Iron Man 3, Thor 2, and more movies and comics

Iron Man 3 just started filming, and here's everything you need to know about it. Also, updates on Thor 2 and beyond. Other studios are moving on. Also, GI Joe 2 got moved, supposedly for 3D conversion. but there could be a different reason. It's all after the jump, and depending on the validity of certain rumors just might contain spoilers.

Iron Man 3 news, rumors and speculation

Filming is underway and here's what's been going on. As you should know, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang writer/director Shane Black has taken over from Jon Faverau for the third Iron Man 3. However, set aside any fears that Faverau's departure was less than amiable, as he'll be reprising his role in front of the camera as Happy Hogan.

An initial press release said that Scarlett Johanssen would be returning as Black Widow, but the actress denied this, so that release was probably just in error. The Help actress Jessica Chastain was reportedly cast as a "sexy scientist," but scheduling conflicts forced her to exit, and Rebecca Hall (The Prestige, The Town) has apparently taken over the role.

On villain front, Ben Kingsley has been joined by Memento and Lockout star Guy Pearce, apparently playing scientist Aldrich Killian. In the comics, Killian died within a few pages of being introduced, so I'm expecting the film to change that. Along with Pearce, Black has cast Ashley Hamilton and James Badge Dale as probably-villains, and William Sadler as probably-a-military-guy.

On the spoiler front, a series of set photos appeared to show off a surprising new villain. However, the Latino Review now claims that was speculation, and they know who it really is. Also, A.I.M. will be appearing in the film, but probably no MODOK this time around. Gears of War game developer Epic Games has been taken over has AIM HQ. Anyway, to the left is the first official set photo, featuring the Hall of Armor.

Thor 2 casting and release

Iron Man isn't having all the fun on new-movie front. First, Thor 2 had its release date moved up a week to November 8, 2013, and then it cast a villain. Mads Mikklesen, probably best known for his villainous role in Casino Royal, but also from such cinematic gems as Clash of the Titans
and King Arthur, has been cast as an unknown, but new, villain. Meanwhile, ABC's Once Upon A Time has forced Josh Dallas to drop out of his role as Fandral, and this has opened up the door for a piece of casting that makes me very happy. Zachary Levi is in talks to take over the role as a member of the Warriors Three. Since Levi just finished one of my favorite TV series, Chuck, and also voiced a Fandral-like character in Disney's Tangled, this casting seems fairly perfect.

Future Marvel films: Captain America 2 and Black Panther?

Don't forget all those other Marvel films that are going to get the green light now that The Avengers has made all of the money. When asked what characters he'd like to add to an Avengers 2, Joss Whedon said he'd like another female character, so expect to see that, should Whedon actually be involved in the sequel. Personally, Ms. Marvel seems like the best bet, but I think Spider-Woman could be a perfect fit to appear in Captain America 2, given her ties to SHIELD and Hydra. Speaking of Captain America 2, Community directors Joe and Anthony Russo are in final talks to take over from Joe Johnston. Once they're in place, we should start to see casting news, hopefully including Sharon Carter. Meanwhile, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige has there are two unnamed films yet to be announced. Hopefully one of these will be Edgar Wright's Ant-Man, and the other might just be Black Panther.

Future DC films: Justice League, Wonder Woman?

Of course, Marvel isn't the only company trying to cash in on The Avengers success, DC is trying to get their own version back on its feet. This isn't news: I blogged about it last April. However, after Green Lantern's lack of success, things seemingly were pushed to the back burner. Still, it looks like Warner Bros. continued to move ahead, and Gangster Squad writer Will Beall is handling the Justice League team-up. Meanwhile, Lantern's Michael Goldenberg is writing a Wonder Woman script, and several other heroes, including Flash and Aquaman are also in-development. The big questions are how this is going to work with Zach Snyder's Man of Steel, coming out next summer, and how Christopher Nolan leaves Batman after The Dark Knight Rises. I personally can't imagine a Justice League film working that tries introduce an entirely new cast, but if Henry Cavill returns as Superman and Ryan Reynolds returns as Green Lantern, then the film could have a shot. Find a way to tie it into Nolan's Batman and the new TV version of Green Arrow and it could just be awesome.

Fantastic Four reboot confirmed

You didn't think we were finished with superheros, did you? This February, I saw the fairly amazing Chronicle, and now director Josh Trank has been confirmed to reboot The Fantastic Four for Fox. That means no more Ioan Gruffudd or Jessica Alba, and Chris Evans has other things to do. If Trank can give the FF the same youthful energy he channeled into Chronicle then this could save the franchise, and if not then it can't be worse than Silver Surfer.

X-Men get a release date

Fox's other superhero franchise got a soft reboot last year with X-Men First Class, and a sequel, which will probably feature a lot of Jennifer Lawrence, is now scheduled for July 18, 2014 with Matthew Vaughn returning to direct. As far a plot goes, there an interesting rumor about the Days of Future Past storyline. Basically, it's one of the X-Men's many time-travel stories. Most importantly, this could be a way for the First Class X-Men to work with actors from the original film and iron out the inconsistencies in the timeline. Plus: Hugh Jackman.

G.I. Joe 2 pushed back to April

And finally, GI Joe: Retaliation was scheduled to release at the end of this month, but it's suddenly been pushed back to next March "for 3D conversion." While that's a semi-reasonable excuse, it doesn't really justify moving the film just as the toys were hitting the shelves. Now, the film going back for reshoots to better make use of the 3D, but rumors suggest is may be more than that, with some spoilerly revelations about Channing Tatum's character Duke. Of course, this also means that Adrianne Palicki just can't catch a break, after her Wonder Woman was shelved.