Hey all! Got some good superhero movie news for you!

First off, Marc Guggenheim gave comicon.com an update on his work on the live-action Green Lantern movie:

Along with working on this new direction for Spider-Man, Guggenheim’s also involved in one of the upcoming superhero films that has comic fans turning green with anticipation. “I’ve been working my ass off on Green Lantern,” he said, then laughed. “I’m ready for a weekend off. I really can’t say too much about it. I’ve sworn a blood oath of secrecy. I will tell you it features Hal Jordan and is an incredibly faithful rendition of the character. It honors everything everyone loves about the hero. We approach it from a fan’s perspective. Every step of the way, we ask ourselves what we want to see and what the fans will want to see. I think we have a script that will actually satisfy on those levels. Right now I’m just doing a rewrite for the studio with Greg [Berlanti] and Michael [Green]. We’ll turn that in next week. We just keep moving forward. It’s really good stuff!”

Now, I like the prospect of a Green Lantern movie, I mean, I’m not that super devoted to him so maybe those of you readers out there that are could weigh in on this. However, I would be a LOT more excited had that quote not been preceeded by this one, also by Guggenheim:

Now, first here’s the setup:
“‘Speaking of ‘judging’ Guggenheim said a lot of people who aren’t reading Spider-Man or refuse to read Spider-Man are judging it based on misunderstandings. ‘Part of the problem with the controversy behind One More Day is the understanding of what was retconned overstates the extent of what was done,’ he said. ‘Everything that happened in the last twenty plus years of comic book history happened! The only difference is that Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson weren’t married. They still dated. They still lived together. They still love each other. They just weren’t married. Judging from the letters and death threats we received, I think some people were confused. It all still happened.'”

Okay, fair enough, I didn’t really catch on to that little bit of information (of course, someone has yet to make that part CLEAR), but here comes the fun part…

“‘Here’s my attitude, if anyone is upset about the marriage going away, then they must all be pro gay marriage,’ he continued. ‘Because if you’re pro gay marriage, you understand the distinction between a marriage and a civil union — that a civil union is not equal to a marriage. We downgraded Mary Jane and Peter to a civil union. If that bothers you, then you’re pro gay marriage.'”

Yeah. I know… It scarcely makes sense and just gives that overall sense of “WTF?” Anyway, he’s writing the Green Lantern movie and there have obviously been no casting yet. Swank-mo-tron has a great suggestion though as to who could play Hal Jordan, and frankly I’m on board with him, but actually READ the article before turning your nose up to it! But I digress…

Secondly, Super Hero Hype/Coming Soon has a great interview with Jon Favreau up, in which he talks a little about Iron Man 2 & 3 and how all three movies will tie together, as well as a few revelations about what we can expect in the next installment(s), you can check out the full thing here, but here’s an exerpt:

–He recently met with Downey at the actor’s home and discussed at length the kind of character beats and moments he hopes to have when he returns to the character. Downey also introduced Favreau to actor/screenwriter Justin Theroux, who impressed Downey with his work on the actor’s second summer hit Tropic Thunder, and Theroux is now working with Favreau to develop the story.

–Iron Man’s classic comic book nemesis the Mandarin, the Asian crimelord who sports ten powerful ring weapons (alluded to in the first film through references to the terrorist cell the Ten Rings) will most likely emerge as a primary antagonist, although Favreau is still wrestling with how to address the villain’s mystical origins and fit them into the high-tech world established in the debut film. It’s also possible the Mandarin may not be fully revealed as the “Big Bad” until a possible third film to avoiding overexposing a potentially intriguing enemy .

–Favreau plans to follow the first film’s themes of integrating social and political themes into the adventure and fantasy, and he hinted at a current global situation providing some inspiration – possibly an allusion to plans to utilize Iron Man’s Russian counterpart, the Crimson Dynamo.

I really liked Iron Man, and I am glad everyone sounds enthusiastic about coming back for at least the next two installments. Unlike Spider-Man, this one is in Marvel’s hands, so I have a little more faith in it.

Anyway, just a few updates for all you bots and meatbags out there!