Marvel at Comic Con

Marvel Studios is still busy counting the receipts from The Avengers (#3 moneymaker all time, yo!), but they are hardly slowing down production of new films. They have a slew of projects in development, what they are referring to as “Phase Two” of their plan to dominate cinema. Their plan is to continue with the individual character films while also introducing new members of the Marvel Universe. All of this will lead up to The Avengers 2 sometime down the road.

As part of their Comic Con press conference, they revealed new information about films and announced the official titles of several more.

First up is Iron Man 3, whose official title apparently is... Iron Man 3. It’s currently filming, but Robert Downey Jr. was on hand at the press conference in San Diego to attend the panel. He even judged the youth Iron Man costume contest. I love that RDJ is embracing his megastar status so completely and doing little things like that. It’s due up on May 3, 2013.

The second Thor film will be coming on November 8, 2013 and will be titled Thor 2: The Dark World. In 2014, we’ll see Captain America: The Winter Soldier on April 4^th, and Guardians of the Galaxy on August 1^st.

The last one is a new addition to the Marvel stable of films. It is a superhero ensemble piece that features an all-alien cast with names such as Star-Lord, Drax the Destroyer, Rocket Racoon, Groot, and Gamora. I’m not sure what the deal is with these guys except that one looks like a tree, one looks like a raccoon, one looks like an orc, and they all look armed to the teeth. Apparently, they tie in with Thanos somehow, who is the main bad guy in The Avengers 2. The Marvel Universe all ties together nicely.

Finally, there was an announcement and a screen test of Ant Man, another new character that Marvel wants to get into film rotation. Ant Man is a scientist who invents a formula that allows him to change size. He also has invented a helmet that lets him control ants. I’m sure E. O. Wilson would be interested in that. No word on when Ant Man will be released but 2015 seems likely.

That's a lot of Marvel movie magic. Two films per year in 2013 and 2014, and then we will presumably get The Avengers 2 and Ant Man in 2015. 

Is Marvel risking overexposure, or are we in for an awesome few years of films? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter!