited up in full costume. If the trailer's any indicator if Harry's predominance in the film, then it seems we can expect to see a lot of me and his relationship with Peter.

This wouldn't be the first time Harry takes up the Goblin mantle before his father, as it was first done just a few years ago on the Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon, which The Amazing Spider-Man series has already taken a few pointers from in the past. As we see a bed ridden Norman, and Cooper himself stated that his role in the film isn't prominent, it's always possible we could see the character eventually become his version of the Goblin in a future film. The new look Green Goblin is sporting also has many fans worried, as it seems Webb has chosen to go with a slightly mutated Goblin looking face rather than the classic mask, and of course the gear the character's wearing may remind many of that sported by James Franco's Harry as New Goblin in Spider-Man 3.

So now that we've covered the most mysterious villain of the film, it's time to move on to the other two; Electro and Rhino. While a recent banner had given us our first look at the Rhino suit (Or better yet robot) that Paul Giamatti's Alexsei Sytsevich would be using in the film. Reactions to the suit when the poster first came out were highly critical, but it seems to look at bit better in action, and given that the villain's role is said to be much more minimal than Electro's (And maybe even Goblin's?), the robotic suit may serve for a great opening action sequence that we've seen teased in both the trailer and set photos.

Now surprisingly Electro, the film's main villain, isn't as heavily featured in the trailer as one would expect. While we don't see much of his alter ego Maxwell Dillon, the trailer does have some great shots of Electro and Spider-Man facing off, and gives us a better feel of how he'll be using his powers in the film. But probably one of the most significant information we get from the trailer are the many easter eggs, the most noticeable being the scene that features the Vulture's wings and Doctor Octopus' mechanical arms (Both of whom are enemies of Spider-Man) in glass cases. There's been a lot of speculation suggesting that the Sinister Six will eventually be facing Spider-Man in a future film, but we now know that we can expect at least a tease of what's to come in the third and fourth film somewhere in The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

As you can see in the image above, it would seem that the "Man in the Shadow" from the first film's after credits scene will once again be making an appearance, although we still have yet to learn who he is. There's also a multiple shots of a scene involving a plane crash in the trailer, and a man he looks like Richard Parker on the plane, which has led many to believe that this may be a flash back that finally shows the death of Peter's parents. But what really caught our attention was the names on the screen that Peter's is seen looking at in his father's old facility, which include the name Dr. Morbius and a tab that says 'Venom Storage'. Venom is a character many have been excited to see back on screen, after his disappointing appearance in Spider-Man 3, so it would seem that the symbiote may already exist in this universe. 

Below are the all new stills for the film featuring glimpses at Spidey in combat both against Electro and Rhino:

And below is the new high resolution banner, which feature all the film's villains along with our titular hero:

Click to enlarge

So what did you think of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 trailer? Are you worried about Rhino or Green Goblin's new look? Sound off below.

Read More

Bryan Singer Announces Days of Future Past Follow-Up Will Be Titled 'X-Men: Apocalypse'; Set For 2016 Release

Well it's not everyday that a director decides to take the liberty if letting his fans know about the sequel to a film that is still half a year away from being released, but leave it to Bryan Singer (Superman Returns, X-Men) to break that golden standard. While the upcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past has been gaining marketing traction since the release of it's first trailer, director Bryan Singer has now turned our attention to the franchise, specifically their next planned film. In a recent tweet, Singer has revealed the film will be called X-Men: Apocalypse, leading to the assumption that the film's antagonist will be the famed Marvel baddie himself. With so many film related news stories breaking recently, this one's yet another shocker to add to the collection.

As stated above, the report comes in through Singer himself via a tweet posted earlier today. In the tweet the director not only reveals the film's title (And villain), but also let's slip when we can expect the film to hit theaters; 2016. Fox has now announced the film's specific release date is set for May 27, 2016. Below is Singer's original tweet:

#Xmen #Apocalypse 2016!
— Bryan Singer (@BryanSinger) December 5, 2013

The news does come as a bit of surprise, given that we're still so far off from X-Men: Days of Future Past's release, but the announcement is surely a clever move by Singer. While early rumors had suggested the character of Apocalypse; who's arguably the X-Men's most prominent villain along with Magneto and Mr. Sinister, may have a part in DOFP, it now seems much more likely that the character may be teased in a post credits scene. Fans have been patiently awaiting the debut of the fan favorite villain on to the big screen, although it's still unknown whether the film will be directly following the famed Age of Apocalypse story line.

Prior to this announcements, details on the future of the X-Men franchise have been pretty vague, with several possible films in development with no real confirmations of any. The long anticipated Deadpool solo film from director Tim Miller has recently become a more realistic possibility, as both Ryan Reynolds and Miller have said that they're merely waiting for Fox to go them the green light before starting up on the film. There's also recently been an X-Force spin-off film written (And possibly to be directed) by Jeff Wadlow (Kick-Ass 2) announced, which is set to follow the fellow mutant team, although the details of project such as a release have yet to be revealed. Same could be said for the recently announced third Wolverine film, with the only confirmation so far being that both Hugh Jackman and director James Mangold will be returning.

With the project still so early in development, information and details are as of yet scare, and we probably shouldn't expect any major updates on the project into after Days of Future Past is released (Possibly at this years San Diego Comic-Con?). None the less, a pivotal question still remains; which team of X-Men will the the film follow. Currently in DOFP, we'll be seeing both the X-Men of the alternate future (Storm, Rogue, Iceman, Bishop, etc.) and of the 1970's X-Men (Young Xavier, Beast, Havok, with allies Magneto and Mystique). First Class director Matthew Vaughn has in the past expressed his desire to make a complete trilogy focusing on his cast of X-Men, and given that the 70's X-Men will be the focus of 70% of the film, it's highly likely they'll be the team focused on in the sequel.

Although, the fact that word of the sequel comes from Singer may be a sign that it'll in fact be the next installment for his future band of X-Men. It's all up in the air at this point, but we'll continue to keep you posted any updates surrounding X-Men: Apocalypse, which is currently set to hit theaters on May 27, 2016.

So are you happy X-Men: Apocalypse will be the follow-up to Days of Future Past? Would you have preferred for the X-Men to have faced another villain? Sound off below.

Read More

Star Wars: Episode VII Gets Official Release Date; Abrams Gives Explanation For Screenwriter Change

With all the recent buzz behind J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: Episode VII going around in the past couple of weeks, it'd be safe to assume that many fans (including myself) have had much reason for concern over the current status of film. Reports last week brought us news that Michael Arndt (Toys Story 3, Little Miss Sunshine) would no longer be working on the film's screenplay, and that Empire Strike's Back writer Lawrence Kasdan along with Abrams himself would now be taking over from him. More recently, new  speculation emerged indicating that conflicts were emerging between LucasFilm President and Episode VII producer Kathleen Kennedy and Disney CEO Bob Iger over pushing the film's release back to 2016. Well now fans can finally put their concerns at ease as the official release date for Episode VII has been revealed, and yes, it is in 2015.

The news of the film's release date comes to us via Starwars.com itself, so it really can't get more official than that. As I stated above, there were recent rumblings that producer Kathleen Kennedy was pushing for the film's release date to be pushed back to 2016, in order to give more time to Abrams, and apparently more time for Arndt to finish the films script (Which it would seem was taking longer than originally expected). Well none of this speculation has been confirmed nor denied, apparently Disney head Bob Iger was very keen on the film making the 2015 release, as it's now been set to hit theaters on December 18, 2015.

The release doesn't come as much of surprise, as Disney already has quite a few heavy hitters set for Summer 2015, and squeezing in such a major project like Episode VII in there didn't exactly seem like a smart move. It's hard to tell whether a December release was Disney's original intention, as they've now moved Brad Bird's upcoming Tommorowland from it's December 2014 release date to May 22, 2015, which is the month all previous Star Wars films were released in. It's likely Kennedy and Iger came to some sort of compromise over the film's release which pushed it back to late 2015. The film's release date keeps it clear from any of 2015's major competition including WB's Superman Vs. Batman and Universal's Jurassic World, but it does pit the film directly against Duncan Jones' upcoming World of Warcraft film; Warcraft, which could be a bit risky for a film hoping to attract all walks of fanboys.

While the sudden shift in screenwriters seemed like a drastic move, it seems the reason for the change was really made in relation to getting the script completed quicker. Initial reports had led many to assume that the reason behind Kasdan and Abrams taking over script duties was due to dissatisfaction with the script written by Arndt, some sites even going as far as to say that Kasdan and Abrams would be starting the script from scratch. Well now Abrams set the record straight when talking to Deadline, and clears up any false speculation for the recent change, and also pointing out that this they may not be the last time Arndt takes part in a future Star Wars project. According to Abrams: 

“It became clear that given the time frame and given the process and the way the thing was going that working with Larry [Kasdan] in this way was going to get us where we need to be and when we needed to be… Working with Michael [Arndt] was a wonderful experience and I couldn’t be a bigger fan of his or adore him more, He’s a wonderful guy and was incredibly helpful in the process.”

So now with the film's release date and screen writing all sorted out, let's move on to the more reason news involving the film's cast. We reported a few weeks ago that actress Saoirse Ronan (Hanna, The Host) had confirmed that she auditioned for Star Wars: Episode VII. Well now the actress has seemingly confirmed that she's no longer in contention for the part, stating the following in a discussion with Indiewire:

"I don't have the role," Ronan said, sounding kind of defeated. "I just shouldn't have said anything. I just auditioned for it, like everyone else did."

But while Ronan is no longer up for a part in the film, recent rumors have been circulating that actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, who recently starred in the critically acclaimed 12 Years A Slave, may have a part in the film. Ejiofor has previously starred the lead villain in Joss Whedon's space epic Serenity, so Episode VII definitely seems like something up his ally. When asked about his involvement with Episode VII in an interview Ejiofor played coy, similar to Benedict Cumberbatch and Harrison Ford, so is this an indication that he may in fact have some sort of part in the film? It's anyone's guess at this point.

So are you happy with the December 18 release date? How do you feel about Abrams and Kasdan now writing the script?

Read More

Trailer For Bryan Singer's X-Men: Days of Future Past Debuts Along With 15 All New Images

So remember last week when the Captain America: Winter Soldier trailer came out and I said it was pretty much becoming routine for Marvel to release their trailers around the time one of their new films was debuting (Thor: The Dark World to be exact), well yeah, now apparently it's not even the only one we're getting. That's right folks, two for the price of one because the trailer for Bryan Singer's upcoming new installment to the X-Men franchise 'X-Men: Days of Future Past' has officially hit the web. We've also got fourteen all new stills from the film for your own viewing pleasure, and for the record, no they aren't just freeze frames from the trailer (At least most of them aren't). 

Below is the official trailer for X-Men: Days of Future Past:

So lets be completely honest here, the Future Past trailer doesn't exactly reach the same level as the Winter Soldier trailer did in the action department. Instead the trailer chooses to focus more on the film's characters, which of course is still a great selling point for the film given how impressive the ensemble Singer has on board is. But although the trailer gives us a quick look at the film's villain Bolivar Trask (Played by Game of Throne's Peter Dinklage) we still have yet to see any actual footage of the Sentinels, which are robots created by Trask to exterminate the mutant race. Fans of the original Days of Future Past comic arc will know that the Sentinels are pretty key to the overall coarse of the story, and it's expected that like in the comic, their invention by Trask Industries in the seventies will ultimately be the reason for the post apocalyptic future we see in the trailer. 

The trailer also shows the obvious changes being made for the film from the original comic, with Wolverine now being the character who time travels to the seventies rather than fellow X-Men member Kitty Pride (Who will still be appearing in the film played by Juno's Ellen Page). All though it may be quite a controversial change for some fans, it was almost a given that Wolverine would ultimately be the main character of the film, as Singer's relied on the character and Hugh Jackman's popularity to headline the previous films in the series (As well as two solo movies). Singer has already explained that Wolverine won't be physically traveling back in time, but rather the future conscious of himself will be transported into the 1970's version of himself. While we get a quick glimpse of how this means of time travel will work, it'll be interesting to see how Singer explain how Wolverine's capability of traveling to a different time period without possessing the power himself.

But like I stated above, Singer's obviously putting the strong ensemble cast he has together to use, and it definitely shows throughout trailer. It's great to see the majority of the characters from First Class back in action here, and while it may be a new decade since the last film, the trailer already shows us some very promising character moments from the group. While it was originally unclear just how much of the movie would be taking place in the future and how much of it would be in the 70's, Singer recently revealed that the film will take place 70% in the past and 30% future. While this may be a bit disappointing for some fans, I for one and very excited by this news given that the film is really intended to be a sequel to First Class in the first place. That being said, it's a bit of a let down that many of the new characters we've been waiting to see on screen such as Bishop, Warpath, and Blink will only be used in future scenes, as well as many of the returning cast members from the original trilogy, so we can only hope Singer will make good use of their brief screen time.

And below are the all new released images courtesy of Empire and Entertainment Weekly. They give us a look at Wolverine, Mystique, Iceman and Kitty Pride, Bolivar Trask, and both the younger and older versions of Magneto and Professor X (Now rocking a hover wheel chair). We also have our first look at the new costume 70's Magneto will be sporting in the film, which features a redesigned helmet different from the one worn in First Class, and is much more reminiscent of the one worn by the older Magneto in the original trilogy:

So what do you think of the X-Men: Days of Future Past trailer and images? Did it meet your expectations?

Read More

Review: Thor: The Dark World - You Want Me To Put The Hammer Down?

So, about six months on from Iron Man 3 we receive the latest offering from the extremely productive Marvel Studios. Thor: The Dark World continues the rampaging adventures of the bulky Asgardian immortal, Thor (Chris Hemsworth). Armed with his hammer and Shakespearean dialect, he ventures across space and various realms in order to take vengeance on the evil Malekith (Christopher Eccleston) and stop him getting his hands on the dark power known as the Aether.

Here’s the deal with Thor: The Dark World. It’s an undisclosed and well-known fact that Tom Hiddleston’s Loki (Thor’s mischievous brother, now imprisoned for his crimes in Avengers Assemble) is terrific. Any scene he is in is made demonstrably better, ranging from witty quips to properly dramatic scenes of anguish or despair.The thing is; he’s not in it much. After a smattering of scenes in the first act he’s given a lot more attention later on but only to an extent and is never really the focus. Which is a shame; because Hiddleston seems to be doing the best he’s done as the God of Mischief and yet suffers from a severe lack of screen-time.

It’s probably good to point out; Hemsworth is still on top form. The Asgardian prince never fails to impress but everyone knows deep down Hiddleston is better at this malarkey. Hemsworth is a fine actor (see Rush) but when you go up against Hiddleston- well there’s not much point at all going up against him in the first place. Besides, there's only so much character development you can have with a big lumbering god who smashes things a lot (no complaining, the smashing things is excellent). The supporting cast all do very well, with standouts from Kat Dennings as the scientific aide, Darcy, who manages to deliver sarcastic wit constantly without ever getting annoying. The Asgardian gatekeeper Heimdall played by Idris Elba (Pacific Rim) receives some more screen-time from before, and doesn't waste a minute of it. The film manages to light up with importance every time his wonderful presence lights up the screen.

The main problem with the film lies in the first act, in that it’s quite mediocre. For the first 40 minutes, the film stutters and stumbles all over the place. It’s filled with overlong voiceover setups, fantasy McGuffins (reminiscent of the Tesseract Avengers Assemble), and science-fiction mumbo-jumbo delivered by Natalie Portman; Thor’s brief romance - Jane Foster. No amount of warp-holes, fights, huge spaceships crashing or father-to-son moments from Thor’s dad Odin (a performance phoned in lovingly by Anthony Hopkins) can save it from mild boredom. It’s only a few fleeting flashes with Loki that ever raise it the first act from anything more than lukewarm, thanks to mainly a weak script. Director Alan Taylor (Game of Thrones) seems to be trying to paint a bleak, grim (or Dark) warland with deep, emotional characters. If this is the case, it seems he’s not too accustomed with the Marvel universe, as these aren't usually the characters that commonly populate it. Setting up inter-character conflicts and problems that never seem to be resolved only add to the confusion and befuddlement of the first third, leaving a vaguely sour taste on the tongue.

It’s only after a ‘significant event’ in the plot do things begin to pick up rapidly. On the hunt for Malekith, Thor teams up with his bro to settle the score once and for all. Which means a lot more Loki. Which means the film becomes a lot better. Within 5 minutes we’re served up with the fantastic chemistry between Hemsworth and Hiddleston, numerous jokes and a hilarious cameo that I shall not spoil due to it being the funniest moment in the film. The zipping chase scenes and archaic dialogue seem a lot more enjoyable, a factor that doesn't seem to drop throughout the film. Although it’s true that it’s very difficult to rescue a film after a flat opening, The Dark World’s trademark Marvel fun that carries it off.

We’re left with a brilliantly emotional middle section coupled with a superbly entertaining landmark destroying, trans-dimensional, loud noises and explosion filled final showdown, peppered with wit and Thor’s brilliant Asgardian mannerisms (or ‘Thorisms’). It's this kind of thing that we sort of take sort granted in Marvel movies but never fully appreciate how much of an impact it can have on the film. Beautiful landscapes, great dialogue and cracking set-pieces are all wasted without the signature fun that we come to expect from these films, and once The Dark World gets going, there's no stopping it. Huge amounts of fun were had in the last eighty minutes, meaning that the sour taste left by the somewhat boring first forty was soon gone.

The villains in Marvel Studios films always fall into three categories: great, bad or fun. Great ones are like Loki, who thrice now was presented a cool, slick and fangirl-inducing baddy who never fails to entertain. Bad ones are like The Incredible Hulk (2008)’s Abomination (by name and by nature).The fun ones include Captain America: The First Avenger’s Red Skull (Hugo Weaving) who ham it up supremely for our pleasure and seem to be having a whale of a time in the process. Christopher Eccleston's Dark Elf leader Malekith falls squarely in the latter. Caked in prosthetics and with a distorted alien voice, he’s undoubtedly silly but still delivers the brilliance that we last saw in GI Joe: Rise of Cobra (an unmistakably terrible film but made watchable for his performance). He may seem dwarfed in the presence of Loki but it was never really the purpose to put him the same league, just to serve as a suitably malevolent bad guy to do battle against Thor. It’s a shame that at points he’s drowned in gobbledegook about powers and hidden darkness that make for little interest or sense. Undeveloped, maybe. Fun, definitely. 

After smashing and crashing its way through the first forty minutes, Thor: The Dark World swings its hammer and soars into the sky, providing blissful entertainment and great fun deftly as it does so. It may not be up there with Avengers Assemble or Iron Man 3 but for what it is, it’s pretty good.

I give Thor: The Dark World 3.5 out of 5 stars:

So what did you think of Thor: The Dark World? Do you think Marvel's on the right track so far with Phase 2?

Read More

Aaron Taylor-Johnson Officially Confirmed As Joss Whedon's Quicksilver In The Avengers: Age of Ultron

With all the rumors circling around in reference to who will be landing the title role in Edgar Wright's upcoming Ant-Man film (Which have been ranging from Joseph Gordon-Levitt to Paul Rudd), it's nice to at least hear confirmation of one casting in an upcoming Marvel film. While it's been speculated for months that Kick-Ass and Godzilla star Aaron Taylor-Johnson was the top contender for the role of Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver in The Avengers: Age of Ultron, it's now official that the actor has indeed landed the part. Although it may not come off as much of a surprise to many, taking into account the long casting process and numerous candidates Marvel looks over for the onscreen portrayal of their iconic characters, it's indeed pretty rare that the first actor rumored for the part ultimately ended up being cast. 

The Wrap brings the news of Johnson's casting, which reportedly wasn't confirmed sooner due to the actor's promotional schedule for Gareth Edward's Godzilla, which originally interfered with filming for Age of Ultron. Johnson is now the second new addition for The Avengers sequel, with just a few months ago James Spader (Blacklist) having been confirmed to portray the film's titular villain; Ultron. All of the first film's cast members including Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Scarlet Johansson, Jeremy Renner, and Samuel L. Jackson have all been confirmed to return as well.

As if the fact that Johnson was seemingly the only candidate up for the part (At least as far what was publicly known) wasn't weird enough, Johnson will now be sharing the screen once again with his Godzilla costar Elizabeth Olsen. Olsen has yet to be confirmed as Quicksilver's sister Scarlet Witch in the film, but just a few weeks prior to a rumor that she was up for the part, Samuel L. Jackson (Whose her costar in Spike Lee's Oldboy) named dropped Olsen as one of Age of Ultron's cast members. It's safe to say it'll be a bit odd for audiences to see the two as sibling just one year after they've played love interests in Godzilla, but hopefully the film's script will be able to make the character's relationship feel like a realistic depiction of that of their comic book counterparts.

Details on how the two characters will fit into the film are still very vague, but from what we've gathered, Whedon has already stated that the duo will be starting out as antagonists and slowly develop till they eventually join forces with Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Whedon will still of course be presented with the challenge of explaining the origins of the characters powers, as in the comic books they are both mutants and children of Magneto. Due to the fact that Fox still owns the rights to the X-Men including Magneto and the actual term "mutant", many have hypothesized that Whedon may make the two characters past members of the group of super humans known as the Inhumans. Marvel's own Kevin Feige has expressed much interest in bringing the Inhumans into the Marvel Cinematic Universe for Phase 3, so making Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch members would not only explain their origins, but it would introduce audiences to the Inhumans team for a future film.

The inclusion of the two characters has stirred up quite some controversy from fans, as the character of Quicksilver will not only be featured in Age of Ultron, but will also be in Bryan Singer's X-Men: Days of Future Past next year. Coincidentally, Johnson's Kick-Ass costar Evan Peters (American Horror Story) will be the one portraying the Days of Future Past version of the character, yet there has been no word on whether Scarlet Witch will be making an appearance as well. Judging from Singer's comments on Peters casting, and his lack of inclusion in the film's recent trailer, it's safe to assume that the character won't be as heavily in Future Past as he will be in Age of Ultron. We can only hope that Peters and Johnson's versions of Quicksilver don't turn out to be too similar to each other in the final product, and we'll instead be seeing to fresh takes on a relatively less known hero. 

So are you happy with Aaron Taylor-Johnson playing Quicksilver? Do you think Johnson and Olsen can pull off the brother-sister act?

Read More