Movies – Marvel Preps More ‘Ghost Rider,’ ‘Daredevil,’ ‘Surfer’

More Marvel movies on the way, but there’s nothing new in the whole bunch. Variety says that David S. Goyer is “in early talks” to create a Ghost Rider sequel, which will probably not do as well as the 2007 Nic Cage unless it’s a significantly better film. Cage will be back, and there’s no denying Ghost Rider was successful. Goyer is not new to the character, so this could be the best possible scenario.

Now…there are other developments, too. Beyond Columbia revisiting Ghost Rider, Fox is reportedly working hard on a new Daredevil project and what I can only hope at this stage isn’t a disappointing Silver Surfer film. First: The Surfer. It’s just really hard to do the movie, no matter what story you use. In fact, the character was the only redeeming thing about the second Fantastic Four movie, but having seen that, I believe it’s just difficult to make that character the full focus of a film. Supporting character? I can definitely see it.

Daredevil is a sore subject for me and probably for a lot of other fans of the comic book. The movie we got a few years ago was completely de-fanged. So while I hate the idea of trying it again less than ten years later, it really deserves a better treatment than the one it received.

Source

Movies – Deadpool Will Wear the Costume, Says Rob Liefeld

Rob Liefeld created Deadpool in The New Mutants comic book in 1991, which eventually led to the character appearing in X-Men Origins: Wolverine this past summer. Now Liefeld is talking with producer Lauren Schuler-Donner about the direction the potential Deadpool film will take, and if his Twitter account is any indication, he’s pretty happy with it.

Here’s what Liefeld had to say last night and today via Twitter:

Great Deadpool movie meeting! Lauren Schuler Donner and her team are headed in the right direction!

Deadpool movie checklist- DP in costume-check! Breaking 4th wall-check! Loads of killing-double check!

Also excited to discuss possibilities of Cable in future X-films!!!

Donner Company is on top of making the Deadpool movie that fans want. They get it. He’s funny, tortured, clever, a bastard and mucho action!

That third note apparently caused some confusion, as Liefeld clarified today that Cable will not be in Deadpool, nor X-men First Class, but possibly in future X-men movies that follow from The Last Stand.

He also reiterated that Ryan Reynolds will star. Deadpool had been going full-steam ahead, with a small group of writers in contention for screenwriting duties, when Ryan Reynolds signed with Warner Bros. to play Green Lantern. That didn’t kill Deadpool, but it did introduce a delay which has evidently allowed Fox to talk to more writers and get their approach in order. Last I heard no one had been hired yet, but that was a week or more ago, so things could have changed.

Regardless, there is no script at this stage, so take all of Lefield’s statements as indicators of where the movie is likely to go. Until there is a draft in hand, that’s all we really know. But for everyone who was irritated by the character as portrayed in Wolverine, that might be enough.

(Note: I purposely cropped out all feet in the image above in honor of Liefeld’s work.)

Source

Jack Kirby Estate Goes After Marvel Properties

It’s as inevitable as the tides. Once something becomes a genuine industry to the tune of a $4 billion dollar marriage, the lawsuits quickly follow. On the heels of the Siegel and Shuster lawsuits that dismantled the world of Clark Kent comes a lawsuit from the estate of Jack Kirby that targets all things Marvel. According to The New York Times, the Kirby heirs have sent 45 notices of copyright infringement to Marvel, Disney, Paramount, Fox, Sony, Universal, Hasbro, and just about everyone else in the world. Kirby created (or co-created alongside Stan Lee) just about all the big Marvel characters so anyone using them must now face the the Kirbys and Toberoff & Associates. (The same law firm that handled the Siegel and Shuster lawsuits, which is no coincidence.)

The Kirbys seek to win the copyrights back to Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, X-Men, Fantastic Four, etc., and claim some (or all) of the profits. If they win back the copyright, it wouldn’t kick in until 2014 so presumably they wouldn’t be able to claim the “back profits” the characters have made, but anything going forward would be a problem. As Bleeding Cool notes, Disney and Marvel will always own the trademarks, and the movie studios would probably also be safe in their acquisitions, but continuing to publish anything Kirby created would be problematic.

The attorney Marc Toberoff declined to comment on the case, but Disney released an official statement that shrugged off the lawsuit, noting “the notices involved are an attempt to terminate rights 7 to 10 years from now, and involve claims that were fully considered in the acquisition.” This will undoubtedly be a case fraught with as many tangles as the Siegel and Shuster suit was. Will Marvel end up owning Iron Man’s armor, but the Kirbys will own Tony Stark and Pepper Potts? Will it create problems for Marvel Studios down the line? We shall watch and see.

Source

‘Elite’ Brought Open-Worlds To Videogames Before Their Time

Whoa, a sudden burst of activity on the website for a 25-year-old game? The official site for Elite is in the middle of a series of new posts, artwork, and even an upcoming interview with one of the game’s creators.

If you’re not acquainted with Elite, you might be surprised to learn that open-world games are 25 years old. As co-creator David Braben explains in an introductory video:

In Elite, you play the role of a space pilot where you’re given a slightly rubbish space ship and a 100 credits and you get to fly around the galaxy — in fact, several galaxies — doing exactly what you like. The idea is, by the way you play the game — you can either play the game as a pirate, you can play the game as a trader, you can play the game as a bounty hunter — there are all different roles. But you don’t actually select a role. It’s not like a role-playing game. You can do any and all of these things as the whim takes you.

He furthermore says the game was a tough sell back in 1984 because “you didn’t have three lives and it took longer than ten minutes to play through”.

Among young whipsnappers who don’t know Elite, Braben’s studio, Frontier, is better known for the third RollerCoaster Tycoon. They also created the sublime Lost Winds, available as Wii Ware, and they’re currently at work on the follow-up, Lost Winds: Winter of the Melodias.

Source