We've been waiting for some more official Spider-Man news for awhile now, ever since we told you there was a chance they might shoot both Spider-Man 4 and 5 at the same time. Good news is producer Laura Ziskin has chimed in, telling theater owners in California and Nevada that they expect Spider-Man 4 to hit theaters in May 2011. According to Ziskin (from an article in the Los Angeles Times), the script still isn't finished, yet they hope a fourth installment will be ready in three years.

However, when (and if) Spidey returns in May 2011, he'll have to square off against another Marvel flick in The First Avenger: Captain America (May 6), as well as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II. All I'm sayin' is it should be an interesting month. Still no word on what (if any) involvement Sam Raimi, Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst will have in the making of future Spider-Man films. Three years is a long time to wait, so whaddya think: Is the long break a good thing for the franchise or will people forget and not care by the time Pete Parker swings back into theaters?

He's portrayed a few iconic characters, including Shakespeare's Romeo and Howard Hughes, but could Leonardo DiCaprio be taken seriously as an iconic superhero? Specifically the Sentinel of Liberty -- Captain America? According to Latino Review (a site well-known and typically respected for its accuracy with rumors of this sort), Marvel Studios has placed Leo on the top of their list of candidates for the role. Of course, there's been no offer made yet, and this is simply the same sort of wish list we heard about for Thor (Brad Pitt is the top of that list), so there's no need to get crazy over the possibility ... yet.

Speaking of Pitt, Marvel apparently has placed him as second on their list for Cap. They either want him for The First Avenger: Captain America or Thor. Maybe they'll even offer him the roles of Ant-Man and everyone else in The Avengers (it would be like this, but with Pitt playing all the roles instead of Johnny Depp). There's no mention of who is #3. It could be Matthew McConaughey, who was rumored to be considered before. Or, it could be George Washington. Yes, the real G.W., first President of the United States. Not only is he perfectly relevant for the part, but I think Marvel has as good a chance of casting him as they do of casting Leo.

I've gotten excited over teaser trailers without any footage. I've even gotten excited over teaser posters with nothing more than a title (and the words "coming soon") on them. But I never thought I'd get excited over a mere title graphic alone -- no trailer, no poster, no nothing, save for a logo and a release year. Well, that's what just happened. I got all giddy over a post on MTV Movies Blog featuring a bunch of new logos for the next four Marvel Studios release. There's Iron Man II, Thor, The First Avenger: Captain America and The Avengers, all written in mostly familiar fonts (if you're a comic book reader, that is).

The logos were unveiled at the New York Licensing Expo, from which we've also seen new promotional materials from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, from Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins and from Where the Wild Things Are. This latest image may not be as exciting as those, but if you grew up with any of these titles, you may still be as excited as I am by seeing their logos. I'm pretty glad they didn't go with the arched, red, white and blue striped logo for Captain America, and I really hope they stick with the plain old Roman numerals for Iron Man II and avoid any subtitle or alternate title. Also, The Avengers logo is just how I remember it.

Two complaints, though, coming from an old, old Thor reader: first, I much preferred the original Thor logo, with the torn-paper look; second, I wish Marvel would rethink their avoidance of "The Mighty" part before the character's name. After all, look what happened with the simply titled Hulk. Are we to assume the first Thor will be a disappointment and we can then look forward to a reboot titled The Mighty Thor?

So, will we be seeing this compilation of logos as a four-in-one teaser poster in theaters soon?

Director Louis Leterrier swears up and down that Captain America makes an appearance in The Incredible Hulk -- but at this point, it just isn't clear how you may see it. In an interview with Collider, Leterrier declared that it was just an Easter Egg and refused to give any hints as to where it would appear in order to keep the fun. "It's an Easter egg. It's not like oh, it's Captain America and it changes everything. It's still a Hulk movie, but it's really Captain America and it's there, you'll see. It's the real deal. You have to look for it."

The hottest rumors these days revolve solely around Marvel Studios. Everyone is obsessing over scraps of information, and finally there's some solid news from the horse's mouth thanks to some eager Internet journalists, and Kevin Feige, head of Marvel Studios.

First of all, every Captain America fan (and perhaps even America herself) can rest easy: Matthew McConaughey will not be playing that iconic hero. The other good news is that Cap's origin story will be set in World War II. The bad? Additionally, IESB.net reports that the plan is to remain very faithful to the source material, and completely traditional. I honestly think there would have been riots if they tried to update Captain America, so color me unsurprised by the news. The eye-rolling part of this is that Cap's movie will be titled The First Avenger: Captain America in keeping with Hollywood's love of comic book colons. Of course, the clunky preface is there so that it can easily tie into The Avengers. (There will be a colon in that title eventually, just wait.)

A whole crop of new images from The Incredible Hulk have hit the net, including the one above showing some assistant dude (Tim Blake Nelson) holding the super serum that's eventually injected into Tim Roth (which, of course, gave him super powers and turned him into Abomination). Ah, but those of us at New York Comic Con were told that this serum is, in fact, the same kind used to create Captain America. Additionally, First Showing is running around claiming there's a shot of Captain America's shield on Tony Stark's workbench in Iron Man -- and, while they've watched the scene several times and say it's true, I don't believe anyone from the Favreau camp has confirmed this yet.

Now that Iron Man has literally destroyed the box office, it will be interesting to see how their second self-financed film does when The Incredible Hulk hits theaters on June 13. The two scenes we watched at Comic Con were enough to convince me that this version of Hulk will definitely kick a bunch of ass. That's a given. But will it succeed with fans? (Something tells me there's already a whole bunch of people who will hate this film regardless, but that's their problem -- we'll certainly go in with an open mind and an open heart). Definitely check out all those new images (mixed with some older ones) in the gallery below.

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[via Movieland]

Ever since Marvel announced release dates for a slew of new comic book-related films yesterday, the internets have come alive with scoopers. We were a bit burned on the last rumor Cinema Blend reported, so take all three of these with a huge grain of salt.

Captain America: According to CB, Matthew McConaughey is the first name to hit the possible cast list. The film, now titled The First Avenger: Captain America, has been given a release date of May 6, 2011, and so I wouldn't expect a name to sign on for awhile. That's not to say there isn't a wish list floating around -- and, if one did exist, I imagine McConaughey's name would be on it, along with several others. I'm sure fans already hate the idea of seeing Mr. Rom Com himself show up as their beloved Captain America, but I actually think it's a good choice -- an interesting choice -- and one I'd definitely support. With the right script, he'd bring the looks, the muscle and the charisma. (Actually, I could kinda see him playing Thor, too.)

Iron Man 2: Yes, work will begin on this monster right away as a release date of April 30, 2010 is already in place, giving Jon Favreau and his team two years to get what will soon become the world's most highly-anticipated sequel in the can. But what will it be about? Well, CB claims that one of the plot lines being considered involves Sam Jackson returning as Nick Fury in order to team up with Stark to go after a terrorist called The Mandarin (featured prominently in the comic books as one of Iron Man's greatest villains). They also claim Marvel may throw a Thor cameo into the sequel to further tie The Avengers thing together, and also because Thor will debut his own film a couple of months later on July 4, 2010.

And the Bats???

Folks expected a huge opening take for Iron Man, but $201 million worldwide? Damn. And doesn't it feel a whole lot better when a film that makes that kinda money actually deserves to make that kind of money? Anyway, as expected, Marvel went absolutely nutty over this news and, while announcing quarter one profits, took some time to give us tentative release dates for Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America and The Avengers. Marvel Entertainment will not release a film in 2009, but first up in 2010 will be Iron Man 2 on April 30. Two months later, on July 4, 2010, Thor will debut in theaters. So, like this summer, we'll be getting two Marvel flicks in 2010 -- and if Thor wants to claim fourth of July weekend, that film better know how to kick some serious ass. You don't jump on July 4th without knowing you have a set -- know what I mean?

Similarly, in 2011, Marvel Entertainment will debut another two films. First, on May 6, 2011, we have The First Avenger: Captain America (new title I believe). Then, in July, the biggie -- The Avengers! There was no word of an Ant-Man film in there, though last we heard it was in development with Edgar Wright attached. Honestly, unless they push The Avengers to 2012, I don't see where Ant-Man could fit in. Additionally, I imagine we'll have to wait to see how well The Incredible Hulk does, seeing as they may want to sequel-ize that one too. Otherwise, Iron Man will be the only franchise to debut a sequel prior to an full-on Avengers flick.

Phew. Chime in, folks. What do you think about it all?

UPDATE: Cinematical was contacted by Penn's rep a little while ago, and informed that Zak is NOT writing Captain America. The wording in the interview made it sound that way (and the transcript was correct), but Penn was actually talking about being attached to The Avengers, not Captain America. Obviously this probably means David Self's script is still in the mix, and we'll update you when there's more info.

In a new interview over at ComicMix, writer-director Zak Penn talked up a ton of projects including his latest film The Grand (which I loved, and which you should see), as well as his geeky comic-related screenwriting projects like The Avengers, that X-Men spinoff flick (featuring the young X-Men), The Incredible Hulk, a new one called Bermuda Triangle and, finally ... Captain America? Oh yes, though he doesn't go into much detail (aside from saying he's attached), apparently Zak Penn is now the guy writing Captain America. (Not sure what happened to David Self?) And assuming Edward Norton doesn't sign on to star, Penn's final script may actually make it before cameras this time.

As far as The Avengers goes, Penn admits they're waiting for other Marvel characters to debut their solo films first, like Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, and they may even wait for Captain America as well. So with all those films still left to go before cameras, I'd get used to waiting ... patiently. Penn also talked up the X-Men spinoff story he's still attached to write and also direct; he says it involves "a younger group of X-Men at the beginning" and that "it's a little bit more of getting back to the classic X-Men." No word on when that will see the light of day.

It's good to see Penn is writing Captain America, because if he's the guy penning that Avenges movie, you'd like to see him involved in as many of these as possible. Of course, I'd like to hope he'll find time to stuff in another tiny mock like The Grand, if only to see which ridiculous character he has Werner Herzog play this time.

As fans continue to cringe whenever more talk of that planned Justice League of America movie creeps online, Marvel is taking a much different approach with regards to their long-awaited Avengers movie. Marvel refuses to move forth on an Avengers flick until all of the characters featured in said movie are well established on the big screen first. Two such characters, Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk, will debut new looks this summer, while plans to bring the characters of Captain America, Thor and Ant Man are already in the works. As of now, Zak Penn has been tapped to write The Avengers movie script, but no director has ever been announced (probably because the project is still a good two, three years away from becoming a reality). But when it finally comes time to bring someone in to helm, Iron Man director Jon Favreau would definitely like to be considered.

While speaking to MTV, Favreau confirmed that he thinks The Avengers movie is "a great idea" and that he might like to direct it. He also talked a bit about Marvel's intentions, saying, "[But] in the case of Marvel they're pretty clear on wanting to do it with the actors who've established the roles or to not do it at all. That's what they've said to me. I think it's a good idea if you use the characters established in the other franchises that then come together for an event. I don't think they would do it like they're doing 'Justice League' where it's a whole different set of actors and a whole different take on the world." Can I get an Amen on that one, brutha!

So what it sounds like (or at least what's been told to Favreau) is that Marvel will not move ahead with an Avengers movie unless those actors portraying the characters in their individual films reprise those roles for the film. Which is a flippin' fantastic idea, and one that makes sense for a number of reasons. See, as a fan, I'd be more than happy to wait a few years to get a comic team-up movie that was done the right way, like this, than settle for a rush job. And the question now is -- would you want Favreau behind the camera? Or will you hold off on forming an opinion until we see what he does with Iron Man?

Extra Tidbit: A future Avengers flick will apparently be teased in the new Iron Man film, as Samuel L. Jackson is said to be playing a small part as fellow comic hero, Nick Fury.

Over at CHUD, they're reporting that acclaimed actress Gena Rowlands was on television recently and mentioned that "her son was originally going to direct an Iron Man movie...he's now instead thinking of doing Captain America." Rowlands' son -- with legendary actor/director John Cassavetes -- is Nick Cassavetes. Nick doesn't really have any projects of this type on his resume, but he was attached to the awesome-looking Iron Man for quite a while before Jon Favreau took the reigns. Not to suggest that Rowlands is unreliable by any means, but for now just chalk this up as a tasty little rumor.

Nick Cassavetes has a pretty diverse filmography. Like his father, he was an actor before he started directing -- you might remember Nick as Dietrich Hassler in Face/Off -- a movie with some of the greatest character names of all time. He started his directing career with smaller films like Unhook the Stars and the interesting She's So Lovely, with John Travolta and Sean Penn. From there, he jumped to more commercial fare like the decent Denzel Washington flick John Q and the favorite movie of pretty much every female I know -- The Notebook. Most recently, he gave us the kinda ridiculous Alpha Dog, which featured an unintentionally hilarious performance by a fat-suit clad Sharon Stone. So the guy can do a lot of different kinds of material, sure. But do you think he'd be a good choice for Captain America? And we still don't have a cast for the thing -- who do you want to see step into the tights? This guy?

Whether you're a fan of comics, or just happen to watch superheroes on the big screen now and then, you've probably heard of Marvel. They've got almost all the biggies: Spider-Man, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Incredible Hulk, Captain America, Daredevil and Iron Man. And if you regularly read Cinematical, you know that at least a few movies are in production with these characters. Marvel Entertainment has now released their second quarter earnings for 2007, and have included the company's list of projects, which you can find over at SuperHeroHype.

We know all about some of them. Of course, under their character feature line-up, they've got my much-anticipated Wolverine, which we last blogged about a few days ago, and Punisher 2, which is going to be a do-over. Under the flicks in development, we've got Iron Man (which was very present in our ComicCon coverage) and The Incredible Hulk. But there's also a whole bunch of writers gearing up other super projects like Ant-Man by Edward Wright and Joe Cornish, Captain America by David Self, Nick Fury by Andrew Marlowe, Thor by Mark Protosevich and The Avengers by Zak Penn. There are also a few animated TV projects in the works -- Spider-Man, Wolverine and the X-Men and Iron Man, some direct-to-DVD projects -- Doctor Strange, Teen Avengers and Hulk Smash and video game projects for Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk.

And here's the kicker: Spider-Man the Musical. Yes, our webbed friend is going to hit the stage, and somehow I've missed the buzz that has been lurking around. Woops. It's not a terrible surprise that Spidey is jumping out of the screen, especially after all the success of Sam Raimi's last flick to get theatrical: Evil Dead: The Musical. Julie Taymor (Titus and Across the Universe) is going to direct the production, and the music will come from U2's Bono and The Edge -- that pretty much guarantees us some funky music and stunning sights. Unfortunately, there's no word on when we can expect to see the web stick to the stage.

The powers-that-be over at Marvel Comics have decided to kill off one of their most popular patriotic characters! According to AOL's Entertainment Division, Cap gets capped in the most recent issue of his comic book, and this is definitely the end of the road for Steve Rogers ... for the time being, anyway. (Don't get too bummed out, Marvelites, characters get re-killed and resurrected all the time in that universe; the extra drama helps to sell issues.) The saddest part of the whole story is the reaction from 93-year-old Captain America co-creator Joe Simon: "We really need him now," is what the aged artist had to say.

But even if ol' Captain A doesn't get a new comic book right away, Marvel has earmarked this character for his very own movie adpatation. (Yes, you get geek points for remembering that there already was a Captain America movie, but you lose those points (times two) if you actually liked that movie. Triple bonus points to anyone who's seen both of the 1979 made-for-TV CapAm movies!) So in honor of the red, white and blue-coated superhero, we ask you this: Who the heck would you cast as Captain America in a live-action movie? I would have said Thomas Jane if that guy didn't already have his own Marvel franchise to deal with, but how about somebody like Ryan Reynolds? Oh, he's still a possibility for the lead in that Flash movie? Okay, then you guys decide: Who'd be the perfect choice for this hero? (And to the hardcore fans: Who would you get to play Red Skull?)

The big-screen version of Justice League favorite The Flash seemed to be safely on its way to production; David Goyer was working on a script, and Ryan Reynolds had been attached as a possible lead. But now, it looks like there's been a definite bump in the road. Goyer has officially been removed from the Warner Bros. adaptation and has confirmed it on his MySpace page. Word came shortly after Joss Whedon informed us via a statement to whedonesque.com that he too has left Warner's Wonder Woman project.

Goyer notes: "The God's honest truth is that WB and myself simply couldn't agree on what would make for a cool Flash film. I'm quite proud of the screenplay I turned in. I threw my heart into it and I genuinely think it would've been the basis of a ground-breaking film. But as of now, the studio is heading off in a completely different direction. I expect you'll hear of some new developments on that front shortly."

You would have thought that Warner Bros. would have had some faith in Goyer since he has plenty of experience when it comes to comic book scripts. The man wrote the original treatment for Batman Begins and also provided the outline for Nolan's Batman sequel The Dark Knight . Goyer also has big-screen versions of Thor and Captain America in the pipeline. There's no word on who is replacing Goyer on the project, or whether Reynolds still has a shot at the lead. Since WB hasn't made their announcement yet, fans should speak now or forever hold their peace.

Top Thought of the Week -- The Ghost Rider team amuses me. I'm probably one of the five or so people on earth who really, really want to like this movie, and even I can't help but chuckle at them. Here's the deal. You're talking about a guy who admits to loving the Punisher flick. I'm willing to accept some high levels of cheese in my Marvel movies because -- let's all be honest here -- Marvel comic books are full of cheese. A level of goofiness is to be expected in nearly every Marvel story, and that's just how it is. The trick for movie directors is exactly the same as it is for comic book writers: Find a happy balance between action, drama, and yes, humor, and you'll be a success with the fans. The Spider-Man franchise is probably the best example of this balance ... possibly in both the books and the movies. If you want to be optimistic about the Ghost Rider flick, hold out hope for a strong script (yeah, I'm having trouble holding down the laughter, too) and solid acting performances.

The other rule you generally need to follow in creating Marvel comics is don't be Rob Liefeld. In other words -- make it pretty. You don't have to be the champion of all digital effects, but for goodness sake, don't look like an early 2000s video game. This has been a strong negative for the Ghost Rider camp lately, and their attempts to fight back against internet geeks vocally roasting their look is what has given me such amusement this past week. Nonetheless, hope springs eternal in this geek heart of mine.

Other stray thoughts, in no particular order: