Marvel Studios Announces 'Heroic' Line-Up

With the success of the first "Iron Man" movie, Marvel is embarking on an ambitious schedule of movies based on its comic book characters beginning in Summer 2010.

First up will be "Iron Man 2," the sequel to the film that has kicked off the big summer movie season. The motion picture will debut on April 30, 2010. While no official casting announcement was made, Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow and Terrence Howard have signed contracts to appear in three movies. Director Jon Favreau also has expressed interest in making more "Iron Man" happen.

Next up will be a Thor film in theaters a few weeks later on June 4, 2010. Look for the character to make an appearance in the second "Iron Man" film.

Then "The First Avenger: Captain America" will debut on May 6, 2011.

All this will set up a movie teaming up all the characters as The Avengers, expected to be completed in July 2011. This will be quite an accomplishment since DC Comics has tried to make a Justice League live-action film happen for years.

Does that mean that once "The Incredible Hulk" is released on June 13, fans will have to wait two years for more? Not at all.

Look for the Hulk to morph into a series of films as well.

"We definitely plan on continuing," said David Maisel, chairman of Marvel Studios.

Marvel properties have also been outsourced to other movie companies, including Lionsgate's "Punisher: War Zone," coming out Dec. 5, and "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" on May 1, 2009, from Twentieth Century Fox.

Also, "Spider-Man 4" is still in works.

"I can't give any other updates other than to say it's in development and everybody's excited about 'Spider-Man 4,'" Maisel said.

Marvel hasn't forgotten the animated market, either.

"Iron Man: Armored Adventures" and "Wolverine and the X-Men" will begin on Nicktoons next spring. After that, new shows "Hulk Gamma Corps" and "Super Hero Squad" will debut.

DVD productions from Marvel will include "Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow" in the fourth quarter this year, "Hulk Vs." in early 2009. Marvel also appears to be converting popular comics storylines into DVD presentations in "Thor: Son of Asgard," based on the J. Michael Stracyzsnki comic coming late next year, and "Planet Hulk" bringing last year's popular comic event to DVD in early 2010.

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