Analog-Theater 2.0

I’m going to take a break from my list of goals to talk about upcoming movies.

 It was recently announced that actor Tobie Maguire and director Sam Raimi will be be returning for Spiderman 4.  Marvel has decided to go back to Peter Parker’s high school days for this film and will bring in a younger actor.  James Vanderbilt has penned the new script.  They are anticipating release of the new film sometime in 2012. 

And now for my amazing and mostly accurate list of upcoming movies.

Joe Johnston (Director of the Rocketeer and Jurassic Park III) is doing a remake of the Wolfman, starring Benicio Del Toro (Sin City, 21 Grams) as Lawrance Talbot/the Wolfman.  The movie is scheduled for release February 12, 2010.  Anthony Hopkins will appear at Sir John Talbot. 

March 5, 2010 is the release of Tim Burton’s version of Alice In Wonderland starring Mia Wasikowska as a 17 year old Alice who stumbles upon Wonderland in the same manner she did 10 years before.  The movie also has Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, Alan Rickman as the Caterpiller, and Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen. 

A remake of Clash of the Titans directed by Louis Leterrier and written by Lawrence Kasdan is due for release on March 26, 2010. Ray Harryhausen is involved, and Sam Worthington is in talks to star. 

April 30, 2010: Iron Man 2, with Robert Downy, Jr returning as Tony Stark.  Scarlett Johansson has signed on to play the Black Widow and Mickey Rourke as the villain Whiplash.  And with a cameo by Thor.

 June 11, 2010 the imfamous black van returns with an all new A-Team.  UFC champ Quinton Jackson will don the feather earrings and gold chains to become B.A. Baracus, Liam Neelson will play Hannibel, Bradley Cooper (All About Steve, the Hangover) will play Faceman, and Sharlto Copley (District 9) is in talks to play Murdock.  Jessica Biel is also in talks to be in the film as a woman from Faceman’s past. 

July 2, 2010 fills me with both fear and anticipation.  It is the release date of The Last Airbender which is written, directed, and produced by M. Night Shyamalan.  It is a live action movie based on the popular anime “Avatar, The Last Airbender”.  Starring Noah Ringer as Aang, the avatar.  M. Night Shyamalan has done some really good movies and some not so good movies, so I’m not sure what to expect with him.  Also, I have been disappointed with the Hollywood live action adapations of animes, so I don’t have high expectations for this.  But the trailer looks good. 

July 16, 2010: The Sorceror’s Apprentice, a modern day retelling of the story from Fantasia, which was a retelling of a 1797 poem by Goethe titled Der Zauberlehrling, starring Nicholas Cage as the Sorceror, Jay Burachel as the apprentice, Teresa Palmer as the female lead, and Monica Bellucci as the Sorceress Veronica, and directed by Jon Turteltaub. Robert Rodriguez, the director of “Desperado” and “Sin City”, has an upcoming movie with a very interesting cast. 

The movie “Machette” stars Robert De Niro, Jessica Alba, Steven Seagal, Michelle Rodriguez, Don Johnson, Lindsay Lohan, Danny Trejo, Jeff Fahey and Cheech Marin. The movie is expected in theaters sometime in 2010. 

Sometime in 2010 we will get to see the Three Stooges as we’ve never seen them before, with a new cast.  MGM has casted Paul Giamani and Benicio del Toro as Larry and Moe respectively.  Sean Penn was cast as Curly, but has dropped out.  Jim Carey was originally cast as Larry, but has also dropped out. 

As part of the nine movie Avenger’s franchise, Thor will be released May 20th, 2011.  Chris Hemsworth (A Perfect Getaway, Star Trek) has been cast as Thor.  Tom Hddleston (The Unrelated) will play Loki.  And Natalie Portman will play Jane Foster.

June 17, 2011 Green Lantern, a live action movie about the Green Lantern Hal Jordan.  It will be direct by Martin Campbell.  Chris Pine (Captain Kirk from the new Star Trek) is rumored to be playing Hal Jordan.

July 22, 2011: Captain America: The First Avenger which will take place half in World War 2 and half in modern day.  I have yet to find out who is playing Steve Rodgers or any other characters.  Joe Johnston (The Rocketeer, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Jurassic Park 3) will direct the film.

Also sometime in 2011: Grayskull: Masters of the Universe, produced by Joel Silver and written by Justin Marks and Evan Daugherty.  This will probably change as Sony has acquired the rights to make the movie from Warner Brothers, but WB still owns the scripts.

 Sometime in 2011, Director Scott Derrickson is planning to film Paradise Lost in 3D. Discussing his interpretation of the story, he sees Satan as an anti-hero and not the villain, and that it shall be a “litmus test” for the audience when they stop sympathising with the character. Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures are producing. Also in 2011, Keanue Reeves will have to work hard to impress us as Spike Spiegel in the live action Cowboy Bebop movie.  There is no news yet about who the rest of the cast is, but Sunrise Inc and the creators of Cowboy Bebop are involved in the production, so there is hope that the movie will stay true to the series. In Mid 2011 we can plan on seeing more of J.J. Abrams alternate Star Trek time line as the crew of the Enterprise launches again on its mission to find hot new aliens for Kirk. May 4th, 2012: Avengers with Robert Downy, Jr., Edward Norton, Samuel L. Jackson, and whoever plays Captain America and Thor. Micheal Bay is planning on a third installment of the Transformers series for July 4th, 2012. 

In 2012 Johnny Depp will be back as Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean 4. Geoffrey Rush has expressed interest in returning as Barbossa, but has not signed on yet and Director Gore Verbinski will not sign on without a complete script.