It's good to be a comic book fan. Especially if you're someone who loves comic books brought to the big screen. Never mind the dregs like League of Extraordinary Gentlemen or even The Spirit, the vast majority of funnybook based movies have been winners over the last few years. With that said, the 2010 and 2011 release dates released by WB and Marvel yesterday should be enough to have all of us superhero giddy with excitement.
Warner Bros. has set a release date of August 6, 2010 for the Josh Brolin starring Jonah Hex, about the scarred cowboy anti-hero. John Malkovich is slated to co-star as his archnemesis, Turnbull. The long awaited Green Lantern, directed by Martin Campbell, has a release date of December 17, 2010 just in time for Christmas. Seems like an odd time for a superhero movie to me. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows pt. 2 is set to drop on July 15, 2011.
Marvel Studios has no less than four major comic book franchises set to take over theaters in the next two years. Here's hoping they stop fuckin' around and get some of these people signed. But as it stands right now, the highly anticipated sequel to Iron Man is set for May 7, 2010. No word on Mickey Rourke or who's playing the Black Widow as of now. The Kenneth Branagh directed Thor, about the Asgardian Thunder god, is set for July 16, 2010, only two months after Iron Man 2. The First Avenger: Captain America is set to sling it's shield on May 6, 2011. And what has to be a highly tentative date right now, The Avengers film is set for July 15, 2011.
Ok, Thor is set to drop a mere two months after Iron Man 2, which if both those dates hold firm, will essentially assure Marvel's dominance over the film market for that year. Jonah Hex, which comes out a month after Thor, might be the victim of comic book movie fatigue at that point. I just don't see there being enough room in people's minds for a little known character after such high profile superhero films. Also, take a look at 2011. Harry Potter and the Avengers are right now headed for a might vs. magic showdown. There's no way this schedule stands for these two films. One of these studios is going to have to cave in and move their release date up or down a few weeks. Marvel and WB are gonna have to play a little game of chicken to see who finally balks here, and I for one am very interesed in finding out who it is. My guess is Marvel will inevitably be forced to move The Avengers back a few months, maybe into 2012, but we shall see.
