The special effects business is a tough one. You don’t have to look far to see many issues coming up amongst hardworking VFX folks. They’re talented people, and this latest video from Industrial Light and Magic shows off their work they did on Captain America: The Winter Soldier. While ILM didn’t do all of the VFX for the movie (there were over 900 VFX shots!), this is a sampling of the impressive digital effects and CGI models they created for Black Widow and Falcon. This kind of behind-the-scenes work is always really compelling to me! I’d love to see even more in-depth looks at how they create and build each scene from scratch! Read more…
If you’re a Marvel fan, you have good reason to be very, very excited. Marvel Studios has announced all nine — yes, nine — films that will make up “Phase Three” of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, lasting from 2016 to 2019. (Phase Two will end not with Avengers: Age of Ultron, but instead end on July 17, 2015 with Ant-Man.) Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige made a ton of announcements which apparently weren’t fully worked out until recently, or else they’d likely have announced them at Comic-Con. Some of these may have been rumored in the past, but there’s still a lot of new information, including three films in both 2017 and 2018, so let’s jump in! Read more…
Let’s start with the facts, because this is going to turn into speculation quickly. According to Variety, Robert Downey Jr. is in final negotiations to play Tony Stark (Iron Man) in Captain America 3, due out on May 6, 2016. Though currently only contracted for one more Avengers film — The Avengers: Age of Ultron has finished filming and will release May 1, 2015 — Downey had previously stated that he was in negotiations for further Marvel movies, which seemed to be Iron Man 4. While that may still happen, this movie could be what was being referred to. While this was initially supposed to be a small role, Downey asked for a bigger role, which angered Marvel Entertainment chief Ike Perlmutter. Though Stark was almost entirely written out, it seems this was resolved by Marvel mastermind Kevin Feige. But that’s not even the most interesting news. Read more…
Here’s a little pile of interesting Marvel news for all you Kevin Feige fanboys out there. We knew for a while that Marvel had a movie scheduled on the same date as Man of Steel vs. Batman, but we didn’t know what film Marvel would match up against it… until now. It’s Captain America 3. That’s a pretty ballsy move! It just shows how confident Marvel is in their battle versus DC. In other Marvel news, Kevin Feige also brought up Hulk and Hawkeye, mentioning that they’ll have significantly bigger parts in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Also mentioned was the potential for Agent Coulson to return again — and we’ll apparently get more details soon. Let’s hope! Read more…
Avoid this post if you don’t want any spoilers about Captain America: The Winter Soldier! It’s possible that recent TV spots are ruining a bit plot point for the film… or perhaps it’s just some old-fashioned misdirection. Here it comes: in the TV spot, it’s briefly shown that a bomb is detonated under Nick Fury’s car, and he’s blown sky-high. Then is the line “Nick Fury’s last words were not to trust anyone.” They’re definitely implying that he’s offed, but I can’t see Marvel being willing to kill off Nick Fury. Given what we all know about comic books — he’s probably not dead. If you want to look at it from a logical perspective: Samuel L. Jackson is still signed on for several more Marvel films, so no, he’s not going anywhere. Read more…
Captain America: The Winter Soldier isn’t out on April 4, but that doesn’t mean Marvel isn’t already thinking of the future. Since we’re still in the middle of Marvel’s “Phase 2,” there are not a lot of confirmed details for movies in “Phase 3” besides Ant-Man. However, we might see a third Captain America movie, as Marvel has already arranged for Anthony and Joe Russo to return to direct a third film. They’re already working on the story, even though the movie isn’t officially confirmed yet. Read more…
With short previews for upcoming films attached to current films becoming more and more popular, Marvel has decided that stingers at the end of films just aren’t enough. If you decide to drop the extra cash to see Thor: The Dark World in 3D (out November 8), you’ll be able to enjoy five minutes of footage from Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which won’t be out until April 4, 2014. It’s just a shame the footage won’t be attached to 2D showings, since I make a point of avoiding “3D” movies that were shot in 2D and converted in post (as opposed to the 3D cameras used in movies like Avatar). But if that doesn’t bother you and you want more Cap after that recent trailer, you’ve got the option. Read more…
Are you excited for the next Captain America film? I wasn’t too interested until this trailer showed up — and now my interest is piqued. We’re back in the modern day now, and Cap is working with SHIELD, so we’re getting a hefty dose of Nick Fury and Black Widow too. It feels like they’re doing a bit more with the setup, especially with Cap expressing his doubts about how SHIELD is functioning and their role in protecting people. If that’s actually an important theme of the film and not just lip-service, I’ll be very pleased. Take a look at the full trailer after the jump! Read more…
A lot of cool images have shown up recently showing the filming of the next Captain America film, subtitled Winter Soldier. The Winter Soldier himself will be a new antagonist in the movie universe, but comic fans will know him well already. If you don’t, and want to keep some surprises in store for yourself, don’t Google him. But below you can get some ideas of the new modern tone of Captain America, as well as a glimpse at Cap’s new suit. They’ve done a great job with the Winter Soldier’s suit, and Black Widow and Nick Fury showing up is a good sign as well. Consider me slightly more interested in this film! Read more…
Excited for all these new Marvel movies? Now that all the build-up to Avengers is complete, we get to do it all again with Avengers 2. We have Guardians of the Galaxy peeking over the horizon, and Thor: The Dark World is scheduled for November 2013, but recently news has been dropping in regards to the Captain America sequel, The Winter Soldier. We found out that Black Widow will show up in the film a few weeks ago, but the role of the leading lady in the film has been up for grabs. Who’s on the list? You might be surprised. Read more…
ForrestFireFilms is back with a new stop-motion LEGO short film, and this time it features Captain America beating the crap out of some Nazis – and then some. The violence here is just ridiculously over-the-top and gory, with LEGO minifigs being shot point-blank in the face, sliced in half, and… well, I’ll let you see what else happens yourself. Let’s just leave it at this: this is not your usual LEGO film. Great work Forrest! Read more…
The first trailer for Jim Hensons’ Muppets return ot the big screen— which starts out looking like a romantic comedy before revealing the inclusion of the cloth characters — was pretty cute. But it doesn’t compare in the least to the newest trailer, in which the Muppets take on superheroes in a big way…especially Green Lantern (and a little bit of Batman, if you squint).
But that’s just the above trailer. Hit the jump to see who the Muppets will challenge next…in poster form! Read more…
Well, it does, in Russia, the Ukraine, and South Korea, apparently. Captain America is nearing its release date here in the US under its proper title, but for its international release, Marvel gave overseas distributors the option to title the film “The First Avenger” rather than referencing America at all in its title for fear of anti-American sentiment. Surprisingly, all but three countries opted to use the original title. Of course, Cap represents more than just America — he also represents heroism and selflessness, which is something to which any audience can relate. At least, that’s what overseas distributors are banking on. Thor did very well internationally, so hopefully Cap can pull similar numbers to make it a profitable summer for Marvel. Granted, as we saw with Green Lantern, actually being a good movie probably helps with sales figures too. Read more…
Marvel’s done pretty well for itself bringing its A-list heroes to the big screen — Iron Man, Thor, (hopefully) Captain America — but what about some tried-and-true second-stringers? What about the Dr. Stranges and Iron Fists of the world? When do they get their time in the sun? Apparently soon, according to Film School Rejects. Marvel has reportedly filmed two shorts for the Thor and Captain America DVD/Blu-Ray releases starring some B-list heroes and S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Agent Coulson, with more to come. If the shorts were filmed and star heroes with at least a little name recognition, I’m really surprised that the casting didn’t get out into the wild already. Now I’m excited for those video releases! Give me Dr. Strange, Marvel! Read more…
Posted by Michael Sacco on Jun 25, 2011 in Comic Books
We’ve seen minimalistic versions of superheroes in pixel form plenty of times before, but I think this is the first time that I’ve seen superheroes represented as flags! Fabian Gonzalez created this piece, available in print and t-shirt form, giving 50 different superheroes their very own national flag. Some of them are obvious (Captain America), some less so (is that Black Vulcan?). How many can you name? And would you want to live in the People’s Republic of Spawn? Read more…
With all the exciting announcements from this week’s E3 press conferences, it’s nice to finally be able to take a break from gaming news. Thankfully, Paramount has released it’s latest TV spot for the upcoming film Captain America: The First Avenger. Like the other trailers, this TV spot features quite a bit of action shots, and includes a brief confrontation between Steve Rodgers and Red Skull. The film looks fantastic, but I’m not sure if it’ll be able to top X-Men Origins or Thor in terms of box office performance. Then again, I should note that both of those films were better than I expected going in. Anyone else looking forward to it?
With the upcoming release of Captain America: The First Avenger, I felt we should take a moment to reflect on the Captain’s previous bid for box office gold — probably because it wasn’t much of a box office bid in the first place. Few of you probably remember 1990’s Captain America, seeing as it it never receieved a domestic theatrical release. those of you who have seen it probably were unlucky enough to stumble across a copy at your local Blockbuster — you know, those places people used to go to rent films.
Of all the ads that were broadcast during this year’s Superbowl, only two of them had me drooling with anticipation. Marvel debuted not one, but two trailers for their upcoming blockbusters. First there was the latest trailer for Thor, and while we’ve seen a bit of that footage dating back to San Diego Comic Con, there was some new content mixed in. As for Captain America, I believe this is the first public trailer to be shown any where, and it looks pretty interesting. We even get a glimpse of Red Skull, which gave me goosebumps. Check out the trailers below, though I’m not sure how long they’ll be up.
Captain America hype is building, folks! Yesterday saw the release of several set photos from the film, and the first trailer will be unveiled on Super Bowl Sunday. It’s only fitting that we see the first official movie poster today! The colors are muted except for the bold red and blue of Cap’s outfit and shield, which is noticeably dinged up. His pose mimics a classic pose from the comics, and the costume certainly looks great with this palette. And, of course, Chris Evans is Steve Rogers. High hopes for Sunday. I hear there’s a football game, too. Read more…
We’re so close to Super Bowl Sunday, when the Captain America trailer will premiere and we can all truly make our first informed judgement about the film’s quality. But until then, you can feast your eyes on these all-new Captain America set photos. We see our first glimpses of Cap’s pal Bucky, played by Sebastian Shan and looking like a total sociopath. We see the lovely Hayley Atwell, playing Cap’s main squeeze Peggy, and the also-lovely Natalie Dormer, playing Private Lorraine. Tommy Lee Jones is even in these photos! I didn’t know he was in the movie at all. I’m about at critical hype mass for Captain America, so I hope the trailer leaves me with that patriotic feeling.
Michael Sacco is a freelance editor and writer, currently working as senior editor at WoW Insider.
Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury is sort of the glue that holds the Marvel film universe together, having cameoed in pretty much every Avengers-universe film so far. According to the man himself, he’ll also have post-credits cameos in the Thor and Captain America movies too. But he also confirmed, via the Jimmy Fallon Show, that he’ll have a new “sidekick” in The Avengers, and a female one at that. The Hollywood Reporter, er, reports that a handful of actresses are already in consideration for the role, including Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Cobie Smulders, and Morena Baccarin. If the character is either Maria Hill or Janet Van Dyne (aka Wasp, one of the original Avengers) and Baccarin’s schedule is clear, then it’s almost guaranteed that she’ll get the role, given her long history with Avengers director Joss Whedon (and her resemblance to both of the characters). But anything can happen! One thing’s for sure — it’ll be nice to see a female hero amidst the male-dominated Avengers team, even if the role is small at first. Read more…
Entertainment Weekly’s cover story this week has Chris Evans as Captain America in his full costume, including the iconic shield. But that’s not all! EW was kind enough to release several other photos, including shots of Cap in his USO uniform, Hugo Weaving as Red Skull, HYDRA goons, and more! The suit looks pretty great in the photos — Cap’s cartoony “flag pajamas” are nowhere to be found here, just some nice period-friendly superhero digs. Chris Evans also looks right at home in this particular film universe. Color me red, white, and excited. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 3, 2010 in Comic Books
Superman and Batman were both born in the Great Depression and focused on subjects that were popular in that era like fighting crime — however Captain America came about as a direction reaction to World War II by writer Joe Simon and illustrator Jack Kirby. And what’s interesting is that the first issue actually hit the newsstands in December of 1940 which was a full year before the bombing of Pearl Harbor when America entered the war. So it’s fair to say that Captain America was actually a political cartoon above all else, in fact the character was created as a reaction to the opponents of the war who were quite organized at the time. Read more…