Marvel 2014 – Part 2
MAY 21/22 – X-Men: Days of Future Past
Studios:Â 20th Century Fox, Marvel Studios, Bad Hat Harry Productions, The Donners Company, Simon Kinberg Production
Distributed by: 20th Century Fox
Now, for my personal favorite (drum roll, please)… “X-Men: Days of Future Past (DOFP)”.
“X-Men: Days of Future Past” will basically revolve around a foreseen problem that will seemingly end the lives of our beloved mutants. That problem is mainly caused by the Sentinels, a set of mutant-hunting gargantuan robots created by the evil Bolivar Trask. After seeing the dreadful future of mutants at the hands of the Sentinels, present-day Professor X and Magneto join forces to seek Wolverine’s help and make him time-travel to the past to avoid the creation of these giant robots.
Now, for those of you who caught the popular X-Men animated series in the 90s, the film “X-Men: Days of Future Past” will be based on that beloved 90’s Days of Future Past comics storyline, where Kitty Pryde was the one who time-travelled. But, in DOFP, as mentioned, Wolverine will be the one to time-travel and return to the past through his younger body form (because he is essentially ageless). Most of the film will take place in the early 70’s, about 10 years after the 1962 setting of “X-Men: First Class”.
If I described Spider-Man 2 with the word ‘VILLAINSSSS’, then I’d describe DOFP as ‘MUTANTSSSS’. The dual sequel to “X-Men: First Class (2011)” and “The Wolverine (2013)”, DOFP will unite stars of the original trilogy and those from First Class in a mutant ensemble that will make you more excited to see the film.
From the original trilogy, Patrick Stewart will return as Charles Xavier/Professor X, Sir Ian McKellen as Erik Lensherr/Magneto, Hugh Jackman as Logan/Wolverine, Halley Berry as Storm, Daniel Cudmore as Colossus, Ellen Page as Kitty Pryde, and Shawn Ashmore as the Iceman. They will be joined by some of the cast from First Class, such as James McAvoy as the young Charles Xavier, Michael Fassbender as young Magneto, Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique, her real-life boyfriend Nicholas Hoult as The Beast and Lucas Till as Alex Summers/Havok.
Moreover, new X-Men characters are to be introduced, like Peter Dinklage as Bolivar Trask, Omar Sy as Bishop, Fan Bingbing as Blink, Boo Boo Stewart as Warpath, Adan Canto as Sunspot, Evan Peters as Quiksilver, and Josh Helman in a still-undisclosed role (ooohhhh).
Upon watching the video of X-Men:DOFP’s panel in Comic-Con 2013, I was like, “Holy. Avengers has no match with this”. J-Law fans will be treated to more action as ‘Hunger Games’ star Jennifer Lawrence reprises her role as young Mystique and will be starring in many action sequences in DOFP. Meanwhile, fans of ‘True Blood’ star Anna Paquin might be disappointed with the recent news of her sole scene as Rogue in DOFP being cut during the editing process, while one of Magneto’s fraternal twin offsprings, Quicksilver, is set to appear in the film.
Some released stills from X-Men: DOFP shooting, courtesy of Entertainment Weekly and Empire Online
The director of the first two X-Men films (X1 & 2), Bryan Singer, is currently at the helm of directing this seventh film in the X-Men franchise. Singer recently announced on Twitter that a follow-up movie will be released on 2016, and it would carry the name “X-Men: Apocalypse”.
“X-Men: Days of Future Past” is scheduled to launch here in the Philippines on May 21 or 22, 2014. I, for one, am anxious as hell to finally see it! Watch the first official DOFP trailer here.
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AUGUST 2014 – Guardians of the Galaxy
Studio: Marvel Studios
Distributed by: Walt Disney Pictures
“Guardians of the Galaxy” will be the last film under Phase 2 of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe before we get treated to an all-out war in “Avengers 2: Age of Ultron” and an introduction to Ant-Man (which will be the first film of Phase 3 that will debut on July 2015 and will be starred by Paul Rudd).
“Guardians of the Galaxy” will not star any of your favorite Avengers like Thor and Iron Man, but will feature an entirely new set of characters instead. The film is set on the more galactic side of Marvel as we will be introduced to a diverse squad made up of an American pilot and four more ex-con aliens that will go on the run to safeguard a highly-desired object to protect Earth.
The reason why “Guardians of the Galaxy” is an important film in Phase 2 is due to the fact that it will be all about the Infinity Gauntlet, the object possessed by Thanos (the villain teased at the post-credits scene of The Avengers), wherein he aims to collect all five gems – Power, Soul, Time, Mind and Reality – that would give him near-limitless power. Thanos will be a main villain in “The Avengers: Age of Ultron”, so “Guardians of the Galaxy” will shed more light on how the other gems will be collected and used on the Infinity Gauntlet.
The film is supported by a set of rightful cast as Chris Pratt takes the lead as Peter Quill/Star-Lord, WWE’s Dave Bautista/Batista as Arthur Douglas/Drax the Destroyer, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, and the voice talents of Vin Diesel as Groot and Bradley Cooper as Rocket Raccoon.
‘Pushing Daisies’ and ‘The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug’ star Lee Pace is set to portray Ronan the Accuser as the main villain, while Thanos will probably appear in the film with the importance of the Infinity Gauntlet at stake. Nebula will be portrayed by Karen Gillan,Yondu by Michael Rooker, Korath by Djimon Hounsou, and The Collector by Benicio del Toro. Furthermore, fresh non-villain characters will be introduced, as well. Nova Prime will be played by Glenn Close, and Nova Corps member Rhomann Dey is set to be depicted by John C. Reilly.
“Guardians of the Galaxy” is slated for a U.S. release on August 1, 2014, and it may be released here in the Philippines sometime in August, as well.
That’s all, folks! All we have to do now is patiently wait for the debuts of these ‘MARVELous’ films in the cinemas. Please be an advocate of originality and fight piracy When In Manila. 🙂
