Over this last summer, Marvel Studios had its second two-movie summer following the one-two punch of Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk back in 2008.  The first of 2011's Marvel movies, Thor, managed to introduce the Asgardian setting and cosmic elements to the cinematic universe without fuss, which should allow the titular Thunder God played by Chris Hemsworth to integrate nicely into Joss Whedon's The Avengers. 

For 2013, Marvel was planning another double-decker summer, with Iron Man 3 and Thor 2 both sating our need for seasonal superheroics, but now, it seems Disney and Marvel have pushed Thor 2 back about three and a half months to Thanksgiving.

Synopsis: Marvel Studios presents in association with Paramount Pictures "Marvel's The Avengers"--the Super Hero team up of a lifetime, featuring iconic Marvel Super Heroes Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow. When an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, Director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. Spanning the globe, a daring recruitment effort begins. Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner and Samuel L. Jackson, and directed by Joss Whedon, "Marvel's The Avengers" is based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series "The Avengers," first published in 1963 and a comics institution ever since. Prepare yourself for an exciting event movie, packed with action and spectacular special effects, when "Marvel's The Avengers" assemble in summer 2012. In "Marvel's The Avengers," superheroes team up to pull the world back from the brink of disaster when an unexpected enemy threatens global security.

There are no less than two (two) major motion pictures directed by Steven Spielberg arriving in theaters this Christmas.  Of the two, only one, War Horse is a live-action feature, while The Adventures of Tintin is a motion-capture take on Herge's world-famous boy reporter.  The first domestic trailer for War Horse hit back in July, and it showcased the absolutely gorgeous imagery created by Spielberg and his longtime cinematographer Janusz Kaminski.  A new UK trailer easily one ups its American counterpart by including just as many pretty pictures, but amping up the emotionalism so hard that your allergies might cause your eyes to water.  Just allergies.

Though one would naturally have expected The Avengers to be a ubiquitous presence at San Diego Comic-Con, the biggest gathering of nerdlingers and genre enthusiasts on the planet, back in July, Marvel opted out of a panel presentation for its superhero mega-crossover.  While the film still had a setup on the Con floor, the big panel was saved for August at Disney's D23 Expo, being established as something of a rival for Comic-Con.  East Coast comic-lovers who can't wait for The Avengers will officially have the opportunity to see a panel presentation from the film at New York Comic-Con on October 15th.

The panel will include Marvel Studios honcho Kevin Feige and castmembers Chris Evans, Tom Hiddleston, Cobie Smulders, and Clark Gregg.  Director Joss Whedon will presumably be busy putting the movie together in post-production, unless Marvel's keeping his presence as a surprise.  The panel will play host to exclusive footage from the movie, rather than foisting the D23 clips on a New York crowd hungry for new content.

At this point, every actual image released showing the characters of The Avengers is sort of surreal, as the big Marvel Studios plan to introduce all these characters in their own films then bring them together for the mother of all superhero ensembles seemed so impossible.  Yet here we are, looking at actual photographic evidence that The Avengers will be onscreen in less than a year.  Just last week, we saw some primo-quality behind-the-scenes images and some less-than-stellar scans from the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly.  Today, there are not only a couple of new images, but we've also got those previously-meh scans in crystal clear form, allowing you to see the details on Cap's costume and the way Scarlett Johansson in black leather easily upstages an explosion.

The new issue of Entertainment Weekly, which hits newsstands and hamster cages on Friday, September 30th, features a big set visit report on The Avengers, the unprecedented superhero crossover teaming up cinematic heroes previously introduced in Iron Man, Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger.  Since this, generally speaking, is the sort of thing that can move some magazines, EW has teased the issue by putting the cover image online, accompanied by the very briefest of articles giving just a taste of what you'll find in the pages.  So go ahead and whet your whistle with an every shade of official image putting Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, and Jeremy Renner.

So last week, the internet scratched its collective scalp at the unexpected news that Patty Jenkins is apparently a frontrunner to direct Thor 2, the sequel to this summer's cosmic Marvel adventure starring Chris Hemsworth as the titular God of Thunder.  If she does, in fact, end up with the job, she'll be the second woman to direct a Marvel Studios film, after Lexi Alexander smashed faces with Punisher: War Zone.  But that's neither here nor there; while there's been no official word from Marvel or Disney, Jenkins herself has confirmed that talks are indeed taking place, though her confirmation was necessarily evasive, vague, brief, and loaded with caveats.

Due to films such as Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan, and Empire of the Sun, as well as the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers and The Pacific, director Steven Spielberg is frequently identified with World War II.  In this Winter's War Horse, however, the Bearded One tells a story set during the Great War.  Despite its huge backdrop, with the first World War's horrific trench warfare and human suffering, War Horse is a fundamentally simple story about a young man, played by Jeremy Irvine, whose beloved horse Joey is sold into military service, and both of these gentle spirits must endure the savagery of war to find each other again.  The very first poster for the film has landed online today, and it gets across that basic story in simple, striking fashion.

Today has seen no shortage of news regarding Marvel Studios and the plan for sequels after next summer's The Avengers.  In order of least to most consequential (which also happens to be reverse chronological order), we heard about a potential location for the production of Iron Man 3, Chris Evans sharing his thoughts on when Captain America 2 will hit theaters and his future in-universe cameos, and most notably, that Patty Jenkins is a likely candidate to to direct Thor 2, the sequel to this summer's godly super-romp directed by Kenneth Branagh, who will not return for the follow-up.  Now, Marvel Studios head honcho Kevin Feige has revealed some big information regarding the story of Thor 2, including confirmation on a few returning characters.

Over the summer, Thor brought some cosmic stylings to the onscreen Marvel universe, making some good money, establishing Chris Hemsworth as a potential Really Big Deal©, and providing yet more setup for next summer's The Avengers in the process.  A Thor sequel, then, is in the not at-all uncommon position of having an announced release date, despite not having a finished script or a director, since Kenneth Branagh has opted not to return for another round of Asgardian action.  Despite previous news suggesting that Marvel Studios found their man to direct, it appears that not only is no director set, but Monster helmer Patty Jenkins is now a very likely candidate for the job.