Comic Strip: Thor Goes LEGO, ‘Guardians’ Wraps and ‘Amazing Spider-Man 2′ Video Game

ScreenCrush’s Comic Strip is a weekly roundup of the hottest superhero movie news items. From Marvel to D.C. and points in between, if it pertains to costumed comic-book heroes, we’re covering it here, bringing you our expert analysis. This week, ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’ contemplates screening in 48fps, the ‘Fantastic Four’ reboot eyes more actors, and Spider-Man reveals footage from his new video game. But first …

‘Guardians of the Galaxy’

He followed that Tweet with a sweet note posted to his Facebook page:

And that is an Official Wrap on Guardians of the Galaxy. My heartfelt gratitude goes out to all of you involved with this film. Everyone down the line has been one hundred percent supportive of me and the Marvel team at every turn, and although I can be harsh or hurried at times, it has not gone unnoticed or unappreciated. I feel profoundly fortunate to have been surrounded by the people on this film - because of your talent, your insight, your passion, your liveliness, and your friendship. From the cast to the producers to the costumers to the A.D.s to the stand-ins to the P.A.s to the extras to the stunties and on and on, this movie is what it is because of all of you. Thank you thank you thank you a thousand times, from the bottom of my heart. I love you all.

Now that they’re free from the set, the ‘Guardians’ cast is able to start talking up their characters. Lee Pace, for instance, opened up to ClickOnline about his malicious villain, Ronan the Accuser, and how he connects to Thanos.

He’s a f---ing psycho! He’s a real monster. I’ve had the best time playing this character. I’m glad it’s all on film, and I never thought I could be so nuts in it! … James Gunn is just putting together a phenomenal movie and I’ve had the best time working with him on it. And yeah, we’ve made a monster of an alien!

Not one to be outdone, Michael Rooker shared a bit of info about Yondu while speaking with Digital Spy.

My make-up was fabulous! It was stunning, really. It's beautiful - it's really pretty amazing stuff. I'm just taken back by how talented the make-up artists are. … My guy Yondu is a bit of a cad, so I'm having a really good time playing the role."

Gunn’s off to the editing bay. ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ will be in theaters on July 31, 2014.

‘Thor: The Dark World’

Before we jump to ‘Guardians,’ we still have sequels for ‘Captain America’ and ‘Thor,’ with the Asgardian warrior soaring into theaters first with ‘The Dark World’ on Nov. 8. Fans of the Marvel universe, however, have gravitated to Tom Hiddleston’s charismatic villain Loki, who gets his very own featurette as the studio preps audiences for the upcoming feature:

This poster, meanwhile, has me hoping that we get a full-blown LEGO game version of ‘The Dark World’ in which to play … because I’d love to wander through the Nine Realms, in LEGO form! (Via USA Today)

‘Fantastic Four’

Last week, we reported that the ‘Fantastic Four’ reboot was stepping up its game by hiring screenwriter Simon Kinberg to polish a script that has been in multiple stages of revision. With that process underway, news of various casting sessions began to leak. So, who is director Josh Trank eyeballing?

Variety reported that Kit Harington, Miles Teller and Jack O’Connell are up to read for the role of Mr. Fantastic, aka Reed Richards. Kate Mara, Margot Robbie and Saoirse Ronan, meanwhile, are being tested for Invisible Woman.

We continue to hear ‘Fruitvale Station’ actor Michael B. Jordan for The Human Torch, though there hasn’t been much movement on Johnny Storm or Ben Grimm … aka The Thing. ‘Fantastic Four’ is scheduled to hit theaters March 6, 2015, and with all of this movement going on behind the scenes, I’m betting we hear official casting news very soon.

‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’

In the race to get Quicksilver on screen, Bryan Singer’s going to reach theaters before Joss Whedon (as ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’ opens almost one full year ahead of ‘The Avengers: Age of Ultron’). We also know that the director’s approach to the character will differ, and in an interview with io9, actor Evan Peters opened up about how they’re filming the fast-moving hero for the screen.

When asked about the flooding lights that are saturating the set to shoot at 3,600 frames-per-second, Peters explained:

It was incredibly bright. A lot of the crew and Bryan, himself, got to wear sunglasses. And the actors had to keep their eyes open for a long, long time, with that bright light just blaring at you. It's like the sun. It's brighter than the sun. It's right there in your eyes. But the end result is so worth it. You just power through it. … It does kind of hurt. I don't know how safe that is? Keeping your eyes open for more than 20 seconds in that light. But yeah it does hurt. It's really difficult to keep your eyes open.

And to act! What does all of this look like on screen? Peters explained:

It's super, super, super, super slomo. You can see raindrops frozen in the air. Stuff like that. It's amazing how that camera works.

And while we’re talking about frames-per-second with regards to Singer’s sequel, reports are surfacing on AICN today that the sequel “will be released in 48fps.”

The filmmakers played coy because of the negative reaction to the technology when the Hobbit film was released, but love the results and will be standing behind a theatrical release in high frame rate.

Did you see Peter Jackson’s ‘Hobbit’ in that format? Do you want to see Singer’s ‘X-Men’ in that format, as well?

‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’

It isn’t quite San Diego Comic-Con, but New York held its version of Comic-Con over the weekend and generated bit of news here and there. Specifically, Hasbro unveiled a new wave of toys that suggested hints about upcoming superhero movies.

For example, is this what The Green Goblin eventually will look like in Marc Webb’s sequel, ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2?’

He’s labeled as the Ultimate Green Goblin, so maybe this is a version of the villain that we’ll see in a comic, or an animated television program. But if Andrew Garfield’s Spidey has to face off against this demonic beast, he’ll have his webby hands full.

You hands will be full, meanwhile, as you play the official ‘ASM 2’ video game, which
Activision and Marvel announced will be in stores next Spring, in conjunction with the sequel.

The first 'The Amazing Spider-Man' game gave players their own beautifully animated, free-roaming city of Manhattan to traverse and explore – a playground of majestic scale in which to live out our common hero fantasies," said Thomas Wilson, Co-Studio Head of Beenox. "And the overwhelming message from fans was: 'MORE!' That's what our team is working toward with 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2' – we're giving gamers more abilities, more upgrades, more challenges, and more freedom to progress. And with the game launching alongside the new movie, offering an expanded interactive experience beyond the film, fans of the franchise won't want to miss playing it.

And it’s going to look a little something like this: