Published by
Caleb Goellner on Wednesday, June 10, 2009 at 10:29 am.
As much as Adam Savage, Jamie Hyneman and their “Build Team” of Kari Byron, Tory Belleci and Grant Imahara seem to appreciate superheroes, toppling fans’ suspended disbelief doesn’t seem to bother them one bit. Following their foray into super-powered phenomena, such as Spider-Man’s arachnid origins, the Hulk’s gamma-powered transformations and Namor’s undersea breathing capacity, the “MythBusters” team continues to tackle the paneled powers of comic book characters this week on Discovery Channel.
Tonight’s episode, “Curving Bullets,” looks at the physics behind 2008’s “Wanted,” which may or may not debunk the powers of weavers. Read more…
Published by
Josh Wigler on Thursday, June 4, 2009 at 6:44 pm.
At this point, Kirsten Dunst’s involvement in the Sam Raimi-directed “Spider-Man 4” is tenuous at best. But if you haven’t been reading the comic books lately, you might not be aware that Mary Jane Watson is on the outs there, too.
After a shady deal with Mephisto to save the life of Aunt May, Peter Parker and Mary Jane’s marriage was no more, rendering the arachnoid hero a bachelor after years of upholding his vows — and needless to say, fandom wasn’t wild about the sudden change in status quo. Now, it looks like Marvel might be paying attention to the bullpucky calls from their readership with a recently disseminated wedding invitation for the Spider-Man universe! Read more…
Published by
Josh Wigler on Wednesday, June 3, 2009 at 10:02 am.
We’ve already seen new logos for “Scott Pilgrim,” “Iron Man 2,” “Thor,” “The First Avenger: Captain America” and “The Avengers” courtesy of the ongoing annual Licensing Expo in Las Vegas, and there are even more superhero images coming in from the show today.
Once again, Ain’t It Cool News has a bunch of new promo art from the show, including an all-new poster for “Iron Man 2,” as well as our very first glimpse at the Sam Raimi-directed “Spider-Man 4” poster. Read more…
Published by
Larry Carroll on Thursday, May 28, 2009 at 10:55 am.
It’s a question on the minds of film buffs and comics fans alike, as they look forward to 2011’s return of Peter Parker to the big-screen: Who will he be fighting?
Recently, Sam Raimi revealed to us that he’s a mere four weeks away from reading a first draft of the “Spider-Man 4” script. And along with writer David Lindsay-Abaire, there are a few key elements they’re looking for in a potential villain.
“I’ve talked with David about a possible villain, villains, villain-ess,” the director grinned, being careful not to reveal genders or numbers in regards to Spidey’s nemesis. “[We’ve spoken] about who knows what Spider-Man’s conflicting personas would be.” Read more…
Published by
Rick Marshall on Tuesday, May 26, 2009 at 5:06 pm.
“Spider-Man 4” director Sam Raimi doesn’t seem certain about Kirsten Dunst’s return or exactly what’s going to be in the script at this point, but the rumor mill continues to churn about the next chapter in Spidey’s big-screen franchise. Way back in January, we reported that Raimi had mentioned “The Living Vampire” Morbius as a potential foe for Marvel’s wall-crawler, and it looks like the celebrated director still has a soft spot for the bloodsucker.
During a press event for his new film “Drag Me To Hell,” Fear.Net asked Raimi about the vampire rumors for the fourth installment of the “Spider-Man” films. The director’s response was, well… of the “neither confirm nor deny” variety. Read more…
Published by
Alan Kistler on Tuesday, May 26, 2009 at 3:37 pm.
Last year, Marvel Comics shocked and angered many fans by negating Spider-Man’s marriage to Mary Jane Watson throughout the various Spider-Man titles. And while Marvel’s mainstream comic book titles are standing by the decision, the daily “Spider-Man” newspaper strip has decided to reunite the famous couple.
In the strip published this weekend, Peter Parker woke up in bed to find himself once again living with his loving wife. The past several months of stories where he was inexplicably single again? Just a long, bizarre dream. Read more…
Published by
Larry Carroll on Tuesday, May 19, 2009 at 6:51 pm.
With “Drag Me to Hell” rocking the socks off preview audiences and likely on its way to becoming one of the summer’s sleeper hits, director Sam Raimi can finally shift his focus back to the blockbuster franchise that made him a household name. And at the end of June, he’ll be ready to do exactly that with a newly-printed copy of Hollywood’s hottest screenplay.
“Right now, David Lindsay-Abaire, a New York playwright, is working on the screenplay,” Raimi said of the eagerly-anticipated “Spider-Man 4” script that will lay the blueprint for his film, due in theaters May 6, 2011. “He says that he’ll be done in about four weeks with his first draft. So that’s where I am right now. And I’m just about to hire a production skeleton.” Read more…
Published by
Larry Carroll on Friday, May 8, 2009 at 11:09 am.
To some people, the big debut of “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” was impressive, but expected — just another “X-Men” hit. Yet, I couldn’t help but think about the fact that Logan has now shed his superhero-group trappings, and moved into the rare stratosphere occupied by Batman, Superman and the like. It remains to be seen where the character goes from here, but it’s hard to imagine Wolverine ever relying on Storm, Cyclops and the other mutants for box-office help in the years to come.
With that in mind, I began studying comic book movies not by title, but by character. Over the course of doing so, I came up with a formula that would provide a “Power Ranking” for each hero. You can read the final results of the Superhero Power Ranking over at MTV.com, but here’s a breakdown of what went into those rankings. Read more…
Published by
Josh Wigler on Friday, April 24, 2009 at 5:04 pm.
The “Spider-Man” musical hasn’t even opened, but is the dark already turned off for Evan Rachel Wood? In March, the young actress told MTV News that she’d completed a run-through for the upcoming “Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark,” but then came word that casting was underway for the role of Mary Jane Watson, Spidey’s love interest and Wood’s alleged role in the musical.
MTV News tracked down the actress to shed some light on her uncertain status with “Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark.” Apparently, while Wood has her sights set on playing Peter Parker’s fire-haired girlfriend, it appears that nothing is set in stone.
“Nothing’s definite yet, but that’s the plan,” Wood told MTV News when asked whether she’ll play the role of Mary Jane. “I’m doing everything I can to make sure that happens. I think it’s going to happen.” Read more…
Published by
Rick Marshall on Tuesday, April 21, 2009 at 7:19 pm.
While chatting with Marvel Comics’ Spider-Man editor, Steve Wacker, about “Spider-Man: The Short Halloween” (written by “Saturday Night Live” regulars Bill Hader and Seth Meyers and previewed here on Splash Page yesterday), the conversation turned to the famous wall-crawler’s return to the big screen. Naturally, I had to ask Marvel’s go-to Spidey guy who he’d like to see Peter Parker battle in “Spider-Man 4.”
“I like The Vulture,” Wacker told MTV News. “The flying around would be cool, and if you cast Larry David in that role, I’ll watch forever — even if it’s just a beginning fight, with Spider-Man beating on Larry David with wings.”
“Morbius would be awesome, but who do you put in that?” added Wacker. “I guess you put the guy from ‘Twilight,’ right?” Read more…