Home Posts filed under >Marvel
We're not big comic guys, at least this writer isn't, but one of the few series that has kept us engaged in the last few years is Marvel's "Runaways." The series, originally created by Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona, follows five L.A. teenagers who discover that their parents are actually a group of supervillains, The Pride, who control the Californian criminal underworld. Discovering their own special abilities, they go on the run and work to bring down their parents.
It probably shouldn't work, but it generally does, thanks to consistently smart writing, a genuinely compelling cast of characters, and a keen understanding of teen issues and concerns. It's long been a natural fit for film adaptation, and Marvel are set to make it the first film of their second, post-"The Avengers" wave, appointing "Raising Victor Vargas" director Peter Sollett, and "No Heroics" writer Drew Pearce, to bring it to screens, with filming set to kick off early next year.
Last week saw Keke Palmer, star of tween series "True Jackson, VP," linked to the project, and now Movieweb (via /Film) have a report of another young actor that you won't have heard of if you're old enough to drive a car who may be involved -- Lucas Cruickshank. Cruickshank is a seventeen-year-old who created the popular YouTube comedy character "Fred," a high-pitched child who fucks around not really doing much, and unfortunately failing to get into any serious, life-threatening accidents.
The character's stacked up millions of hits to date, and graduated to a full-length Nickelodeon movie in September, and it was in an interview to plug the latter that Cruickshank revealed that he was up for "Runaways." He told Movieweb that "I auditioned for that a couple of months ago, but I don't know. It was a really fun audition. So I will just wait and see what happens." Cruickshank seems like a decent fit for Chase Stein, the oldest of the runaways, a rebellious jock.
To be honest, we wouldn't bet on hearing any more on this one: even Cruickshank admits that it's a few months since he heard from Marvel, and we can only hope that, like us, the casting directors would have had an instantaneous reaction to beat his head in with a claw hammer. But then again, we're living in a world where Zack Snyder is directing "Superman." If Marvel are convinced on casting a YouTube sensation in the role, might we politely suggest Bo Burnham ("Funny People"), who's got a better look for the role. And, you know, talent.
Last we heard, Marvel's "Runaways" was set to being shooting next March, but buzz on the project has curiously been zero. No casting rumors at all and essentially no chatter around what should be a film with heavy geek interest.
At any rate, the buzz should start to build again as it looks like casting is indeed underway as Keke Palmer ("True Jackson, VP") tells Essence magazine that she's been asked to join the film saying, "['True Jackson, VP'] had me tied up so much that I haven't been able to do much of anything else. But before the show I did a lot of films, so I'm familiar with it. But I'm ready to go back. I've had a nice little break with the steady TV show but I'm definitely ready to do some more films again. I was just asked to join a new Marvel comic project called, 'Runaways.'"
The project is interesting for a couple of reasons. Firstly, Peter Sollet ("Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist," "Raising Victor Vargas") has been tapped to direct, which is intriguing given that he has essentially no action or special effects experience. But given that the film has been called "'The Breakfast Club' with superheroes," it seems like the right choice. Additionally, this will be the first Marvel film to hit with what could arguably be called unknown characters. "Iron Man" these kids are not. The story revolves around a group of teenagers who discover their parents are part of an evil crime group called Pride.
The last issue had the film under the title "Small Faces," but we're guessing that's a production code name, not an official title switch. But it definitely appears that offers are going out and a March shoot seems to be on target. The film was written by Brian K. Vaughn ("Lost") and has not yet been slotted with an official release date, but expect it sometime in 2012.
It seems that Marvel is looking at their huge roster of comic characters and saying, "Fuck it, they all get a movie!"
Speaking at a press conference today for the release of "Iron Man 2" on DVD/Blu-ray, Marvel head Kevin Feige confirmed that a Black Widow spinoff is in the works saying, “We’ve already started discussions with Scarlett [Johansson] about the idea of a solo movie and have begun putting together concepts, but 'The Avengers' comes first.”
Really? We can't say we're too thrilled about this, mostly because we're going to have to endure countless rumors about villains, casting and where it will fit in the huge Marvel movie timeline until the thing officially gets the go ahead which, judging by Feige's statement, seems to be a bit of a ways off.
As for the character, we're not particularly eager for a standalone movie centered around Black Widow, particularly as played by Johansson who can fill out spandex quite admirably, but brought all the personality of Wonder bread to her turn in "Iron Man 2." But perhaps she'll improve when she starts filming "The Avengers" next year; at the very least, there will be twice as many other things going on in that movie to help prop her up. [ScreenRant]
We're not big comic guys, at least this writer isn't, but one of the few series that has kept us engaged in the last few years is Marvel's "Runaways." The series, originally created by Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona, follows five L.A. teenagers who discover that their parents are actually a group of supervillains, The Pride, who control the Californian criminal underworld. Discovering their own special abilities, they go on the run and work to bring down their parents.
