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Movies based on characters from comics published by DC and Marvel took a summer sabbatical this year -- I'm trying really hard to pretend X-Men Origins: Wolverine was only a bad dream -- but the next couple of summers promise a healthy dash of costumed superheroes to liven up movie theaters. As noted in a post earlier today, next summer will see the return of Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark in Jon Favreau's Iron Man 2. Two summers hence will feature the big-screen debut of Kenneth Branagh's vision of Thor, with Chris Hemsworth playing the hammer-wielding Norse god and Tom Hiddleston as his adopted brother / arch-nemesis Loki, followed by Joe Johnston's adventure The First Avenger: Captain America, set primarily during World War II. And 2012 will finally bring superhero team-up The Avengers, plus another unspecified movie. Could it be Edgar Wright's Ant-Man? Or something else?

Without being an expert on any of these characters -- for that I bow gratefully to our own Elisabeth Rappe -- from strictly a movie fan's perspective, I'm most anticipating The First Avenger: Captain America. That's because director Joe Johnston hasn't let me down yet, and the film's World War II setting and sense of wholesome, patriotic adventure play to his strengths. But the more I think about these projects, the more I like the variety of settings and styles. Sure, they're all superheroes, but there's plenty of room for the films to establish their own identities.

What do you think? What's your most anticipated Marvel movie? Feel free to suggest other characters that should have their own movie in the comments.

Above: Check out new logos for the upcoming Marvel films from E3, via AICN

The Marvel movie slate for the next couple of years has been firmly established: Iron Man 2 in May 2010, Thor in May 2011, and The First Avenger: Captain America in July 2011, with The Avengers to follow in Summer 2012. Kevin Feige, the company's president of production, revealed at an industry conference this weekend that another new Marvel movie will be released in 2012, according to First Showing, and also provided tidbits of information about their other projects.

• Iron Man 2: The goal is to carry over the humor and tone of the first film, while adding more characters and upping the action. Scarlett Johannson's character has "two sides," and the actress is signed for multiple movies.
• Thor: No Shakespearean dialogue (per Kenneth Branagh's wishes)! No Don Blake! Primarily set on Earth (though also on Asgard and "other worlds")! How exactly is that going to work? No idea!
• The First Avenger: Captain America: Will be "primarily" set during World War II. With Joe Johnston at the helm, Feige described the picture in terms of the director / visual effects designer's past work (The Rocketeer, October Sky, Star Wars). Sidekick Bucky will appear "in some capacity."
• The Avengers: Captain America will be involved in the plot "from the get go."
• Ant-Man: Edgar Wright will be submitting another draft after he completes Scott Pilgrim.

Feige "Feige kept saying often that he'd love for audiences to have the same experience that comic book readers have - where characters make surprise appearances almost out of nowhere in issues they pick up." To be continued...

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.

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?