Four Torches (Out of Five)

When I saw the first Iron Man, I didn’t have high expectations.

We had come off a string of bad Marvel movies, and pairing up a checkered-past celebrity with a second-tier character just didn’t seem like a genius move.

Let the record state that I never have a problem admitting when I’m wrong.

Yes, the effects were amazing. At this point, CGI technology is at a place that if effects look anything short of amazing, then the movie fails simply on that principle.

But what really made the … I’m trying to think of some metal pun … what really made the iron hot … nah. What really melted down the ores to a state where they can be made into alloys …

Okay, you know, what? I don’t know metal.

What really made the film exceptional was, as everyone now knows, Robert Downey, Jr’s portrayal of Tony Stark, that other superhero millionaire playboy (who’s a lot less grim and brooding than Bruce Wayne). RDJ has a way with snark, and he turned that into a comic masterpiece in this role while also packing on the action-hero gravitas.

Naturally, that means the bar is set high for Iron Man 2, and fortunately for the filmmakers as well as the fans, they deliver.

The CGI, once again, is spectacular, and the artists have clearly upped their game. Watching Iron man swoop through the air and backflip away from explosions will bring a smile to anyone’s face.

But it’s funny — one of the attributes of this cinematic Iron Man that strikes me as odd is just how nimble and agile he is in a suit that’s basically a human-shaped tank. I was a huge fan of the comics as a kid, and in my head, Iron Man always seemed, well, kind of clunky. Here he’s as spry as Catwoman on her best day.

Speaking of agile ladies, the movie also features Scarlett Johansson in the woefully minor role of Natalie Rushman, aka Natasha Romanoff, aka the Black Widow (although her superhero alias is never used in the film.) She doesn’t get a lot of screentime, but she does get one insanely awesome fight scene where she obliterates a roomful of guards. Wile I enjoyed the moment, I was also aware it was essentially just a teaser for the eventual Avengers movie.

Much of the film, in fact, is dedicated to placing it within the greater context of the Marvel cinematic universe, as opposed to the previous film, which focused mainly on Iron Man as his own entity. For those of you who go nuts for this kind of thing, definitely stay past the credits.

Don Cheadle particularly shines in his role as James “Rhodie” Rhodes, taking over for Terrence Howard, who played the role in the first film. Cheadle is one of those actors who can do it all, and here he provides humor, charm, and quite a lot of bad-assery when he straps on the suit and becomes War Machine.

Final verdict: Definitely an awesome entry into Marvel’s movie family. Bring on Thor.

• I know I keep bring up Avatar: The Last Airbender, but it’s going to be one of the biggest releases of the summer. If you need a primer, Tor has a blog Avatar: The Last Airbender Re-Watch that goes episode-by-episode on the animated series discussing why the story deserves a place amongst the classics. They’re up to Book One: Episode 15.

• From the makers of the excellent short film The Hunt for Gollum comes Clone, a story of a man hanging by a thread, pursued by a clone with the essence of pure DNA a clone needs to survive. Who do you trust? Do you trust yourself?

• Since Bryan Singer had to drop out of directing X-Men: First Class, it’s been all quiet while Fox searched for someone to bring the story to life. The latest scuttlebutt says that they’ve dropped Kick-Ass Matthew Vaughan, and are meeting with Nightmare On Elm Street’s Samuel Bayer. That could bring a different tone to the franchise.

• Warner Bros. doesn’t have a finished script yet, or even a contract with the actors that I’m aware of, but they’ve set July 20, 2012 as the release date for the third Dark Knight movie.

• Piranha 3D promised us lots of boobs in 3D, but they didn’t promise us a plot. Funny thing is that the new trailer does explain how there are suddenly swarms of man-eating piranha in a spring break destination that’s never had them before.

• The Red Tree by Caitlin Kiernan gets rave reviews for a supernatural story written from the point-of-view of an author slowly losing her mind and literally haunted by the suicide of her lover Amanda. Her own descent into madness as chronicled from her “final manuscript” is gripping and thrilling, at least from this review.

• Craig Engler at SyFy is getting beaten to death on Twitter by Legend of the Seeker fans angry that SyFy didn’t step in to save the series. This is just one in a series he rattled off Friday night.

• Over at io9.com, they have a quiz to help you determine which Iron Man you are. I knew about some of these, but Earth X Iron Man and Zombie Iron Man were completely new to me. I came up as Tony Stark’s Iron Man, which is fine – as long as I’m not the one from Cartoon Network’s Superhero Squad.

• In the wake of Fox passing on an Anchorman sequel, director Adam McKay is trying to land raunchy superhero film The Boys. The Boys is about a group of operatives charged with keeping the caped ones in line by whatever means necessary, including termination.

• Driller is a strange story of horror, gore, and alien abduction. A man is kidnapped by aliens and turned into a Borg-like, subhuman, cybernetic killing machine. It’s fairly low budget, but looks like it used some creativity to make up for that.

• And finally, summer movie season is on the way, and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is certainly one of the tent-poles. They released several photos of Jake Gyllenhaal this past week in a street fight, including the front-page photo, and this one, where he could be preparing to fight or … shooting to win your favorite marble. Your call.

• Roger Ebert and Harry Knowles are both well-respected critics, and what’s more, they’re good buddies, so I was interested to see just how much they disagreed in their opinions of Kick-Ass. Read Ebert’s take here and Knowles’ response here.

• Shiloh Fernandez, a young actor some may know from United States of Tara, has been cast opposite Amanda Seyfried in the upcoming Girl with the Red Riding Hood. After Seyfried’s kick-ass turn in Jennifer’s Body, I’m stoked to see her in another genre role.

• Normally I would run screaming from any movie that has anything even remotely to do with either one of the Olsen twins … I’m sure they’re very nice, but they give me the uber-wiggins. Anyway, the upcoming Beastly actually looks pretty intriguing, plus it’s got Neil Patrick Harris, which is always a plus.

• Attention aspiring novelists: here’s an interesting list about what danger signs to check your novel for before sending it off. Could save you a whole page of notes from your editor!

• I’m getting really sick of seeing one re-imagining of The Wizard of Oz after another, while the glory that is Wicked remains unfilmed. However, I’m a fan of Robert Downey, Jr., so the idea of him playing the Wizard in a film focusing on that character could be kind of cool. (Elphaba would be cooler, though. Just sayin’.)

• In the tradition of kid-power Kick-Ass, here’s a list of 5 Shockingly Powerful Kids Who Make You Look Like a Coward. Seriously.

• Remember how awesome Marvel vs. Capcom was? How crazy it was to see these two disparate character catalogs clash with cunning chaotic carnality? Well, they’re makin’ a new one! Aw, yeah!

• And since I would be remiss in not mentioning the upcoming Iron Man 2, aka the most important thing to happen to humanity ever, Slashfilm has 23 high-res photos for your viewing pleasure.

• Chris Hemsworth flew in to support baby brother Liam at the premiere of that awful Miley Cyrus movie (best review? Miley Cyrus Upstaged by Sea Turtles). And Access Hollywood got him to take a moment to discuss Thor, and somehow it became a Norse fashion discussion.

• A while back, fantasy king Neil Gaiman responded to a reader complaining about the next Song of Fire and Ice book from George R.R. Martin. His rather blunt response was to say “George R.R. Martin is not your bitch.” This wise piece of rather disappointing information has now been developed and set to music.

• I was looking through the ratings for syndicated shows, and it explains a lot about the fate of Legend of the Seeker. It’s nowhere near a Top 25 syndicated show, and none of the Top 25 have to support original production of a scripted program. Most are reality or game shows. Not fair, is it?

• Just because we hate the idea of things like Battleship, Monopoly, and Candyland (O.K., Candyland could be cool) being made into movies, that doesn’t mean it couldn’t work. This is evidently old, but I’d never seen the trailer for Pacman: The Movie.

• AMC has greenlit The Walking Dead zombie series for six episodes. The latest rumor is that the main role in the series is being eyed by Eli Stone himself, Johnny Lee Miller. I’m not a zombie person, but I have feeling that if zombies are chasing Johnny Lee Miller, it might not be because they’re just after his Braaaaaaains.

• The Bram Stoker Awards have been handed out, and winners include Audrey’s Door by Sarah Langan, Damnable by Hank Schwaebel, and Chimeric Machines by Lucy A. Snyder.

• Brian Froud says work is progressing on Dark Crystal 2, including character build by Henson. The only reason that I’m not terrified of them touching this fond memory is that Genndy Tartakovsky of Samurai Jack fame is onboard to direct. Can puppets still thrill us after so many years of CGI?

• I’m not sure, but this bizarre new Muppet music video of ‘Stand By Me” surfaced yesterday. While it’s the classic tune, I keep hearing a children’s song about “Little Bunny Foo-Foo” in my head when I watch him hunting the forest. Maybe puppets can still excite after all these years of CGI.

• We’ve got the first concept art for what is Ridley Scott’s Forever War movie. Honestly, the concept of an elite military task force going off on a brief battle and returning to earth find 20 years lost and everything changed sounds a little tired, but the art looks a little unique for that synopsis.

• There’s a strong rumor that Louis Leterrier is attempting to resurrect Y: The Last Man and get production restarted at New Line. After years of languishing behind less ambitious films, it sounds like someone is interested in bringing it from the page to the screen.

• Whedonesque has all the details on the writers for Firefly: Still Flying, and it’s like a guest list for a dinner party with old friends: Jane Espenson, Ben Edlund, Brett Matthews and Joseph Molina. Now if they could just give us a date.

• Seth Grahame has done an interview about Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and why it seemed like the perfect idea. The more I hear about the book, the more I want it for a summer beach read.

• The Iron Man 2 onslaught continues, and now we have a trailer meant to hype why you should see the film in IMAX. There’s a couple of new fight scenes in the film and a much better look at the opposing mechs. Best part is that Tony Stark is so freaking funny.

• When speaking to io9.com, Beth Williams, who’s taking over the production side of Doctor Who talks about bringing The Doctor into the 21^st century (sounds weird to say). From the new TARDIS, to the new Doctor, new sonic screwdriver, and brand new CGI, everything is updated. Much attention has been lavished on the musical score, and they have budget for things like helicopters. Can’t wait for the U.S. premiere.

• I was unaware a Twitter exchange between Craig Ferguson (funniest late night host) and Grant Imahara (MythBusters) was to result in Craig getting a robotic sidekick for the Late Late Show. But delivery of our future robot overlord of comedy is to take place on the April 5^th show.

• Funny thing: On April 1, SyFy had a press release about a new SyFy Original Movie called Scream of the Banshee. Here’s the issue: I have no idea if something this bad is a real film, or if it’s an April Fool’s Day joke. How sad is your production if an entertainment blogger can’t tell the difference?

• The saddest thing to me about Lost approaching the series finale is that I can’t mock it anymore. Unless someone wants to take this drawings for Lost: The Animated Series and turn them into something?

• The first stills from Resident Evil: Afterlife seem to involve a lot of hot women in skintight clothes pointing guns in an unrealistic fashion. The fact that I noticed there were guns in the pictures should tell you something about me.

• Here’s my favorite part of the column, because I was without a closer this week until the last minute. I’m sure you’re all aware of the fantasy web series The Guild, created and starred in by the delicious Felicia Day? Here’s the animated spinoff series, Lil’ Guildies. Have a great weekend!

• John Bernthal (The Ghost Writer) has signed on for AMC’s zombie series The Walking Dead. I’m not entirely sure how I feel about a zombie television series – it’s weird thinking about zombies being the protagonists of the story, but considering it’s from Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, best movie ever), I’m will to entertain the concept.

• Shrek Forever After is happening whether we want it to or not. I have to admit chuckling at some of the character posters they just released. This is my favorite of the seven:

• Bryan Singer will not be directing X-Men: First Class, but he is producing. Singer can’t get away from his existing contract to direct Jack the Giant Killer, so Fox is going to get another director to create Singer’s concept. Please be more X-Men than X-Men 3.

• Doctor Who is less than a week away for our British readers, and just a couple weeks for those in the States. So it seems only fitting that there’s a new season 5 trailer that premiered on Jonathan Ross.

• Jonathan also has some footage from “Vampires In Venice” which is the sixth episode from the season. I’m warming to Matt Smith — the more I see, the more I like him. He feels very much The Doctor.

• A concept I’m not sure about is Zac Efron as The Flash. I like him better in the role than Sam Worthington who seems a little old for the role in my mind. Still, it’s all rumor at this point.

• I’m sure some of you are fans of the nerdtastic The Big Bang Theory. Despite protesting that Sheldon is asexual, they have cast a female version of Sheldon to appear later in the series. They do spend the night together, but if she’s actually just like him, I assume they argue the whole night rather than get frisky. The actress is a flashback though - Mayim Bialik, better known as Blossom to those of us of a certain age.

• J.D. Shapiro, the man who wrote the original screenplay for Battlefield Earth has penned an apology to the entire world for ever having visited it on the world. He’d like forgiveness, because he was young and horny at the time, and just trying to get laid.

• The Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards were this weekend, and the main fantasy bit was Taylor Lautner’s abs were voted best actor. But more importantly, they ran a new spot for Iron Man 2 during the show, and it may finish with the best line ever in a movie trailer.

• The Los Angeles Times is reporting that the leading candidate to play Maleficent in the Disney adaptation of their greatest villain is none other than Angelina Jolie. Take this with a huge grain of salt, since there’s no script, no director, and no timeline, but she does look the part.

• Vampires, Werewolves, Zombies: The Compendium Monstrum is a travel-sized book with everything you need to know for surviving the titled monsters or traversing Transylvania. Complete with historical information and hand-drawn maps of the most infested parts of the globe, this $10 book is a must-have for surviving in a world-gone-mad.

• Josh Cochran is selling a limited edition print of his poster Zombies vs. Unicorns. It’s not necessarily a battle that had crossed my mind, but inked in four colors, it truly is epic, even if the primary weapon seems to be unicorn horns for both sides.

• How To Train Your Dragon was a strong hit this weekend, raking in $43.3 million and getting mostly positive reviews from people who saw it. This bumped Alice In Wonderland down to #2 with $17.3 million, giving fantasy both top slots. Hot Tub Time Machine was a disappointing #3 at $13.7, and may be the final nail in MGM’s coffin.

• Australia’s Hungry Beast Comedy Troupe managed to hit every science fiction and fantasy movie released in the last ten years when they made this parody trailer for Avatar 2. Best joke about blue people since Dances with Smurfs.

2010 is shaping up to be an exciting year for fantasy fans. There are at least 15 films slated for release this year, and we’ve got a full preview!

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Lightning Thief
Release date: Feb. 12
Based on the best-selling series by Rick Riordan, Lightning Thief tells the story of Percy Jackson, an American teenager afflicted with ADHD and dyslexia, who discovers on a school field trip that he is the son of Poseidon. (You know, the god of sea and earthquakes. The angriest of the Big Three.) Percy’s mission is to find Zeus’ stolen lightning bolt and prevent a civil war from breaking out among the gods — who, by the way, have moved Olympus from the mythical mountain to the mythical 600th floor of The Empire State Building. Percy also has to rescue his mother from the Underworld, and — presumably — wrestle with the tourists that swarm The Empire State building every Valentine’s Day.

The Wolfman
Release date: Feb. 12
The Wolfman has a long, proud history of scarring the crap out of anyone willing to leave home on the night when the wolfbane blooms. The film has been remade five times since its 1924 debut, and each time it falls firmly in the “horror” category. In this incarnation, Oscar winners Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins team up as Lawrence Talbot and Sir John Talbot, a haunted father and son team searching for their missing brother/son. Lawrence finds himself falling in love with his brother’s fiance, and then falling under the spell of the full moon. We’re holding out hope for a special guest appearance by Michael J. Fox, surfing by the sleepy Victorian hamlet of Blackmoor on top of a van.

Alice in Wonderland
Release date: Mar. 5
In Tim Burton’s vividly re-imagined Alice in Wonderland, Alice falls down the rabbit hole at the age of 19. She doesn’t remember ever having been to Wonderland before, but you can bet your shrinking potion that Helena Bonham Carter’s Red Queen remembers her. Alice reunites with the White Rabbit, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, the Dormouse, the Caterpillar, the Cheshire Cat, and of course, the Mad Hatter. (Played by Michael Sheen, Matt Lucas, Barbara Windsor, Alan Rickman, Stephen Fry and Johnny Depp, respectively.) The teaser trailer promised stunning visuals and the second trailer actually hinted at an engaging plot. Disney will be offering the film in their patented Digital 3D, just in case you missed out on attending a rave when you were in college.

Season of the Witch
Release Date: Mar. 19
Nicholas Cage plays a battle-worn and weary Crusader who returns to Europe for supplies, only to find himself recruited by a dying Cardinal. His mission is to escort a young woman to a remote abbey where she will stand trial for being a witch. Only this peasant is not your run of the mill Salem sorcerer; no, this witch is responsible for The Black Plague. Can Cage decode the map on the back of the Magna Carta in time to discover the secret message on the inside of King Arthur’s chalice in time to unlock the sacred chisel with which he must carve the answers to the world’s toughest Sudoku? And can he do it in time to save the entire continent from death? Oh, these are the Dark Ages indeed!

Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang
Release date: Mar. 25
As the star, screenwriter and producer of this sequel, Emma Thompson has made Nanny McPhee her pet project. The film’s official description reads “A group of children are evacuated from the city to a farm during wartime, where they encounter Nanny McPhee, the magic-wielding governess.” So, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe meets Mary Poppins. Unfortunately, Thompson was so preoccupied with the role, that she couldn’t find time to return as Professor Trelawney in the final installment of Harry Potter. It’s a hard pill to swallow considering that Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort himself) is headlining Thompson’s Big Bang.

Clash of the Titans
Release date: Mar. 26
Another remake of a beloved fantasy classic, Clash of the Titans follows Perseus (born of a god, raised by a man) as he risks his life for the right to marry Princess Andromeda. He must battle Medusa and the Kraken monster as he follows his quest to forbidden worlds to defeat Hades (Ralph Fiennes) before the King of the Underworld can unseat Zeus (Liam Neeson). We don’t mind the remakes, as long as Clash of the Titans doesn’t fall victim to Hollywood’s latest fantasy craze: refusing to properly conclude a story, just in case the studio decides to fund a sequel. The only respectable exception would be the appearance of Kinopio Toad: “We’re sorry Perseus, but your Princess is in another castle.”

The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Release date: May 7
Poor Peter and Susan Pevensie, kicked out of Narnia for learning to shave and discovering makeup. But Edward and Lucy, played by Skandar Keynes and Georgie Henley (arguably the more talented of the four child stars who relaunched The Chronicles of Narnia) are back, and they’re bringing Prince Caspian with them. Unfortunately, they’re also bringing Narnia’s own Cousin Oliver, Eustace Clarence Scrubb. (We’re counting on Reepicheep to drown him out. Or just drown him.) Dawn Treader will follow the plot of C.S. Lewis’ original story: The younger Pevensies join forces with Caspian as he sails to the edge of the world, battling dufflepuds, slave traders, dragons, merfolk, and plenty of Christian symbolism along the way.

Iron Man 2
Release date: May 7
Robert Downey Jr’s celebrated Tony Stark is back in the second part of the Iron Man trilogy. This time, the whole world knows that the industrialist inventor is the man in the armored suit. The military, the American government and the media are all pushing him to share his technology with the world, but Stark knows enough about humanity to realize it’s a terrible idea. Don Cheadle will be taking over for Terrance Howard as James “Rhodey” Rhodes. And Gwyneth Paltrow will return as Pepper Potts. Unfortunately Pepper drives Stark to the brink of alcoholism when she gets a new boyfriend. Apparently even bazillionaires need a reminder that you shouldn’t operate heavy machinery while under the influence.

Robin Hood
Release date: May 14
When Russell Crowe’s Robin Hood hits theaters, it will be the tenth time the story has been adapted for the big screen. This incarnation follows the more traditional version of the story: Robin of Loxley, Earl of Huntington, returns to London after fighting in the Crusades to find that his village has been plundered at the hands of the Sheriff of Nottingham (Matthew Macfadyen). So, Robin forms a group of rough and tumble Merry Men to steal back their money and their land, and win the heart of Maid Marian (Cate Blanchett). Of course, the real question is whether or not the soundtrack can hope to compete with Bryan Adams’ “Everything I Do (I Do It For You)” from 1991’s Prince of Thieves. We’re guessing probably not.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Release date: May 28
A movie based on a video game? Why not; it worked for Angelina Jolie! In Prince of Persia, Jake Gyllenhaal plays Dastan, an Aladdin-like street-urchin in Medieval Persia. After showing unique valor in battle, the King adopts Dastan and sends him off to reclaim the Sands of Time (a gift from the gods that, um, controls the sands of time). Prince of Persia is the fourth Disney/Bruckheimer collaboration, and if the team’s other films (all three Pirates of the Caribbean) are any indication, it should enjoy plenty of mainstream success. And cross-promotion with Happy Meals. And Legos. And graphic novels. And, of course, another video game.

Jonah Hex
Release date: June 18
D.C. is auctioning off its lesser-known heroes right and left these days. Jonah Hex is a caustic, curmudgeonly, former Confederate States Army soldier whose face is scarred almost beyond recognition. He’s got all of the swagger of Clint Eastwood, without any of the charm. Josh Brolin stars as Hex in the movie adaptation, along with John Malkovich as Quentin Turnbull (the bad guy), and Megan Fox as a trigger-happy prostitute. Er, trigger-happy with the guns. Actual guns. Revolvers. Turnbull’s plan is a Civil War do-over, and Hex has been hired as the bounty hunter who must shut him down. The plot sounds almost as plausible as Malkovich with a southern accent. We totally buy Megan Fox’s role, though.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Release date: June 30
We haven’t really heard much about this movie. It’s apparently some kind of adaptation of a vampire romance novel. There may have been some movies before this one, but they must have flopped at the box office. From what we’ve heard, there’s a vampire with some wicked crazy hair, and a werewolf who refuses to wear a shirt, and a helpless girl who sits in her room listening to emo music and writing fan fiction about herself. We also heard something about sparkles and middle-aged women wearing t-shirts to support either the wicked hair or the abs. If any other information becomes available, we’ll let you know. This thing will probably go straight to DVD, though.

The Last Airbender
Release date: July 2
M. Night Shyamalan directing a Nickelodeon movie? Who’d have guessed it? (Us, actually. M. Night Shyamalan sees dollar signs.) The Last Airbender is a live-action adaptation of the super popular Nick cartoon series Avatar: The Last Airbender. The premise of the cartoon is that Earth, Fire, Water and Air can be controlled by “benders.”  Aang is the Avatar, and the last surviving member of Air Nomads. His purpose is to restore balance and overthrow the Fire Nation’s Admiral Zhao, but first he must learn to focus and bend all of the elements. Fortunately, the creators of the series left out the fifth element, Heart. That poor kid with the Heart ring on Captain Planet had the lamest superpower ever.

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Release date: July 16
Nicholas Cage is back with more fantasy, this time in a live-action adaptation of the “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” scene from Disney’s Fantasia. (You remember? Mickey and those crazy mops!) Cage plays Balthazar Blake, a master sorcerer who sets out to protect his city from an evil wizard. He recruits a young apprentice, Dave Stutler (Jay Baruchel) to help him. After a crash-course in magic (and what could possibly go wrong when you put those two words together?), Stutler joins Blake’s quest in a Disney-esque battle of Good versus Evil. The film looks to be a lot less trippy than the actual “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” from Fantasia. So if you’re looking for a mind-bend, you’ll have to watch Burton’s Alice in Wonderland on DVD.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1
Release date: Nov 17
If you thought Dumbledore’s death was tragic, wait until the first five minutes of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, when Harry’s beloved and loyal companion, Hedwig, gets (spoiler alert) blasted out of the sky. As promised, Harry, Ron and Hermione don’t return for their seventh year at Hogwarts. Instead they must decode Dumbledore’s mission for them from beyond the grave while trying to find and destroy the fragments of Voldemort’s soul that he’s hidden in horcruxes around the country. The path toward victory is strewn with casualties and heartbreak. Even the unshakable trio will find themselves turning against one another. Director David Yates is sticking with the films until the final expelliarmus.

Tron Legacy
Release date: Dec. 17
Tron Legacy is the nerdgasmic sequel to Disney’s 1982 film. Jeff Bridges return as Kevin Flynn, and and Bruce Boxleitner will reprise his roles as Alan Bradley and Tron. Garrett Hedlund will take over as Kevin’s now-adult son, Sam, who gets sucked into the same world his father disappeared into 25 years earlier. (We knew he was alive!) The father/son team join forces and traverse the treacherous cyber terrain, which has become much more sophisticated since we last saw it.

Obviously, a tie-in video game will be released in time for Christmas.

What 2010 fantasy film are you most looking forward to?

Franchises, like Goonies, never say die, and Marvel is a company built on franchises. Now with their own film company, Marvel is bringing the complexity of their comic book universe to the silver screen. Here’s a look at some of their upcoming projects.

X-Men

Arguably Marvel’s most popular title (and the flagship of an infinite number of X-book spin-offs), the X-Men have appeared thus far in three movies, and Wolverine just had his first solo outing. What’s next? There are a few possibilities:

X-Men: First Class - A film focusing on the younger members of the X-Men clan, namely Iceman, Rogue, Kitty Pryde, Angel, and Jubilee, as well as others, who get up to their own wacky high school adventures without Storm and Wolverine, two of the few surviving adults from the X-Men trilogy. The verdict? A possibility, but Shawn Ashmore and Anna Paquin are a little long in the tooth to play high school students, which may mean…

X-Men 4 - The long-rumored fourth entry into the main X-Men franchise may just be another version of First Class, since many of the first few films’ stars are not contractually obligated to appear, which means they can hold out for more money. But why pay the big bucks when you can just use other, younger, less expensive actors (like Paquin and Ashmore)?

Wolverine 2 - This is almost a sure thing, as talk of a sequel began even before the first Wolvy film opened, and despite being a critical flop, the film did okay in the numbers. Expect it to cover the samurai era of Logan’s past.

Deadpool - Ryan Reynolds is a hot ticket these days, and rumor is he’s been longing for a hero franchise of his own ever since playing second fiddle to Wesley Snipes in Blade: Trinity. But now that he’s scored the part of Green Lantern in the upcoming film, will two superhero franchises feel like overkill?

X-Men Origins: Magneto - Though it’s been in “development” for a long time now, not much progress has been made on this one. It’s not an easy task to design a prequel film focusing on a villain, so whether it will ever see the light of day is anyone’s guess.

Blade

Speaking of prequels about villains being a bad idea…

Untitled Blade Prequels - As if one film weren’t bad enough, actor Stephen Dorff, who played villain Deacon Frost in the first film, had this to say about an upcoming project:

“It will be a prequel to the ‘Blade’ movies, Deacon’s story. It’s a new trilogy the director [Stephen Norrington] has created. It will [be] cool.”

You read that correctly - not just one film, but a trilogy.

Avengers

The extraordinarily well-received Iron Man was the first step towards a filmic tapestry leading up to The Avengers, as displayed by the final scene in which Tony Stark is approached by Nick Fury to speak with him about “the Avengers initiative,” and then Tony Stark’s cameo in The Incredible Hulk where he mentions a “team.” This sort of cross-pollination is enough to make even casual readers geek out, so here’s a look at what’s to come.

Iron Man 2 - Duh.

The First Avenger: Captain America - Though it has an unnecessary prefix, the Captain America movie was the first and most obvious choice when building a slew of films gearing up towards the Avengers. Shooting is set to begin next summer.

Thor - Shakespearean actor/director Kenneth Branagh is helming the epic fantasy about the mythical Norse god Odin. Super props to Marvel for not shying away from this utterly magical piece of the Avengers puzzle in the wake of the Dark Knight-inspired love for grittier, realistic superhero flicks.

And, of course:

The Avengers - The current expected premier date of The Avengers is May of 2012, which means they have to work fast with the other films if they want to make that goal.

Spider-Man

Oh, yeah, they’re making Spider-Man 4. And 5 and 6. These could really go either way. I’m hoping they’re like the first 2 and not the unwatchable Spider-Man 3.