NEWS UPDATES: Vin Diesel, Jurassic World, Ant-Man, Anna Paquin, The Avengers Sequel, Sandman Adaptation

guardians-of-the-galaxy-vin-diesel-groot-photo

Vin Diesel Confirmed as Groot in GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

Although it was known for some time that Vin Diesel would star as Groot in the upcoming comic book adaptation "Guardians of the Galaxy", Marvel has finally offered an official confirmation of Diesel's casting in their film. The confirmation came along with an image of Vin Diesel with his arms around a model of Groot (above), and a short statement from director James Gunn:

"Yep it is completely official. AND he’s amazing. I never knew someone could say I AM GROOT so many different ways and with such feeling (and that sounds like I’m kidding but I’m not!)"

"Guardians of the Galaxy" already has an impressive cast which also includes Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Lee Pace, Karen Gillan, John C. Reilly, Glenn Close, Michael Rooker, Djimon Hounsou, Peter Serafinowicz and Benicio Del Toro. The film will be released in theaters on August 1, 2014.

VFX Supervisor Phil Tippett Returns for JURASSIC WORLD

Phil Tippett, founder of Tippett Studio and "Dinosaur Supervisor" on the original "Jurassic Park", will be returning to work on the upcoming reboot of the dino franchise, which will be titled "Jurassic World". The reboot has been described as "a new sci-fi terror adventure" and the plot will take place 22 years after the events of the first film. The confirmed cast includes Bryce Dallas Howard, Nick Robinson and Ty Simpkins. Phil Tippet's credits include visual effects and creature design work on "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom", "Robocop", "Star Wars", "Dragonheart", "Starship Troopers" and "The Twilight Saga". He won an Academy Award for his work on "Jurassic Park" and a Special Achievement Oscar for "Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi".

Paul Rudd Confirmed for ANT-MAN

Marvel has confirmed that Paul Rudd ("Anchor Man 2: The Legend Continues") will be starring as the hero of the studio's new film "Ant-Man" which will be directed by Edgar Wright ("The World's End"). The project has been in development for over 4 years and the script has been written by Wright and Joe Cornish ("Attack the Block"). "Ant-Man" will be produced by Marvel's Kevin Feige and is scheduled to begin filming next year in preparation for its release on July 31, 2015. Here's what Feige had to say about Rudd's casting:

"When Edgar Wright came to us with the idea of Paul Rudd, we felt a huge sense of relief because the first step in creating any Marvel Studios film is finding the right star. We knew early on that we had found the right person in Paul. When he not only agreed to do it but became as enthusiastic as any actor we’d ever met with about doing the work, we knew we’d found the right guy. We couldn’t be more excited for our audiences to see what he’s going to do to bring Ant-Man to life."

Anna Paquin Cut From X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST

While the event itself has nothing to do with Anna Paquin's performance in the upcoming X-Men sequel, her character, Rogue, was nevertheless cut from "X-Men: Days of Future Past". It seems that a certain action sequence was cut from the film and the sequence featured the actress' only on-screen appearance. Director Bryan Singer spoke about Paquin being cut from the film and hinted that the sequence may appear on the DVD, perhaps even in an extended version of the film. Here's what Singer had to say:

"Through the editing process, the sequence became extraneous. It’s a really good sequence and it will probably end up on the DVD so people can see it. But like many things in the editing process, it was an embarrassment of riches and it was just one of the things that had to go. Unfortunately, it was the one and only sequence Anna Paquin was in, the Rogue character was in. Even though she’s in the materials and part of the process of making the film, she won’t appear in it."

New Villain Announced for THE AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON

A new villain has been announced for the sequel to 2012's "The Avengers", besides the already obvious Ultron. The new dastardly character will be Baron Wolfgang Von Strucker. Since my comic book lore is a bit rusty, I shall turn to Wikipedia for answers regarding the mysterious new character. Here's what the dude is all about:

"Baron Strucker, a former Nazi officer, is one of the leaders of HYDRA and an enemy of S.H.I.E.L.D., the Avengers, and the interests of the United States of America and of the free world in general. He has been physically augmented to be nearly ageless. He has been seemingly killed in the past only to return to plague the world with schemes of world domination and genocide, time and time again."

Rumors seem to indicate that Baron Strucker will be the one who will bring Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and his sister Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) into the plot. So far no official casting has been made, but Marvel is actively looking for someone to play the supporting villain. "The Avengers: Age of Ultron" will be directed by Joss Whedon and it stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Cobie Smulders, Samuel L. Jackson and James Spader. The film will be released on May 1, 2015.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt to Produce, Direct and Star in SANDMAN

Since most movie news these days seem to revolve around comic book adaptations ... here's another one. Joseph Gordon-Levitt has been officially tapped by Warner Bros. and DC Comics to produce, direct and star in the cinematic adaptation of Neil Gaiman's comic "Sandman". The protagonist of the comics, also known as Dream, The Lord of Dreams or Morpheus, is an anthropomorphic personification of dreams and the ruler of the world of dreams. After being held prisoner for 70 years, Morpheus escapes in the modern day world and sets out to take revenge on his captors and rebuild his abandoned kingdom. Gordon-Levitt is fresh off the successful directorial debut "Don Jon" and here's what he had to say via Twitter:

"Ladies and gentlemen, I’m incredibly honored to be working with David Goyer, Warner Bros, and @neilhimself on SANDMAN. #Prelude"

RELATED POSTS :

Sunday, December 22, 2013