Marvel

With films such as “Cop Land,” “3:10 to Yuma” and “Walk the Line,” director James Mangold has delivered gritty portraits of flawed heroes struggling to overcome their baser natures. He’s at it again with his next film, only this time the good guy isn’t a police officer, an old West lawman or Johnny Cash — he’s an immortal mutant with adamantium claws and a bad attitude. Opening July 26, “The Wolverine” features Hugh Jackman returning to his famed “X-Men” role in a more contemplative fashion. In it, Logan travels to Japan to bid farewell to a dying acquaintance only to find himself protecting the life of an heiress, even as he struggles to come to terms with the tragic events of his past. “What’s very much at play is this sense of a guy who’s figuring himself out and who’s […]

It was the moment that brought a $200-million blockbuster to a screeching halt. Robert Downey Jr. stood frozen in pain after leaping onto a platform of an oil tanker on the Wilmington, N.C., soundstage where “Iron Man 3” was shooting its fiery finale last year. The actor had made ambitious wire jumps for stunt scenes before, but this time was different. The impact of the landing left him with an ankle sprain so severe he was unable to walk for seven weeks. “I was feeling a little bit invincible, I guess,” Downey said last week while making the promotional rounds for “Iron Man 3,” which rockets into theaters on May 3. “I checked it out, and I was like, ‘Oh, we got this.’ And we didn’t have it.” When it comes to playing Tony Stark, the genius-billionaire-playboy-inventor whom Downey first […]

“Iron Man 3″ will open in the U.S. and in China on May 3 — a rare feat of so-called day-and-date timing. But for all of the pre-production publicity about how Disney’s Marvel Entertainment and China’s DMG Entertainment joined forces to make the superhero sequel an international collaboration, the few extra sequences shot for the Chinese version of the movie won’t be part of its American release. In an interview Monday, Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios and the producer of “Iron Man 3,” described the scenes as “a very minor extra story line” that involves a character named Dr. Wu (Wang Xueqi). Actress Fan Bingbing has a role as well, as a woman close to the doctor. “Iron Man 3″ co-writer and director Shane Black did not direct the scenes that filmed in China, and star Robert Downey Jr. […]

Tony Stark actor Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle and more Marvel actors are scheduled to walk the red carpet at the Hollywood premiere of “Iron Man 3″ Wednesday evening. Hero Complex readers can watch the premiere live, streamed from Disney’s El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood at 6 p.m. PDT, in the video below. The film, which opens in theaters May 3, pits Downey’s genius billionaire superhero against the Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) — one of the archvillains in the Iron Man comic books — and introduces several comic characters to the big screen for the first time, among them brilliant biologist Dr. Maya Hansen (played by Rebecca Hall) and Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce), the founder of the brain-trust organization AIM. “Iron Man 3″ is directed by Shane Black (“Kiss Kiss Bang Bang”), who takes the reins from “Iron Man” […]

Perhaps one of the oddest and underutilized groups of characters in the Marvel Universe, the Inhumans are having a moment. The mutant family of  superheroes originally created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby is starring in a new DVD offering from Marvel Knights Animation and Shout! Factory released this week, titled simply, “Inhumans” with an internal tale written by Paul Jenkins and drawn by Jae Lee. The group, led by king, Black Bolt, also promises to be one of the central players in the upcoming “Infinity” crossover saga, which Marvel editor-in-chief Axel Alonso calls “a Marvel event in every sense of the word because it narrows the gap between Earthbound and cosmic heroes.” Hero Complex recently caught up with the busy executive to talk Inhumans, Marvels’ “Age of Ultron” event and the general outlook for the company. HC: Do you […]

The first teaser trailer for “Thor: The Dark World” reveals a darker take on Marvel’s hammer-wielding demigod, an Asgard at war with other worlds and Chris Hemsworth’s superhero so desperate that he teams up with the one person he knows he can’t trust. That’s right — Thor and Loki will be fighting on the same side in “Thor: The Dark World,” the sequel to 2011′s “Thor,” which introduced Thor (Hemsworth) and his villainous adopted brother Loki, played by Tom Hiddleston. “You must be truly desperate to come to me for help,” an imprisoned Loki tells Thor in the teaser, released Tuesday. “You should know that when you betray me, I will kill you,” Thor says. Loki’s coy response: “When do we start?” The teaser trailer runs just under two minutes (watch it below) and provides a glimpse of the evil […]

In the upcoming “Iron Man 3,” a sinister villain known as the Mandarin is looking to destroy Tony Stark’s world. But Ben Kingsley’s bad guy isn’t the only one out to sabotage the billionaire playboy and genius inventor. The film’s producer and Marvel’s chief movie architect Kevin Feige is in on the plan too. “We wanted to take Tony to a place that he hadn’t been since the first half of the first ‘Iron Man’ film, which is, essentially, by himself without his money, without his toys, without his gadgets, with just his mind, his intellect,” Feige said. “We wanted to do that in a big climactic fashion by literally taking away everything that is near and dear to him, as symbolized in that mansion crumbling down into the Pacific.” That sequence, of Stark’s hillside Malibu estate collapsing into the […]

Chris Hemsworth is back in his Asgardian armor in a new movie poster for “Thor: The Dark World.” The poster arrives ahead of the film’s first teaser trailer, which will be released Tuesday. In the poster, Hemsworth’s Thor appears to be in a snowstorm, wielding his hammer Mjölnir to call down lightning. “Thor: The Dark World” is the sequel to 2011′s “Thor,” which chronicled the demigod’s fall from grace, banishment to Earth and rise to redemption. The blockbuster also introduced villainous Loki (Tom Hiddleston), who faced off against Thor and the other Avengers, including Iron Man, the Hulk, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow, in 2012′s “The Avengers.” Loki and Thor reunite for “Thor: The Dark World,” along with returning cast members Natalie Portman (who plays scientist and love interest Jane Foster), Kat Dennings (Foster’s research assistant Darcy Lewis), Stellan […]

Leave it to comedy genius Patton Oswalt to figure out a way to bring Tony Stark into the “Star Wars” universe. The actor is set for a guest-star spot on the NBC comedy “Parks and Recreation” this week, playing a character who appears at a Pawnee City Council meeting to filibuster a vote. Oswalt apparently launched into an eight-minute improvisational speech about his ideas for the upcoming “Star Wars: Episode VII,” and they are appropriately cosmic in scope. His vision begins with Brian DePalma being tapped to write the introductory credit scroll (as he did for “Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope,” Oswalt points out) and in minutes, he’s managed to resurrect Boba Fett and rope in some prominent Marvel characters. By no means is that an easy feat. It’s a grand masterpiece of a tapestry Oswalt’s woven […]

Iron Man is getting the Lego treatment, the latest in a long line of Lego greats including Batman, Aragorn and Harry Potter. To celebrate Tony Stark’s new Lego mini-figure replicas, Marvel released Lego versions of two theatrical posters for the upcoming “Iron Man 3.” What can we say? Lego Tony Stark is adorable. Check out the Lego posters and “Iron Man 3″ posters in the gallery above. “Iron Man 3″ hits theaters May 3 following Robert Downey Jr.’s worldwide tour to South Korea, Beijing, Moscow, Munich, Paris and London promoting the film. The tour concludes with the Hollywood premiere of the movie on April 24. PHOTOS: Scenes from ‘Iron Man 3′ Downey Jr. reprises his role as the genius billionaire whose metal suit allows him to fly and fight uber-powerful bad guys. Directed by Shane Black (“Kiss Kiss Bang Bang”), “Iron […]