Marvel Announces ‘Phase Two’ at Comic-Con

At Comic-Con this past weekend, Marvel brought their A-Game, revealing everything from Tony Stark’s new suit in Iron Man 3 (more on that below) to early test footage of Edgar Wright’s Ant Man. Not only was footage screened for lucky fans, but Marvel also teased the films that would be in ‘Phase Two’ and released title cards.

‘Iron Man 3′

It’s been known for months that Iron Man 3 is in the works. Director Shane Black told fans at the Marvel panel that filming was almost half way done. Footage for the film (in theaters May 3rd, 2012) was shown to fans which showed Tony Stark trying out a new suit of armor (Extremis?) and showed Sir Ben Kingsley as the long rumored villain, The Mandarin. The footage also confirmed the rumor that the Iron Patriot everyone was talking was just War Machine’s updated paint job. Marvel also revealed what Iron Man’s new armor would look like for the new film (click the photo to enlarge) . It’s interesting to see the colors switched like that, but I’ll have to wait until I see it on the big screen to decide if I like it or not. Visit the Iron Man 3 official site at marvel.com/ironman3.

‘Thor: The Dark World’

No new information has been announced about Thor 2 other than the name of the film will be Thor: The Dark World. Directed by Alan Taylor (Game of Thrones), the film hammers its way into theaters November 8th, 2013. The only new developments we have to share is that Mads Mikkelsen (who was in talks of joining the cast) has dropped out of the film. Mikkelsen (Casino Royale) was rumored to have a villainous role in the sequel. Thor: The Dark World begins filming later this year.

‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’

Bucky is back! Or that’s what the title Captain America: The Winter Soldier implies. For those of you who don’t know, Steve Rogers’s (Chris Evans) pal Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) becomes The Winter Soldier in the comics. When we last saw Bucky in Captain America: The First Avenger, he was falling off a train into the ice and snow below. The only question I have is will this movie take place in the 1940s or in the present? If it takes place in the 40s, the film wouldn’t feature much of Captain America because he was frozen in ice for 70 years after his plane crash. My guess is the film will take place in both decades, showing The Winter Soldier’s origin in the 40s and him and Captain America in the present. Captain America: The Winter Soldier arrives in theaters April 4th, 2014.

‘Guardians of the Galaxy’

The rumors about Guardians of the Galaxy we’ve been hearing over the past couple weeks were confirmed at Comic-Con. Who are the Guardians of the Galaxy? Well, aren’t you glad you have me? The Guardians consist of: Star-Lord (aka Peter Quill), an astronaut and an combat expert who wears a suit given to him by aliens and uses their weapons in combat; Gamora, the adopted daughter of Thanos (remember him from the end of The Avengers?), who was trained by him to become an assassin, but turned on him when she saw how evil he was; Drax The Destroyer, who was killed alongside his wife by Thanos, and reincarnated in a new green-skinned body. Drax is able to sense Thanos’s presence across space, has super strength and can blast energy from his hands; Groot, who is a plant monster from an alien race, was captured and forced to work with S.H.I.E.L.D. He is able to regrow as long as there’s a part of him left, and  survives by absorbing wood, which lets him rebuild himself, and enhance his strength, and can also control trees; and Rocket Raccoon, an anthropomorphic raccoon, who comes from the Planet Halfworld, where he and other animals were genetically engineered to be caretakers for the mentally ill. He’s a skilled tactician, pilot and marksman, who also has a great sense of smell and hearing. So it looks like the film will tie in pretty well with The Avengers. Guardians of the Galaxy hits theaters August 4th, 2014. You can check out the concept art revealed at Comic-Con below.

‘Ant-Man’

Since last year’s Comic-Con we have been hearing about an Ant-Man movie in the works. Now it is confirmed. Although there still hasn’t been a release date set, the reveal of the title card and Edgar Wright showing test footage is enough to get fans excited.

Are You Excited?

What do you think about Marvel’s Phase Two? Is there any other movies you would like to see in the line up? What do you think of Iron Man’s new armor? Let us know in the comments below.

Also, if you were at Comic-Con this past weekend and have any photos, videos, or stories you would like to share, please email them to [email protected].