In the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly, one sentence sparked a lot of conversation.

Marvel has thousands of characters to feed Disney's film, TV, and animation business (Pixar is said to already be eyeballing an Ant-Man movie). As Iron Man proved, they don't need to be iconic to become blockbusters.

Coming Soon reminds us all that many years ago British film producer Edgar Wright expressed a lot of interest in the Ant-Man title, and had even written a treatment for the comic on his own. Whether this will be a CG film or a live action movie, still remains to be seen. But given Ant-Man's incredible shrinking powers, an all-CG film may make the most sense. But then again, what can't Pixar do these days?

Perhaps the biggest revelation was that, despite the lackluster performance of last year's The Incredible Hulk, the character will indeed be returning for The Avengers. Considering the Hulk is a major player in almost every big Avengers story, from their sixties origins to Ultimates, his involvement had long been suspected, but this marks the first official confirmation. Feige also said another standalone Hulk movie is a possibility, but it would need to be more clearly linked with the other film franchises than the last one.

Indeed, with so many of their preceding projects in the newly dubbed Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) underway, Feige is now ready to begin serious work on The Avengers. He explained why the Hulk is returning and what progress has already been made on the movie:

It will have been four years since he was in a movie by that point. By 2012. I'd like to see him in it. I'm not being coy. We're just starting the story. I was on the phone with Zak Penn this morning. He's coming in next week and he's going to work on the outline this summer. It's so intertwined with what we're doing before it. I almost wanted to get done with production on Iron Man 2, and the scripts to Thor and The First Avenger: Captain America well underway, before we even started The Avengers.

Moving further afield, Feige confirmed that director Edgar Wright's Ant-Man project is still in the works. As would be expected from the co-writer and director of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, Feige emphasized the comedic aspects Wright looks to bring to the movie:

"I want to make Ant-Man one of these days. I think that'll be surprising and funny. I love Edgar Wright. What he likes about it is that when he says he's doing Ant-Man, people go, 'Ant-Man? What the hell is that?' I think that's funny."

It would appear absolutely no part of the Marvel Universe is off-limits for the films. In particular, Feige is hopeful Thor will open the door to the more mystical parts of Marvel:

"I think Doctor Strange would kick ass. I think we've done very well at this street level superhero aspect of the Marvel Universe. I think with Thor, you'll see us cracking into the cosmic side of the Marvel Universe in a very good way that's never been done before in our movies. I'd love to get into that supernatural element. I think that Doctor Strange could be a good lynchpin into that universe with 'Werewolf By Night'. Maybe with Blade again someday. I would like to see that side of the Marvel Universe on screen."

And he confirmed that the Thunder God's alter ego, Donald Blake, won't be appearing in Thor.

As for The First Avenger: Captain America, Feige focused on the casting rumors. He noted that there are very few actors that are both American and well known enough internationally to pull in foreign box office. At the same time, he noted the success of hiring a brilliant but previously non-blockbuster actor, like Robert Downey Jr., or having the freedom to choose an unknown from Australia, like Thor's Chris Hemsworth.

It would however appear that Will Smith is not in the running to play Captain America. Acknowledging the "Truth" storyline, which posited the existence of a black Captain America before Steve Rogers, Feige explained why they wanted to stick with the more iconic version of the character:

"I love the 'Truth' storyline. I think that's very cool. I wouldn't do that as a first Captain America movie though. I think that arc came about four or five hundred issues into the "Cap" run. I don't see us launching with that particular comic."

Finally, Feige touched upon what sort of movie The Avengers will be:

"I think The Avengers is going to have it's own vibe. It'll have a different tone than the other Marvel movies. It is about saving the world, because there's no other reason for characters that powerful to band together. I think the scope and the scale will feel like a much bigger thing."

And he said that Marvel aims to ramp up to putting out four movies a year, drawing on the company's diverse cast of characters. Iron Man 2 is due out May 7, 2010, while Thor and The First Avenger: Captain America are on track for May 20 and July 22 of 2011. The Avengers, which may or may not be the greatest thing in the history of cinema (not that I'm getting my hopes up or anything), is currently scheduled for May 4, 2012.

[Superhero Flix]

Director Edgar Wright (Shaun Of The Dead) explained to Piq Magazine that the film will be yet another superhero origins story but different, "because you've seen so many of them and we really tried to figure out a fresh take on that story. So it's definitely a Marvel film but it's got a little twist on it in terms of the way that it plays out."

In the past, Wright has mentioned that the film combines two major characters. My guess is Lang and O'Grady because this way Marvel can feature both the Avengers (which Lang was a member of) and super-spy agency S.H.I.E.L.D. (which O'Grady worked for). Besides who doesn't want to see the creepy guy use his powers for his own dirty little mind, while trying to be a good guy on the side? Plus if Wright goes with the O'Grady story line, maybe we'll get to see him cross wits with old-timey thief the Black Fox. [Piq Magazine via Cinematical]

Ant-Man has a sort of troubled history, even by superhero standards. The original Ant-Man was Hank Pym, a mentally ill inventor who served in the Avengers and also created the Avengers' worst enemy, the robot Ultron. Then a reformed thief, Scott Lang, took over as Ant-Man in the early 1980s. More recently, a total asswipe named Eric O'Grady stole an Ant-Man suit and dicked his way around through a dozen issues of The Irredeemable Ant-Man.

So which Ant-Man will we see in the movie? Earlier, Wright had hinted that Ant-Man would be both the Hank Pym and the Scott Lang versions, but now he says:

It could be Scott Lang, it could be Hank Pym, it could be both - okay it is both, now there's an exclusive for you.

Henry Pym has had what can only be described as a "checkered" past in Marvel's history. After discovering a group of subatomic particles that he calls "Pym Particles," he uses them to shrink himself down to ant size and almost gets eaten by a nest of angry six-leggers. Later, he invents a cybernetic helmet that lets him control the ants (and other insects), and goes public as Ant-Man, leading swarms of insects into battle. It probably didn't help matters that his lab assistant Janet becomes The Wasp, and they later get married.

Henry later discovers that he can grow as well as shrink, and later becomes Giant-Man, then Goliath, then he went a bit mental and become Yellowjacket. He also created the robot Ultron who turned into a major baddie, and Ultron in turn created the android Vision to destroy Henry and the Avengers, but Vision ends up turning good. Oh, and the Vision's brain patterns were based on the then-deceased Wonder Man's, who was in love with Wanda, the Scarlet Witch. However, he returns (as all comic characters do) only to find out that Wanda and the Vision are romantically involved. Awwwwkward!

Pym laments the creation of Ultron constantly, has to deal with his wife leaving him, and in The Ultimates he's a prozac-taking crybaby who beats his wife. Boy, the Marvel writers sure love to beat up on this guy.

Anyhow, what's interesting about Wright's script is that it'll involve two Ant-Men, both Henry Pym and Scott Lang. Lang was a former thief hired by Stark Enterprises (nice work Tony) to help install a security system in the Avengers mansion (again, nice work Tony). When he daughter fell seriously ill, he stole Henry Pym's ant man costume and gear and busted out the only doctor (who was being held captive) who could help his daughter. Pym saw what he'd done, and let him keep the Ant-Man stuff. What a guy. Maybe he'd remembered his antidepressants that day.

Anyhow, Scott serves as Ant-Man for awhile, then later gets killed by Jack of Hearts. His daughter Cassie takes up the cause as Stature, although she can grow and shrink on her own, without the helmet. Apparently she'd absorbed enough Pym particles from being around her dad. Hope they aren't habit-forming. That left Marvel without an Ant-Man though, but rest assured that there's another one.

Enter Eric O'Grady, a low-level S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who decides to steal Pym's Ant-Man gear when he finds it at his company's headquarters. You think that after it's been stolen once, they might keep things locked up a bit tighter. He parades around as The Irredeemable Ant-Man, although his title was canceled after 12 issues. But either he or someone in the suit will be back, because Marvel really loves to hate this character. Wright's film will probably feature some Ant-Man vs. Ant-Man showdowns, which we wouldn't mind seeing, especially with his irreverent sense of humor. Time to start inhaling those Pym particles.

[ComicBookMovie]