Thursday, January 8, 2009

Transformers 2 Teaser Poster

Our first poster for "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" has hit the net and I got the teaser below for you courtesy of Yahoo. The sequel to the mega blockbuster is set for a June 26th release date with Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, John Turturro and Tyrese Gibson returning. The teaser poster seems to give us our first look at The Fallen, who was one of the original thirteen Transformers and later became of servant of Unicron, thus dubbing him The Fallen. Michael Bay has gone on to say that The Fallen will be "apocalyptic". Checkout the poster for yourself below!


What say you? Will you be lining up for Revenge of the Fallen? Is this perhaps another Transformer other than The Fallen? Strikeback...

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Rourke & Rockwell: Iron Man 2?

It seems that the rumors are true and thanks to Darren Aronofsky and The Wrestler, Mickey Rourke's career is about to take a turn for the better. THR is reporting that Mickey Rourke is close to signing on to play the villain Whiplash, in "Iron Man 2." Rourke has also announced that he will co-star in Stallone's "The Expendables" and "The Informers" so as long as he can deal, Rourke is definately looking to make a decent comeback. The news gets better. Sam Rockwell is also circling a role as Justin Hammer in Favreau's "Iron Man 2." Landing Rockwell who rarely does anything but independant productions would definately add to an already star studded cast of Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow and Don Cheadle replacing Terrence Howard.

Whiplash also known as Blacklash, has taken on a few different forms within the Marvel Universe, but it appears with the addition of the character Justin Hammer, Favreau and Theroux are developing the story angle in which Blacklash aka Whiplash, is working for Justin Hammer, a multi-billionaire rival of Tony Stark. If you recall in Iron Man where Rhodes has two jets chasing Iron Man, they were called Whiplash 1 & Whiplash 2, just another one of Favreau's many easter eggs for fans of the comics. Whiplash who was an brilliant engineer and weapons designer had expert fighting skills with nunchakus and whips. Whiplash designs two cybernetically controlled whips that could be converted into nunchakus or vaulting poles. The whips couls also spun so fast that Whiplash is able to deflect bullets and various weaponry aimed in his direction. Lastly, Whiplash's necro-lashes could be electrically charged by his gauntlets, released from its handle to deliver a concussion charge, or he could turn up the electric charge to its maximum which caused anything it hit, including Iron Man’s armor, to become brittle. One note from Whiplash's past, he was never able to defeat Iron Man, it was a very bitter subject with his character and a constant source of resentment for him.

What say you? Will Rourke be able to maintain his new found success? Does Rourke and Rockwell coming on to Iron Man 2 add to your anticipation? Strikeback....

Thor's Hammer Sheds Light

Thor is the next Marvel franchise headed our way leading up to the team-up Avengers film. The film has landed a talented thespian/director in Kenneth Branagh, it has a completed script, no actors yet, but a lot of questions have arised surrounding just how will the Norse God Thor, be tied into the Avengers universe. Both Iron Man and Incredible Hulk were done in a very realistic world and tying Thor, who comes from Norse mythology, might be a little tricky. Well, the folks over at IESB, have some inside scoop on just how Thor will be tied into the realistic world setup by Jon Favreau and Louis Leterrier in their previous films.

The "Thor" script and film have been previously reported as being solely set in Asgard. (That's Thor's native world for all of you that didn't grow up reading comics or still haven't figured out what Google is) It seems that while the film will take place in Asgard with Thor dealing with his wicked brother Loki and his father issues with Odin, Donald Blake will be setup in modern times. Who is Donald Blake you might ask? He is the human form of the Norse God Thor. In the comics, Thor is sent to live amongst the humans on Earth with no memory of his past or life as Thor. Donald Blake aka Thor, finds Mjolnir (Thor's Hammer) and he is instantly reminded of his powers and history.

IESB is reporting that this story arc has been written into the end of the script. While I am glad Marvel and Branagh have found a good way to tie into the realistic world, it would seem more logical if the film actually opened with Donlad Blake and his life on Earth. Having Blake find Mjolnir and then begin a memory flashback of his life in Asgard. The memory flashback would then spend the majority of the time, as planned, in Asgard and finish the film with Blake understanding how he can use his powers to help mankind here on Earth, ultimately joining the Avengers.

What say you? Is this a good way of still setting up Thor's Norse mythology and still being able to tie it into Marvel's realistic world? Should the Donald Blake storyline be only a small epilogue like Nick Fury in Iron Man or would setting him up at the beginning with a flashback make more sense? Strikeback...