Kevin Feige confirms Ant-Man and another famous Marvel superhero will be new arrivals in Marvel's Phase Three. Cobie Smulders might bring Agent Maria Hill to S.H.I.E.L.D. after all.
Spoilers from here on out!
Top image from The Avengers.
Star Wars: Episode VII
Now that J.J. Abrams is officially, completely confirmed as the director for the new Star Wars movie, what does the man himself have to say about it? Here's an unabridged transcript of every last thing the as always loquacious Abrams had to say when first asked about it this past weekend:
"It really is an incredible thing. It's wildly surreal. It's obviously way too early to talk specifics. But I'm excited to actually start it."
Scintillating, scintillating stuff. Actually, here's an equally terse but somewhat more forthcoming quote, at least by Abrams's standards:
"I can just say what I want to do: I want to do the fans proud. I want to make sure the story is something that touches people. And we're just getting started. I'm very excited."
[E! Online via Comic Book Movie]
Given Abrams's legendary penchant for secrecy, it kinda figures that he would take the only two things we previously knew for sure about Episode VII — that it's being written by Little Miss Sunshine's Michael Arndt and that it's coming out in 2015 — and threw one of them into doubt. Specifically — and this is the part where Michael Arndt gets to breathe easy — Abrams reportedly isn't 100% committed to the 2015 release date, and he might end up pushing it back like he did the release dates for both previous Star Trek movies. [The Hollywood Reporter]
Star Trek 3
In case you were wondering what J.J. Abrams is going to do with those Star Wars movies he was making before he got the actual Star Wars gig, it's now been confirmed that he will at least produce the third Star Trek movie. It's still at least conceivable — though, let's be honest, probably pretty damn unlikely, given how big an undertaking Episode VII is likely to be — that he could end up directing it as well. [Hero Complex]
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
How I Met Your Mother star Cobie Smulders confirms she will be in the Captain America sequel as S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Maria Hill, but says she doesn't know much more beyond that:
"I don't know the exact [filming] dates. I know it's some time in March or June. I've seen parts of [the script], but yeah I don't know much. This is Marvel! They don't let you know anything. It's very watermarked scripts, heavily watermarked. Yeah, they don't let you know like the day of, but they are very secretive and I think they are still figuring stuff out."
Ant-Man
Marvel Studios wrapped up Phase One of its cinematic universe with the release of The Avengers, with everything between Iron Man 3 this May and The Avengers 2 in May 2015 comprising Phase Two. As for Phase Three, that kicks off in November 2015 with the long-awaited release of Hot Fuzz director Edgar Wright's Ant-Man, as Marvel Studios head honcho Kevin Feige explains:
"'Ant-Man' is definitely part of Phase Three. Like 'Iron Man 3,' it's certainly set in the Marvel Universe, but it's also through the lens of Edgar Wright - which is the only reason we're making the movie. I've known Edgar since our first lunch together at Comic-Con in 2004. He asked me what Marvel was doing with 'Ant-Man' - we weren't even a studio then; what a difference eight years makes! It's very much an 'Ant-Man' origin movie from the perspective of Edgar Wright and his co-writer Joe Cornish. It will of course be firmly planted in the MCU, but a different corner than we've seen before."
Doctor Strange
Although Ant-Man is the only film officially confirmed for Phase Three, Kevin Feige does confirm another superhero who will make his cinematic debut a few years from now:
"Beyond that… Ant-Man is the only one officially announced, but you probably don't have to look too far to guess at the next list of characters we're toying with and beginning to develop. Doctor Strange, which I've been talking about for years, is definitely one of them. He's a great, original character, and he checks the box off this criteria that I have: he's totally different from anything else we have, just like Guardians of the Galaxy. He's totally different from anything we've done before, as is Ant-Man, which keeps us excited."
Riddick
Here's the latest promo image, featuring star Vin Diesel and returning cast member Karl Urban, better known as Star Trek's rebooted Dr. McCoy. [Shock Till You Drop]
Oz the Great and Powerful
Being Human (UK)
Here's a trailer for the upcoming fifth series.
Being Human (US)
Here are some promo photos for the following week's episode, "Cold Turkey." [KSiteTV]
And here are some for the episode after that, "Trust No One." [KSiteTV]
Sendhil Ramamurthy, who is yet to even make his debut as the justice-minded, Beast-seeking Assistant District Attorney Gabe Lowen, has reportedly been promoted to a series regular. [TV Equals]
Additional reporting by Amanda Yesilbas and Charlie Jane Anders.