OK, we still got the teaser trailer to Avengers: Age of Ultron during tonight’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as promised. But as we know, and thanks to HYDRA, the first look footage was leaked last week and forced Marvel to officially release it before its original planned debut. For what it’s worth, despite the early leak, the sanctioned HD trailer still managed to turn lemons into lemonade and break online records with 34.3 million global views in 24 hours.

To add to Marvel’s massive movie announcements this morning, they still had something to show tonight to lead into the trailer for Avengers: Age of Ultron. In the quick scene (albeit previously screened in Hall H  at San Diego Comic Con) that reads 100% Joss Whedon, we join the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes after a party in Avengers Tower as they take turns trying to lift Mjölnir, Thor’s hammer that is, off a coffee table. Wackiness ensues until party buzzkill Ultron shows up, sounding all sorts of awesome with James Spader’s haunting voice.

Avengers: Age of Ultron is set for May 1st in 3D. Directed and written by Joss Whedon, the film’s all-star cast includes Robert Downey Jr (Iron Man), Chris Evans (Captain America), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Mark Ruffalo (Hulk), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Scarlett Johannson (Black Widow), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlet Witch), James Spader (Ultron), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Quicksilver), Paul Bettany (Vision), Don Cheadle (Rhodey) and Andy Serkis.

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We just got our first footage look at Avengers: Age of Ultron, now lets check out the teaser poster for the film with the tagline “Assemble 2015.”

Avengers: Age of Ultron is set for May 1st in 3D. Directed and written by Joss Whedon, the film’s all-star cast includes Robert Downey Jr (Iron Man), Chris Evans (Captain America), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Mark Ruffalo (Hulk), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Scarlett Johannson (Black Widow), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlet Witch), James Spader (Ultron), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Quicksilver), Paul Bettany (Vision), Don Cheadle (Rhodey) and Andy Serkis.

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“You’re all puppets tangled in strings. Now I’m free. There are no strings on me,“ says Ultron in James Spader’s hypnotic robotic voice.

Christmas came early for all us Avengers fans. The good news is that we have the highly anticipated first look at the Avengers: Age of Ultron teaser trailer six days than expected. And boy is it a ride down a dark depressing road. But it comes to us early not the way it was originally intended. A relatively good quality European version of the two-minute trailer was leaked online earlier today, which could not have pleased the Disney and Marvel Studios suits one bit, whom had planned to debut the trailer during next Tuesday’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Though we can assume there were some furious execs over at Disney who had hoped for the trailer’s TV debut on ABC to have fans flocking to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on the 28th, there was nonetheless a rather tongue-in-cheek tweet that came from Marvel that addressed the situation by simply stating “Dammit, Hydra” an hour before releasing the official HD version. Well played.

OK, enough of this. Check out the trailer!

What do we get?  Well there’s plenty of dark depressing imagery. The Avengers appear to be a broken team. There has been a lot of catastrophic damage inflicted to cities all around the world. We have some quick shots of Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch and Arron Taylor Johnson as Quicksilver using their powers. Bruce Banner seems out of sorts, and out of spirit. Our glimpses of Ultron is in a tattered stage of evolution in Iron Man spare parts when he approaches Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in Avengers Tower and then decapitates a drone. Some long awaited teaser shots of the Hulk versus Tony Stark’s Hulkbuster armor looks pretty bad ass and as epic as anticipated. And it looks like a Andy Serkis (in an as yet unannounced role) made the cut as well.

We may have had a pretty good idea of what James Spader’s unmistakable voice would bring to Ultron, but the reality of how he sounds here is absolutely chilling as these lines are delivered in voice-over. “I’m going to show you something beautiful: Everyone screaming for mercy. Want to protect the world but don’t want it to change? You’re all puppets tangled in strings. Now I’m free. There are no strings on me.“

And that re-interpretation of “I’ve Got No Strings” from 1940’s Pinocchio that plays in the background? Not creepy at all. Fret not, we can assume Disney has the rights to the song.

Marvel also released a full synopsis of the film:

Marvel Studios presents “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” the epic follow-up to the biggest Super Hero movie of all time. When Tony Stark tries to jumpstart a dormant peacekeeping program, things go awry and Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, including Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye, are put to the ultimate test as the fate of the planet hangs in the balance. As the villainous Ultron emerges, it is up to The Avengers to stop him from enacting his terrible plans, and soon uneasy alliances and unexpected action pave the way for an epic and unique global adventure.

Marvel’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron” stars Robert Downey Jr., who returns as Iron Man, along with Chris Evans as Captain America, Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Mark Ruffalo as The Hulk.  Together with Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow and Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, and with the additional support of Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury and Cobie Smulders as Agent Maria Hill, the team must reassemble to defeat James Spader as Ultron, a terrifying technological villain hell-bent on human extinction. Along the way, they confront two mysterious and powerful newcomers, Wanda Maximoff, played by Elizabeth Olsen, and Pietro Maximoff, played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and meet an old friend in a new form when Paul Bettany becomes Vision.

Written and directed by Joss Whedon and produced by Kevin Feige, Marvel’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron” is based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series “The Avengers,” first published in 1963. Louis D’Esposito, Alan Fine, Victoria Alonso, Jeremy Latcham, Patricia Whitcher, Stan Lee and Jon Favreau serve as executive producers. Get set for an action-packed thrill ride when The Avengers return in Marvel’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron” on May 1, 2015.

Dammit, Hydra.

— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) October 22, 2014

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With the incredibly well done Captain America: The Winter Soldier set for digital download on August 19th and home release on Blu-ray and DVD on September 9th, Marvel has released two deleted scenes that will be among  the many Special Features.

The first scene questions the loyalty of Agent Maria Hill, a popular character played by Cobie Smulders that has bridged the Marvel big and small screen with appearances in The Avengers and ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (in addition her role in The Winter Soldier). The second clip spotlights Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford) ordering the manhunt for the fugitive Captain America.

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Brolin has been linked to the role since late May via various trades, and the internet being the internet, fan sites had been reporting the casting as fact since then. The actor was actually only officially confirmed for the role by Marvel at Comic-Con when he took the stage with his fellow Avengers cast mates and wearing an Infinity Gauntlet replica.

The five-minute Marvel’s Phase 1 & 2 – A Look Back is an impressive retrospective of the vast cinematic story arc that began with 2008’s Iron Man. Each “Phase” concludes with an installment of The Avengers. Guardians of the Galaxy is the last film in this cycle before Avengers: Age of Ultron concludes Phase Two. I didn’t make mention of Brolin’s big screen debut as the Mad Titan in my review of GoTG yesterday since I considered it a bit of a spoiler, even though Thanos does appear and factor into the plot.

But since the cat is out of the bag, here’s what Brolin looks like as Thanos with the assistance of some CGI and performance capture. You can also see the footage from where the still originated from at the end of the Phase 1 & 2 – A Look Back video below.

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Yesterday we shared the first six concept art posters from Avengers: Age of Ultron that are available to fans attending Comic-Con. What made news was the surprise and subtle reveal of The Vision floating atop the Quicksilver image.

The final two images featuring the heavy hitters of the Avengers have been released today, which when interconnected with the previous posters, form one massive battle scene of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes versus Ultron and his army of drones.

Check out Thor and Hulk versus the Ultron army plus the completed awesome battle image!

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Marvel has been releasing pairs of concept art posters from Avengers: Age of Ultron each day of Comic-Con and have been available for fans to take home. So far we have images of Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Black Widow (Scarlet Johannson), Captain America (Chris Evans), Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner).

We’re seeing Earth’s Mightiest Heroes fighting it out against Ultron and his deadly army of duplicate drones, and if there’s a scene like this in the movie, it’s probably going to be nothing less than pretty epic. The entire collection of posters will interconnect into one massive poster. Today’s reveals showcase Quicksilver and Hawkeye.  Only two more to go to finish the poster puzzle.

Check out who’s floating in the air above Quicksilver. Looks like there’s our first peek at The Vision played by Paul Bettany!

Avengers: Age of Ultron is set for May 1st in 3D. Directed and written by Joss Whedon, the film’s all-star cast includes Robert Downey Jr (Iron Man), Chris Evans (Captain America), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Mark Ruffalo (Hulk), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Scarlett Johannson (Black Widow), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlet Witch), James Spader (Ultron), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Quicksilver), Paul Bettany (Vision), Don Cheadle (Rhodey) and Andy Serkis.

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Entertainment Weekly revealed the cover to their Comic-Con Preview Issue today that featured a group image from Avengers: Age of Ultron. In addition to sneak peek looks at Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark (Iron Man) and Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers (Captain America), we also got our very first official reveal of Ultron (James Spader).

The mag also has exclusive images from the film, revealing Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch, Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s Quicksilver, new costumes for Hawkeye, Black Widow and Captain America, plus a surprise appearance from Don Cheadle as Colonel James Rhodes in what looks to be Avengers Tower!

Avengers: Age of Ultron is set for May 1st in 3D. Directed and written by Joss Whedon, the film’s all-star cast includes Robert Downey Jr (Iron Man), Chris Evans (Captain America), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Mark Ruffalo (Hulk), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Scarlett Johannson (Black Widow), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlet Witch), James Spader (Ultron), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Quicksilver), Paul Bettany (Vision), Don Cheadle (Rhodey) and Andy Serkis.

SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly

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It looks like we have met the Mad Titan. Latino Review broke the news that Josh Brolin has been cast as Thanos and will be featured in Marvel Studios upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy. Variety later confirmed the scoop but there has been no official word yet from Marvel.

Brolin will provide the voice of the big purple villain (who made that brief cameo in the bonus scene in The Avengers) and join the cast of actors who will help bring CGI characters to life from behind the mic, including Bradley Cooper as Rocket Raccoon and Vin Diesel as Groot.

“We’re definitely connected to Avengers 3,” GOTG director James Gunn told Entertainment Weekly and described Thanos as “the head of the snake.”

It is expected that Thanos will also appear in some capacity in next summer’s Avengers: Age of Ultron to build up steam for the main event showdown in Avengers 3.

He is typically associated with the Infinity Gauntlet, which bestows god-like powers to its possessor. A running subplot throughout cinematic Marvel Universe has involved collecting elements that have been speculated will be among the six Infinity Elements that empower the magical glove.

The Tesseract was featured in both Captain America: The First Avenger and The Avengers. The Aether was the evil power source in Thor: The Dark World and used as a story bridge to Guardians of the Galaxy in the bonus scene featuring Benicio Del Toro teaser cameo as The Collector. The Gauntlet also made a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance in Thor, seen in Odin’s Vault.

Guardians of the Galaxy hits theaters on August. 1 and stars Chris Pratt (Star-Lord), Zoe Saldana (Gamora), Dave Bautista (Drax), Lee Pace (Ronan the Accuser), Karen Gillan (Nebula), Glenn Close (Nova Prime), Benicio Del Toro (The Collector), Michael Rooker (Yondu), John C. Reilly (Rhomann Dey), Djimon Hounsou (Korath the Persuer), plus the voices of Bradley Cooper (Rocket Raccoon) and Vin Diesel (Groot).

SOURCES: Latino Review, Variety, Entertainment Weekly

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Captain America’s sophomore solo outing boasts a dense plot that has the First Avenger involved with uncovering deep seeded conspiracies that can be traced to the highest levels of S.H.I.E.L.D., who also marked him as a wanted man and facing off with a ghost from his distant past.

Marvel’s darker tone in Phase Two has allowed their big screen solo films to really flourish. We are past both all of the origin stories and first all-star adventure in The Avengers, so now these characters can really cut loose and (except for Iron Man 2), the sequels have consistently found ways to improve on the originals. Captain America: The Winter Solider may be the best entry in the entire Marvel series and ranks as one of the smartest comic book films to date as a entertaining espionage thriller with plenty of exciting action.

Captain Steve Rogers is still getting used to the modern world. He carries around a pen and pad to keep a written list of things he missed during his decades on ice. His mission with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in The Avengers let us see how he initially adjusted to his man out of time scenario. To Joss Whedon’s credit, we were fortunate to get any character development out of Cap while balancing such a large ensemble cast of heroes and villains. In this sequel, we re-join a Rogers who is a far more developed character. The film masterfully builds upon the established big screen history from serviceable origin story in 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger, which took the enlisted Brooklyn weakling from World War II to present day. Make no mistake: The Winter Soldier is THE Captain America movie we’ve been waiting for and Evans proves more than ever how good he is in the role.

Directing brothers Anthony and Joe Russo have Rogers utilizing the full physical potential of his super solder serum enhanced body, which is here is a brutal weapon. Cap can level a dozen S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives in an elevator, take a parachute-less skydive from a military transport, and use his indestructible Vibranium shield as a virtual extension of his body. It’s comic book Cap literally brought to life as Rogers throws his mighty shield at enemies and have it return to his grasp with boomerang-like precision, uses it to deflect barrages of enemy gunfire, and protect him from tons of fallen rubble.

He is completely in tune with his enhanced abilities. He is the perfect and deadliest of soldiers. The film benefits from the larger Marvel playground that has been rapidly expanding since 2008’s Iron Man. The razor sharp screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFelly utilizes a wide (and sometimes unexpected) cast of established supporting characters. Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson/Flacon is by no means a convenient sidekick. Mackie’s chemistry with Evans is seamless, and hits it off from very the moving first scene in the movie.

In her third big screen appearance, Scarlet Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff finally gets her due, having suffered from being sorely overmatched by rubbing shoulders with gods, monsters and aliens. Her super powerless presence in The Avengers wasn’t the best of situations to showcase her too human skills set. But by placing her alongside Rogers, Falcon and S.H.I.E.L.D. in this grounded spy scenario, it allows Black Widow to finally break out, kick ass and confront her past as a KGB assassin.

Samuel L. Jackson’s S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury gets some long overdue and well deserved character development as well after too many extended cameos of barking out orders in a black leather trench coat. Fury has a full subplot that adds a layer to the dense conspiracy and works well with Robert Redford, who brings a welcome cold steel presence to the cast as senior S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Alexander Pierce.

Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson / The Falcon is by no means a throw away or one-off sidekick, who spreads his mechanics military wings to soar for impressive aerial sequences. From the first scene in the film, his camaraderie with Rogers is set, and proves to be a vital key throughout film. Sebastian Stan reprises his role as Bucky Barnes, now the formidable and menacing Winter Soldier. In another smart aspect of the screenplay, Rogers is forced to confront many echoes from his past, including his best friend from the ’40s who is now also living in the present day and playing on the opposite team.

The overall scope is a game changer here in relation to larger Marvel continuity, even more so than the compartmentalized upheaval suffered by Tony Stark in Iron Man 3. While The Winter Soldier never comes off as anything but big, the enormous third act finale is well worth its steady build up. The narrative consequences will have to be addressed in Avengers: Age of Ultron and cannot be ignored in ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., further strengthening Marvel’s overall mission of making each film count in the grand story arc.

With snappy dialogue, a few fun notable winks to the fans, plenty of spectacular action sequences and incredible interplay among the large ensemble cast, Captain America: The Winter Soldier completely succeeds as a comic book movie while doing double duty as a non-stop old school tense espionage thriller. It’s also easily the most violent of the series, there is no hiding the high body count. The top-notch screenplay is incredibly smart, and even clocking in at over two hours, the film manages to maintain a perfect pace. Throw in an entertaining huge finale and two bonus end credits scenes, what you have is a crowning achievement in the already well-oiled Marvel movie machine.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier  opens in 2D, 3D and IMAX on April 4th.

REVIEW RATING: ★★★★½★
Director: Anthony Russo & Joe Russo
Starring: Chris Evans, Scarlet Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Redford, Cobie Smulders, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan
Screenwriters: Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely
Studio: Disney & Marvel Studios
Rated: PG-13
Running Time: 136 minutes

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