Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch in ‘Avengers 2′?

- April 28th, 2013

It looks like there will be a few more heroes along for the ride when The Avengers 2 hits theatres in 2015.

Speaking to Yahoo! Movies on the red carpet for Iron Man 3, writer/director Joss Whedon revealed that he has finished the first draft of his screenplay for the upcoming sequel. He also dropped hints that he is adding two characters he really likes.

“I’ve got these two character; two of my favorite characters from the comic books,” Whedon reveals, “a brother-sister act. They’re in the movie, that’s exciting.”

Whedon didn’t reveal which characters he was talking about, but Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver are the heavy favourites.

The brother and sister act are part of Marvel’s Silver Age and debuted in the 1960s. They are the children of X-Men villain Magneto and were recruited to join the Avengers by Iron Man.

Quicksilver has super speed, while Scarlet Witch can manipulate probability and cast “hexes” on her foes. They are both associated with the X-Men, raising the possibility of an eventual crossover film.

406px-Quick_silver_small

406px-ScarletWitch442

The Avengers 2 will mark the end of Marvel’s Phase 2, which begins in earnest with Iron Man 3 and continues with Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy.

With the first Avengers film having grossed $1.5 billion worldwide, Whedon was asked about the pressure he feels following up the well-received superhero team-up.

“I try not to think of it as topping (The Avengers),” he said of the upcoming sequel. “I try to think of this as its own movie…But when you’re in the story and dealing with characters that everyone loves and you have new characters sliding in next to them, then it’s very exciting. I don’t feel pressure. It’s like I’m reading my favourite comic.”

Do you have any Marvel favourites you hope show up in Avengers 2? Let us know who they are in the comments.

Ryan Reynolds not interested in playing Green Lantern in ‘Justice League’

- March 23rd, 2013

green-lantern-2

There are probably less than 20 people in the entire universe who were waiting for news of Ryan Reynolds and Green Lantern 2. But his involvement in a proposed Justice League movie was kind of a given.

There’s one problem with that thinking – the actor has no interest in reprising his role as the Emerald Gladiator.

Warner Bros. had earmarked 2015 as the year it will introduce a team-up film combining characters from the DC Comics universe including Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern. Reports have been circulating that this summer’s Man of Steel will hint at a larger film, and earlier this month rumours started to surface that Christopher Nolan has taken over everything comic book-related at Warners, including the Justice League.

But in an interview with Empire, Reynolds said he isn’t keen on signing up.

“Working on ‘Green Lantern’ I saw how difficult it is to make that concept palatable, and how sort of confused it can all be when you don’t really know where you’re going with it or you don’t really know how to access that world that comic book fans have been accessing for decades and falling in love with. So at this point I have very little interest in joining (‘Justice League’).”

The actor hedged his bets, though.

“A great script and a good director can always turn that around… Joss Whedon is the guy that just nails it and Christopher Nolan obviously nails it. So if they were gonna do it like that, it would be an interesting thing to do.”

When it comes to comic book movies, Reynolds has also appeared as Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. That character was slated for his own spinoff, but Reynolds isn’t so sure that it will happen.

He tells Empire: “I love ‘Deadpool’ and there is a script that’s in development. But it’s so, so far into the R-rated zone… it’s a nearly NC-17 world and I just don’t know if the studio would ever risk their reputation doing it.”

Hard-R comic book movies have had uneven success at the box office. While Kick Ass was a success, both Punisher films were a disaster.

Even though Green Lantern was a critical and financial disaster, do you think Reynolds should return to the character, or is he better off trying to get Deadpool off the ground? Let us know what you think in the comments.

‘M:I 4′ director not doing ‘Star Wars VII’ and ‘Insidious 2′ gets release date

- November 20th, 2012

star wars

Two big pieces of movie news have trickled onto the web over the past several days.

The first, and arguably, most important being that Brad Bird, director of Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, will not be doing Star Wars: Episode VII. We’ve seen a lot of names linked to the new film since it was announced last month that Lucasfilm had sold the property to Disney, who are planning a new trilogy beginning in 2015.

J.J. Abrams, who rebooted Star Trek in 2009, was one name that was bandied about, as was Lucas’ friend Steven Spielberg (sorry, but he has announced he’s done with action films).

In a tweet, Bird confirmed he is doing a sci-fi film, but it’s not gonna be Star Wars.

‘The science fiction film I AM doing is gonna be cool,’ he wrote. ‘That said, Michael Arndt (the Toy Story 3 scribe who is writing the screenplay) is a fantastic writer and Kathy Kennedy is a brilliant producer. I will be first in line to see the new STAR WARS.’

Kick Ass director Matthew Vaughn has been linked to the upcoming Episode VII, as has Iron Man helmer Jon Favreau and Joe Johnston (who worked at Lucasfilm in the 1970s).

Then there’s Joss Whedon (unlikely, as he’s obligated to do Avengers 2).

Whomever Disney bosses go with, they better hop to it. The film is scheduled to hit theatres in three short years.

——-

james wan

Leigh Whannell (left) and James Wan are seen in a photo from the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival. (Stan Behal/QMI AGENCY)

Continuing with some exciting movie news is word that James Wan and Leigh Whannell are returning to direct and write Insidious Chapter 2.

The sequel will once again feature Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne.

In an interview with me in 2010 for the first film, Wan revealed that the pair wanted to make a scary film without the gore.

“Leigh and I really wanted to prove that a scary movie doesn’t need gore,” Wan said. “Scary movies are best when they play on people’s fears, fears that their loved ones may be in trouble by forces beyond their control… to make a movie where it’s the atmosphere that creeps people out – that’s tricky.”

Chapter 2 starts filming in the new year and my only glitch is that it is skedded to hit theatres August 30, so no TIFF Midnight Madness screening.

Bah Humbug.

Twitter: @markhdaniell