News Shotgun 7/1
- Thor 2 scheduled for Summer 2013: Next summer we’ll finally have the Avengers movie but the Marvel movies will keep rolling on after that with Thor 2 announced for Summer 2013. Kenneth Brannagh won’t be back to direct but Marvel says that decision was a mutual one. Chris Hemsworth will, of course, be back as Thor.
- Michael Bay’s next movie a small “dark comedy”: After years of making some of the loudest, explosioniest, expensive movies ever, Michael Bay’s next movie is a “dark comedy” called Pain and Gain. Bay describes it as similar to Pulp Fiction and is inspired by abductions and extortion in the Florida crime underworld.
- Another Disney ride turned movie in the works: With the Pirates movies having made billions of dollars, Disney is launching a full offensive of movies based on their rides. Jungle Cruise, the Enchanted Tiki Room and the entire Magic Kingdom are supposed to be going into production and this week we learned that a screenwriter was hired to write a script for what sounds like a combination of Expedition Everest and The Matterhorn called “The Hill”. The movie will follow five adventurers who are invited to climb the famed Mt. Matterhorn but stumble across a group of Yetis.
- Sci Fi versions of Heart of Darkness and Count of Monte Cristo being developed: A couple of classic literary works are being sent into the future with sci fi flavored takes on them. I think Heart of Darkness could work if it was set on a spaceship or something but I don’t know how you “sci fi” The Count of Monte Cristo without it seeming ridiculous.
- Rod Serling biopic in the works: The host and creator of The Twilight Zone, Rod Serling, is going to be the subject of an upcoming biopic. Serling was one of the coolest dudes in the ’50’s and ’60’s and did a bunch of things other than the Twilight Zone like co-writing Planet of the Apes, hosting a game show and serving in the Pacific during World War II.
- Marvel Short Films might be starting up: A while ago, we found out that Marvel was thinking about doing shorts before their feature films that would feature some secondary and lesser known characters. Now it seems like they might be starting as it seems that Marvel has shot two shorts for the Captain America and Thor DVDs featuring SHIELD agent Coulson. Hopefully this means we can see characters like Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Moon Knight and other B-level characters on the big screen soon.