So, at least some of the doubt and confusion surrounding the plans for superhero movies seems to have been cleared up over the last week.
On the DC front, the news was interesting... if not entirely specific on content, talent or the exact dates the films will hit cinemas.
2016 will see both the long-announced Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice film featuring Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill and Gal Gadot and a newly-announced Suicide Squad movie. The latter film is described as a 'team of incarcerated supervillains who act as deniable assets for the United States government, undertaking high-risk black ops missions'. There's no casting announced as yet but it is believed that Warners are looking for four A-List actors to star.
2017 marks (hopefully) the cinematic solo- debut of the modern Wonder Woman (Gadot reprising her role) though the latest rumours suggest this may be more of an 'origin' story with the film being a prequel set in the 1920s. There's also Justice League: Part 1 - DC's superhero clusterfest that is a reactive shot to the success of Marvel's Avengers. It will be directed by Zack Snyder
2018 will launch The Flash and Aquaman. The former will not be directly connected to the tv show that recently debuted in the US and UK but will likely take a different take on the character. The latter has often been the butt of jokes concerning his lack of cinematic clout and sometimes perceived 'B' list status, but with Jason Momoa (Game of Thrones, Stargate: Atlantis) essaying the role, the jokes could be over.
2019 will have Shazam with Dwayne Johnson playing the role of its villain Black Adam and the second part of the Justice League team-up.
2020 sees Cyborg and a total revamp of the Green Lantern concept.
On the Marvel front there are strong rumours that Benedict Cumberbatch is their choice for Doctor Strange though contrary to some reports that's not a done and certified deal at time of writing (though we expect it will be soon). However Doctor Strange IS part of the now confirmed line-up of Marvel's plans for the next half-century and beyond. Their line-up looks like this:
Captain America 3: Civil War (6th May, 2016). With Captain America's solo outings to date being critically acclaimed and financially solid, there are big plans for the star-spangled Avenger's third main movie looking to have some relation to Marvel's story of conflicting superheroes. With Robert Downey Jnr.'s role beefed up from a mere cameo, the film looks to be exploiting the thematic and idealistic differences between Tony Stark and Steve Rogers.
Doctor Strange (6th November 2016). We've had gods, aliens and monsters in the Marvel Universe - heck, we've had talking racoons! - but this is the first time in the modern Marvel era that we'll have a film apparently focusing on all-out mystical magic. The surgeon-turned-sorcerer-supreme looks to be played by the aforementioned Mr Cumberbatch - hot off Sherlock, Star Trek and refusing to be drawn on a cameo in Star Wars - which could be as suitable and smart a casting as the decision to cast Downey as Tony Stark - and hopefully as successful.
Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (5th May 2017). Yes... the tree, the raccoon and the rest of the cosmic n'er-do-wells are back for more. It was inevitable that one of the biggest hits of the year - a shock even for Marvel - would get a repeat performance. Little is known of what the sequel will hold, but it's likely we'll address Peter Quill's parentage and it might even bring the action back to Earth.
Thor: Ragnarok (28 July 2018) A title that suggests a more Asgardian-hue to proceedings than Eath/Midgard... and one that leans heavily on Norse mythology about the fall of the gods, this will see Tom Hiddleston return to the role of Loki alongside titular hero Chris Hemsworth. With Natalie Portman apparently being less eager to reprise her Jane Foster role in the second Thor film, will she be written out of the third chapter?
Black Panther (3 November 2017) The ruler of African nation Wakanda, T'Challa is rumoured to make an appearance in the forthcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron and in the next Captain America movie. Though we've seen the likes of Wesley Snipes playing Blade before Marvel relaunched their main cinema plans, this will be the first time there's been an African-American in the title role of a Marvel movie as part of their 'Phase' initiative. The lead will be played by relative newcomer Chadwick Boseman.
Captain Marvel (6 July 2018). The modern version of the character, this film will be based around the Carol Danvers version of the character, an air-force pilot who gains super-powers. There's been a concerted campaign to get Katte Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica) in the role, but so far there's no firm casting news. It's interesting that this will be the first time a female character has headlined a Marvel movie - many presumed that honour would go to Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow - still conspicuously absent, though expected to pop up in several Marvel movies.
Inhumans (2 November 2018). With the rights to 'mutants' such as the X-Men currently still held by Twentieth Century Fox, Marvel seems to be flexing its options in both comics and movies by going to other super-powered sub-cultures of their universe. The Inhumans were a cosmic off-shoot of humanity living on the dark side of the Moon. It will be interesting to see how they become part of a larger Marvel framework if the X-Men remain beyond Marvel's ability to integrate into their bigger universe.
The Avengers: Infinity War: Part 1 (4 May 2018) and The Avengers: Infinity War: Part 2 (2019). Avengers Assemble broke box-office records and its 2015 sequel still looks to be a juggernaut in a year full of epics. So Marvel have really thrown down the gauntlet - the Infinity Gauntlet in this case - by announcing TWO Avengers movies to follow Age of Ultron. The title appears to link to the threat of the mad titan Thanos, who has merely cameo'd to date, and his efforts to take control of the 'Infinity Gauntlet' contains elements peppered through previous Marvel movies that can be combined to effect reality itself. Joss Whedon has lensed the Avengers escapades to date - is he back for this major two-part climax? Like all the Marvel movies, these films will be released in 3D.
