SDCC 2013 -- Marvel Rules (Part 2): Captain America Winter Soldier; Thor Dark World; Tom Hiddleston Wins Cosplay as Loki; Avengers Age of Ultron

Earlier on Marvel took the stage at Hall H and revealed more than I am hoping for. I was secretly hoping Marvel to announce the cast of Avengers 2 (aka Avengers: Age of Ultron), but seeing they have a few things to release before they wrap phase II with Avengers, I completely understand and still in love with Marvel. Don't announce anything else until I get to SDCC next year!

I cannot think of a better way to start this. Marvel has a history of blowing Hall H's roof off the planet -- the announcement of the cast of Avengers, RDJ danced his way in to Hall H with the Iron Man hand, and now Tom Hiddleston's appearance in character. There is something different and something to talk about every year!

Tom Hiddleston has shown us THIS IS HOW YOU DO COSPLAY! I thought Andrew Garfield's in full Spidey costume yesterday was admirable, but Tom took this to the next level! Can anyone top that? No! The crowd went nuts! LOKI LOKI LOKI LOKI!!!!!! 



I didn't want to have dinner and chant all night! He's turned me! LOKI LOKI LOKI LOKI LOKI LOKI!!!!!! Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman weren't there, which to me was disappointing. But Tom Hiddleston's introduction as Loki was more than enough for me to forgive the cast for not being there! I know Thor the Dark World will be good. It can't go wrong! 

Then, it was the Captain America Winter Soldier panel. While there weren't any major spoilers that I didn't know about, I am impressed by the cast's commitment for being there. I make no apology when I say I need more Chris Evans and Scarlett Johannson now! They are so adorable and pretty. It isn't the first time they work together. Happiness!!! 

Tom is like.. what's wrong with you people? You came unprepared?

I NEED THIS!

There are a number of [SPOILER] photos from the set. I NEED TO WATCH THIS MOVIE NOW!!! More wrap up can be read at ComicBookMovie.

And of course, the next big news is the announcement of the title of the next Avengers movie! it's not Avengers 2, technically it is, but it has been named AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON. IGN has this really good reaction piece with a bit of history of Ultron. The guys always talk about Cap, Thor and Guardians. 



There is no announcement of cast for AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON, but I think with Thor and Cap are waiting in the wing to take off, to announce the cast will be a bit premature.  

 

SDCC 2013 -- Marvel Rules (Part 1)

Fans have completely lost it! I know I would if I was in the audience. I would loose my voice, my soul, my integrity, my shit.  

Marvel knows what they are doing and how to do it. There are many things I want to cover, but let's do this chronologically and start with Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, Agent Carter and Guardians of the Galaxy. I'll have the Thor and Cap stuff in Part 2. 

The S.H.I.E.L.D panel took place on Friday. Seeing all the tweets is enough to get my to cloud eleven, I can't imagine what I'd do if I was in the audience. Joss Whedon announced to the audience during the panel that they were to see the entire pilot of the TV series. Why wouldn't anyone loose their shit?

The TV series premieres on September 24 on ABC. As expected, no one was allowed to film anything during the panel, or a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent would take them out. Here are a few reactions from Twitter. 

Buzzfeed has a comprehensive analysis on the pilot. If you don't want spoilers, don't read it. My reaction from watching the TV promo alone is that the show looks expansive to produce. If Marvel does this right, this can go on for years! We will see familiar faces -- Coulson and Hill. With How I Met Your Mother coming to an end, I hope Cobie Smulders (Agent Maria Hill) will become a regular on S.H.I.E.L.D. She is a familiar face on TV and Hill was pretty good in Avengers and convincing as an S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Put Samuel L Jackson on and I will kneel before the TV every week!

It is a Marvel thing, we can expect characters and stories integration. It's only logical and it's a smart move. I think it is a big challenge to have RDJ, Chris Evens and Chris Hemsworth or Scarlett Johannson to guest star on the TV series, but they aren't the only heroes, there are so many superheros in the Marvel universe, why wouldn't you want to expand and build the future of pop culture?

Marvel isn't falling into the trap of writing only a few characters, like Superman and Batman to DC, otherwise things will eventually grow tired and will be done to death. What I am saying is, you won't see two Supermans running separately on the big screen and on TV at the same time, you won't see disintegration in the franchise. I hope they will somehow integrate Spiderman into Avengers. Everything is being as well planned as possible. Marvel has the same guy heading the whole initiative -- Joss Whedon. Enough said!

I am even more excited Channel Seven -- an Australian TV network -- is fast-tracking the TV series in September!!

When I got home last night, Batman Forever was on TV. I used to love the Batman franchise, but as I become more and more aware of characters and stories in pop culture, the more I grow tired of characters who are the cliche love interests in superheroes or James Bond movies. I hate them. Oh save me. Oh shut up! I was watching Chase Meridian in Batman Forever and I couldn't stand her! I guess it wasn't forever after all!

Female as love interests are so poorly written in pop culture sometimes and it reflects how our society operates. But if you look at strong female characters like Peggy Carter, Black Widow, Sarah Walker (Chuck), Dana Scully, Buffy and Hillary Clinton (wait.. what?)... I immediately look at the world differently. You don't have to fit in and do what everyone else does. Kick it in the ass babes!

What was I going say? Oh yes, Agent Carter is not gone, in fact she is still very much integrated into the story of Captain America. The Marvel One Shot: Agent Carter will focus on the tracking down the mysterious 'Zodiac'. You will see Dominic Cooper (aka Howard Stark) reprising his role. This can be seen in the Iron Man III DVD and Blu-ray. I think Hayley Atwell should reprise her role in a Peggy Carter spin-off. There's at least 70 years of material there! Will we finally get to see Howard and Peggy have fondue? There should totally be a spin off on THAT!

Guardians of the Galaxy is not something I think about all the time. In fact, this is the first time I talk about it. I know zero about this team of interstellar heroes that protect the galaxy. That's pretty big, right? I think the idea sounds so big, I need to make this as a side project. Cast include Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, Benicio del Toro, John C. Reilly and Glenn Close. You can read more about the panel at IGN. The cast flew in from London just for this panel. 

With Thor The Dark World, Captain America: Winter Soldier and Avengers: Age of Ultron coming up, my blogging schedule is pretty full on, but I am still very interested in seeing Guardians and where the story goes. It looks like pretty bad ass!