Marvel Looks To The Past And Into The Future In Assembling a Universe

Originally published on For Your Excitement.  19 March  2014.

Greetings Agents and Marvel fans! In lieu of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. tonight we got to enjoyAssembling a Universe. This mini documentary tracked the progression of Marvel Studios from its inception in 2006 to its present day status as a geek and box office juggernaut. If you missed this featurette, shame on you. Check out the recap here but then go see this awesome timeline of Marvel’s rise to cinematic greatness for yourself.

Clark Gregg described Marvel’s films best saying, “These are all chapters in a giant pop culture mythology, and I love that.” Let’s take a look at some of those chapters (minor spoilers ahead!):

Big Independent Studio: Back in 2006, the still-new Marvel Studios decided to try to create its own cinematic universe. They chose heroes Iron Man and the Incredible Hulk as their starting points. Though Hulk was well known, Iron Man was almost immediately lampooned by the media and critics as a second-rate character. At the time, bigger Marvel names like Spider-Man and the X-Men were tied up with other studios. After struggling to find a writer for the Iron Manfilm, Jon Favreau finally stepped up with a passion for the project. He cast Robert Downey Jr. because he saw the film as though it were any other independent movie and he wanted the best actors possible. Downey Jr.’s casting came as a surprise to many but also solidified Marvel’s intent: to make great movies with exceptional stories, characters and actors. The studio even reached out to let fans know, via a Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury cameo, that Iron Man was the start of an Avengers universe.

Filming on Avengers Sequel Delayed By Flooding

Originally published on For Your Excitement.  16 February  2014.

Thor may be the God of Thunder but he can’t do anything about rain. Thus The Avengers: Age of Ultron shooting schedule has been delayed by flooding in the UK.

Actors were supposed to head in to Shepperton Studios in Surrey, England for camera tests and costume fittings, Hollywood.com reported. Due to the particularly heavy rain, the day was cancelled. The town of Shepperton has been one of many places in the U.K. devastated by the past two days of strong rainfall throughout the country.

As for the Avengers sequel, filming has already started in South Africa. The delay due to flooding in the U.K. is not expected to cause any major issues with the rest of the shoot. Set to hit theaters in 2015, The Avengers: Age of Ultron features the heroes from the first film reprising their roles. Joining them as the titular villain is James Spader, along with Paul Bettany (who also voices Iron Man’s J.A.R.V.I.S.) as Ultron’s henchman, The Vision.

Superheroes Are Taking Over Sky Movies: Channel To Pay Homage

Originally published on PopWrapped.tumblr.com.  17 August 2013.

Sky Movies wants to fill the rest of your August with superheroes. Beginning August 17th, the Sky Movies Superheroes HD pop-up channel will bring the audience animations, films and documentaries all about their favorite heroes.

Replacing Sky Movies Greats HD from August 17 – September 1, the channel includes themed days of content such as Marvel and DC days. August 18th is “Super Teams” with recent favorites X-Men: First Class and The Avengers as well as Pixar’s The Incredibles scheduled to air.

The following day, August 19th, is “Dynamic Duos,” with films such as Batman & Robin (of course), the Men in Black trilogy, and Dredd. 

To end the channel’s run are Marvel Day on August 31st and DC Day on September 1st. The Marvel movies scheduled for their namesake day include The Amazing Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, and Spider-Man 2. A documentary on Marvel’s legendary Stan Lee, With Great Power: the Stan Lee Story, will also air on August 31st.

When DC gets their turn, viewers can look forward to The Dark Knight Rises, Batman Begins, and Green Lantern.

“From iconic comic book heroes including Batman, Spider-Man and He-Man to cult heroes including Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the Men In Black, we’ve assembled an unbeatable line-up to keep Sky Movies customers entertained this summer on Sky Movies Superheroes HD, all ready to spring in to action,” said Director of Sky Movies, Ian Lewis.

Sky Movies Superheroes HD, available on Sky TV, Sky Go and On-Demand, could be the perfect way to end your summer. Check out the trailer for the channel here.