Wednesday was a big day for Marvel Studios because director Jon Favreau wrapped up "Iron Man 2." Kevin Feige, Marvel's president of production, was in a celebratory mood, but it was split with with anger over the New York Daily News reports, which Feige called "garbage."
Feige said the plan to meld the Marvel Universe on the silver screen will move forward dramatically now and he said there are some surprises in "Iron Man 2" that set up an unexpected bond to the "Captain America" movie that director Joe Johnston is doing early work on now in England.
Samuel L. Jackson will NOT be in "Thor."
"Now many of the pieces are in place ... with 'Iron Man 2' finished and 'Thor' more than halfway done, that lattice work is being built."
Feige said Branagh is proving to be the ideal choice for "Thor" -- the executive knew he would be after seeing the buoyant and accessible "Much Ado About Nothing," which made Shakespeare fun and funny even to "comic book fans like me," Feige said. He added: "You could actually laugh and understand all of it."
