Last night was quite a show for the fans of commercials. We got some new favorites, a few call backs, and yea, even some full trailers of this year’s big movies. For the most part, the major films we got sneak peeks of are Act of Valor, John Carter, and Battleship. But the one that fanboys really got excited for is the extended trailer for The Avengers.

That’s right, more Hulk, more Hawkeye, the first look at the mysterious alien threat, and some pithy dialogue between Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark and Tom Hiddleston’s Loki. We got it all in this 60 second spot, and now you get it too.

For those who felt that the trailer was a bit Captain America-centric, we got the scoop in a recent interview with director Joss Whedon, where he explained that Chris Evan’s Cap will basically be the main protagonist in the film.

“So much of [The Avengers] story takes place from Steve Rogers’ perspective, since he’s the guy who just woke up and sees this weird-ass world,” Whedon says. “Everyone else has been living in it. He’s the guy that feels that sense of loss.”

Take a look at the extended trailer after the jump and catch The Avengers in theaters and in 3D IMAX on May 4th.

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As its done in the past with other big screen adaptations of its comics, Marvel has gone ahead and put together a comic book prelude for The Avengers for fans to enjoy. This one, called “Fury’s Big Week,” will be eight issues with the first released for free on Marvel’s comics app this Sunday.

Yes, you read that right. It’s going to be free. That’s nice. Too bad the rest of the issues won’t be. Oh well.

Here’s the scoop from the official press release:

“We’ve worked hand-in-hand with Marvel Studios to create an exciting story set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that sets the stage perfectly for the most anticipated film of the summer,” said Axel Alonso, Marvel Editor in Chief. “Now, for the first time. you’ll find out just what happened to some of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes on the road to Marvel’s The Avengers.”

What is the Avengers Initiative? And what are the secrets of S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury? The answers arrive in Marvel’s The Avengers Prelude: Fury’s Big Week and the first issue is free this Sunday only on the Marvel Comics app!

Check out some preview pages for the comic after the break.

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One aspect of the upcoming Avengers film that people sort of take for granted is that three of it’s main cast were the leading men in four previous movies. We have been used to seeing these heroes as traditional, singular forces of good in films bearing their names in the title. How will it work cinematically when these characters have to share screen time with other prominent characters?

Well this is something that the filmmakers are also thinking about, and Joss Whedon recently talked to EW about what hero’s perspective the movie will follow.

“So much of [The Avengers] story takes place from Steve Rogers’ perspective, since he’s the guy who just woke up and sees this weird-ass world,” Whedon says. “Everyone else has been living in it. He’s the guy that feels that sense of loss.”

This makes a lot of sense, and is a welcome direction for the film to take. The recent (excellent) Avengers cartoon series focused on Iron Man putting the team together, and there was concern that The Avengers would just be Iron Man 3 based on the popularity of Robert Downey Jr.’s take on the character. Thankfully, Whedon choose to go with a more traditional angle on an Avengers origin story, which hopefully will make for a better film this summer.

Lists are fun. Lists are, at least in some cases, easy to create. In this case, the list in question for today is The Five Best Movies Adapted From Comics.

I know what you’re thinking. Why five? Well, it sorta works with the word “Flickcast” and we’re fans of alliteration around here, so that’s one reason. Of course, it also means I only need to come up with five items to fill the list, so that might have something to do with it too. I’ll never tell.

I’m also in the process of preparing a list of the worst movies adapted from comics as well because what’s a “best” list without a “worst” list, right? Right.

However, in this case, we’re talking best. And do we have a lot of great “best” ones to choose from. That’s not a question, we do.

The ones I’ve chosen are not only great examples of comic book adaptations done right, they’re also great movies too. From a clever screenplay to expert direction, exciting visuals, to compelling characters and performances, these five films deliver on many levels and also manage to demonstrate a real love for their source material.

Okay, enough setup. On with the listing of the things.

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Everyone is awaiting the upcoming May 4th release of Marvel’s The Avengers. With Joss Whedon at the helm and years of building a fan base through the individual movies, hype about the upcoming culmination is pretty strong.

This trailer comes in time to grab the attention of action flick enthusiasts looking forward to a summer of great cinematic experiences, Amazing Spider-man andThe Dark Night Rises also being unleashed this summer.

The culmination of the incredible heroes working together to save the planet from the forces of evil is just as exciting in German as I’m sure the English language trailer release will be very soon. Though the German trailer is not as cohesive as I expect the English one will be, a few blips of the action scenes are shown as well as one or three great shots of Scarlett Johansson to get everyone’s interest piqued.

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It is quite possible The Avengers is the most important superhero film of all time. It could singlehandedly set a bar for audience acceptance in multi-film, continuity heavy, comic book franchise.

Not to mention the fact that this is essentially the sequel to four different individual franchises. So yeah, people pay attention when things like two new banners are unveiled.

Yahoo! Movies and Moviefone both debuted one of the two new character banners for The Avengers. The first depicting the main four heroes from previous franchises, and the other showcasing supporting characters and the villain of the movie.

These are very standard looking character posters, but there are a few interesting things we are seeing here. For one, this is the first time I have seen Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner and I see the character more so than the actor. Also, Captain America is the only one in mask and not showcasing a star of the film.

This might be some extreme over analyzation, but I think it really fits the character of Cap to stay in his mask, as opposed to the nigh celebrity in Tony Stark, who is on the poster sans helmet.

Compared to the Comic-Con connected character posters, these banners seem almost lazy. It is almost like they had a series of cool character posters and chained them together for the sake of creating something banner sized. It would have been much more exciting to see the comic style painted posters as a banner and these cut up into individual pieces.

Take a look at the full spread of posters after the jump.

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We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: It’s no secret that one of the most highly anticipated comic book movies of all time is Marvel’s upcoming The Avengers. Directed by Joss Whedon and featuring an all-star cast, the movie’s geek pedigree could not be better.

It has all your favorite characters including Iron Man, Captain America, Nick Fury, Thor and Scarlett Johansson in skintight leather. Come one, what more could you want from a comic book movie?

Recently, we shared some cool pics from the upcoming film. Today, we’ve got something even better: the first trailer.

In it we get our first real look at the film, the characters and what’s going to be the biggest movie of 2012. And man, does it look good.

Check it out after the break. The Avengers, which stars Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, and Samuel L. Jackson, arrives in theaters on May 4, 2012.

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It’s no secret that one of the most highly anticipated comic book movies of all time is Marvel’s upcoming The Avengers. Directed by Joss Whedon, the movie’s geek pedigree could not be better.

It features all your favorite characters including Iron Man, Captain America, Nick Fury, Thor and Scarlett Johansson in skintight leather. Come one, what more could you want from a comic book movie?

Marvel has released a few new pics from The Avengers to get you even more psyched to see it. Not that you probably needed it. Like us, we’re sure you’ll be in line on day one for what promises to be the greatest Marvel movie of al time.

Check out the pics after the break. The Avengers, which stars Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, and Samuel L. Jackson, arrives in theaters on May 4, 2012.

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With Comic-Con set to start tomorrow, Marvel has taken this opportunity to release the barebones first teaser poster for their upcoming Avengers film. With not much to go on except a giant “A’ the poster is minimalism at its best.

Of course, the “A” stands for Avengers and we also have the obligatory tagline (or tag word as the case may be) “Assemble.” If you’re not a fan of this poster and were expecting a lot more, don’t worry – you’ll get more soon enough.

Until then, you can always hit the Marvel booth for the signings by Joss Whedon, Chris Evans and Clark Gregg. That is, if you happen to be at Comic-Con this week.

Either way, you can expect a lot of new marketing stuff to come out soon enough. Count on it.

The Avengers, which opens May 4, 2012, also stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L. Jackson. Check out the full sized poster after the jump.

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With anticipation for the start of Comic-Con 2011 at a fever pitch (It’s tomorrow!) one of the things we’re really looking forward to is some Avengers news and appearances by some of the cast and director. To help us, and those of you attending the Con, Marvel has released it’s signing schedule for the upcoming film.

Keep in mind that each signing is a ticketed event, which means that attendees will have to make their way to the Marvel booth as soon as the convention opens on Thursday to secure their free (but limited) tickets. So, in other words, if you want to get something signed by one of these guys, get their early and be ready to wait in line.

Here’s the schedule:

Thursday, 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Chris Evans (Captain America)

Saturday, 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m.
Clark Gregg (Agent Coulson)

Saturday, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Joss Whedon, writer/director

The Avengers, which opens May 4, 2012, also stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L. Jackson. Obviously, they were too busy to come to San Diego from New Mexico for the Con. Sad, but true.

Robert Downey Jr. has had a pretty amazing resurgence in his career in the past few years. Mostly due to Favreau’s excellent use of him in both Iron Man and Iron Man 2, but an unrelated film is what put Downey at the top of people’s tongues for time after that. That film starred the once Hollywood bad boy as the world’s first detective, Sherlock Holmes.

The film blew up across the globe, pulling in over $500 million worldwide, and warranting a brand new sequel, that we’re now getting the first look at. Titled “A Game of Shadows, the film looks to give us a pretty awesome rivalry between Sherlock and Moriarty, the shadowy villain from the first film. Here’s the official premise.

Sherlock Holmes has always been the smartest man in the room…until now. There is a new criminal mastermind at large–Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris)–and not only is he Holmes’ intellectual equal, but his capacity for evil, coupled with a complete lack of conscience, may actually give him an advantage over the renowned detective.

Check out the first full trailer for the film (which will likely be attached to prints of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 this weekend) and be sure to catch Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows in theaters on December 15th.

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As we rapidly approach the release of Captain America: The First Avenger, which is the final Marvel film leading up to next year’s The Avengers, we expect to be getting a lot more coverage and peeks at images and stills from the new film while it shoots in New Mexico and Ohio.

While we haven’t gotten there just yet, a correspondent over at ESQ. magazine managed to snap a shot of the brand new promo poster that Marvel is using to sell the film at the recent International Licensing Expo in Las Vegas.

Definitely digitally rendered, it’s not an exact depiction as to what we’re going to get from the film itself, but it gives a good idea at what we can look forward to when Joss Whedon brings everyone together for what will likely be an epic film.

The film stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Clark Gregg, Samuel L. Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Tom Hiddleston, and Stellan Skarsgård and hits theaters May 4, 2012.

Check out the first poster after the jump and let us know what you think!

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