More Superhero Hype

Though this year is in no way short of some great comic book action spilling out onto the screen with the likes of Green Lantern, X-Men First Class, Captain America and Thor, still 2012 is shaping up to be the year of the Superhero movie.
We will see the initially not so welcomed reboot of the Spider-man movie franchise , another attempt at bringing Superman to our big screens that works with this generation, and maybe the most anticipated superhero sequel of them all - The Dark Knight Rises.


The Amazing Spider-Man

Catch Up:
You will all know by now that the new reboot of the franchise has been given the title The Amazing Spider-Man taken from the popular comics of the same name, though little is still known about actual plot details. Andrew Garfield replaces Tobey Maguire as our friendly neighbourhood web slinger, Emma Stone will play love interest Gwen Stacey with no room for Mary Jane Watson, Charlie Sheen and Sally Field will play uncle Ben and Aunt May, with Rhys Ifans cast to play the villain which WILL be the Lizard and is most likely not the only villain in the story. Marc Webb is in the directors chair.

The 411...
Many people still question the need for a reboot after how successful Sam Raimi’s movies were and so soon (though now in question weather it will be a complete reboot from mixed statements with producer Avi Arad), however excitement grew with the announcement of Hollywood’s golden boy Andrew Garfield being cast in the lead role and the other big names joining the fray.

Now focus has shifted towards the costume. When the first set picture of Garfield as Spider-Man was released on the net the majority of spidey fans shown a dislike for the new design much preferring the one sported by Tobey Maguire in the previous 3 movies with comments consisting of it looking too alien like and cheap. Yesterday more set pictures have been released (below) showing more detail of the costume, and though more fans are leaning towards the design many are still not convinced.

However these are just set photos, and is probably way off looking like the final look. Thinking back to Batman Begins, many were not keen on the set photos of Batman’s costume until more polished footage was shown, so fear not there is still plenty of time for definite improvement between now and 2012.

The Movie is set to hit our screens July 3rd 2012 in both 2D and 3D.

Have a look at the new set photos and leave your comments and thoughts about the costume-

Superman : The Man Of Steel

Catch up:
Director Zack Snyder has officially cast English actor Henry Cavill (Tudors) as the man of steel in 2012’s reboot of the franchise that seemingly died off with Bryan Singers disappointing Superman Returns (though I will state I did like SR). The movie will go back to the roots of the character despite many not wanting an origin story, and has promised we will see a Superman worthy of the title. However no other plot details have been revealed and only one more person has officially been cast.

The 411...

The biggest announcment of the day is that Diane Lane has been cast to play Martha Kent, Clark Kent's Earth Mother! Zack Snyder released this statement about the casting choice: “This was a very important piece of casting for me because Martha Kent is the woman whose values helped shape the man we know as Superman. We are thrilled to have Diane in the role because she can convey the wisdom and the wonder of a woman whose son has powers beyond her imagination.”
For me, Diane Lane is a wonderful choice to play Martha, and as a fan of her previous work I think she will bring great warmth to the upcomming feature.

Though we now have Diane Lane there has been a lack of anymore announcements since Cavill contributing to the upcoming feature, that hasn’t stopped the rumour mill from spinning with more gossip and quite plausible casting rumours.

We start with the possibility that Lois Lane might not play a big part in the movie if at all, and rather going right back to the roots with Lana Lang as a love interest, which if you have seen Superman 3 with Christopher Reeve and the Smallville series you will be familiar with the character, and if not, in short - she is Clark Kent’s high school sweetheart before he meets Lois. A name has been attached to this role and seems to be sticking in the form of Lindsay Lohan, and though not confirmed it is true she has expressed interest in the new movie.

Another casting rumour involves Kevin Costner to play Jonathan Kent, Clark’s Earth Farther, and though I myself think that idea is beyond cool, if indeed Zack is interested in getting Kevin on board for the reboot maybe its just as likely he could be cast as Perry White?

And finally though we were assured awhile ago that General Zod WOULD NOT be a villain, rumours suggest otherwise. Both Daniel Day Lewis and Viggo Mortensen have both been rumoured to be of keen interest with Warner Brothers for a role in the reboot, speculation mainly suggesting that Zod would be a perfect fit for both actors. If this is indeed the direction the movie will follow I could see either filling the role of Zod made famous by Terrence Stamp in the original Superman 1 &2 well, though I would sway more towards DDL for a more menacing Kryptonian. However I would still prefer one of the villains in Superman’s rogue gallery we have not witnessed on the big screen yet like Braniac and Bizzaro.

More announcements are sure to emerge soon as filming is set for June of this year with a release date speculated to be in December 2012.

Dark Knight Rises

Catch up:
Christopher Nolan’s reportedly last outing of the popular franchise which see’s Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman all reprising their roles, with the added addition of Anne Hathaway as Catwoman and Tom Hardy as Bane.

The 411.…
I have to call a spoiler alert here…….as if the recent rumours are to be believed, plot details of the upcoming 2012 movie have been leaked.

Lets for now say there true, it looks as if Nolan’s third Batman will include Talia Al’Ghul leading the League of Shadows back into Gotham accompanied by the menacing Bane. Talia is the daughter of Rahs Al’Ghul (played by Liam Neeson) who was defeated by Batman in Batman Begins.

This would make sense for a continuation and to an end of a trilogy story arc.

Marion Cotillard seems to be the one most likely to play Talia at this point, however the more exciting gossip comes with the news that Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Inception) definitely has a role and it will be a villain within the league of shadows. While this is still not confirmed, many are now rejoicing in the fact that the character of Robin being thrown into the movie seems less likely (I still wouldn’t count it out just yet) and the excitement of just who, if the rumours are correct, will JGL play? …….Black Mask? Hush? or even Alberto Falcone? Earlier reports have already suggested that both Penguin and the Riddler are out.

Other reports are suggesting that the character of Selina Kyle will indeed become her alter ego Catwoman in the movie and will drift on the edge of friend and foe to Batman.

For sure, June 2012 is certainly heating up with this one!

And if them three Superhero movies aren’t enough to get you all hyped up for 2012 there is of course The Avengers which will have Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Nick Fury and the Incredible Hulk along with many other Marvel characters exploding onto the big screens, more on that one next week.




Feel free to leave your comments on any of the movie topics above. Which hero movie are you most looking forward too?