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It was reported that on the potential deal between Marvel and Sony to share the rights to Spider-Man at a 60/40 split, and that deal seems to be the one that will potentially be jump-started if Sony Pictures Entertainment continues to stumble in their handling of the Spider-Man franchise.

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We recently learned that Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios were indeed in discussions about making a deal to bring Spider-Man into the MCU. Apparently Marvel was hoping to bring the superhero into Captain America: Civil War, and that they would produce a new trilogy of films together, but it was reported that things didn’t work out and a deal died.

According to our friends at Latino-Review, though, it sounds like a deal is still alive and on the table, and that there is still room for negotiations! The site has an inside source that has offered them some interesting information. Here’s what they report:

“I can report that the deal Sony finally rejected was NOT a Marvel trilogy of movies that Sony would have control over. Instead, it was a co-production deal where Marvel and Sony would split future Spider-Man film costs 60/40 (Marvel paying the larger part) while MARVEL retained control of the Spider-Man creative property with the potential to have him cross-over into Marvel’s Phase films, like an appearance in Captain America: Civil War.”

They go on to say that the big bosses at Sony Japan are not happy with how things are going down. Not only with this whole email hacking situation, but also with how the Sony Pictures has handled the Spider-Man franchise. The site goes on to report,

“What I’m hearing from my little birds is that Sony, the parent company, views Sony Pictures’s handling of the Spider-Man property as disappointing. Sony wants to be all about ‘quality’ films (actual one-word quote, not air quotes), and the Amazing Spider-Man movies have not been that, nor have the rumors of future films in the franchise. Sony Japan thinks the Marvel deal for Spider-Man is still on the table and they want to renegotiate as a return to quality, the 60/40 split can be negotiated and Sony Entertainment’s October hard-line stance of wanting creative control is now mostly moot in the eyes of the higher-ups.”

Damn! So the guys at the top who are actually running things still want to see a deal made between Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures. Sure, it may not happen in time for Captain America: Civil War, but it could happen in time for Avengers: Infinity War. How freakin’ cool would it be if a deal was done in time? The site then goes to speculate the impossible:

“Wouldn’t it be neat if Sony’s ‘Spidey summit‘ ended with a call to Marvel, who made a call to Joss Whedon, who got a guy in a Spider-Man suit from ASM 2 to jump into those pick-up shots they’re shooting early next year for Avengers: Age of Ultron?… The world would lose [its] shit”

I know  i woiuld  love to see  marvel touch the character i think they can really do  something amazing with the charcter as to what they did for the other marvel characters!  It would be  great to see spidey interact with the avengers!  would be killer for  the civil war line!

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Ryan Reynolds        ? @VancityReynolds

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Uh… It’s Chimichanga Time.

You knew it was only a matter of (chimichanga) time until this: The news, via Deadline, that Reynolds is signing on with Fox to star in ‘Deadpool,’ the ‘X-Men’ spinoff about the “Merc with a Mouth.”

It’s one of the most improbable movie-character comebacks in history. Fox debuted Deadpool (ish) in 2009’s ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine,’ where Ryan Reynolds played the character as a wise-cracking mercenary with a couple of swords and a bad attitude. At the climax of the film, though, creative license (and some truly awful makeup effects) turned Reynolds into a mute martial artists with giant swords coming out of his arms. Because that’s what you think of when you think of Deadpool: A guy who doesn’t talk with huge sword claws.

‘X-Men Origins’ was a flop with audiences and critics (though it did make a fair amount of money), and while talk persisted of a potential ‘Deadpool’ spinoff with Reynolds, the project never went anywhere (the flopitude of Reynolds’ DC superhero movie, ‘Green Lantern’ certainly didn’t help matters). But then test footage for the film leaked online last summer, scoring rave reviews from fans, and generating a new wave of interest in the character. A few months later, ‘Deadpool’ was finally a go. And now Reynolds is officially in as well. Not the outcome I would have predicted at the end of ‘X-Men Origins,’ when (SPOILER ALERT FOR SOMETHING THAT WILL OBVIOUSLY BE RETCONNED OUT OF EXISTENCE) a decapitated Deadpool shushed audiences in maybe the worst post-credits scene of all time.

Deadpool will be directed by Tim Miller, the special-effects expert who helmed the awesome test reel. According to Deadline, shooting is scheduled to begin next March. Chimichangas for all!

Read More: Ryan Reynolds Will Star in ‘Deadpool’ | http://screencrush.com/ryan-reynolds-deadpool-2/?trackback=tsmclip

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Marvel.com has confirmed that Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch will play Stephen Strange in Marvel Studios’ Doctor Strange.

“Stephen Strange’s story requires an actor capable of great depth and sincerity,” said Producer Kevin Feige. “In 2016, Benedict will show audiences what makes Doctor Strange such a unique and compelling character.”

Doctor Strange will be directed by Scott Derrickson, from a screenplay by Jon Spaihts. The film will tell the story of neurosurgeon Doctor Stephen Strange who, after a horrific car accident, discovers the hidden world of magic and alternate dimensions.

News of Cumberbatch playing the role first surfaced just before Marvel Studio’s announcement of their phase 3 plans, but remained unconfirmed, with Feige saying that anything not announced was, at that point, not official. This likely means that the studio was still working out negotiations with Cumberbatch, which have now been finalized.

Doctor Strange opens November 4, 2016.

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Marvel Comics has announced via Entertainment Weekly that a new ongoing “Howard the Duck” series is on its way. The comic, Howard’s first starring role since a 2007 miniseries, will be written by “Sex Criminals” artist Chip Zdarsky and illustrated by Joe Quinones (“Black Canary and Zatanna: Bloodspell”) and feature the titular duck jumpstarting his career as a private investigator. In an interview with EW, Zdarsky says that he considers Howard to be “an everyman who happens to be a duck.”

“He’s angry, exasperated, and he’s had it up to here with the world around him,” said Zdarsky, “but he’s trapped here! Infinitely relatable!”

Quinones also spoke to his Howard redesign that shifts the character a little bit away from other classic cartoon characters. “I knew I wanted to disassociate his look a bit from being a literal cartoon duck, like Daffy or Donald, and instead into a sort of middle ground. Obviously I’m cartooning him here, but I wanted Howard to get away from the giant cartoon eyes. Howard should be able to sit in the same panel as Rocket Raccoon or Spider-Man, and not have it look like ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit.'”

Howard the Duck was created by Steve Gerber and Val Mayerick in 1973 and went on to star in his own ongoing series from 1976 to 1979. A feature film flop in 1986 seemingly damaged the character beyond repair and he was relegated to comedic guest appearances in other superhero comics for the past few decades. The character stepped back into the spotlight thanks to a post-credits scene in this summer’s “Guardians of the Galaxy,” which added Howard to the massively popular Marvel Cinematic Universe.

“Howard the Duck” #1 goes on sale March 4, 2015.

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A couple of month ago it was rumored that Peggy Carter would have a cameo role in Marvel’s Ant-Man, along with a few other characters that you can read about here. It has now been confirmed that Carter will indeed play a part in the movie, and it comes from a post at Project Casting, who says that casting directors are looking for a stand-in for actress Hayley Atwell. Here’s the description that was released for the Ant-Man casting:

Casting directors are looking for an actor to work as a stand-in for the actor Haley [sic] Atwell. Haley Attwell [sic] is 31, 5’7 and 112 pounds. She is best known for her work in stage productions such as A View from the Bridge, and in films such as Cassandra’s Dream, The Duchess, The Pillars of the Earth, and Captain America: The First Avenger. In addition, casting directors are looking for a body double that meets certain requirements.

There’s a rumor going around that Michael Douglas‘ Hank Pym will have a flashback in the proloqgue movie in which he meets members of S.H.I.E.L.D. including founding members Peggy Carter, Howard Stark, Armin Zola and a young Alexander Pierce, who was played by Robert Redford in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. If Zola is in the scene, he would most likely be reprised by Toby Jones, along with Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark, who is also involved with ABC’s Agent Carter series.

Armed with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, con-man Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) must embrace his inner-hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), protect the secret behind his spectacular Ant-Man suit from a new generation of towering threats. Against seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Pym and Lang must plan and pull off a heist that will save the world.

The Peyton Reed-directed movie also stars Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Peña, Abby Ryder Fortson, Judy Greer, David Dastmalchian, Wood Harris, John Slattery, Gregg Turkington and T.I. The movie set to be released in theaters on July 17th, 2015.

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While it was previously thought that Tom Hiddleston’s Loki would not be a part of Avengers: Age of Ultron, it has now been revealed by Idris Elba that both him and Hiddleston are actually in the film.

In an interview with the Telegraph, Elba let the detail slip out while talking about a DJ set he had played in a Ibizia nightclub. Elba revealed that the day before the DJ set he had just shot a scene for Avengers: Age of Ultron. Elba said, “And I’m doing a scene with Chris Hemsworth [who plays Thor] and Tom Hiddleston [Loki], and they’re like, [whispers] – ‘Aren’t you [meant to be] in Ibiza?’”

So what is the mystery scene that Elba is referring to that he shot with Hemsworth and Hiddleston? The Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer revealed what appeared to be flashback scenes for Captain America and Black Widow. The Avengers: Age of Ultron clip shown at the Marvel Studios Phase 3 event also featured Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. talking about what that Maximoff kid had shown Thor. It’s probably likely that Hiddleston and Elba appear in a vision that Scarlet Witch shows Thor.

In addition to mentioning his Avengers: Age of Ultron scene, Elba also talked about the challenge of adjusting from playing Mandela to doing a reshoot scene for Thor: The Dark World. Ebla said, “I’m actually falling down from a spaceship, so they had to put me in harness in this green-screen studio. And in between takes I was stuck there, fake hair stuck on to my head with glue, this f—— helmet, while they reset. And I’m thinking: ‘24 hours ago, I was Mandela’.”

Avengers: Age of Ultron is set to be released in movie theaters on May 1, 2015.

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Phase 3 has been announced, and it’s everything — everything you could want. Captain Marvel! Black Panther! Inhumans! And most incredibly, a two-part Avengers: Infinity War!!! We’ve got all the details right here!

• Captain America 3: Civil War on May 6th, 2016

Marvel faked everybody out by first proclaiming that Captain America 3 would be titled Serpent Society (see above), but that was a fake-out. Black Panther will definitely be a part of the movie, which may mean a certain rumor about Andy Serkis playing a certain vibranium-related villain in Avengers: Age of Ultron may be true.

Marvel movie mastermind Kevin Feige reveals: “Events of the whole cinematic universe will make all governments in the world want regulation. Not so much about secret identity, but about who reports to who.”

• Doctor Strange on November 4th, 2016

No casting was confirmed, obviously. Kevin Feige said specifically: “If [Doctor Strange casting] was confirmed, we would have announced it today.”

• Guardians of the Galaxy 2 on May 5th, 2017

No details, unfortunately.

• Thor 3: Ragnarok on July 28th, 2017

This will undoubtedly be somewhat based on the classic Walt Simonson storyarc from the ’80s, regarded as one of, if not the, finest Thor stories of all time. If it introduces Beta Ray Bill to the MCU I will literally lose my mind.

• Black Panther on November 3rd, 2017

Chadwick Boseman, star of 42: The Jackie Robinson Story, has already been cast as Black Panther!

• Captain Marvel on July 6th, 2018

Just to be clear, Kevin Feige confirmed this will star Carol Danvers, not Mar-Vell. YESSSSS.

• Inhumans on November 2nd, 2018

• Avengers: Infinity War Part One in May 2018

• Avengers: Infinity War Part Two in May 2019

Note that Thanos has all six Infinity Stones. That’s… that’s not good.

And here’s an assortment of title logos for your viewing pleasure:

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Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige has confirmed that the Avengers roster will be changed by the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron.

The confirmation came in a statement where Feige was equating the Avengers films to Marvel crossover event comics.

“The Avengers films, ideally, in the grand plan are always big, giant linchpins,” says Feige. “It’s like as it was in publishing, when each of the characters would go on their own adventures and then occasionally team up for a big, 12-issue mega-event. Then they would go back into their own comics, and be changed from whatever that event was. I envision the same thing occurring after this movie, because the [Avengers] roster is altered by the finale of this film.”

This lines up with rumors that have suggested a new team of Avengers will be revealed in the film’s post-credits scene, possibly a splinter team aligned with Captain America ahead of the upcoming Civil War.

Of course, the addition of Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch to the team by the movie’s end would constitute an “altering” of the team’s lineup, but it seems like he’s hinting at something more than simple expansion.

Avengers: Age of Ultron opens in theaters May 1, 2015.