The ‘first phase’ of the Marvel Studios shared universe comes to a climactic end on May 4th, but the ‘second phase’ continues to chug along and is set to begin one year later. On May 3rd, 2013 Iron Man 3 should be hitting theaters nation wide.

According to Variety, Marvel Studios might have finally found their foe in the Shane Black directed sequel:

Ben Kingsley is in final talks to play the villain in Marvel Studios and Disney’s “Iron Man 3,” but fans of the comicbook character will be disappointed to learn he won’t take on original Tony Stark archenemy the Mandarin.

Instead, Kingsley’s character is involved in the spread of a virus through nanobots, given that “Iron Man 3″ is loosely based on Warren Ellis’ six-issue “Extremis” comicbook series first published in 2005. That arc — which also heavily influenced the first “Iron Man” pic — introduced a new origin story and focused heavily on nanotechnology.

Continue Reading →

We’ve had rumors, of course, as we always do. First it was Jon Favreau who was going to come back for Iron Man 3. Then, he officially stepped away. After that, other directors were supposedly in the running.

But now, it seems, the decision has been made and the man in charge of Iron Man 3 is writer/director Shane Black. According to reports, Black is currently in those “final negotiations” but, of course, everyone in and around Marvel is not letting anything out just yet.

I know what you might be thinking: why Shane Black? The writer of Lethal Weapon 1 and 2? What does he know about comic book action movies? However, Black directing Iron Man 3 isn’t as crazy an idea as it might seem to some.

He’s had a long relationship with Robert Downey, Jr. after working with him in the underrated Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang which, among other things, helped to revitalized Downey, Jr.’s career. He’s also been around and worked with many of the biggest action directions of all time such as Richard Donner, Renny Harlin and Tony Scott, so some of that has got to rub off.

Besides, what did Favreau really know about big budget comic book action movies when he took on the original Iron Man? Not that much but it seemed to turn out pretty well. I, for one, am going to give Shane Black a chance. Maybe you should too.

There have been plenty of pats on the back to Favreau from the fan community since footage of Cowboys and Aliens has been surfacing, but one little fact has managed to slip through the cracks: what are the plans for Iron Man 3 now that he’s moved off of the franchise?

Well, THR seems to have a solid lead on an answer, as Lethal Weapon writer Shane Black has been having some meetings as of late with the suits at Marvel.

The writer/director has powwowed with Marvel execs about his take on the third installment in the blockbuster franchise. As of now he is being considered for the directing job, but the assumption is that if he gets the gig, he would also write a draft.

Insiders said that Black’s involvement is far from a sure thing, and that other filmmakers were being looked at.

Continue Reading →

This week on The Flickcast, Chris and Matt jump in after a week off with a whole bunch of new topics including the new Doc Savage movie, written and directed by Shane Black, the performance of Paranormal Activity and Saw VI, the reboot of Short Circuit, horror films in general and much more.

The guys also make some great picks this week including Matt’s pick of teen horror zombiefest Dance of the Dead and Chris’ pick of the 1979 horror classic Phantasm, featuring Angus Scrimm as “The Tall Man.”

As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques or offers of sponsorship, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter and at Facebook, MySpace or via email.

Thanks for listening.

Not many people outside of the world of film know Shane Black by name, but most certainly do by reputation. Black is best known for being the driving creative writing force behind such films as Monster Squad, Last Boy Scout, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and all of the good Lethal Weapon films.

Black has been bouncing around for the past few years, with rumors that he would be working on a revamped Doc Savage property, with Schwarzenegger as a strong contender back in the 90s. Well, Arnie may be out, but Black is most definitely in, definitely writing and possibly directing, according to Collider.

“[the film] will be set in the 30s and not modernize the story….The producers of “Doc Savage” are Neil Moritz and Ori Marmur.  They’re the guys who are also producing “The Green Hornet”, “Battle: Los Angeles”, and “Jack the Giant Killer.”  Furthermore, they have a deal at Sony so if the film gets made, “Doc Savage” will be made at Sony.”

Continue Reading →