As Marvel kicks off Phase Two with a bang this weekend with the release of director Shane Black’s excellent Iron Man 3, the studio is now looking ahead to the end of Phase Two and beyond.  Over the years, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has frequently talked about the possibility of a feature film adaptation of the comics character Doctor Strange.  While Marvel was focused on introducing audiences to their new approach to superhero movies with Phase One, Thor and The Avengers opened the door to more cosmic-geared stories, and Phase Two is heavy on the otherworldly with Thor: The Dark World and Guardians of the Galaxy.  As such, the inclusion of Doctor Strange—a practicing sorcerer who wields magical powers—seems like a swell fit in the near future.

Steve recently sat down with Kevin Feige for an extended interview, and during the course of their wide-ranging conversation Feige offered a promising update on the impending Doctor Strange movie.  Feige said that they are now actively working on the film, and it should be one of the next Marvel movies following the beginning of Phase Three.  Hit the jump to read on.

Of the many cool things that Marvel did at Comic-Con, I was most intrigued by the Ant-Man test footage.  The basic premise of Ant-Man (a man who can shrink to the size of an ant fights crime) is not guaranteed to work on film.  But the word on the street says director Edgar Wright nailed out the big/small transition effects, and I want to see for myself.  Marvel executive Victoria Alonso implies that I will probably get my wish.  Alonso told our partners at Omelete (roughly translated):

“What we showed at Comic-Con was a work in progress.  We’re working on finishing it, and I think you might see it.  Not sure where, but we always listen to the fans.  And if the fans demand it we make sure they get it.  I don’t know if we are going to post it online, but I don’t have [any reason] to believe we may not.”

So please demand it.  For my sake.  Hit the jump for more from Alonso, including confirmation that Wright will direct and a comment on the Viggo Mortensen/Doctor Strange rumor.

It’s rumor time!  As Marvel Studios launches further into “Phase Two” of their film slate, we’re likely to be vetting quite a few rumors over the next few years.  While most of these turn out to be false (look over the long road to The Avengers), a few here and there are solid.  A rather tantalizing rumor has now surfaced with regards to director Alan Taylor’s (Game of Thrones) sequel Thor: The Dark World, and we figured it was worth sharing.

Production on that film is currently underway in London and we already know that Christopher Eccleston is onboard as villain Malekith the Accursed, but now murmurs are making their way around the interwebs that Thor: The Dark World could also see an appearance from another major Marvel character: Dr. Strange.  Hit the jump for more.

As most of you know, I recently did an epic hour-long video interview with director Guillermo del Toro, and over the past two weeks I’ve been breaking it down into smaller segments. For today’s installment, del Toro talks about his rumored Dr. Strange movie with Neil Gaiman, how the 24/7 news cycle of the internet has changed the way projects get reported,  the length of time it really takes to get a movie made, how many projects he’s been developing have never leaked, his thoughts on what it will take to make a kick-ass video game adaptation and the inherent difficulty in transitioning to movie screens, and more.  In addition, for all you Halo fans, del Toro talks about the Halo movie he developed with D.B. Weiss, who is now very famous for HBO’s Game of Thrones.  Hit the jump for more.

With Marvel and Disney’s The Avengers opening around the world in the coming weeks, last night was the world premiere in Hollywood and it was also the first time members of the press were shown the film.  As you may have already read on my Twitter feed, I loved it and think Joss Whedon delivered a movie that both fans and casual moviegoers are going to love.  Also, it’s really funny and it has the best action of any Marvel movie thus far.

Anyway, just an hour ago I got to sit down with Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige.  Since I already posted an in depth conversation with him when I visited the set of The Avengers last year, I decided to use my limited time to discuss Marvel’s future projects like Iron Man 3, Thor 2, Captain America 2, the Avengers sequel and whether Joss Whedon is signed to come back, what movies are coming in 2014 and 2015, Ant-Man, Dr. Strange, if Marvel is making an animated movie, another Hulk movie, and so much more.  Hit the jump for more.

As the Summer of Superheroes comes to an end with the release of Captain America: The First Avenger, audiences are starting to look to next year and beyond to see what costumed good-looking people will be gracing our theaters in the coming summers. While we expect more sequels to superheroes we’ve already been introduced to (and reboots of superheroes we’ve grown tired of), there may be a couple new superheroes on the way as well.

We’ve known that Marvel has been developing films based on lesser-known characters for a while now, but we’ve recently seen some movement on these “in-development” titles. Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish just turned in the latest draft for Ant-Man, and now word comes that a script for the Doctor Strange movie has been completed and Marvel is currently looking for a director. Hit the jump for more details.

Not long ago, once Marvel Studios had proved itself as a major player in the summer tentpole game, a slate was released for all of the upcoming films from the new studio. Fans relished the thought of seeing Thor, Captain America and The Avengers on the big screen. Well, after this summer only one new film on that slate will be left (The Avengers) and audiences are left wondering: what will Marvel do next? Thankfully, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige recently talked about the future of the studio and what flicks are on the horizon.

In addition to confirming sequels for Thor and Captain America (set in modern-day, no less) he discussed possible spinoffs for Black Widow, Hawkeye and S.H.I.E.L.D as well as the long-talked-about Dr. Strange movie. Hit the jump to see what he had to say.

Ever since Disney bought Marvel just over a year ago, the thought of a Pixar/Marvel union has been on our minds.  Disney has demonstrated an eagerness to spread the Pixar influence throughout their development slate, siccing key creatives on Tron: Legacy and The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever Made.  And you know, Disney and Marvel have begun work on their first in-house collaboration, Doctor Strange.  Any chance Pixar could get in on that action?

Well, maybe.  So says comic artist Brendan McCarthy, who recently teamed Stephen Strange, M.D. with Peter Parker for a limited series titled Spider-Man: Fever.  Read his comments after the jump.

Even though they merged almost a year ago, Disney and Marvel are now moving forward with their first in-house property: Dr. Strange.  Deadline reports that Marvel has hired Conan screenwriters Thomas Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer to pen the adaptation of the “Sorcerer Supreme”/Greenwich Village resident.  Strange is a standout in the Marvel Universe due to his use of magic and his range of trippy powers that don’t rely on physical strength.

Dr. Strange has been trying to reach the big screen for quite some time.  It’s been through Savoy Pictures, Columbia, Dimension and Paramount.  It’s attracted writers and directors including Guillermo del Toro, Stephen Norrington, David Goyer, and Wes Craven.  Donnelly and Oppenheimer are now part of that line and maybe they’ll be the last ones if this merger works like the two companies hope it will.  The two writers are also responsible for the adaptation of the video game Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune and they also turned in a draft of Jon Favreau’s Cowboys & Aliens.  Hit the jump to learn more about Dr. Strange.

Disney’s Marvel Studios is looking to press its advantage over Warner Bros’ DC Entertainment in the Marvel-DC comic book cinema wars.  Only two years away from releasing the ambitious The Avengers, Marvel is looking to expand its cavalcade of stars.  All the familiar faces (Iron Man, Fantastic Four, Captain America, etc.) have headlined or will headline their own feature-length films.  Now, according to a rumor that Latino Review attributes to a well-placed source, executives at Disney/Marvel are considering making short, ten-minute films that introduce lesser known superheroes (like Luke Cage or Dr. Strange) that would play before features like Thor or Captain America: The First Avenger.  Until we see the press release, this report is more speculation than anything else.  That said, hit the jump to hear my thoughts on it.

With the rising popularity of comic book movies, it’s no surprise Marvel Studios wants to develop more feature films using other characters in the Marvel Universe.  While the studio currently releases one film a year, I believe the long term plan is to eventually release two films a year.  And now that the studio has merged with Disney, I’m sure the pressure is on to reach that goal as the more Marvel movies that get released, the more both studios can benefit from merchandising sales and added home video revenue.

While Marvel has only been releasing big tent pole movies like Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, The First Avenger: Captain America and they’re currently getting The Avengers ready, it’s possible the studio is going in a completely new and interesting direction for some future movies like Dazzler, Dr. Strange, Ka-Zar, Luke Cage and even Power Pack!  Hit the jump for more.

Earlier today, Hayley Atwell was cast as the female lead in The First Avenger: Captain America.  When geek news like this breaks, I’ll often talk to Peter from Slashfilm on the phone and we’ll tell each other what we think.  It’s conversations like these that originally led to us to record our first video blogs.  After a few minutes of talking today, we realized with the recent announcement of Joss Whedon on The Avengers movie, we both had a lot to say about not only Captain America and The Avengers, but the future of Marvel movies and the choices the studio has made and might make in the future.

Cut to us recording an extended video blog.

Some of the things we discussed were Marvel casting choices, who should direct Marvel movies, the pros and cons of Joss Whedon, casting unknowns versus movie stars, what’s up with Ant-Man and is Edgar Wright going to direct it, is Marvel being cheap with their actors and directors, did Jon Favreau get offered Avengers, Thor talk, Runaways talk, will the merger of Marvel and Disney lead to a Pixar Marvel movie, why hasn’t someone hired Brian K. Vaughan to direct a movie, and I try and pitch a show called “The Marvel Universe” and how it would be a perfect fit on ABC.

If you’re a fan of Marvel movies, or just like watching two geeks talk, check out our epic video blog on the future of Marvel movies.