Marvel & Netflix Team Up To Change The Game

Good lord... this is a true game changer! Marvel and Netflix have agreed to team up in one of the most ambitious ventures ever announced. The two industry titans have decided to come together and produce 4 individual 13 episode television shows based on the characters of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Power Man & Iron Fist... and then a Defenders mini series highlighting all four characters!!! Holyyyyyy SHIT!!! Are you kidding me? All four series will be set in Hell's Kitchen, NY and will be based in the same universe as the Marvel Cinematic Universe as well as Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as well. Good god... the best part is they say "a minimum of four" live action series... could even be more!!! The plan is to unroll the shows in 2015, and given the recent success with Netflix original programming (Orange is the New Black, House of Cards, etc) and everything live action Marvel (movies & the SHIELD TV show) this should go over swimmingly. Plus, I really dig the idea of getting 13 episodes to explore each character in full detail. Than we can bring them all together... wow. This can be so great, and think about how many villains, lesser characters and cameos we can plan on seeing. Check out the full press release after the jump...

"This deal is unparalleled in its scope and size, and reinforces our commitment to deliver Marvel's brand, content and characters across all platforms of storytelling. Netflix offers an incredible platform for the kind of rich storytelling that is Marvel’s specialty," said Alan Fine, President of Marvel Entertainment. "This serialized epic expands the narrative possibilities of on-demand television and gives fans the flexibility to immerse themselves how and when they want in what's sure to be a thrilling and engaging adventure." 

"Marvel’s movies, such as 'Iron Man' and 'Marvel’s The Avengers,' are huge favorites on our service around the world. Like Disney, Marvel is a known and loved brand that travels," said Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos. "With 'House of Cards' and our other original series, we have pioneered new approaches to storytelling and to global distribution and we're thrilled to be working with Disney and Marvel to take our brand of television to new levels with a creative project of this magnitude." 

This new original TV deal follows last year's landmark movie distribution deal through which, beginning with 2016 theatrically released feature films, Netflix will be the exclusive U.S. subscription television service for first-run, live-action and animated movies from the Walt Disney Studios, including titles from Disney, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Studios, Disneynature and Lucasfilm.  Netflix members can currently enjoy a wide range of Disney, ABC TV and Disney Channel films and shows across the 41 countries where Netflix operates

Pulp Avengers by Calamity Jon

I am a sucker when modern characters are re-imagined into old style projects. Calamity Jon is an artist who hit this idea right square on the head when he decided to take some of the lesser known Avengers (Wasp, Black Widow, Power Man) and fold them into pulp novel type stories. These covers look spectacular, and I would definitely read these books based on their tag lines alone. I am especially intrigued by the bonus in this series, DC Comics favorite space man Strange being written by Robert Heinlein (the author of Starship Troopers). That would be epic all the way around. Click here to see some excellent info on the source material of these covers, and check out all 5 after the jump...

And here is the bonus, DC Comics favorite spaceman Adam Strange:

Will Power Man Be Contractually Required To Wear Old Spice In His Movie Debut???

This is a funny story. Isaiah Mustafa, the guy from the awesome 'Old Spice' commercials ("look... I'm on a horse") has it in his head that he wants to play Luke Cage (Power Man) in a big screen version of the Marvel Comic. While there has been some talk of giving Cage a shot for a solo feature, rumors are that Idris Elba might get the nod. Elba was cast in 'Thor' as Heimdall the Gatekeeper and he absolutely killed it. Judging by the way Marvel likes to dig back through their older movies for stars on their newer projects, I was leaning towards Elba for Cage as well. So who will be the "Hero for Hire" on the big screen?

It looks like Mustafa ain't waiting around to lose the role to Elba, who already has a foot through the door. Mustafa put together this faux trailer for a Power Man movie and it looks pretty cool. Take a look for yourself:



Now that's how you go after it!!! I would have liked Mustafa to look a bit bigger (Cage is gigantic), but that can probably be fixed with some CGI. My only beef is that he should have wore the silver headpiece from the vintage (70's/80's) Cage comics.

I know Luke Cage isn't rocking that look anymore, but Mustafa would have score major points with Quesada and the gang over at Marvel. Who do you think Power Man should be? Tell us in the comment section below.