Summer Begins as Marvel Launches Phase 2

Looks like that whole "posting at least once a day" lasted a whopping two days. That sounds about right. Anyways, even though summer doesn't officially begin until mid-June, the summer movie season begins this weekend with Iron Man 3, the first Marvel film to open since their massive hit The Avengers last year. Iron Man 3's release also marks the beginning of Phase 2 for Marvel which will also include sequels to Thor, Captain America, and of course The Avengers as well as new films Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man all slated for the next couple of years. Entertainment Weekly recently laid out Marvel's plans and provided some sneak peeks on what's to come including Whedon's "return" to TV this fall in the highly anticipated Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. whose pilot episode is written and directed by the man himself.

To say I'm excited for most of these films (and one TV show) would be an understatement. I've just really enjoyed how Marvel has miraculously pulled off this amount of success and critical/audience goodwill despite not having Spider-Man or the X-Men in their rosters. Indiewire credits some of this success to the calculated risks taken by the studio in who they hire to helm their projects. Though do we think then that they're due for a wrong move soon (No, Iron Man 2 doesn't really count and neither does The Incredible Hulk... maybe)? I'm trying not to think of that inevitability, but I am concerned about how they'll pull off Guardians of the Galaxy. There's a freaking machine gun-toting talking raccoon in the film! Good luck with that one!

With every film though, Marvel's world will get bigger and hopefully it won't be too big for the studio to manage. Recently, they've been able to retain rights of a few other characters such as Punisher, Daredevil, Blade, and Ghost Rider, but to postulate on whether or not these characters will be included in a still in-flux Phase 3 would still be too soon. Frankly, I just long for the day when all of Marvel's properties are back to them though that's more of a pipe dream with Sony and FOX currently shooting their own anticipated sequels to The Amazing Spider-Man and X-Men: First Class. Too bad. I really want to see the Hulk going up against the Juggernaut or Spider-Man spinning his webs in Asgard or something.

ETA: Apparently today is also Free Comic Book Day. I didn't even realize until after I had posted this. Go figure!