BKV is Big Screen Bound, and He's Bringing His Runaways

Brian K. Vaughan's hot Marvel book is headed to the big screen.
by Danger

According to Hollywood Reporter, Marvel Studios is going ahead with a Runaways film. Even better news is that the screenplay is being penned by co-creator, and original writer, Brian K. Vaughan. No word on who'll direct but Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige will produce.



The Runaways is a story of six teenagers who find out that there parents aren't exactly who they say they are. In fact, they are all part of a secret group called 'The Pride' who quietly run all of Los Angeles. After being bomb-shelled with the news the kids do what they think is best for them and run away from home, hence the name. The book's beautifully written by Brian K. Vaughan, who is also a co-producer and writer of ABC'S Lost, and with him at the screenplay helm there can be no wrong.

A possible movie comes as great news to all Runaways and BKV fans around the world. Runaways has been one of Marvel's greatest written books in the past few years, and it can only mean good things for the book to get the movie treatment. As a big fan of the series, I am stoked to hear this wonderful bit of info, even if the movie won't be out for a few years. Still, if the film is anywhere as good as Iron Man, then this will be an enjoyable movie for both the hardcore and new-school fan alike.

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Sony Demands Two Helpings of Spidey!

Rumours state the studio wants to shoot the fourth and fifth Spider-Man films at the same time.
by Larry_Chimp_Man

It's no secret that James Vanderbilt, scribe of David Fincher's Zodiac, has been hired by Sony to pen Spider-Man 4. Vanderbilt signed on to the film during the Writer's Strike last fall and has been cooking up a working draft since then. A few weeks back Vanderbilt turned in his draft to Sony and, according to Cinematical, they got more than they bargained for.



See, Vanderbilt didn't stop with one script, instead creating an arc spanning two Spider-Man films. Details of the plot aren't clear but one thing is; Sony is frantically reworking their deal with Vanderbilt to make his two-movie arc a reality.

As mentioned above, having scripts for both Spider-Man 4 and 5 completed simultaneously would allow the studio to shoot both flicks at the same time. Nothing has been confirmed but one can assume Sony is drooling over the possibility of two rapid Spidey releases and wants to make this two-picture deal happen.



If this is true and Sony decides to shoot Spidey 4 and 5 in unison who will return from the first three? Does Sam Raimi still have enough love for the character to return? What about Tobey MaGuire? Maguire almost dropped out of Spider-Man 2 because of his bad back. He also had complaints during the shooting of the third film, it looks doubtful he'd be willing to do two back-to-back. If MaGuire doesn't return one can assume Kirsten Dunst will drop out of the picture as well. Will Jake Gyllenhaal finally be given the chance to play Spidey? Who knows, Gyllenhaal has a full plate with Jerry Bruckheimer's planned Prince of Persia trilogy and he may not have time to fit Spider-Man into the picture.



Sony may have to clean house and bring in some new talent for Spider-Man 4 and 5 but I think it's a great idea to shoot the two films simultaneously. Releasing two films back-t0-back is great for the studio's wallet but it's also a treat for fans who don't have to wait years in-between flicks. Imagine the Lord of the Rings trilogy with three years separating each film, it just wouldn't be the same experience.

What do you guys think? Should Sony shoot Spider-Man 4 and 5 at the same time or should they take things slow and approach each film separately? Who do you think would make a great Peter Parker? What about Mary Jane? Post a comment and we'll start up a discussion.

Cheers.

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Fantastic Four #554-555 Review

Marvel’s First Family looks for a fresh start.
by mr. b

Following an insanely successful run on The Ultimates, superstar creative team, Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch, check in for an extended stay at the Baxter Building. The aptly named “World’s Greatest” storyline kicked off last month and continues (on time!) this week.



I was apprehensive when this story arc was announced. Aside from the obvious prospect of having Hitch falling behind schedule, Millar has had a rough couple of years critically. I, personally, enjoyed the majority of Civil War but the ending felt extremely disappointing. His previous runs on Ultimate Fantastic Four were underwhelming and forgettable. That being said, I approached the first issue with high expectations.

Those expectations were met within the first four pages.

Everything a Fantastic Four comic should be was here. The sarcastic Ben Grimm. The nerdy, oblivious Reed. The annoying kids. All balanced out by the ever-present mother figure that is Sue Richards. The opening of this comic oozes Millar’s obvious love of the Lee/Kirby era. It was amazing to me that he nailed the characterizations so quickly. All against the backdrop of a time traveling train, barreling through the Old West. Millar spends the rest of the issue setting up a handful of interesting subplots that will run through his tenure on the title.

“Wow” seems to be as good a word as any to describe what Bryan hitch brings to this book. Every panel is illustrated with pain-staking detail. No empty spaces and no shortcuts taken. His trademark widescreen panels are made to give the book a blockbuster movie feel, and they accomplish just that. Imagine if Michael Bay made good movies. These two issues also showcase Hitch’s underrated ability to draw “quieter” moments. His facials and body language add a whole dimension to Millar’s already excellent dialogue.



The running subplots make sure the book never seems stale. Every member of the team seems to have something going on. Sue has joined an all-ladies group of superheroes to fill her time. Johnny has moved out of the Baxter Building and getting ready to start work on a reality TV show. And Reed has been recruited by his ex-girlfriend to rebuild the planet. Millar was so good at putting these side stories together and having them seamlessly run through the book, without bogging it down.

Two issues in and the nay-sayers already have begun speculating how late the next issues will be. Bad news for them. Millar has twelve scripts finished and hitch has enough issues in the can to last to December.

One Sentence Review: A great Fantastic Four story in the tradition of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. | 9.0/10

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Incredible Hulk Trailer

The long-awaited trailer for The Incredible Hulk has finally hit the net.

With just over three months until the film's June release Marvel and Universal have finally released a trailer for the upcoming Hulk film. Check it out below.



This trailer is incredibly well paced and really builds towards the ending showdown. However, I'm getting a weird vibe from this flick. Norton is a great Bruce Banner but something about this film just feels weird. It's almost got a bit of a b-movie buzz going. Does anybody else share my concern? Post a comment and let me know what you think of the trailer.



The Incredible Hulk hits theatres on June 13th.

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Dark Tower: The Long Road Home #1 Review

Gunslinger Roland Deschain is back in another Marvel mini-series.

The first issue of Dark Tower: The Long Road Home is more of what was found in the Gunslinger Born mini-series. With the Big Coffin Hunters hot on his tail and his lover Susan Delgado dead, Roland and his ka-tet must flee into the desert.



As much as I want to enjoy Marvel's Dark Tower comics I just can't bring myself to do so. Peter David has written these books in such a distanced perspective that completely removes me from the characters and story. It's so hard to fall into the universe and allow yourself to be swept off your feet when you feel like you're watching the action from above. Plus, I can't feel for any of the characters in the book because they are all fairly underdeveloped. I need a book that I can connect and relate to and it just seems impossible to do so with Dark Tower.

I do, however, love Jae Lee's visuals. The Korean-born artist is the only reason I continue to purchase and read this book. His pencils are so clean and refined and he uses negative space better than any artist I can think of.



Many praised Gunslinger Born as one of the best mini-series of 2007. Quite a few have also claimed to really enjoy the first issue of The Long Road Home. I am in no way claiming that it is a bad book. However, it is not for me. I've tried countless times to give it another chance but it doesn't grow on me.

One Sentence Review: Not my cup of tea. | 7.1/10

Are you a fan of Dark Tower who thinks I'm totally off my mark with this review? Leave me a comment.

The second issue of Dark Tower: The Long Road Home hits shelves on April 30th.

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Spectacular Spider-Man's Saturday Morning Debut

Ultimate Spider-Man: Animated.

I woke up early, well earlier than normal, on Saturday to catch the first two episodes of The Spectacular Spider-Man on the Kids WB. The show, which is being produced by Culver Entertainment, features a young Spidey on a timeline similar to that found in Ultimate Spider-Man. It also happens to be pretty good.



From what was shown in the first two episodes it looks like The Spectacular Spider-Man is going to stick around for the long haul. This is mainly because of aspect; connectivity. There seem to be quite a few subplots running through and fusing together each episode. Even after only an hour of animation I felt as if enough seeds had been planted to feed another three or four future stories. We may have only seen Vulture and Electro in action but Eddie Brock, Kurt Connors, and Dr. Octavius have all been established thus far. The one thing that bothers me the most with a show like this is when each story is self-contained. It looks like that won't be a problem with The Spectacular Spider-Man.

I'm also quite a big fan of the action scenes in the SSM. You really get a sense of movement when Spidey is in action as the camera swings and cuts quite a bit. The feeling is very cinematic and sets itself apart from other Saturday morning cartoons.



If I have one complaint about The Spectacular Spider-Man it's that it can get rather cheesy. Both episodes seemed to have a morale message tacked on that didn't really tie into the story. There's nothing wrong with sending a good message, I just felt that it was situationally unnecessary in both episodes.

Did any of you guys catch the first two episodes of SSM? What did you think? Post a comment and share your thoughts. If you haven't you can check them out on YouTube.

The Spectacular Spider-Man airs Saturdays at 10:00am on The CW.

Cheers.

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Final Two Iron Man One-Sheets Revealed

Paramount has released images of what is to be the final two posters in the film's campaign.

The final two Iron Man one-sheets have been revealed and it they look terrific. Paramount's marketing team has done an amazing job with the film's posters so far and these two continue that trend. Check it out below.



I'm really digging the first poster's dark image of Iron Man offset by the floating heads on the right. The poster has a great natural sense of balance and looks great. Robert Downey Jr and Terrence Howard have a very stoic look about them and Jeff Bridges is just too intense to ignore. This is one of the best one-sheets I've seen so far this year. Hopefully I can pick one up on eBay to add to my collection.



The second poster isn't as strong but is still quite effective, albeit very similar to the first. Why Paramount would release two almost-identical posters is beyond me. If I were the movie studio's marketing team I would have chosen to use only one of the above one-sheets, not both.

What do you think of the final two Iron Man movie posters? Post a comment and share your opinion.

The Jon Favreau directed Iron Man hits theatres on May 2nd.

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First Full-Length Iron Man Trailer

After releasing a few teasers earlier this year Paramount has finally released a full-length trailer for their upcoming May release.

The first full-length trailer for Iron Man, which was shown off at WonderCon last weekend, aired tonight on ABC during LOST. Check it out below or visit IGN if you wish to watch in high-resolution.



The trailer features quite a bit of old footage but also showcases some previously unseen content that is quite a treat. The more footage of Robert Downey Jr I see from Iron Man the more I can picture him as Tony Stark. I was on board with the actor portraying Stark from the beginning but I'm more and more impressed with every new bit of footage. This Marvel release is really looking promising and I can't wait to check out the final film.



Iron Man hits theatres on May 2nd. MediaZEALOT will keep you up to date on the film leading up to its release.

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New Hulk, Wolverine Pics

Empire Online has revealed some new pictures from Marvel's upcoming franchise reboots.
New images from both this summer's The Incredible Hulk and next year's X-Men Origins: Wolverine have popped up over at Empire Online.

There are two images from Hulk, one showing Ed Norton losing his cool and the other of William Hurt as General Ross. Both of these pictures are fairly interesting but what I really want to see is a film still of The Hulk in action. Marvel probably won't show one until closer to the film's June release date but I can wait. Click HERE to check out the Empire Hulk pics.



The picture released from X-Men Origins: Wolverine is similar to the first official picture from the film. The image portrays Hugh Jackman's Wolverine to be more aggressive this go around. Hopefully this means we'll see a grittier Logan come next summer. Check out the picture HERE.

MediaZEALOT will continue to post updates on The Incredible Hulk and X-Men Origins: Wolverine leading up their release dates.

Cheers.

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The Incredible Hulk Trailer in March

Marvel's other summer release will see a trailer hit the web and cinema next month.

Marvel has been keeping what seems like a secret with The Incredible Hulk over the past few months. Other than two production stills released a few weeks ago there has been nothing to show for from the film. The movie comes out just over a month after Marvel's other summer title Iron Man yet hasn't been marketed anywhere close to the same level as that film. I don't think Marvel is trying to shove Hulk under the rug, they probably just want the spotlight on Iron Man for a great opening weekend.



Marvel should light a fire under this film as soon as they can and are making progress with the release of a trailer in March. WonderCon in San Francisco is next month and could be the perfect place to premiere the trailer. We'll see what happens.

Watch MediaZEALOT for feedback when the trailer is released in a few weeks. The Incredible Hulk hits cinemas on June 13th and stars Edward Norton, Tim Roth, and Liv Tyler.

Cheers.

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The Twelve #2 Review

J. Michael Straczynski follows up the excellent first issue of his new series with another brilliant read.

J. Michael Straczynski's The Twelve is looking like it will turn out to be one of the best books to come out recently. I know it's a bit early, as only two out of 12 issues have hit stores, but it feels like it could go the distance and really make a name for itself.

The Twelve is about twelve Golden Age heroes who fought as a team during the Second World War only to be frozen in time and then awoken in the present day Marvel Universe. The heroes are given the task of settling in and returning to form as crime fighters but many are having a hard time getting over the past.



The second issue is more of what was found in the first but with more character work. Straczynski does an excellent job showing the humanity of these heroes and you really understand their confusion and pain as you read this issue. I found myself deeply feeling for these characters which is something a comic isn't often able to do, Straczynski does it with ease.

The art of Chris Weston is once again remarkable. Weston does an excellent job creating a retro feel to the comic without allowing the art to feel dated. His pencils are crisp and detailed and a thrill to take in. The art features everything great about the art in old comics but with a modern twist to set it apart. Kaare Andrews is also doing some great work with the cover of each issue.

It'll be interesting to see where this comic book goes. The story is still being established and we haven't yet seen clue of a major villain or plot device. The past two issues have been amazing reads and if Straczynski can keep it up for the next ten we'll be in for a real treat.

One Sentence Review: Spectacular follow up to an amazing first issue. This book can't be missed.

The third issue of The Twelve hits comic shops on March 5th.

Cheers.

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