For all the Tom Hiddleston fans who need another Loki fix, you’re going to have to make due with Thor: The Dark World, because the baddie won’t be making a return in The Avengers 2.  Speaking to Empire on their podcast, writer-director Joss Whedon explained, “Everyone is going to be looking for the Loki-Hulk smash moment and you’ll be looking for [a quim moment]. First of all, imitating what I did before is the surest way to do it not as well. Second of all, Loki’s not there to say those terrible things. Although I do think we should bring the word back, not as an insult, it’s just a nice word.”  Obviously, he’s right—both about the dangers of repeating himself and the quality of the word.  Also, if you want to raise the stakes, it’s best to go with a villain where failure isn’t in his nature.

If you need more Hiddleston in your life, keep an eye out for his upcoming movies Only Lovers Left Alive and Close Enough.  The Avengers 2 opens May 1, 2015.

Some kick-ass news not related to Kick-Ass, except to say that Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick-Ass) is the reported frontrunner to play Quicksilver in The Avengers 2.  Marvel may have been feeling the slightest bit of pressure surrounding the character after X-Men: Days of Future Past director Bryan Singer recently announced that Quicksilver would be in his own sequel, played by Evan Peters (American Horror Story).  No final decision has been made as to the casting but reports have Taylor-Johnson out in front for the moment.  Hit the jump for more.

Marvel’s The Avengers was a success on many levels.  Not only did the film rake in over $1.5 billion at the box office worldwide, but it also enjoyed positive critical reviews and widespread fan acclaim.  Bringing such a beloved property to the screen in a way that pleased diehard fans and general audiences alike seemed like an impossible task, but writer/director Joss Whedon knocked it out of the park.  Furthermore, Whedon crafted a unique entry in the superhero genre in that The Avengers involves well-rounded, three-dimensional female characters that serve a purpose larger than being eye candy and/or acting as a human MacGuffin that needs saving from the male hero; a foreign concept, I know.

Whedon is currently hard at work on prepping The Avengers 2 to start production early next year, but the filmmaker recently took a moment to comment on the depressing state of female superheroes in cinema.  Moreover, Whedon also discussed the notion of Robert Downey Jr. possibly not signing on for more Marvel films, saying he has no intention of making Avengers 2 without RDJ.  Hit the jump to read on.

With director Louis Leterrier’s (The Incredible Hulk) magician-centered thriller Now You See Me opening May 31st, I recently went to New Orleans to interview the cast.  For those unfamiliar with the story, it follows an FBI squad on the heels of a team of bank-robbing magicians who share their profits with the audience.  The pic boasts an impressive ensemble cast that includes Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Mark Ruffalo, Michael Caine, Melanie Laurent, and Morgan Freeman.  For more on the film, watch six clips and check out all of our previous coverage.

During my interview with Ruffalo, he talked about how much fun he had making the movie, what he learned about magic, what it was like working for Leterrier and his always moving camera, and more.  In addition, he talked about how his life has changed over the past year, and if he’s talked to Joss Whedon about The Avengers sequel.  Hit the jump to watch.

Though production is already well underway on director Bryan Singer’s sequel X-Men: Future Past in Canada, a late addition to the cast has been made.  Singer announced today on Twitter that American Horror Story star Evan Peters will play Quicksilver in the star-studded superhero pic, though this may make things quite complicated for Marvel’s The Avengers 2.  In comics lore, Quicksilver is a mutant capable of moving and thinking at superhuman speeds.  He also happens to be the son of Magneto, along with his twin sister Scarlet Witch.  While this is certainly a fascinating cast addition to the time-bending X-Men: Days of Future Past, it could very well affect Marvel’s Avengers sequel as Joss Whedon only recently revealed that he’s written both Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch into his script.  Hit the jump for more.

Last night I turned to Xbox Live to check out Shane Carruth‘s Upstream Color for the first time. While not quite as impenetrable after one viewing as its predecessor, 2004′s Primer, Upstream still demands the utmost attention of its viewers in exchange for the slightest hint of clarity. The dialogue is sparse, the setting is ever-changing, the editing is heavily dependent on juxtaposition as a way of creating meaning, and the sound design/foley work is turned up to “11″ at times. Whereas Primer played more to the intellect behind making time travel a reality, Upstream is an extremely visceral experience that is more interested, or at least more successful, in eliciting an emotional response than explaining how a rare organism can be harvested, used as a method of mind control, and ultimately link humans to pigs. The exact degree to which it succeeds will vary from viewer to viewer but it’s ultimately an experience I recommend taking in.

Of course a movie like Upstream lends itself to more than a few lines of my humble analysis, but that’s not actually why we’re here. In this week’s Top 5 you can check out the first trailer and poster for Alfonso Cuaron‘s Gravity, a generous number of set pics from director Jonathan Liebesman‘s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot, Steve’s exclusive phone interview with Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, the first trailer for Ender’s Game, and a look at Iron Man by the Numbers. A brief recap and link to each will greet you after the jump.

When you get to talk to Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, you never have enough time.  After all, he knows everything that’s going on behind-the-scenes at the studio, including which projects are getting ready to be announced.   So when I recently landed an exclusive phone interview with him for Iron Man 3, I tried to use the time to find out about a million different things.

During the wide ranging conversation, we talked about how long he’ll be staying at Marvel, how the studio goes about choosing directors, whether The Avengers sequel be called The Avengers 2 or if it will have a subtitle, whether they have considered casting Dwayne Johnson in a Marvel movie, the status of the Doctor Strange movie, if anyone is currently working on a Falcon or War Machine spinoff movie, whether they have cast Thanos yet, if they be at Comic-Con, D23, or both, and so much more.  If you’re a Marvel fan I promise you’ll enjoy reading this interview.

The folks at Marvel are no doubt celebrating the massive opening weekend for Iron Man 3—which currently stands as the second highest of all time behind The Avengers—but the studio still has a very large question mark lingering over its future.  With the release of Iron Man 3, star Robert Downey Jr. fulfilled his contract with Marvel.  He is not contractually obligated to appear in any more Marvel films, and thus has a rather sizable amount of leverage over Marvel going forward given that he is, to the moviegoing public, the face of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  Iron Man is the most recognizable character in Marvel Studios’ roster, and the character is now synonymous with Robert Downey Jr.

As such, everyone has been wondering whether RDJ will be back and if there are any more standalone Iron Man films in the future.  The negotiations have now begun, and things are, well, a bit complicated.  Hit the jump for much more.

There’s no such thing as too much Marvel news, right?  With Iron Man 3 hitting theaters this weekend, a bevy of details regarding Marvel’s upcoming films have been making their way online.  While it’s exciting to look ahead to Marvel’s Phase Two slate post-Iron Man 3, all roads lead to one of the most anticipated sequels in recent memory: The Avengers 2.

Steve recently spoke with Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, and during their extended conversation Feige talked quite a bit about how Iron Man 3 gives audiences an idea of what to expect from The Avengers 2.  He also talked about writer/director Joss Whedon’s script for the follow-up (which he describes as hilarious, awesome, and moving) and whether or not the film will have a subtitle.  Hit the jump to read on.

With writer-director Shane Black‘s Iron Man 3 now playing around the world, I recently got to speak with the cast and filmmakers here in Los Angeles.  During my video interview with Don Cheadle, we talked about collaborating with Black, the awesome dialogue, filming the action, changes on set, the collaboration with Marvel on Rhodey, if he’s talked to Joss Whedon about The Avengers 2, will he make an appearance in Captain America 2, and the future of Captain Planet.  Hit the jump to watch.

The wait is almost over for Shane Black’s Iron Man 3, which debuts in the States on Friday, May 3rd.  However, if you’re looking ahead to the rest of Marvel’s Phase Two slate of films, we’ve got a few nibbles of information to pique your interest.  Since there’s currently no Iron Man 4 on Marvel’s lineup, it’s looking like Robert Downey Jr.’s next appearance as the armored Avenger will be in Joss Whedon’s The Avengers 2.  But who else will be joining him?

Hit the jump for more on Iron Man 3 from Downey Jr., Black, Gwyneth Paltrow and Marvel’s Kevin Feige, along with updates on The Avengers 2 and Captain America: The Winter Soldier.  Spoilers ahead.

Marvel: Phase Two hasn’t even started to hit theaters, but sometimes you just want to rush to desert.  While walking the red carpet at the Iron Man 3 premiere, writer-director Joss Whedon was asked a couple questions regarding The Avengers 2.  First up, since it sounds like Robert Downey Jr. is considering retirement from the Marvel Universe, some may be wondering if we’ll see Iron Man flying around in Whedon’s film.  Whedon responded, “I am not the guy who has to worry about him being replaced. He is Iron Man at this point. When I heard that he was cast I knew that something had just changed, and I usually don’t know stuff like that.”  It sounds fairly certain that Downey is on board for The Avengers 2, but beyond that, Whedon doesn’t know if the actor will continue with the series.

Hit the jump for more including what Whedon had to say about Thanos’ presence in Phase Two.

Kicking off the blockbuster movie season, Marvel Studios is releasing Iron Man 3 on May 3^rd.  This time out, brilliant billionaire inventor Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.), aka Iron Man, faces a terrifying enemy, known as The Mandarin (Sir Ben Kingsley), whose reach knows no bounds, and he must rely on his own instincts to protect those that he loves.  From director Shane Black (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang), the film also stars Gwyneth Paltrow (“Pepper Potts”), Don Cheadle (“James Rhodes”), Guy Pearce (“Aldrich Killian”), Rebecca Hall (“Maya Hansen”) and Jon Favreau (“Happy Hogan”).

During this press conference at the film’s Los Angeles junket, co-stars Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle and Sir Ben Kingsley talked about the biggest challenge in making Iron Man 3, the transformation of Pepper Potts, how Rhodey has evolved, how much of The Mandarin was actually in the script, what director Shane Black brought to this installment of the franchise, finding the right tone, how much they wanted the aftermath of the events in The Avengers to affect Tony Stark, what they hope people get out of the film, and the future of the Iron Man franchise.  Check out what they had to say after the jump, and be aware that there are some spoilers.

The U.S. premiere of Iron Man 3 was held last night in Los Angeles, and pretty much everyone from the Marvel Cinematic Universe walked the red carpet.  Though the various actors, actresses, directors, and producers didn’t exactly have time for lengthy interviews while making their way into the theater, a couple of them did drop some interesting tidbits about some upcoming Marvel films.  Gwyneth Paltrow, for one, seems to think that there isn’t going to be an Iron Man 4, and Joss Whedon provided a few more updates on The Avengers 2, even hinting at two new characters he says are in the film.  Hit the jump to read on.

As we move into Phase Two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this shared superhero world is starting to be fleshed out a bit more now that the principal characters have some experience working together in The Avengers.  While fans are excited to see how Tony Stark, Thor, Steve Rogers, etc. will be interacting in future films, there’s also the possibility of supporting characters from the standalone Marvel pics crossing over.  One of the most likely cases is that of Don Cheadle’s Jim Rhodes from the Iron Man films, as it looks like his alter ego War Machine will be getting a significant amount of screentime in the upcoming sequel.

Steve recently spoke with Cheadle in anticipation of the release of Iron Man 3, and the actor talked briefly about the prospect of him appearing in The Avengers 2 or Captain America: The Winter Soldier, noting that “conversations have been happening” with regards to the Avengers sequel.  Hit the jump to see what he had to say.