The Spawn reboot film looks to have the titular character already cast. Todd McFarlane isn't revealing who yet, but says he is an Academy Award winning actor. A few possibilities that would include: Denzel Washington, Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, and Cuba Gooding Jr. My money is on Foxx.
Josh Brolin as Dwight in Sin City: A Dame to Kill For:
It seems everyday, someone new has been cast for X-Men: Days of Future Past. One thing director Brian Singer keeps getting asked is if Nightcrawler may return, and his answer is a solid...maybe. Alan Cumming is up for reprising the role, but Singer is still working on how the film will play out. I wouldn't mind seeing Kurt meet Azazel in a Bamf-filled fight sequence. As for who
will be in the film, Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones) has been cast as the film's main villain. No word on who that will be yet though.
In my last update, I said that all work on Justice League is on hold, except for script writing, pending how well Man of Steel does at the box office. Well even that now is in jeopardy. Will Beall (writer of the recent film Gangster Squad) turned in a script that all sources say is terrible, a script that has been tossed. A release date of 2015 for this film is looking less likely every day. Another concern at WB/DC is that if the Justice League film releases and then tanks, it may harm marketability of the inevitable Batman reboot down the road. They may go ahead with JL after Man of Steel, or they may wait and ride that franchise for two or three films while planning out a better roadmap for a team-up film.
Marc Webb has been tweeting pics almost daily while working on Amazing Spider-Man 2. Many seem to be cryptic hints about where the film may be going. Look at this one...
...and compare it with this image from the Ultimate Spider-Man comics.
The locker that contained the Venom symbiote. Webb included the hashtag "happy birthday" in his tweet, but did not specify to whom. February 6th, the day the tweet was sent, is actually the birthday of Dane Dehaan, who is cast as Harry Osborn in the sequel. Posting that along with the pic could mean many things; misdirection, unrelated accident, or, well, that Harry Osborn may become Venom at some point. If so, I hope it's a before the end credits thing. With Electro and quite possibly Rhino, this film doesn't need anymore villains. Also tweeted recently was a picture of this mask:
If you ask me, that
black mask looks more
cat-like than spider. Also, Felicity Jones (Like Crazy, Diary of Anne Frank) has joined the cast.
While just about everyone knows Captain America, Iron Man and Hulk, The Guardians of the Galaxy tend to elicit more blank stares than not from most casual comic fans. So if you want to bone up on the characters and backstory,
here's a primer to get you started. Guardians for Dummies, if you will.
In casting news for Guardians, Chris Pratt (Parks and Recreation, Zero Dark Thirty) has the lead role of Star Lord, Peter Quill. Also Jason Momoa (Game of Thrones, Stargate Atlantis, Conan) may have the role of Drax the Destroyer. I can definitely see that.
All the core Avengers are enjoying multiple stand-alone films, but the one who hasn't is the one who's popularity soared after his role in The Avengers: The Hulk. There's an idea being entertained at Marvel Films to end out the Phase 2 films with Hulk being exiled into space do to becoming too unpredictable, uncontrollable and destructive. That would set up a Phase 3 film based on Planet Hulk, and possibly a World War Hulk arc leading into The Avengers 3. Bear in mind, these are just ideas within Marvel, but remember they do like to plan out these film arcs a few years in advance.