Oh Kate, the places you’ll go. Even behind those pointed ears, Zelda get-up and flaming red hair, I can still spot that lovably injured Lost character as Evangeline Lilly, who for all intense and purposes may as well just be Kate, makes her jump to Peter Jackson‘s world of Rings and things. Lilly is to play Tauriel in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and correct me if I’m wrong but I’m pretty sure she is an invented character (or one found when rummaging through those Appendices).

Kate, er Lilly, described her character as a warrior elf who won’t hesitate to kill. Sounds like the good ol’ Kate that I know. Now we just have to wait for her to get wrapped up in a love triangle between Bilbo and Gandalf that will never quite be resolved.

What do you think about all this fluffing up of the Hobbit story? Are you a fan of what Jackson is trying to do or do you think this dog is in need of a muzzle?

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Marvel madness continues with a first look at what is sure to be the eponymous villain for Captain America: The Winter Soldier, AKA Captain America 2. Although this is only a piece of concept art, it gives a sneak peek as to what this Winter Solider will look like. Rocking a Bane mask, aviator goggles and a big high caliber rifle, the Winter Solider is a friend-turned-arch nemesis for Cap. Many suggested after the first Captain America, when Bucky Barnes, Steve Roger’s best friend, fell to his apparent death he was actually just being set up for an inevitable return as the iconic villain in future installments.

MMU (Marvel Movie Universe) guru Kevin Feige had the following to say for this Cap sequel:

“We weren’t going back to World War II. Cap cannot travel in time. So while Tony can go home to Malibu and Thor goes up to Asgard and Hulk can sort of ride the rails, Cap was stuck. So Cap does stay with S.H.I.E.L.D. because he has nowhere else to go. But he’s not necessarily comfortable there. And just as he’s given permission to let go of the past and to focus on the modern world, a ghost comes up. With the Greatest Generation in World World II, there’s a tendency to reflect on that period and say, ‘Things were black and white back then, and now it’s hard to know who the bad guys are.’ ‘We wanted to play on that a little wit Cap being uncomfortable with the way S.H.I.E.L.D., and in particular Nick Fury, operates.”

Captain America: The Winter Solider is directed by Anthony and Joe Russo and stars Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Codie Smulders, Samuel L. Jackson, Anthony Mackie, Robert Redford, Hayley Atwell, Toby Jones, Sebastian Stan as the Winter Soldier. It hits theaters April 4, 2014.

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Dane DeHaan has emerged as one of the best young actors in the last few years with a handful of dark performances in films like Chronicle, Lawless and The Place Beyond the Pines. Well, DeHaan’s big ticket to stardom has appeared in his casting as Harry Osborn in the new The Amazing Spiderman franchise.

This first look at DeHaan as Osborn doesn’t show much except perhaps a penchant for hair gel and his hipster fashion sense. While Franco is often a lovable oddball, DeHaan has a much more brooding presence so I wouldn’t be surprised if the character was quite a bit different from the prior iteration.

Harry Osbourne is a staple of Spiderman lore and was last played by James Franco in Sam Raimi‘s original trilogy. A foundation of duality to Peter Parker’s double life, Osbourne is both Parker’s best friend and mortal enemy. DeHaan’s place in the trilogy is sure to start out more on the friendly side of the spectrum and it is still to be seen whether or not he will eventually fill the shoes of the villain like Franco did in the over-crowded Spiderman 3. Sitting where I am, it seems like this franchise is at least trying to go in a new direction so I doubt that DeHaan will go baddy in the next film or two. If the series extends past a trilogy though, I’m sure he might morph into the New Goblin after all.

 The Amazing Spiderman 2 will see the return of director Marc Webb and stars Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone but also features a whole cast of new actors including DeHaan, Shailene Woodley, Paul Giamatti, Felicity Jones, Chris Cooper, and Sally Field. The Amazing Spiderman 2 opens May 2, 2014.

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With the debut trailer arriving tomorrow, Marvel Studio is trying to churn up interest in Thor: The Dark World with this truly lackluster photo. Stars Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman seem to be having a jolly old time chilling in cloaks with their billowy locks tossed about but this isn’t exactly the epic god-of-thunder antics that will get fanboys and superhero fans in seats. Since the Grecian architecture and Padiwan robes here clearly don’t resemble anything you’d see on modern day Planet Earth, I guess the picture is slightly revealing in that Portman’s character, plain Jane, must have teleported to Thor’s home planet (realm?) of Asgard.

The first poster for Thor: The Dark World showed off Thor’s mighty-sized arm amid a storm of CGI and was equally lacking in intrigue. I’m sure that the trailer tomorrow will be sure to seize some attention though. Until then, I guess you can look at this lame picture.

Thor 2 is directed by Game of Thrones helmer Alan Taylor and stars Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Idris Elba, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Kat Dennings, Ray Stevenson, Zachary Levi, Tadanobu Asano, Jaimie Alexander, Rene Russo, and Anthony Hopkins and opens in theaters on November 8, 2013.

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Before he blue himself, Jaime Foxx’s character did not look so hot as Max Dillon, the man who turns into Electro in The Amazing Spiderman 2. He’s rocking the comb-over equivalent of squid-ink angel hair pasta and sporting pre-Heisenberg Walter White glasses. At least after some kind of electricity accident, he turns into a cross-breed between an Avatar Na’vi and Star War‘s Emperor Palpatine in this first look.

Let’s hope that the villain’s motivation are a little stronger in this sequel than they were for The Amazing Spiderman where Curt Conners wanted to make everyone a lizard because…lizards are STRONGER! If this snapshot is any indication, the internal struggle of this dude seems to stem from his total lack of a social life. It’s pretty clear he’s not the belle-of-the-ball (that “style” hardly ever is an effective lady-killer look) and seems to have developed a little crush on Spiderman and orange yarn so why NOT like become a lightning-powered super-villian and hunt down the spider-influenced vigilante? Motivation: solved.

The Amazing Spiderman 2 will see the return of director Marc Webb and stars Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone but also features a whole cast of new actors including Dane DeHaan, Shailene Woodley, Paul Giamatti, Felicity Jones, Chris Cooper, and Sally Field. The Amazing Spiderman 2 opens May 2, 2014.

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With a release date of August 2, the following two pictures offer the first look at the followup to Zack Synder‘s 300. Titled 300: Rise of an Empire, this sequel-that-was-a-prequel is now more of a simul, as it takes place within roughly the same time frame as the original but on a different battleground with different characters.

Whereas the events of 300 led to the battle of Thermopylae between King Leonidas, his 300 warriors and king-god Xerxes, this film will depict the events of Battle of Artemisium. Even though these battles actually took place, the whole 300 universe is unbound by the annals of history, a fact clearly evident by the fantastical elements penned in Mark Miller’s source material.

300: Rise of an Empire will follow the exploits of Greek general Themistokles played by Sullivan Stapleton (pictured below) and his much-less-trained militia as they battle the seemingly limitless Persian army at sea under the command of Artemesia (Eva Green).

Although the slo-mo heavy visual effects of 300 have been largely influential over the past decade, I found the fast-and-loose plotting and character development more than underwhelming. In the end, the film seemed like a really long trailer- eye popping visuals and quotable little soundbites with nothing to tie it together. While I don’t have much faith in this follow-up thingamajig, there are sure to be faithful legions of fans anxiously awaiting it’s release.

With Synder busy on other projects like Man of Steel, the directing reins were passed down to Noam Murro whose only other directing credit is 2008’s pretty much panned, Smart People. Synder remains on-board the project as a producer and also is credited as screenplay writer. With a late summer release, the marketing engine is sure to be whirling up soon so expect a teaser trailer sometime in the next month.

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