If a new tie-in toy, an inside source, and an absurdly close reading of a new Robert Downey, Jr. interview have anything to say about it, then yes. Plus Hugh Jackman promises The Wolverine will finally feature the definitive Logan.
All that plus a Thor: The Dark World producer explains what director Alan Taylor brings to the sequel, star Henry Cavill and screenwriter David Goyer drop Man of Steel tips, and there's lots of new clips for Jack the Giant Slayer, Beautiful Creatures, Arrow, Supernatural, and more!
Spoilers from here on out!
Top image from Thor.
Iron Man 3
EW.com has posted the second installment of their five-day interview with star Robert Downey, Jr., and the main focus of this latest batch seems to be how he describes this film's connection to The Avengers. Here's the quote:
The whole Avengers thing [with $1.5 billion in global box office] was such a relief and such a confirmation of [Marvel Studios President] Kevin Feige's vision for this all along. As Kevin has put it, the next step after that is to bring in someone like Shane Black and – without pretending that the Avengers don't exist – find a way to go back to a kind of re-investigation of Tony's world, which he thought would be, one, fun for the audience and, two, would rock in a different way than The Avengers. But we can't help it - everywhere you look now in every Marvel movie there are opportunities where certain new pals of his could be useful. So they're in the atmosphere, so to speak, but I wouldn't expect to see them on the ground in this one.
There seems to be some speculation that Downey's final sentence means that an Avenger or two will cameo... but they'll do so in a flying capacity. That seems like an overly literal interpretation of what he said. I'd suggest he means that the existence of the Avengers will be acknowledged in some way during the film — hence why they're in the movie's "atmosphere" — but they won't actually appear in it — or be "on the ground", as it were. That seems to fit better with all previous discussions of the movie, which suggest it's by far the most standalone of the three upcoming sequels, perhaps to make up for the messiness of Iron Man 2. [EW]
Of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that there is a rumor that supports the incredibly literal reading of Downey's statement. Specifically, there's a report from a supposed inside source that Tony Stark will head into space at the end of the film and "hook up with the Guardians of the Galaxy", and in fact Stark will make a return cameo at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy. Assuming this is confirmed, one would assume this is a post-credits scene — or, regardless of its exact placement, functions in a manner similarly independent of the main movie — especially since it really should be hard to film such a sequence when none of the Guardians have actually been cast yet. Anyway, the only tangible "proof" of this report is a tie-in toy that advertises Iron Man's "Deep Space Suit." Make of all this what you will, but I'd still bet that other Marvel characters — especially Tony's fellow Avengers — won't be showing up during Iron Man 3 proper. [Latino Review]
Thor: The Dark World
Producer Craig Kyle explains what new director Alan Taylor brings to the franchise:
"By bringing director Alan Taylor into the mix, with his expertise on The Sopranos, Mad Men and Game of Thrones, we came up with a take that allows us to get more into the nooks and crannies of Asgard and its people. We spend more time on the ground with the commoners, as opposed to in the palace. It's a very complicated blend [of genres: high science fiction, gritty fantasy, and realism]. Thor is, until Guardians of the Galaxy hits, by far our most wild, fringe Marvel piece. But that's why it's the Marvel Universe and not Marvel Earth!"
[IGN]
The Wolverine
Star Hugh Jackman explains to Empire Magazine why his sixth outing as Wolverine will be definitive:
"I still don't think we've seen the definitive Wolverine. And the longer I play the character, the more the desire to get him right grows. The more I speak to fans and explore his world, the more it means to me. Look, there's no question that it's a great role. I didn't fully understand that when I went in, you know? The pressure now is way more. I feel I understand why there's the passion. I understand the character and the legacy and I don't feel, up until this movie, that we've completely lived up to that. So that's what I intend to do."
Man of Steel
Star Henry Cavill promises that this film won't be going overly dark and gritty just to fit in with the tone established by Christopher Nolan's ridiculously successful Dark Knight trilogy:
"It's not a dark movie by any means. Past representations of the character have been quite light... This is a more realistic view of the character, while still maintaining the very unrealistic, or potentially unrealistic features of an alien with superpowers."
While we're comparing the two franchises, David Goyer — who was involved in the writing of all four relevant films — says there's more action in Man of Steel than either Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, or The Dark Knight Rises. [Comic Book Movie]
Jack the Giant Slayer
Here's a TV spot for X-Men director Bryan Singer's fairy tale reimagining. [Coming Soon]
Beautiful Creatures
Here's a clip from the upcoming supernatural romance, which comes out this Valentine's Day. [Coming Soon]
The Dark Knight Returns: Part 2
Here's a sneak peek for the animated adaptation of the Frank Miller classic. [Comic Book Resources]
True Blood
The third episode of season six will reportedly be called "Rock Hard Times." Here are some casting tidbits for the episode, courtesy of SpoilerTV:
The guest star part is a 50-year-old woman named Beverly Hutt who was a friend of Sookie/Jason's parents and answers their questions about them. The co-star roles are: Young Beverly Hutt, 30 year old, (seen in a flashback), 4 mischievous/silly faerie girls (who are younger versions of 4 faeries as seen in a flashback), a 30-to-50-year-old hospital nurse who attempts to calm a patient, 8-year-old Sookie (also seen in a flashback), and 2 Caddo Parish sheriff deputies who visit Sam at his home.
Person of Interest
Here's the description for next week's episode, "One Percent":
REESE AND FINCH STRUGGLE TO MAINTAIN THEIR ANONYMITY WHILE PROTECTING A TECH BILLIONAIRE WHOSE RESOURCES RIVAL THEIR OWN – Reese and Finch meet their match in a tech billionaire POI whose curiosity and limitless resources threaten to expose their identities and sabotage their efforts to save his life.
And here's the synopsis for the following week's episode, "Booked Solid":
REESE AND FINCH FIND THEMSELVES SURROUNDED BY POTENTIAL SUSPECTS WHEN THEY INFILTRATE AN UPSCALE HOTEL TO SAVE A MAID'S LIFE, ON "PERSON OF INTEREST," THURSDAY, FEB. 14 – Mia Maestro ("Alias," "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2") Guest Stars as the Hotel Maid, Mira Dobrica – Reese and Finch race to save a hotel maid's life but find themselves surrounded by more suspects than they may be able to eliminate when they realize any guest or staff member could be her potential killer. Meanwhile, Detective Carter weighs a major offer from the FBI.
Revolution
24 actress Annie Wersching has reportedly been cast as Emma, the first love of Miles Matheson and the object of obsession for Sebastian Monroe. Her reappearance in the present will reportedly add yet another dimension to Miles and Monroe's complicated relationship. Fellow 24 alum Leslie Hope was also recently cast as the president of the Georgia Federation. Both will debut in episode fifteen. [TV Line]
Once Upon a Time
Ty Olsson explains the relationship between Dean and his character Benny:
The writers know you guys and they are toying with you. The short answer is I don't know. My instinct is that I think the relationship between Dean and Benny is genuine. There is no subterfuge, there is no trickery going on. That's why my gut is telling me from what I know and from how I've played Benny. I think there is a genuine bond there. To me it is unquestionable that there is a brotherhood and that there is nothing to worry about. The problem is, even saying that, is that is that the people in our lives who hurt us the most are the people who are closest to us. The ones who love us are the ones who cause us the most pain unfortunately. So I'm not saying that about Benny but just the fact that their relationship by nature divides the brothers, on some level it causes pain and that's the bottom line. That doesn't necessarily mean that Benny's being malicious.
Arrow
Here's a preview for tonight's episode, entitled "Vertigo", from executive producer Marc Guggenheim.
Here's an early promo for next week's episode, "Betrayal."
Additional reporting by Amanda Yesilbas and Charlie Jane Anders.