Marvel Studios is feeling pretty confident right about now. Iron Man is their first release since establishing themselves as a mini-studio and, well, it made bucketloads of cash over the weekend. The Robert Downey Jr starrer took an estimated $104.2 million in the US and some $201 million worldwide. That's already over its $150 million budget and makes it the tenth biggest opening of all time. UPDATE: Actual figures now put the film at $197.6 million – $98.6 million of that in the US – but it remains the 10th highest opening ever.
Understandably, Marvel is now riding that huge wave and today announced their slate for the next three years. Least surprising was the declaration that Iron Man will fly again on April 30, 2010, exactly two years away after the first.
Matthew Vaughn's Thor seems to have been rescued from the no-man's land in which it was dwelling, with a release date of June 4, 2010. Things had gone very quiet on the film, with some indications that it might never be made – Vaughn has started working on other projects recently – but the iambic pentameter-spouting, bewinged hat-sporting, guy who looks like Fabio will finally get his time on screen. Thor will apparently get an introduction in Iron Man 2.
More surprisingly, The First Avenger: Captain America (which we'll all end up calling Captain America, just as X-Men Origins: Wolverine will only ever be Wolverine) has been dated for May 6, 2011. Now, a Captain America movie has been mooted for a long, long time – since around 1997 – but to give it a release date is, obviously, a declaration that it now has to happen. There's nobody currently attached to write the script, nor any director chosen (interestingly, Jon Favreau was offered the gig before choosing Iron Man). If we were casting the all-American Super Soldier? Will Smith, even if he is a little old for the part. It's probably unlikely that Marvel will go with an extremely faithful re-telling of the character's comic book origin in World War II, given usual studio dislike for period superhero movies. In a modern revision of the comic, which wouldn't be too tricky, there's no reason for the character not to be of a race other than depicted in the comic, and Smith possesses all the Captain's personality qualities. Just our suggestion...
Finally, with all the company's big guns getting their big screen outing, Marvel has decided to mash them all together for team-up movie The Avengers, out in July 2011. Whether the movie will feature just those who already have movies – Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Ant Man (Edgar Wright is still attached to the undated adaptation) – or bring in other characters is not clear. Certainly, whoever plays Captain America is going to be a busy boy, if he's going to be in both films.
Any other Marvel heroes you'd like to see get their time on the silver screen?