It's a wrap!

Iron Man 2 finishes principal photography.
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MMB: IRON MAN

And now the crispy clean first high-res image of Scarlett as Black Widow

Check it out on EW.com!

The accompanying article is pretty interesting and worth reading. Take for example this passage:

...Rourke, for his part, wanted to instill some lightness into the role of the heavy. "I told Favreau, 'I don't want to just play him as a one-dimensional p----,'" he says. "He let me have a cockatoo, who I talk to and get drunk with while I’m making my suit."

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MMB: IRON MAN

First blurry image of Scarlett Johansson as the Black Widow

Thanks to FirstShowing.net!

She looks great! Rourke looks badass, Downey Jr. looks like Tony Stark come to life, Favreau is the best...this movie is going to rock.

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MMB: IRON MAN

Natalie Portman is Jane Foster

It's been rumored for a while, but now it's official: Natalie Portman has been cast as Jane Foster in Thor.

Two immediate thoughts:

1) She's perfect for the role. My 'mind's eye' summary of Jane Foster is: graceful, intelligent, energetic, beautiful, thoughtful and classy. In other words - Natalie Portman.
2) This says a lot about the growing clout of Marvel Studios. Robert Downey Jr., Ed Norton, Mickey Rourke, Samuel Jackson, Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson, and now Natalie Portman. Big, big names for what is essentially a new independent film company.

What are your thoughts? Yay, or nay? Leave a comment.

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MORE: NATALIE PORTMAN ON IMDB
MORE: JANE FOSTER ON WIKIPEDIA
MMB: THOR

Ant-Man being pushed back even further?

Edgar Wright spoke to Empire Online and it seems like Ant-Man may be moving further and further back in the pipeline. A quote from Wright in regards to Baby Driver, his next project:

"So once I’m doing one thing, like this, I’m only doing this. Other things – like Ant-Man and me and Simon’s next film – have all gone away until I’m done with this."

So we'll see what happens.
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MMB: ANT-MAN

Favreau twitters link to video of Iron Man 2 giant green-screen set

Favreau's twitter feed here.

Marvel continues to expand its empire

Marvel is really shaping up to become the next Disney. You see their characters everywhere. The licensing opportunities are endless, as evidenced by one of their newest pacts with Hallmark.