After a bit of legal hassle, the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One – Avengers Assembled Blu-ray box set is set for release on April 2.  The 10-disc set features the six Marvel movies Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, and The Avengers.

A bunch of pictures of the box set and the contents inside have surfaced online.  In addition to all the movies and special features, the box set suitcase offers Captain America trading cards, Thor’s drivers license, and a bar napkin note from Tony Stark among other goods.  A sticker also promises an exclusive look at Iron Man 3 and Phase Two.  See all the images after the jump or click here to buy it on Amazon.

Over the past couple of weeks, Marvel has been releasing bits and pieces from the special features that will be included on the upcoming Blu-ray release of The Avengers, but the studio was also planning to release an ultimate collector’s set to coincide with The Avengers’ home video release. “Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One – Avengers Assembled” was announced earlier this year as a collector’s Blu-ray set that included all the Marvel films that have been released thus far—Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, and The Avengers—on Blu-ray in one handy box set.

One of the draws to the bundle was its briefcase-like packaging that mirrored the case containing the all-important Tesseract from The Avengers.  It was a neat idea and superfans were eager to get their hands on it, but there was just one problem: Marvel neglected to get permission from the briefcase’s maker to reproduce and distribute it to hundreds of thousands of fans.  As such, the release of the collector’s set has been halted indefinitely.  Hit the jump for more. [Update: More info follows after the jump.]

Last month, Marvel announced that they’ll be releasing a 10-disc, six-movie Blu-ray collector’s set called Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One – Avengers Assembled.  The ginormous set will include all of Marvel’s films up through The Avengers, as well as loads of special features.  Now Marvel has released some truly gorgeous box art for the set, as Matthew Ferguson has cooked up some fantastic sleeves to go with each corresponding movie.  The sleeves will house each individual movie, while the actual box for the whole set looks like it’ll be in the shape of a briefcase.

Hit the jump to check out the images, and begin the debates over which one’s the best.  Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One – Avengers Assembled will hit stores on September 25th.

Marvel’s The Avengers just officially crossed the $600 million mark domestically, making it the third highest grossing film of all time both domestic and worldwide.  It’s safe to assume that plenty of those who saw the film multiple times in the theater will be grabbing the Blu-ray once it hits shelves this fall, but Marvel is also releasing a 10-disc 6-movie Blu-ray collector’s set that includes all of the studio’s superhero movies thus far.  A preview trailer for the set has gone online, and while it doesn’t unveil the exclusive special features or even the box art, it’s a pretty exciting mash-up of footage from Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, and The Avengers.

Hit the jump to watch the preview trailer.  More information on the set is poised to be announced on July 15th, but no official release date has been revealed just yet.  The Avengers hits DVD and Blu-ray on September 25th.

In the event that you haven’t picked up all of the previous Marvel movies separately, the studio has a beast of a Blu-ray collection headed our way.  We previously reported that a 10-Disc special edition set was in the works, and now Amazon has provided a listing for Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One – Avengers Assembled.

Hit the jump for more details.  There’s currently no official release date or price for Avengers Assembled, but Amazon says more information about the set will be announced on July 15th, which makes a 2012 release highly likely.  The Avengers will hit Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital Download on September 25th.  If Avengers Assembled does hit this year.

It’s upfronts week, and we’ve already gotten a look at the upcoming fall schedules for NBC, Fox, and ABC.  However, we’ve now got word on a couple of comic book series that weren’t on any of said schedules.  A Hulk television series has been in development at ABC for a while with Guillermo del Toro onboard as executive producer.  ABC president Paul Lee had this to say regarding Hulk:

“Hulk is in development.  It wasn’t going to be ready this season, but we hope it’s going to be ready for next season.”

With word that Marvel might be planning a new Hulk movie with Mark Ruffalo following the stellar reaction to the character/Ruffalo’s performance in The Avengers, many wondered what this meant for the TV series.  It sounds like ABC is very much still game for the show, so I wouldn’t be surprised if a Hulk movie is held until the studio sees how the TV series fares.  Hit the jump for more, including word on The Punisher TV series.

It’s officially Avengers week, and fans aplenty are counting down the hours until the midnight reveal of Joss Whedon’s superhero team-up pic on Thursday/Friday at midnight.  Not only is this the first time fans get to see all their favorite Marvel superheroes come together onscreen, but we’ll get our first look at Mark Ruffalo’s iteration of the Hulk.  Early word on the film has had many singling out Ruffalo’s performance, and the Hulk character in general, as one of the highlights of the film.

Most critics and fans have been singing high praises of Whedon’s take on the character, yet when Steve asked Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige if a new standalone Hulk movie was in the cards, Feige claimed there were no plans at the moment.  However, it appears the overwhelmingly positive reaction may have convinced Marvel to change their tune, because another studio exec recently said we might see a standalone Hulk flick as soon as 2015.  Hit the jump for more.

In the Disney XD animated action-adventure series Ultimate Spider-Man, premiering from Marvel Animation on April 1^st, 16-year-old Peter Parker (voiced by Drake Bell) has been saving New York City from villains as his alter-ego Spider-Man for the past year while juggling his life at Midtown High School with best friends Mary-Jane Watson (voiced by Tara Strong) and Harry Osborn (voiced by Matt Lanter), who are both unaware of his secret identity. Still in need of the discipline to best utilize his gifts, S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury (voiced by Chi McBride) offers Spidey the chance to train with the best and plants Agent Coulson (voiced by Clark Gregg) as the school principal to keep a watchful eye and him and four other teenage superheroes, including Nova, White Tiger, Power Man and Iron Fist.

During this recent interview to promote the new Marvel Universe series, executive producers Jeph Loeb (Head of Marvel Television) and Joe Quesada (Chief Creative Officer of Marvel Entertainment) talked about what makes Marvel stories easily recognizable, the tone they wanted to go for with this latest Spider-Man show and establishing the aesthetic they wanted for the show. They also talked about the possibility of releasing all the episodes of The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in one Blu-ray package, and the status if the live-action series Marvel currently has in development like The Incredible Hulk, aka Jessica Jones, Mockingbird and Cloak and Dagger.  Check out what they had to say after the jump:

One of the executive producers of Ultimate Spider-Man for Marvel Universe on Disney XD, Jeph Loeb is the Emmy-nominated and Eisner Award-winning writer and producer who is currently the Executive Vice President and Head of Marvel Television, responsible for all live-action comedy and drama, as well as animation. So, when we spoke with him earlier today about the compelling new action-adventure animated series, featuring a teenage Peter Parker (voiced by Drake Bell) juggling the challenges of high school with being a superhero, we were curious about an update on the status of the live-action series that he currently has in development.

While we will run what he had to say about the new animation series, closer to its April 1^st premiere, we did want to post what he had to say about how The Hulk, Aka Jessica Jones and The Punisher are coming along for ABC, as well as the development of Mockingbird and Cloak and Dagger for ABC Family. Check out what he had to say after the jump:

We’re a little less than two months away from the release of The Avengers, and the impending premiere is becoming quite apparent. Just yesterday we brought you a bevy of information on the all-star superhero movie from writer-director Joss Whedon, and now AMC Theaters has announced a movie marathon event set to take place the day before The Avengers hits theaters. “The Ultimate Marvel Marathon” will unfold in select AMC theaters across the country and will feature back-to-back-to-back showings of Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America, and ultimately The Avengers.

The whole thing starts on May 3rd at 11:30am and runs all the way through the midnight showing of The Avengers. It’s quite an ambitious feat, and I’m not sure I’d be able to make it all the way through without feeling like a zombie during The Avengers, but I’m sure there’s plenty of you out there up for the task. It’d definitely be interesting to watch all the Marvel films in a row and spot how well the films do—or don’t—lead into one another (Bruce Banner’s been Ruffalo-ed!). Hit the jump to find out when advanced tickets go on sale.

As review copies of the upcoming Thor Blu-ray are going out, it’s not surprising that some of the disc’s noteworthy extras are being posted online.  First up, there’s the “Road to The Avengers“, a sneak peek which is almost entirely worthless.  There’s no footage from the movie, and it’s mostly a puff piece where talking heads celebrate the scope of the picture and how great it is to work with everyone.  The only moment of any value is when director Joss Whedon says that the idea that fuels the film is this group of superheroes becoming a team and “finding what they didn’t have before.”  The other special feature is a short film, “Marvel One-Shot: The Consultant”.  If you ever wanted to see the mundane behind-the-scenes activities of S.H.I.E.L.D., you’ll love this short, which feels like a fan film except they got Clark Gregg to star in it.

Hit the jump to check out the videos.  Thor hits DVD, Blu-ray, and 3D Blu-ray on September 13th.  The Avengers opens in 3D on May 4, 2012.

C

As part of the TCA Press Tour presentation for ABC Entertainment Group, President Paul Lee took some time to talk about their new high-concept dramas, Pan Am and Once Upon A Time, their slick reboot of Charlie’s Angels, their upcoming comedy series, and the announcement of the final season of Desperate Housewives. Here are the most interesting points:

• ABC currently has the #1 comedy in America with Modern Family, and Grey’s Anatomy is still their #1 drama series.
• Pan Am is a passion project for creator/executive producer/writer Jack Orman (E.R.) and executive producer/director Tommy Schlamme (The West Wing) and promises to be romantic, sexy and adventurous.
• Charlie’s Angels will capitalize on their built-in audience, while still modernizing the story in unexpected ways.
• Although Once Upon A Time is a very ambitious piece of storytelling, the network has been reassured in the ability to sustain it for series, after seeing Episodes 2 and 3. And surprisingly, the pilot was made for essentially the same cost as a normal pilot.
• The upcoming Season 8 will be the last season of Desperate Housewives, which will have its final arc built through 22 episodes. They have also started to redevelop Hallelujah with Housewives creator Marc Cherry, for a possible series pick-up.
• ABC is developing the Marvel properties The Incredible Hulk and Jessica Jones for possible TV series.
• The network is very pleased with their mid-season comedy and drama series, which include Apartment 23, Work It, Scandal, The River, Missing and G.C.B.

Hit the jump for more of what he had to say:

There’s never quite been a movie constructed like The Avengers.  No major mainstream movie (or at least none I can think of) has ever been both the sequel to and the cross over of three different franchises.    Furthermore, this vision has not come from a single writer or director but rather from a studio who wants to translate their business model for comics on to the big screen.  That model demands that characters and plotlines carry over between different stories and therefore the consumer must draw from multiple products in order to understand the larger narrative.  However, each story contributing to the collaboration must also stand on its own.

But there’s been a cost to this ambition and that cost has been felt in the plotting of Iron Man 2, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger.  We normally feel miffed if a film provides a presumptuous cliffhanger but these three films have gone one step further by gearing elements of their plot towards a final product.  Has Marvel damaged three movies in order to build the biggest superhero movie of all-time?  Hit the jump for more.

If you’ve always wanted to own The Incredible Hulk TV show from the 70′s, you want to click this link right now.  That’s because Amazon has The Incredible Hulk: The Complete Series on sale for $28.99 (which is 76% off).  With a deal like this, they clearly have a limited amount, so don’t wait long.  The set includes 20 discs and all five seasons.

It looks like negative word of mouth was indeed a factor for this weekend’s highest-profile debut.  After earning decent midnight and Friday numbers, Green Lantern fell off by an estimated 22% on Saturday – giving it a three day opening of just $52.6 million.