Okay, I’m not convinced. You’ve sold me boys.  I like the gawky Chris Evans at the beginning.   Epic.

But my favorite part?  THIS !!!  YES!!!!!

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Click here!!!

http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/Poniverse/news/?a=20833

Ah the Avengers “surprise” panel.

Not much a surprise as everyone and their mother was talking about it for weeks before when it was announced that Marvel would have Thor and Capt America all together on Saturday.

What was also being talked about before this was the Edward Norton Hulk debacle and the poor handling of it by Marvel. As it was, this actually tainted the entire experience for a number of fans because they truly loved Norton in the role and Marvel’s in poor taste announcement of his being dropped from the project was being discussed everywhere.

I backed the Sharlto Copley choice and was terrified by the rumor of Joaquin Phoenix getting the part. Then came the Mark Ruffalo rumor which seemed more true than most. Either way, everyone was waiting for Saturday at Comicon when it would no doubt be announced who would be the new mean green (some fans still hoped, no matter how unlikely , that Norton would walk out onto the stage.) Either way, whoever was getting the part was going to be met with some negativity thanks to Marvel’s crappy handling of the entire thing.

So of course, we got the Avengers teaser voiced by Sam Jackson, who then walked out on stage to announce the line up of the already known Avengers…all of whom were in attendance. It was a great moment for all the fans who started screaming and freaking out, especially when Tony Stark walked out (with some really long hair) and took over the PA for the “new” parts of the crew.

Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye came out on stage which was wasn’t much of a surprise as it had been rumored for well over a month. But then Downey decided to do something I thought was well….dicky. Which granted that’s his character, but still…when he said “And reprising his role as Bruce Banner…” I heard many in the audience gasp in joy that either Norton or even Eric Bana would walk out. But no, “Mark Ruffalo!” And guess what ladies and gents…I called it. He got boo’d and loud enough that I could hear it where I was, even over the noise that was hitting the rafters.

So yes, good job RDJ, you just helped throw Ruffalo under that bus Marvel already had him wedged under that much harder. As I’ve said already, we’ll still all go see the movie because frack, it’s the Avengers and yes…it’s directed by Joss Whedon (something else that wasn’t a surprise.) But this makes it slightly less shiny.

A concern by many about the film is the ability to juggle all these characters well within a limited time frame. Is two hours long enough for a movie of this scope? No, I don’t think it is. I think if Marvel is smart they’ll look at this as their Lord of the Rings and make it 3 hours long. Cause if its well written and as bad ass as say Serenity, I’d sit there till my butt fell off watching it. And I’m sure I wouldn’t be the only one.

So here’s hoping this doesn’t turn into a failure. Marvel has already pulled some bad moves. But Whedon is the man. He’s good at ensemble as evident by Buffy and Firefly. Super powered characters (or at least super characters with normal powers) that have witty dialog and are smartly written. He’s got a gang of Hollywood talent and a studio given him their biggest heavy hitters from their universe to play with. So hopefully he remembers that “with great power comes great responsibility.”

Here’s the announcement.

Thor was personally my favorite part of the entire Marvel panel, that’s including the Avengers thing at the end. I like story and style with good character development and I think that’s what we are going to get with Thor after seeing the chunk of footage they showed in 3D.

Kenneth Branagh brings cred to the directors chair just by being Kenneth fracking Branagh. He’s classy and he’s from the world of Shakespeare who is the granddaddy of mythic tragedy and tortured family lives. And that’s what Branagh’s point was when he described why he was sort of perfect for this.

Chris Hemsworth, also known as Daddy Kirk, LOOKS HUGE. I’m not sure what the hell happened or how much gamma radiation was required, but he looks three times the size he was in Star Trek. His neck is as big around as my torso. So yes, he fits the part of a god just fine thank you.

Hopkins as Odin is perfect. There’s nothing else to say about that.

The rest of the cast also looks spot on, with Tom Hiddleston as Loki looking as though he’d just stepped right out of the comic book. The design etc is beautiful too. We got a LOT more footage of Thor than we did of any of the other comic films (this includes Green Lantern.) It’s been filming longer so they had a headstart.

The thing that I found amusing the most out of the panel was the nice way Natalie Portman was trying to convey her dislike of the Star Wars Prequel filming experience. She should have just said “I’m so glad to be working with a REAL director who knows how to get actors to act instead of just tossing them in front of a green screen and making “pew pew” laser noises.” Story is important George, even though we know your Hutt like sensibilities (and neck) are all about the money.

Here’s part 1 of the panel:

The biggest event of the SDCC was Saturday’s Marvel panel which gave us all the first glimpse of Capt America, Thor, and the not so secret announcement of the Avengers movie.

On deck first was Capt America. Chris Evans who had already starred in another Marvel franchise by way of Fantastic Four and director Joe Johnston as well as Hugo Weaving discussed the new film and we got our first glimpse of Evans in the suit (albeit briefly with required shield throwing shot.)

I have to say Evans got bulked up for the part. He’s also aware of the divide his casting has caused since many fans feel he’s not Cap material. He’s considered the smart ass twenty something due to..well…that’s mostly what he’s been in every film he’s done.

I actually want him to succeed in this. He seems genuine in his determination to make this work. And while I still am iffy about him being able to boss around people like Robert Downey Jr as Stark or guys like Thor etc, I’m willing to give him more of a shot after seeing what he’s already done in the way of work for the role.
Here’s some of the panel

Weaving was very Weaving and seemed not to know quite what to make of the Comicon crowd. He panders well though. But it didn’t matter; he’s perfectly cast as the Red Skull. While we didn’t get to see him in full on Red mode, we were shown a clip of him doing the accent which nicely tied into the Thor film and the Avengers. Marvel is hardcore about this universe crossing over thing.

While of course the footage is not available (yet) here’s some cheesey 90’s Cap for you to chew on while we wait.

Let it begin.

Marvel’s slew of comic book flicks and their massive blitzing of media for said films starts.  Comicon will be COVERED in this like a slick sheen of sweat on the face of a Hall H line stander while they bake outside.

First up is Ryan (six pack abs) Reynolds as Hal Jordan on the cover of Entertainment Weekly.

http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/07/15/green-lantern-ryan-reynolds/

Booya.  Nice muscle and tendond look thing they’ve got going on with the suit.  Until I see it in action I’m not impressed yet.  I agree with others that I’ve seen photoshops better than this cover.  But it makes me happy to finally see Hal getting love.

But I’m FAR more excited about this

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/herocomplex/2010/07/thor-3d-captain-america-3d-comiccon-marvel-studios.html

We’ve always known Anthony Hopkins was a god.  But damn…he LOOKS RAWRSOME AS ODIN.

(oh and Thor looks good too)

I can’t wait for Thor.  I could be completely nuts, but this makes me happy.  I can’t wait to see footage on this.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

And of course we can’t post about the Marvel movies without commenting on the lunacy that is Edward Norton and his bullshit move by Marvel screw over.  I’ve made clear how I feel on that I think.

Moving on to the new casting of Banner.  We’ve went from Joaquin Phoenix to now Mark Ruffalo.  I like neither. Now we’ve got a David Tennant rumor.  I like this far more, but he needs to be sporting a green question mark and running away from Batman.  I’ve thrown my hat into the ring behind Sharlto Copley.   He’s perfect in my opinion.

I know we won’t get the final answer on the Banner casting until Comcion and whomever it is walks out on stage.  But I can only hope Marvel makes up for the cluster ass way they screwed over Norton by giving us someone equally as good and dedicated to giving the Hulk and Banner the respect and due they deserve.

Conflict in the world of the Avengers today as Marvel hands Edward Norton his walking papers

http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/2008-12-6-motion-captured/posts/exclusive-marvel-confirms-they-will-hire-new-hulk-for-avengers

In a statement sent in direct response to yesterday’s story from the set of “Captain America” in London, Marvel Studios President of Production Kevin Feige forwarded the following exclusively to HitFix:

 “We have made the decision to not bring Ed Norton back to portray the title role of Bruce Banner in the Avengers. Our decision is definitely not one based on monetary factors, but instead rooted in the need for an actor who embodies the creativity and collaborative spirit of our other talented cast members. The Avengers demands players who thrive working as part of an ensemble, as evidenced by Robert, Chris H, Chris E, Sam, Scarlett, and all of our talented casts. We are looking to announce a name actor who fulfills these requirements, and is passionate about the iconic role in the coming weeks.”

HitFlix is saying they think Sharlto Copley is a possiblity for the new Banner.  And yes, this makes me WAY conflicted.

1st  I’m a Norton fan.  And this is just a bullshit play.  Norton is amazing and he brought his A game to The Hulk because he’s a fan.  This is just totally unfair to him and just plain mean.  Marvel may be getting a surprise in their response to any grand announcement at Comicon which I could totally see happening.  But fans are fans…we’ll still go see a Whedon directed Avengers flick.  Because god we’ve been waiting for one for a long time.

2nd  Copley who is no where near confirmed would be perfect for it.  But still…this is just a bullshit play.  If this had gone down with just Norton not wanting to come back that would be one thing…but its not that at all.  At this point, the only way Marvel could make me alright with this is Copley or Stephen Colbert as Banner. 

Discuss…