Sci-Fi Storm

Speaking of the Guardians of the Galaxy, which opens this weekend, Marvel also announced the Guardians SDCC panel featuring star Chris Pratt and director James Gunn that they have already set a sequel for the movie, which is slotted for July 28, 2017.

With less than a week to the premiere of the live action flick which is to herald a new phase in Marvel’s transition of comics to other media, earlier today at SDCC Marvel announced that Guardians of the Galaxy will get an animated series as well, to air on Disney XD at a time/date to be determined later. They did show a 1 minute teaser featuring Skylord and Rocket. Marvel unfortunately didn’t give any further details, but no one seemed to mind…

Andy Serkis is really getting around – although you may still not see his face. Andy told Sci-Fi Now that his motion-capture company Imaginarium is involved in all the upcoming Star Wars projects, and he himself will have a role in Episode VII – but he isn’t say who – or what.

And now, in an interview with Variety, he said, “The Imaginarium is the performance capture consultant, and I’m playing a role (in both films [In reference to Star Wars as well]). On ‘The Avengers,’ I’ve been working closely with Mark Ruffalo.”

He’s working with Ruffalo to help further develop his mo-cap performance as The Hulk. “Performance capture was used on the previous ‘Hulk,’ but not to the same extent Mark is using it now,” he said. “There are tools and ways of working with an actor that makes them feel that they own the character. And a character the size of the Hulk needs ownership, which Mark has now.”

Marvel announced today that The Fifth Beatle and Yes Man director Peyton Reed will take over the vacant director’s chair for Ant-Man, after Edgar Wright and Marvel choose to go their separate ways over creative differences.

In addition, Adam McKay, a former Saturday Night Live writer who has written several Wil Ferrell movies including Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and it’s sequel and was previously in talks to take over but dropped out, will in fact write the script.

While Marvel Studios is still scrambling to find a new director for Ant-Man, they are pushing ahead with another Phase 2 project – Doctor Strange. Long thought to be one of the Marvel Comics properties ripe for a feature adaptation but so far untouched other than in animation (Correction: There was a 1978 TV movie), it was down to when and who – and the who, at least as far as director, seems to be known now. Scott Derrickson, who directed Sinister as well as The Exorcism Of Emily Rose and the 2008 remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still, tweeted this:

My next movie will be STRANGE: pic.twitter.com/5pdbO6Op6j

— Scott Derrickson (@scottderrickson) June 3, 2014

Seems pretty certain, dunnit? 🙂

The character, created in 1964 by Stan Lee an Steve Ditko, is a former egotistical neurosurgeon who after becoming severely injured in a car crash to the point he could no longer conduct surgery and falls into bankruptcy trying to repair his hands, finds his way tho a hermit known only as the Ancient One – who after a selfless act by Strange teaches him the mystic arts. Strange then becomes the Sorcerer Supreme — the primary protector of Earth against magical and mystical threats.

The first of four planned serialized event series as part of a master plan between Netflix and Marvel will be Daredevil, a 13 episode series that recently signed a showrunner in Steven S. DeKnight (Smallville, Spartacus), and may have found their superhero star in Charlie Cox (Boardwalk Empire).

Deadline reports that Cox is likely to take on the mantle of the blind superhero Daredevil, otherwise known as Matt Murdock. Cox has been a hot commodity, with CBS trying to give him a series lead with two straight pilots, but neither have been picked up. Reportedly he hasn’t been announced for the role yet because he hasn’t officially been released from the last pilot.

This won’t be the first live action Daredevil however – it was infamously made into a feature film in 2003 starring Ben Affleck in the title role, and was pretty much universally panned by critics and fans. Prior to that, Rex Smith portrayed the character in 1989’s The Trial of the Incredible Hulk, a TV movie continuation of the TV series. It is also famous – it marked the first appearance of Stan Lee in a cameo in a Marvel adaptation, starting a long tradition…

It appears that Marvel has decided to part ways with director Edgar Wright and get Ant-Man back on track. In a joint statement they say the split is “amicable”, but word on the street is that the studio and Shaun Of The Dead director Wright have been at odds for a while and it deteriorated recently over creative differences. A replacement has yet to be named, but Marvel says the release date of July 17th, 2015 will be unaffected.

In theaters August 1st.

The Marvel franchise fans have let out a collective sigh of relief…ABC announced that they are picking up Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. for a second season, despite the Live+Same Day ratings not being terrific, but the show is a solid DVR performer.

To go along with it, ABC also picked up another Marvel series, Agent Carter, which follows Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), who was introduced as Steve Rogers love interest in Captain America: The First Avenger but was left behind when Cap was frozen and reappeared in the future. Now in 1946 and peace has broken out, Carter goes to work for the Strategic Science Reserve and must balance doing administrative work and going on secret missions for Howard Stark (Tony’s father).

ABC is ordering Agent Carter straight to series, as it did have a form of pilot already: Marvel One-Shot: Agent Carter, a video short that was included with the Iron Man 3 Blu-ray release.

The final trailer…opens May 2nd, 2014