GUARDIANS OF GALAXY (Cast News)

• GUARDIANS OF GALAXY

Ophelia Lovibond

THR is reporting that actress Ophelia Lovibond has been cast in the upcoming Marvel film Guardians of the Galaxy. Specifics of her role are being kept under wraps, but it is said that her character will work closely with "The Collector," who is one of the "Elders of the Universe" in Marvel comics.

Lee Pace

Now we have word that actor Lee Pace has won the villain role in Marvel Studios' upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy, The Wrap reports.

Its still not confirmed just which villain he might be playing although we all think it just might be The Collector.

In the source material, The Collector learned about Thanos' ability to threaten the universe and sought to collect life forms and worlds to place in a museum of sorts, ideally protecting them from Thanos and his path of destruction. He even held onto one of the Infinity Gems, "The Reality Gem," before Thanos stole it.

Whoever wields the Reality Gem is capable of altering, manipulating and controlling reality by changing the physical laws of the universe. When used in conjunction with the other Infinity Gems, it could lead to a whole lot of destruction.

The Collector

It was rumoured that Thanos would possibly be a feature in not only Guardians of the Galaxy but Avengers as well, meaning it could well be possibly that what we know from the comics could play out on the silver screen.

Other cast members confirmed for the film are "Parks and Recreation" actor Chris Pratt as Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord, Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer, Zoe Saldana as the green skinned assassin Gamora, and Michael Rooker as Yondu. Guardians of the Galaxy's roster is also said to include Groot and Rocket Raccoon.

The film is currently in pre-production in the UK, with Gunn at the helm, and is targeting an August 1, 2014 release.

FAST AND FURIOUS 6 (Producer Interview)

• FAST AND FURIOUS 6

Collider recently managed to grab an interview with producer Neal Moritz where they extensively discussed Fast and Furious 6, as well as the progress on the very fast-moving Fast & Furious 7, which was recently announced for a July 2014 release. 

When asked about Fast & Furious 6, Moritz was visibly ecstatic with the finish product, saying:

“It’s the best of the series.  We had one test screening on this movie and over 90% of the people in the audience said it was as good or better than Fast Five, with the majority of them being better.  It just delivers, there’s incredible action, there’s a fantastic villain, but the spine of the movie is that relationship between Vin and Michelle.  When she comes back and how that throws everything into havoc, it’s just fantastic.  It’s just a really, really good emotional story between the two of them and it’s really the backbone.”

Moritz added that Fast 6 has not one, not two, but three major action set pieces:

“We have two or three of the best action sequences you will ever see.  The scene where you saw the tank on the freeway, that sequence is incredible.  The taking down of the big plane at the end of the movie is incredible, and then there’s a sequence early on that we call ‘Team vs. Team’ through the streets of London which is incredible.”

Late last month, Vin Diesel suggested that filming on the seventh installment in the series could begin as early as July this year.  Dwayne Johnson subsequently told Steve that he’s set to shoot Hercules this June, so he might not be able to return to the Fast franchise should Universal move so quickly on the follow-up.  Well, the studio did announce a July 11, 2014 release date for Fast & Furious 7, and Moritz confirmed that filming would indeed begin this summer:

“Yes, we are gonna film this summer.  We have been talking about it for quite a while, because while we’re making any of the Fast movies we’re always talking about what could happen in future Fast films.  So it’s something that we have been talking about for quite a while.”

Though Johnson may have to do some serious schedule finagling to fit both Fast 7 and Hercules in, Moritz says The Rock will most definitely be back:

“[Fast & Furious 7] is a new chapter, but The Rock will be involved as well.”

While the franchise is officially continuing on past Fast & Furious 6, director Justin Lin (who has helmed four Fast films in total) has opted to step away from the franchise. Universal made a bit of a left field choice by sigining Saw and Insidious director, James Wan, who will step in and take the reins for Fast 7:

“[Wan is] a terrific, terrific director at the top, top of his genre.  He’s done everything you could do in the genre he’s been working in, and as he said to me the other day, everything he has trained himself within that genre has been so he could take the next step up into something like Fast & Furious… I’ve always been a fan of his, he’s one of the people that we initially had on our list as a possible replacement, but I can just tell you when he came in and told us what his vision was, when he left the room we all looked at each other and said ‘That’s our director.’”

When asked if the franchise might possibly end after Fast & Furious 7 or if the producer could see it continuing on, and Moritz seemed optimistic about the endless possibilities for the future of the franchise:

“I really think that people are really interested in these characters, and we’re lucky enough to have developed so many characters with so many storylines that the biggest hindrance of this franchise is the fact that we just don’t have enough screentime to service all the characters in this movie.  There’s just so many interpersonal relationships between so many people in the movie, there’s just a lot of different ways to go.  So we’re just continually working to develop good stories with good characters and have a lot of their stories interweave constantly and sprinkle a lot of great action in between.”

When asked if Dwayne Johnson would get his own Hobbs spin off, Moritz said they’re currently just focused on Fast & Furious 7. 

Whatever the case maybe, you can not miss Fast and Furious 6 when it releases on May 24^th. 

X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST (Cast News)

• X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST

Adan Canto of "The Following" confirmed on Twitter this weekend that he has signed on for the upcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past.

Adan Canto

Though he didn't say which character he will be portraying in the movie, he had a cryptic reply when asked about upcoming projects: "I might turn into a ball of fire if someone pisses me off." This leaves a few possibilities for his role - the Braz

illian mutant Sunspot is one option or Canto could have been recast in the role of Pyro.

In other X-Men News, A few weeks ago, some fans were concerned that actress Halle Berry would be unable to fully commit to the upcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past due to her pregnancy. She put those concerns to rest herself and we now have the first image of her on the set of the film. Director Bryan Singer released this image on Twitter of Berry in her new outfit and with a ne

w hairstyle.

The Marvel Comics mutant ensemble's big cast also includes Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Michael Fassbender, Anna Paquin, Ellen Page, Shawn Ashmore, Halle Berry, Peter Dinklage, Omar Sy, Daniel Cudmore, Fan Bingbing and Boo Boo Stewart.

Halle Berry Back as Storm

The film will be based on the comic book storyline "Days of Future Past," which ran in Uncanny X-Men #141 and 142 back in 1981 during Chris Claremont and John Byrne's run and introduced the idea of an alternate future for Marvel's mutants that grew out of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants killing an important senator, leading to a future where all mutants are hunted by Sentinels.

X-Men: Days of Future Past began production on Monday and hits theaters on July 18, 2014.