As promised, the latest trailer for the much anticipated Iron Man 2 made its debut after the Academy Awards during Jimmy Kimmell Live, and boy is it cool. In this new one we’re given more action, more fighting, more story, more comedy and more Robert Downey, Jr. All of those elements, and more, come together for a very exiting trailer indeed.

Another great thing we get to see finally is the much rumored “suitcase armor” which Tony Stark carries with him for those little emergencies — like when he’s attacked by a whip-wielding Mickey Rourke as Whiplash. It’s also great to see more of Don Cheadle as he comes into his own as War Machine, the always cool Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer and Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow.

Check out the latest trailer, courtesy of the folks at MySpace, after the jump. Iron Man 2 blows audiences away starting on May 7th. That day can not come soon enough.

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This week on the radar we’ve got news on Steven Spielberg’s potential return to dinosaurs, the status of the third Mortal Kombat film, NBC gets a Gold in the ratings competition, and what comic book legend may show up on one of our favorite shows, The Big Bang Theory.

Let’s see what blips are on the radar this week.

Boba Fett, finally the deadliest action figure in a galaxy far, far away

If you’re like me, you grew up on the first generation of Star Wars toys and action figures. You know the ones, they had a massive (sarcasm) five points of articulation. Well, one figure that was sort of an urban legend was the missile-firing Boba Fett.  We all heard of it, but rarely saw it.  Well, now it can be yours with the purchase of five other figures!  Offer expires 3/31/2011, while supplies last, only valid in US and Canada…and a whole lot of other legal fine print I’m sure.

Tron: Legacy viral campaign starts to gear up

Disney teased everyone at last year’s Comic Con about a Tron viral campaign. With the highly anticipated film set to open this December online viral goodness have started to trickle out.  The first is a new site with a somewhat enigmatic theme to it.  Can you figure out what it is?  I don’t want to ruin it, but if you must know check this link out.

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We at The Flickcast are pretty diligent about serving up all the news that comes out each week. However, try as we may to cover it all, some things occassionally slip by. Well, no longer.

Welcome to On The Radar! This weekly post will be your premiere destination for a comprehensive roundup of items that may be developing stories we’re watching, Twitter commentary, or other relevant news that wasn’t quite ready for prime time just yet.  In short, a grab bag of geek items which are sure to please.

Let’s see what blips are on the radar this week.

‘Zombieland’ devours video rentals

Zombieland dominated the video lists this week, “…on the Nielsen VideoScan Blu-ray Disc chart, “Zombieland” went three for three, bowing at No. 1 and …racked up 31% of its total first-week sales from the Blu-ray Disc.” Way to go Zombieland, we can’t wait for the sequeal.

‘Avatar’ 3D boosts Cineplex ticket sales in Canada

3D showings of Avatar did wonders for Cineplex’s bottom line in Canada, “Despite running for only 13 days during its latest financial frame, “Avatar 3D” was Cineplex’s biggest boxoffice performer during the fourth quarter to Dec. 31, and has done around $74 million in Canadian ticket receipts to date.” No surprise really given the popularity of this film and the fact 3D showings are still being sold, out or causing line-ups.

Geek flicks drive Viacom profits

DVD and Blu-Ray disc sales from Star Trek, Transformers 2 and G.I. Joe stimulated Viacom’s fourth quarter earnings to the tune of $694 million.  Not bad considering the $173 million it made in the same quarter in 2008.  Also helping was the indie hit Paranormal Activity which increased operating expenses by 24%.

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In an effort to keep things out of the hands of those who made the characters popular, major studios such as Sony, and now Regency and Fox, are rebooting their recent Marvel films in order to retain the rights so they don’t default back to Disney owned Marvel. Sony is doing so with the reboot of Spider-Man, while Regency and Fox have recently announced that they’re doing the same with Daredevil.

Originally made in 2003, and starring Ben Affleck and Colin Farrell, the film isn’t even a decade old and it’s getting a complete revamp. This time, the writer behind 2008’s The Day The Earth Stood Still, David Scarpa, will be penning a script, and the story will more than likely scrub the previous films’ continuity.

It’s unfortunate that studios resort to these childish ways. If the franchise eventually ends up in the hands of Marvel and Marvel Studios, this could mean great film cameos from some of our favorite heroes. A perfect example is what Favreau, Brannagh, and Joe Johnston are doing with the Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America films, and it’s all like a fanboy’s greatest dream.

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As if it were any surprise, many of next year’s blockbuster films will be coming to IMAX at the same time as they hit regular theaters. With that obvious news comes the neat tidbit that Jon Favreau’s upcoming sequel to 2008’s Iron Man will also be hitting the mondo-screen along with the regular-sized ones.

Unlike The Dark Knight, for example, Iron Man 2 wasn’t always planned for IMAX  and was sent to IMAX to be blown up for next year’s release. The current IMAX release is set to hit on May 7th, the same as as the non-IMAX version comes out.

The sequel will star Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Don Cheadle, Sam Rockwell, Gwyneth Paltrow, Mickey Rourke, and Samuel L. Jackson. This story will focus on Stark (Downey Jr.) coming out to the public as Iron Man, while facing a backlash of enemies in both of his lifestyles.

As soon as Iron Man hit the movie screen comic book fans began speculating as to whether Tony Stark would turn to booze.  This, of course, comes from the highly praised Demon in a Bottle storyline in which Stark falls into a depression, forsakes his Iron Man alter ego, and becomes an alcohalic.  With Marvel Studios casting Robert Downey Jr. in the title role, someone who has battled similar demons, it only bolstered the idea that this story had to be addressed at some point.

Neither Marvel nor Downey Jr. have said much about Demon in a Bottle.  The party line thus far has been little more then acknowledging they know the story exists, but have never committed to its inclusion in the films.  Now, thanks to comic book artist Bob Layton, we’re beginning to hear more about how Demon in a Bottle may play out in the films to come:

“I think they’ve come up with a terrific segue to the third film, which I think is going to be fairly powerful,” he said. “My understanding is that the third film could very well be the ‘Demon in a Bottle’ story mixed in there with everything and I’m kind of looking forward to that, if that’s where they wind up going.”

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I don’t know what it says about Stuart Townsend or Marvel’s upcoming Thor movie, but he has walked off of the project citing “creative differences”. Townsend (who also walked away from the role of Aragorn in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films) was signed to play Fandral, one of the “Warriors Three”, an Errol Flynn-esque Asgardian.

The question now becomes: with Townsend’s absence, will Thor become a new classic, much like the Rings trilogy, or will it fall by the wayside much like films that he originally signed up for such as League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Queen of the Damned.

Thor, which started filming this week, didn’t lose a second over the loss as newcomer Joshua Dallas has stepped into the role. Dallas recently had a role in the still-unreleased stateside horror sequel The Descent 2 and in the George Lucas-produced story about the Tuskegee Airmen, Red Tails.

Thor is being directed by Kenneth Branagh, also stars Chris Hemsworth (Star Trek), Natalie Portman, and Anthony Hopkins, and is slated for May 6th, 2011.

Three different sites have received images of faux-newspaper clippings, somehow related to Paramount and Jon Favreau’s Iron Man 2. Superhero Hype received the first image, with the headline reading “The Secret Life of Mr. Stark,” with “Secret” highlighted in yellow. The second image was received by Screen Rant, with the headline of the photo reading, “Stark Situation Paralyze”, with “Stark” in yellow.

And now, the third released image, comes from CHUD with the headline stating, “Tony Stark’s Confession: ‘I am Iron Man’”, and this time “Confession” is highlighted. So far, the message seems to be, “Secret Stark Confession.” Who knows how many more are to come, if any, or if this little game is just a bit of viral misleading.

Answers seem to point to the creation of an ARG, much like the series of ploys created for The Dark Knight, and pretty much anything that JJ Abrams touches. To me, this seems like it’s leading to something to do with Mickey Rourke’s character, Whiplash, as there have been photos of that character in a Russian prison cell, with articles much like this hanging on his wall.

Check out the three clues after the break, and let us know what you think they might mean. Iron Man 2 hits theaters May 7, 2010.

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When I first saw The Punisher: War Zone I pretty much hated it.  Yet another Punisher reboot that simply didn’t work.  However, upon further reflection over subsequent months I realized War Zone wasn’t bad. Actually, it was Ray Stevenson’s performance as Frank Castle that single-handedly saved the film.

Stevenson continued to flesh out his bad ass resume as Titus Pullo in the mini-series Rome. While Titus was a more benign individual at times it didn’t take much to bring out the Punisher-esque tendencies when he reverted to his soldier role.  In fact, Rome had some of the best action sequences ever and Stevenson again was brilliant in this capacity.

So, what happens when you combine The Punisher and Titus Pullo? How about one of  Thor’s Warriors Three: Volstagg? Of course, the most obvious question was how Stevenson would fill out Volstagg’s large, um…physique:

“…a solution is at hand, in the shape of a fat suit. “It’s fantastic,” said a beaming Stevenson. “I’ve tried the suit on, and what they’ve done is kind of sex him up: he’s sort of slimmer but rounder.”

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It looks like Paramount has been stepping up their marketing over the past few weeks in preparation for next May’s release of Iron Man 2. Just last week, we received two new teaser posters, showing off both Tony Stark and War Machine, and now a brand new poster has surfaced showing off the film’s baddie, Whiplash.

The character is played by Oscar-snubbed actor Mickey Rourke, and is basically a mash-up of a few different Iron Man villains. He’s got Crimson Dynamo’s background with the appearance and name of Backlash. The character is said to fight alongside Tony Stark’s villain in the film, Justin Hammer (played by Sam Rockwell).

Check out the full-sized poster after the jump, featuring a quite intimidating Rourke posing with his glowing makeshift Iron Man power source and light-whips. Be sure to keep it here for all new Iron Man 2 coverage as it comes to us.

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