Cinema Royale Marvel Movies Special!

Gah! Did you see what Marvel did yesterday!?!? Black Panther! Captain Marvel! Captain America: Civil War! Avengers: Infinity War! Inhumans! And that's not even the half of what they revealed, and we're going to talk about all of it! What does all of this mean for the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe? We'll be joined by Jeff Lyles of Lyles' Movie Files to try and wrap our brains around all of it, and you're encouraged to call-in and join us! How are we going to fit all of this into an hour??

Listen to the show below, and "Like" Cinema Royale here!!

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More Details on Marvel's 'Black Panther'; No Solo Movies for Black Widow or Hulk

Have you had time to come down off the high from Marvel's announcements today? Basically, the studio revealed their complete Phase Three lineup and their release dates, official titles, and so forth. They also revealed Chadwick Boseman would be starring in a Black Panther movie, that a Captain Marvel film had been confirmed, and so much more it's probably best you just go here and read the whole thing. There are still a few minor details left to cover, though, mostly provided by Marvel Studios' chatty chief, Kevin Feige.

First up is Black Panther, which will arrive in 2017, thus beating Warner Bros.' Cyborg film by a good three years and becoming the first prominent superhero film since Blade to feature an African-American lead. We can expect to see Black Panther appear first in Captain America: Civil War and play a major role for all of Phase 3 and beyond. Deadline says Marvel has locked in Boseman for a 5-picture deal, which is pretty much par for the course. As for who else could be working on the film? None other than Reginald Hudlin, producer on Django Unchained and director of two of my all-time favorite comedies, House Party and The Great White Hype. Hudlin wrote a meaningful but ultimately terrible run of Black Panther comics some years back, following on the heels of writer Christopher Priest's amazing 5-year stretch which truly redefined the character.

Marvel is finally giving fans the female-led superhero film they've been asking for, and it will feature Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel. Danvers is a soldier born and bred, beginning as a pilot in the Air Force (one of her numerous superhero codenames was Warbird) and rising to the ranks of NASA security chief. She eventually encountered the Kree alien Mar-Vell aka the original Captain Marvel. A freak accident caused her to become a Kree/human hybrid, granting her the powers of flight, super strength, invulnerability, and energy projection. Feige says it will be through her that we'll see a merging of Marvel's cosmic and earthbound stories.

So if Captain Marvel is getting her own film, what about Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow? Or Mark Ruffalo's Hulk? With so many new characters being introduced, is there room for some of the original and extremely popular gang to get their own solo franchises? Well, not anytime soon...

Feige: "Well, frankly, as I said in the presentation, it’s about bringing new characters to the screen. Black Widow couldn’t be more important as an Avenger, herself. Like Hulk, the Avengers films will be the films where they play a primary role. Her part in Avengers: Age of Ultron is very very big, and further develops and further enhances her character. The plans that we have for her throughout the rest of the Avengers saga is very very big, and lynchpin, in fact, to those films. So instead of taking her out there, or instead of doing a prequel, which we haven’t done yet, continuing the forward momentum and the continuity of the cinematic universe. Of which Widow is a key, key part."

Same goes for the Hulk...

Feige: "Well, I wouldn’t say he’s absent from the timeline, I’d say Hulk is going to appear in many of those movies, particularly all those Avengers movies leading up to 2019 and Infinity War. Mark Ruffalo is on board for all those films, and we’re excited to bring him to those films. What happens with a standalone Hulk film? I’ll only say what I would have said about Black Panther last week or Captain Marvel the week before that, or Doctor Strange the week before that, or Guardians of the Galaxy two years ago, or Ant-Man ten years ago: we’ll see. We’d love to do it, we’d love to find the place to put it, but right now, Hulk will be appearing, with his friends, in their films."

Basically, today was the Marvel presentation we were hoping to see three months ago at Comic-Con. Better late than never. [/Film]

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Marvel Announces 'Black Panther'; Two-Part 'Avengers: Infinity War'; 'Captain Marvel'; 'Inhumans' and More

This is how you fire back in a big way. After Warner Bros. floored everybody last week by announcing an impressive run of films featuring their stable of DC Comics superheroes, it was up to Marvel to retaliate in kind. And boy, did they ever. Today they held a special press event that was expected to have at least one major announcement, and instead it had about a dozen. Let's just jump right in because this is going to take awhile.

One major complaint has been that Warner Bros. beat Marvel to the punch on female and minority-led solo projects, but that's no longer an issue as they've announced both a Captain Marvel film and one for Black Panther. Captain Marvel, which will indeed be the Carol Danvers version as previously rumored, will open July 6th 2018. Black Panther, who apparently will play a major role in the future, will be played by 42 and Get On Up star, Chadwick Boseman, as many had speculated months back. It's a great pick as Boseman is young, a rising star, athletic, and has the charisma to play the King of Wakanda. That film arrives on November 3rd 2017. Marvel also confirmed Inhumans, which centers on the Royal Family of moon-dwelling aliens led by Black Bolt, for November 2nd 2017. Doctor Strange, which many had thought would arrive in July 2016, will instead appear in theaters on November 4th 2016, with Scott Derrickson directing and presumably Benedict Cumberbatch, although Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige neglected to confirm that yet.

So let's talk about sequels because there are plenty. Guardians of the Galaxy 2 has been shuffled to May 5th 2017, with James Gunn and the original cast all to return. The third Thor film is titled Thor: Ragnarok, hitting theaters on July 28th 2017. So what's a Ragnarok? Well, two different versions of Ragnarok exist. One version is a clone of Thor, designed by Tony Stark, that goes crazy during the Civil War event. The other is the apocalyptic "end of days" for the entire Norse line of heroes, and with Chris Hemsworth's contract expiring soon this could mean Thor's end is approaching. The same goes for Captain America 3, which is now titled Captain America: Civil War, and maintains its May 6th 2016 date. The Civil War storyline, which pits heroes vs. heroes, begins the path to Cap's eventual death. Does that mean it will happen on screen? Is the torch about to be passed to the Winter Soldier or possible Falcon? Only time will tell.

And the big one that confirms previous reports of the third Avengers film being split into two, Marvel announced the two part Avengers: Infinity War, with the first chapter on May 4th 2018 and the next May 3rd 2019. Without going too deep into specifics, it's basically a gigantic war that involves basically the entire Marvel Universe, the villain Thanos, and the all-powerful Infinity Gauntlet. The pieces of the Gauntlet have played a key role in nearly every Marvel film, and this would be the culmination of all of those storylines. It would also be an easy way to incorporate the Guardians of the Galaxy, and possibly bring in other spacebound heroes like Adam Warlock and Nova.

Phew! That's a lot to take in. Best to just sit back and mull all of this over for now, because I suspect Marvel is done with any major news for a very long time. Check out promo art and logos below!

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Could Black Panther Appear in 'Avengers: Age of Ultron'?

Chances are you've watched the stunningly awesome Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer a dozen times by now. Well I've probably got you beat there, and every single time the moment that has me geeking out the most is the brief appearance by mo-cap wizard, Andy Serkis. It's notable because he's not playing a CGI creature like Gollum in The Lord of the Rings or a despotic ape like in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. He's just himself, and that makes Marvel's secrecy around his character all the more intriguing.

While this amounts to a lot of guesswork, the gang at Cinemablend come up with a decent theory that would suggest the first appearance of Black Panther. According to the site, and this is pretty undeniable, Serkis bears a striking resemblance to the Black Panther villain, Ulysses Klaw. Klaw is an expert in the field of sonics, and he's often seen in the Panther's home nation of Wakanda trying to steal the rare metal Vibranium. It's a substance that only exists in Wakanda and is the substance Captain America's shield is partially made of. Virbranium has the power to absorb kinetic impact, soundwaves, and vibrations. There's another scene in the trailer where it looks like Ultron is being forged out of some kind of metal, which could very well be Vibranium. The metal has already appeared in Captain America: The First Avenger, when it was revealed that Howard Stark used it to construct Cap's shield.

It's a solid theory, and I'd be lying if I said it didn't cross my mind that Ultron would be made of Vibranium somehow. In the comics he's mostly forged out of indestructible Adamantium (Cap's shield  has it, too), but Marvel can't use it because that's also what Wolverine is made out of, so it falls under 20th Century Fox's rights. Vibranium should make for a pretty good replacement. 

Avengers: Age of Ultron opens May 1st 2015.

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Chadwick Boseman Appearing as Black Panther in 'Avengers: Age of Ultron'?

Marvel has no shortage of characters they can spinoff from their wildly successful Avengers franchise, and we've seen them take advantage of it at every turn. Not only is there a Doctor Strange movie expected in the next couple of years, but a Netflix deal has TV series for Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, and Luke Cage. That pretty much takes them out of the running to be on the big screen anytime soon, but one character that fans have been clamoring to see part of the team is Black Panther.

Ever since the nation of African nation of Wakanda (where the metal for Cap's shield is found) popped up on a map in an early Iron Man film, then was mentioned again in Captain America: The First Avenger, a Black Panther film has been expected at some point. About a year ago Chadwick Boseman (42) was rumored to be up for the role of king T'challa, and now a new story has surfaced that says he'll actually appear in Avengers: Age of Ultron.

It makes some degree of sense if explained in comic book nerd terms. Wakanda is the only place in the world where one can find vibranium, the most powerful metal in the world. The robotic villain Ultron is usually made of adamantium, which in the comics is the toughest metal, but since that word is sewn up over at 20th Century Fox for their X-men universe (Wolverine's bones are made of adamantium), the next best option for Marvel is vibranium. So if Ultron is going to construct himself a body worthy of facing the Avengers, he's going straight to Wakanda to get the vibranium right from the source.

Now, this rumor has surfaced over at Badass Digest, who incorrectly claim Ultron's "comic book famous" shell is made of vibranium, but apparently it's not famous enough for them to know what it's really made of. It was then reiterated over at Shadow and Act, who proceed to claim Black Panther has a Netflix series coming, which is also not true. So take this for pure speculation at this point, although it would be pretty darn cool if true.

Avengers: Age of Ultron opens May 1st 2015.

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Stan Lee Says Marvel Is Planning An 'Inhumans' Movie

With Thor: The Dark World right around the corner (check out a couple of new posters here), Phase Two of Marvel's master plan is in full swing, and already attention is focusing on what the studio has on the horizon. The only confirmed Phase Three film right now is Edgar Wright's Ant-Man, and Doctor Strange seems to be a personal favorite of studio President Kevin Feige. Nothing is really concrete until Feige says it is, but a certain Marvel Comics legend has a few thoughts on what's coming up.

Stan Lee spoke to TooFab and says Black Panther, Doctor Strange, and the Inhumans are due for Marvel flicks. We've heard about all three of these at various points, but it's the first we've heard about the Inhumans in awhile. They are sort of like the redheaded stepchildren of the Marvel Universe, even more than mutants like the X-men. They're the descendants of genetically-altered humans from the prehistoric era, gifted with latent superhuman powers that only emerge when exposed to the Terrigen Mists. The Inhumans established a society called Attilan in the dark area of the moon, and are ruled by a royal family led by the king, Black Bolt. It doesn't make much sense for Marvel to introduce another intergalactic team movie with Guardians of the Galaxy coming up, and the complicate family dynamics that define the Inhumans isn't much different than what we see in the Thor films.

As a guy who was practically raised on Marvel comics it's sort of expected that I love anything and everything Stan Lee does and says.  The guy is a legend, and it's fun to see him pop up in every single Marvel movie. But he's not someone I would consider the most rock solid source when it comes to Marvel Studios projects. It's likely that one or all of these movies will get done at some point, just don't take Lee's word as a confirmation.

Meanwhile, Marvel's definitely in the business of offering more content with strong female leads. An Agent Carter TV series is in the works, and according to Natalie Portman we can expect that to continue on the big screen. She tells SciFi Now...

Portman: "There are definitely many strong [Marvel] women, but it will be exciting when there is a central female character, which I think is coming - I have heard is coming. And, of course, also a central non-white character will also be exciting... But they do definitely have strong female characters in them and I think it's a testament to the people who run Marvel, their respect, their just normal human respect for women, the way they want to characterize them; you can tell when men talk to you, as just a person or as a 'woman.' "

Black Widow seems like the most obvious choice for her own film, but perhaps too obvious. On the comics side Marvel has really been pushing Carol "Captain Marvel" Danvers as an A-league superhero, and if she ends up in The Avengers: Age of Ultron as many expect, don't be surprised if a solo franchise follows. 

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Is '42' star Chadwick Boseman suiting up as Marvel's 'Black Panther'?

There's little doubt that Marvel desperately wants to bring a Black Panther film to the big screen. They've been trying to piece one together for a couple of years, hiring a writer to start work on the script with nothing much coming out of it. News on the film perked up a couple of weeks ago after some oddly-timed tweets by Morris Chestnut, who was either vying for the role or already had it. Whatever his motivations were, it sounds as if Marvel is on the verge of making a final decision.

If you manage to endure the lengthy and rather pointless babble from Latino Review, you'll eventually learn that they've caught wind of the top name on the short list to play Black Panther, and it's 42 star Chadwick Boseman. The site says Marvel has been eying Boseman ever since the Jackie Robinson biopic became such a huge hit, and in keeping with their history of locking up young stars for major roles (ala Chris Hemsworth in Thor), Boseman became a likely target.

Bear in mind that many of these shortlists don't amount to much, and Latino Review in particular has a spotty track record. They don't reveal any other names on the list, or give any indication whether Chestnut is still in the running. That said, this seems like an avenue Marvel may be willing to travel down, as Boseman would clearly be an affordable option, and they can build him as another of their homegrown stars. I had Boseman as my top choice when all of the Chestnut rumors were breaking, so obviously it's a move I agree with. Make it happen, Marvel.

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Morris Chestnut keeps talking 'Black Panther'; plus my pick for the role

Is Morris Chestnut having some fun with the Twitterverse? Or does he legitimately know something about Marvel's plans surrounding a Black Panther feature film? That's the question the actor has raised after a couple of very specific, suspicious tweets over the last few days, which hint at the possibility of him playing the Avenger. Or he may just be a fan eager to catch up with the comic book adventures of the Wakandan king.

The rumors began swirling after Chestnut tweeted "It's time to get familiar with the Black Panther character!", a tweet which was quickly. But the actor turned up today to give the hornet's nest another kick....

"Not final. #BlackPanther may be in #avengers2 first. RT @jamaal91604133: @morris_chestnut Can’t wait to see this movie. #BlackPanther"

Both of these comments are open to some pretty wide interpretation. It's possible that Chestnut, who makes his first foray into comics with Kick-Ass 2, is in negotiations for the film and may have jumped the gun in talking about it. He could have learned from Marvel or someone close to the production that Black Panther is being considered for The Avengers 2. Or Chestnut is just a really big fan and is speculating on the character's cinematic future. Hey may just be showing his enthusiasm in hopes of catching some producer's attention. Marvel has been trying to piece together a film and possible television series on the character for awhile, and Chestnut could just be speaking to the info that is readily available. A couple of years ago, Mark Bailey was hired to pen a screenplay, and for awhile it looked like one of Marvel's secret Phase Two projects until Guardians of the Galaxy was revealed.

Would Chestnut make for a good pick as Black Panther, though? He certainly has all of the physical traits, and can handle the athletic requirements the role would demand. But for me, I'd like to see Marvel go younger and target someone like 42 star Chadwick Boseman. He's another who has all of the right physical tools, and as anyone who saw him portray Jackie Robinson knows, he can play someone forced to carry a heavy burden. In the case of Black Panther, it's the weight of caring for an entire nation of people.

Regardless of whether Chestnut is in the suit or not, we'll find out if Black Panther is in The Avengers 2 when it opens on May 1st 2015.

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*UPDATE* Is 'Black Panther' one of Marvel's two unannounced films?

 *UPDATE* Comingsoon notes a source within Marvel Studios who says Latino Review's story is total horse crap. Ok, those are my words, but they say the story isn't true. We'll see.....

As Marvel gears up for the next phase of their plan post-The Avengers, there's been a ton of speculation as to what new heroes will be introduced to make up part of the overall map. Marvel did things the right way by building up Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, and the Hulk before launching into The Avengers, and the results speak for themselves. Hello! #3 highest grossing movie of all-time! So it stands to reason that Marvel will follow a similar path as before, and part of that has to include establishing fresh characters from different corners. We've known that Marvel has two unannounced projects on the way, or so said Prez Kevin Feige...

Feige: "In a week and a half we start filming 'Iron Man 3'…by the end of the summer we'll be working on the next 'Thor' film, early next year the next 'Captain America' film. Those are the three that we've announced so far, but we've got two beyond that we haven't announced yet that we're working on."

Right, so what will one of those projects be? According to Latino Review, one of those will be Black Panther. This would be the next solo film to follow Captain America 2, and likely taking the May 16th 2014 release date they already have set aside.  Mark Bailey was hired more than a year ago to get crackin' on a Black Panther script, and if the report is to be believe, it's apparently fantastic. Honestly, take every single bit of this with a grain of salt until there's an official announcement.


Black Panther is one of the most important, storied characters in the Marvel Universe. Black Panther is the title given to the king of the African nation of Wakanda, a land rich in a natural resource known as vibranium, a metal with unique energy absorption properties. Captain America's famous shield is made partially of vibranium. The holder of the Black Panther mantle is T'challa, and due to his homeland being constantly under attack for its resources, he's a slightly more suspicious, proactive character than most. A member of The Avengers for some time, it was revealed that he only joined in order to spy on the team to make sure they weren't a threat to Wakanda. In recent years he's been completely revamped, and is more like a globe spanning Batman character, with a nearly unmatched combat ability and a ton of special gadgets and weapons. He's also married to the X-man, Storm. We caught a tiny glimpse of Wakanda during Iron Man 2 on one of Tony Stark's digital maps, so Black Panther is a presence even if we haven't seen him yet.

So taking this all at face value, who would you want to see play Black Panther? Wesley Snipes was attached to the role years ago, but clearly he's no longer an option. I'd say the top two picks would have to be Michael Jai White(Black Dynamite), for his obvious physicality and look. And the other would be Nate Parker(Red Tails), who can capture the suave side of the character quite nicely.

As Marvel reaches out to untapped markets, such as Iron Man 3 being filmed in China, a character like Black Panther clearly resonates with the urban demographic. It's a smart move, and would fulfill one of my long held hopes of seeing the character get the attention it deserves on the silver screen.

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Superhero Update: Hiddleston reveals The Avengers plot? Black Widow, Hawkeye solo films?

Tom Hiddleston has been a little elusive when it comes to what role Loki will play in Joss Whedon's The Avengers. Oh heck, let's just say it. He's been downright misleading, even at one point saying that Loki won't appear at all. The trickster God is going to have his hands full with his brother come this weekend when Thor finally hits theaters, but Loki's role in The Avengers has been a mystery. We know he'll be in it, and for months the speculation has been that he'll use the power of the Cosmic Cube(discovered in Captain America: The First Avenger) to summon the warlike alien race The Skrulls to attack the earth. This would be the catalyzing event that brings The Avengers together.

Well Vulture recently had a sit down with the Brit actor, who gives the impression that not only will Loki be in the thick of the Avengers action, he might be ready to take the supergroup on all by himself...

Hiddleston: Well, I think it was a plan from the get-go, but it wasn’t really dead-set until near the end of Thor. What was wonderful is that about four days after I wrapped on Thor, I went out for a cup of tea with Joss Whedon. We sat down at two o’clock in the afternoon, and we were still sitting there at six o’clock. He said, “Listen, you’ve lived with this guy for six months. I want you to spill the beans and tell me all of his dark secrets. Who is this guy? Why is he who he is?” Ken had already shown him a rough cut of the film, and mercifully, everything I had done accorded with Joss’s idea of the character, too. I’m really so flattered that Marvel and Josh think I can take them all on. In Avengers, it’s going to be me versus seven of them, and I say “Good luck to them,” frankly.
 
That statement can be seen a number of ways. It could mean the Skrull storyline is very much in play, or it could mean something totally different. I'm sure we'll find out soon enough. Personally I love the idea of the Skrulls showing up, because their shapeshifting powers should cause a hell of a lot of confusion in the Avengers ranks, leading to some tense moments.


One thing I'm getting really worried about is superhero overload. There are too many superhero comics out there already(although most don't last long), and I don't want there to be so many movies that I start ignoring them too.  The Avengers will no doubt be the launch pad for a number of potential spinoffs, and according to Marvel Films chatty prez, Kevin Feige, Hawkeye(Jeremy Renner) and Black Widow(Scarlett Johansson) are the leading candidates for solo projects. This isn't anything new as we've heard about a potential Black Widow film since back when Iron Man 2 was shooting, but with Feige's backing you can all but take it to the bank.

Feige also revealed to The Playlist that Marvel will be introducing their next crop of films, likely for 2013 and beyond, later this summer. Whether that will be at Comic-Con in July remains to be seen. The question is which films will he announce? Black Panther actually has a screenwriter attached to it in Mark Bailey, while Doctor Strange has been mentioned more than once as well. And let's not forget Edgar Wright's slow moving Ant-Man pic. It could be any or all of them, or none at all. Personally I'm hoping for Runaways.

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A writer named for Marvel's 'Black Panther' movie, and it isn't Reginald Hudlin! Yahoo!!

Oh thank goodness. I just recently read an article about Reginald Hudlin about the Black Panther animated feature he made recently, and I was terrified that an announcement he'd been hired for the big screen live-action flick would soon follow. Thankfully that won't happen, because Marvel has hired Mark Bailey to pen the adventures of the Wakandan king and badass superhero.


This news comes courtesy of THR, who also note that Bailey doesn't have any experience with screenwriting fictional works, as he's been mostly handling documentary features. So this seems like a choice completely out of left field.

For those who don't know much about the Black Panther, he's generally considered to be the first African-American mainstream superhero. He debuted in the pages of the Fantastic Four and has been a member of that team as well as The Avengers.(he was spying on them! How cool is that?) The man under the mask is T'challa, king of the African nation of Wakanda and chief of the Panther Tribe. Wakanda is the only place on earth to contain vibranium, a rare metal which absorbs vibration and kinetic impact. The metal was used in part to create Captain America's famous shield.

Why all the Hudlin hate? The guy has helmed two of my favorite movies of all-time: House Party and The Great White Hype, but Hudlin also wrote the Black Panther comic book for about four years....and he was terrible. Spent the entire time undoing all the things that made the Black Panther cool.

The Black Panther has had a long trek to the big screen. Back in the 90s, Wesley Snipes had come awfully close to developing and starring in the film, but Marvel's financial difficulties shuttered that idea. Just a few years ago, John Singleton(Higher Learning) was attached to direct, but that too fell through. With Marvel's emphasis on developing some of their lower tier superhero characters(Ant-Man, Doctor Strange, etc.), it was only a matter of time before the Black Panther's name popped back up again. In fact, it was made abundantly clear just how much Marvel is interested in the film when Wakanda popped up on a digital map in Iron Man 2.

Now the only question is who will play him? I've still got my money set on Djimon Hounsou.

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