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?

As if he didn't have enough to do, what with all the films he's signed on to and with all the goodwill he's involved in with partner Angelina Jolie and, most importantly, with twins on the way, Brad Pitt will be co-designing a hotel and resort to be built in Dubai. According to Bloomberg, the actor will be a consultant with L.A. architecture firm Graft LLC, which is designing the 800-room hotel-resort for developer Zabeel Properties. Pitt said in a statement: "Acting is my career; architecture is my passion." He also noted that the hotel will feature environmentally friendly architecture, and will also "embrace [his] career in entertainment," whatever that means. Pitt has already been associated with Graft, which is working with the actor on plans to rebuild a Katrina-devastated neighborhood in New Orleans with 150 environmentally friendly homes.

I was never aware of Pitt's interest in architecture (apparently he's a huge admirer of the work of Charles Rennie MacKintosh and Frank Lloyd Wright and is even friends with Frank Gehry), but if Marvel Studios is still interested in the actor for the role of The Mighty Thor, they might want to alter their plans and focus the superhero film on temporary- Thor-replacement-turned-independent-superhero Thunderstrike, whose alter ego is an architect named Eric Masterson. And Marvel might want to also remind Pitt that Dubai is also the future location of a Marvel theme park, too. Surely there could be some sort of tie-in with the planned hotel-resort.

[via Curbed]

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.)

When Marvel officially announced the release date for Thor last week (June 4, 2010), news quickly followed that Matthew Vaughn was no longer directing, a script was being fine-tuned and Marvel was in search of an actor to fill Thor's mighty shoes. Seeing as he's blonde, a very popular actor and has starred in films like Troy, the first name to pop into the minds of fanboys (and girls) everywhere was Brad Pitt. And whaddya know: Latino Review is saying this week that Pitt is at the top of Marvel's wishlist. Who woulda thunk it?

On paper, this does seem like a logical -- and realistic -- choice. Pitt is at a similar point in his career as Robert Downey Jr., Edward Norton and even Johnny Depp (who surprised fans by starring in three Pirates of the Caribbean films for Disney). If there ever was a right time for Pitt to take a leap and "do one for his kids," Thor would be that project -- especially since his gal Angelina has already starred in two Tomb Raider flicks. But then the guy would have to sign for at least three films (most likely), not to mention the fact that he'd need to be in phenomenal shape. Plus, perhaps Troy was Pitt's Thor, and maybe he's tired of all those giant blockbusters; maybe he'd rather do some smaller stuff.

However, then you look around Hollywood and, honestly, who else could play the Marvel superhero? Taking into consideration the move by Marvel to hire bigger names for their films, is there anyone else who could muscle-up and play Thor? Or is Pitt the only name that could truly bring this project to the next level?

There's all sorts of madness going on at Marvel right now in the wake of Iron Man's ridiculous opening weekend. Marvel's Kevin Feige was promoted to God and now it's time to start looking toward the future. While we await the release of Marvel's second self-financed flick (The Incredible Hulk) later this summer, The Hollywood Reporter tells us Matthew Vaughn is no longer directing Thor (currently scheduled to arrive in theaters on June 4, 2010, not July 4 as previously reported -- unless HR made a typo). According to HR, Vaughn's holding deal expired. In the meantime, Marvel is waiting for a script polish from writer Mark Protosevich (I Am Legend).

On what we should expect from Thor, Feige says, "It's very much a Marvel superhero story but against the backdrop of nothing you've seen before. " He then described the flick as a "period fantasy in the vein of The Lord of the Rings." Sounds pretty cool to me. Who do you think they should get to direct Thor? Heck, why not throw Peter Jackson on it -- I'm sure fans would freak over that one.

Additionally, and this is just a rumor right now, HR also claims that Hulk might be featured in Iron Man 2 (due out April 30, 2010). They don't go any further than that except to say we should expect cross-referencing in all these films now that Marvel has control over the movies its characters are in. However, one thing's NOT for sure right now -- and that's Robert Downey Jr.'s participation in the Iron Man sequel. He's signed on, but HR says Marvel may have to "sweeten the pot to reward the movie's star." Oh, they'll sweeten ... or else millions of fans will look to bring on a world of hurt.

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.

There are some comic book heroes I just can't envision on the big screen. One of these is Thor -- but Matthew Vaughn is still determined to do it. In an interview with Empire, he confirms that he's still on board and that the next move is up to Marvel. "We're in a holding pattern at the moment," he said. "It's up to Marvel, they have to decide if they want to make the movie and then we take it from there."

Marvel not want to make a comic book movie? Yeah, I don't think they're really going to duck out of that. Vaughn recognizes that the character is inherently a bit ridiculous, but is confident he can strike a balance between a faithful portrayal and updating that winged helmet. "I think you have to respect that it is comic book and silly to be frank, so you have to combine that with a modern style and hopefully come up with something fresh. I think we can come up with something special." Last September, he cited Gladiator as an inspiration, and scriptwriter Mark Protosevich sees the story in Biblical terms.

Vaughn also says he wants a total unknown to play the part -- I think this is the first buff hero movie that hasn't immediately had Gerard Butler's name attached to it. (Until someone picks this up and sees only "Butler" and "Thor" and runs it as a rumor.) Another Scottish actor, Kevin McKidd, was rumored to be in the running but is still in talks only for a secondary part.

Like I said, I can't really picture it. Even in epic Gladiator terms, I still see it as something that might have been made in the 1980's. Am I missing the awesomeness of the character? Feel free to flame me and tell me so, Thor fans.