It had been previously rumored that there were a number of various contenders for the title role in the upcoming Captain America, with the likes of Dane Cook auditioning.  Fox411 reported earlier today that  that The Office star John Krasinski is all but set to don the mask and shield, but it looks like that is now false and he is completely out of the running. Mike Fleming over at Deadline has exclusive news that Marvel has “expanded its search” that includes Chris Evans, who already has superhero experience as Johnny Storm/Human Torch in the Fantastic Four films. From the original group of actors rumored, Mike Vogel (Cloverfield, She’s Out of My League) and Garrett Hedlund (Tron Legacy) are both “serious contenders”. The actor needs to be prepared for the insane commitment which includes 9 future films and a relatively low salary of $300,000.

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Paramount Pictures and Marvel have released today an updated plot synopsis for Thor. The official release is as follows…

Paramount Pictures and Marvel Entertainment present the epic adventure, ‘Thor‘, which spans the Marvel Universe from present day Earth to the realm of Asgard. At the center of the story is the mighty Thor (Chris Hemsworth), a powerful but arrogant warrior whose reckless actions reignite an ancient war.

Thor is cast down to Earth by his father Odin (Anthony Hopkins) and is forced to live among humans. A beautiful, young scientist, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), has a profound effect on Thor, as she ultimately becomes his first love.

It’s while here on Earth that Thor learns what it takes to be a true hero when the most dangerous villain of his world sends the darkest forces of Asgard to invade Earth.

Due for a May 2011 release, Thor promises a story full of action. With a cast that, along with those mentioned above, includes Rene Russo, Idris Elba and Stellan Skarsgard, as well as being directed by theater stalwart Kenneth Branagh, the final result should be immense.

What are your reactions to the plot of Thor?

In a recent interview with SFX Magazine, Kevin Feige of Marvel Studio stated that Edward Norton is still the studios go-to-guy to play Bruce Banner/The Incredible Hulk in the upcoming Avengers movie. This comes after years of rumors that stated that all bridges between Norton and Marvel were burned after conflicts over the final cut of The Incredible Hulk. No other news about the film is available at this time. Read the full story

For a while now many unrealistically dreamed that Jon Favreau would helm The Avengers film, but now Favreau has finally confirmed it won’t happen. Speaking to MTV Favreau stated:

They’ll have to [find a different director], because I’m not going to be available. It’s something I’m being the executive producer on, so I’ll definitely have input and a say.  It’s going to be hard, because I was so involved in creating the world of Iron Man and Iron Man is very much a tech-based hero, and then with ‘Avengers’ you’re going to be introducing some supernatural aspects because of Thor. How you mix the two of those works very well in the comic books, but it’s going to take a lot of thoughtfulness to make that all work and not blow the reality that we’ve created.

As I just stated, this isn’t anything surprising. With the scheduling of The Avengers and Favreau’s involvement in Cowboys and Aliens, this project probably couldn’t happen with Favreau behind the camera. Even though it is a shame Favreau isn’t going to be directing, at least him being attached as an executive producer shows that he will be involved with Marvel for a while.

Are you upset Favreau isn’t directing Avengers? Who would you want to see direct?

According to The New York Times Walt Disney Pictures purchased Marvel Entertainment in a deal that is close to $4 billion. Robert Iger, Disney’s chief executive stated “We believe that adding Marvel to Disney’s unique portfolio of brands provides significant opportunities for long-term growth and value creation.” This deal proves very lucrative for Marvel because this will give them full access to all of Disney’s resources around the globe.

So does this mean we will be seeing a crossover comic between Mickey and Iron-Man? Probably not, but it does mean that Disney will retain some creative control over many of comics greatest heroes. It is unclear at this point what this means for the film adaptations Marvel produces. Especially the ones currently in production and post production. I don’t know yet if this was a good deal for Marvel or if they are about to get screwed over really bad. Only time will tell.

What do you think about this acquistion?

Hollywood bloggess Nikki Finke is reporting that Marvel and director Kenneth Branagh have settled on their Thor. As expected, the role has gone to a relative unknown: 25-year old Australian Chris Hemsworth. He will play opposite Natalie Portman, who was previously reported to be cast as the female lead in the film.

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20th Century Fox has now officially announced that they will be moving ahead with a Deadpool movie. Ryan Reynolds is set to reprise the role, producer Lauren Shuler Donner will be producing with Marvel Entertainment. The studio is currently looking out for writers.

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Marvel’s President of Production Kevin Feige recently spoke to Empire magazine and gave a few updates Marvels upcoming projects including The Avengers and Thor.

On The Avengers: “Zak Penn is already on board The Avengers [as writer] and he’s spending a lot of his time looking into what we’re doing with Iron Man, Thor and Captain America, seeing how we’re tying it all together. And he’s beginning to outline the script now – he’ll be doing that over the summer.”

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Nikkie Finke recently gave some tidbits on MARVEL’S up coming Thor. She announced that Natalie Portman (V For Vendetta) will be playing the female lead in THOR. Finke also commented on the actors that have been screen tested to play THOR. The list includes Josh Hartnet (Sin City), Charlie Hunnam (Sons Of Anarchy), Tom Hiddleston (The Gathering ), Liam Hemsworth (The Expendables), Joel Kinnaman and the heavily rumored Alexandar Skarsgard.

I like Natalie Portman a lot actually, I really liked Garden State, V For Vendetta, and Closer. So that is cool news to me. I am not too excited about most of the people up for Thor. I think Josh Hartnet would be a really weird choice, I would rather see him play the rumored role of Loki that he is up for. I think the best choice he is actually Alexander Skarsgard, not just because he has the look but he’s got the acting chops I think. He was good on the pulp trashy True Blood, from what I saw. I also have heard good things about him in Generation Kill. I think he would be a good fit for this. I am personally starting to get very excited for Thor.

Thor is set to be released July 17th, 2011.

Who would you pick for Thor? 

-Jack G

By Jordan Raup

I’ll admit it. I’ve never heard of Watchmen until Zack Snyder was attached to direct during the summer of 2006. Since I hadn’t read the graphic novel the hype started when I saw the trailer before The Dark Knight. I knew it was something special and after reading the graphic novel during the past couple months my hype increased tenfold. After the lawsuit fiasco got resolved it finally sunk in, I would actually be seeing this very soon. Only watching the trailers and select TV spots, the day finally arrived. From the first frame of Watchmen, as lush yellow completely engulfs the screen while the company logos pop in, eventually fading into that iconic pin, we just hope Snyder doesn’t screw this up. Don’t worry, he doesn’t.

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