Claws vs. Rage: New Images from Wolverine and the Incredible Hulk
Empire has released new promotional images (here and here) from two upcoming films based on Marvel Comics superheroes. The Incredible Hulk, a (partial?) reboot of the franchise which got off to a rocky start with Ang Lee’s 2003 film, is set to be released on June 13, 2008. X-Men Origins: Wolverine is due on May 1, 2009.
Rumors are that the new Hulk film will be closer in tone to the 1970s television show that starred Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno, and this photo from IMDB certainly gives one hope. There’s also talk that The Incredible Hulk, together with Iron Man, might be setting up an eventual Avengers flick with a couple of cool crossovers. The word is that Nick Fury will appear in both movies, and that Iron Man’s Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) will make a cameo in the Hulk feature. This give’s one the impression that Marvel’s film division is getting its act together after some recent missteps.
But, waitaminute…
Wolverine, who first appeared in comic book form in The Incredible Hulk (issue #180 or issue #181, depending on how technical you want to get), gets his own shot at silver-screen glory in 2009. X-Men Origins: Wolverine brings back Hugh Jackman in the titular role, but it’s also managing to cram into it’s cast just about every waitaminuteareyoukidding? celebrity that director Gavin Hood can think of. Ryan Reynolds, Liev Schreiber, and Charlie Pace himself, Mr. Dominic Monaghan, have all been announced as castmembers recently. They’re all fine, I guess (though why we have to cram this film full of pseudo-celebrities is beyond me). But then there’s Will.i.Am, from the Black Eyed Peas, and I simply refuse to accept that any movie featuring Will.i.Am can be any good.
So, on the one hand you’ve got The Incredible Hulk, looking like it could be totally bad-ass, and on the other hand you’ve got X-Men Origins: Wolverine, clunky title and all, looking like it could be totally ass-bad.
Oh, Marvel, what am I going to do with you?
Comments On This Article
Bethany says:
In my heart, there is only one true Hulk, and that’s Mr. Bixby. He scared the living crap out of me when I was a kid. Okay, wait, that’s not right. As a youngster, I was afraid of the big green monster man. Then, as I aged, I came to realize that the truly scary part of the show was actually David Banner, not his alter-ego. Oh, I feel terrible even admitting that. But c’mon, Bill’s kinda creepy… those tight white bell-bottoms, the hair… I love and hate The Bix in equal measure. My head, my head!
P.S. TV show theme? Coolest ever.
ChrisClark says:
The theme from that show definitely is one of the coolest ever. And I think you’re right that Bixby is scarier in that show than Ferrigno ever was. I mean, Ferrigno, no matter how hard he tries not to be, comes off as a kind of cartoon—he’s painted green, for Christ’s sake. But the idea that Bixby, if he gets angry enough, can turn into a green Lou Ferrigno—that’s fucking insanely scary. That’ll give you nightmares.
Ethical Slut says:
In completely unrelated news, I never get tired of seeing hugh jackman wet and shirtless.
ChrisClark says:
He is a very sexy man. Even a straight guy can admit that.
Mary Ann says:
Oh Chris I hope you are wrong about the new X-men movie… and thank you for letting me know there was going to be one, I really enjoyed the first 3 ( there are 3 right?) And yes hugh Jackman totally deserves the Yummy title, now believe it or not I use to read the x-men comics, then moved to watch the cartoon when it came out… so I am hoping this one will not be a flop… and the cameo’s you speak of will be short lived and not interfere too much with plot…
ChrisClark says:
There are three X-movies, so far. This Wolvie one is the next one, and I heard rumors a while back that there might be a Magneto film sometime after that.
I didn’t know you read the comics. When did you read them? Same time as when the cartoon was on? Lots of hardcore comics nerds like to shit on that period in the X-Men’s history, but I think the early-to-mid 1990s were a pretty good period.
I think that whether it flops or not will have a lot to do with how much of Wolvie’s backstory they cover. He’s got one of the most intricate and confusing backstories in all of comics, and they’d be better off deciding to tackle just a bit of it, rather than trying to capture the essence of the whole story.
Mary Ann says:
During High School and College, one of my many jobs was as a receptionist at a nursing home. On Sunday’s I worked from 12-8, it was the worst, but that is when I read the x-men comics, I’m not a die hard comic fan, so I enjoyed both the comic and the cartoon.
ChrisClark says:
Very cool. You learn new things about your old friends every day. :-)
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