Forget next year's versions of ‘Batman’, ‘Superman’ or ‘Spider-Man’, 2011 is dominated by the new screen superheroes.
But which one are you most excited about – Green Lantern, Captain America or Thor?
We give you a run-down on Hollywood's new boys:
Captain America: The First Avenger
It's not difficult to get excited about 'Captain America: The First Avenger'. Seemingly set during WWII for the most part, this looks like a blast of good old-fashioned, ‘Indiana Jones’-style derring-do and old-school bone crunching stunts.
There's a reason why Joe Johnston is in the director’s chair, given that he has a Spielbergian touch when it comes to this kind of stuff – as seen in films like 'The Rocketeer' and 'Jurassic Park III'.
It was hard to know how a film version of ‘Captain America’ could successfully come to fruition. The idea of an all American superhero could be trite, and, providing they stick to the comic book origin, the plot twist of Captain America getting frozen in ice before being re-woken in the present time could evoke more giggles than gasps of wonder, seeing as mainstream audiences will see similarities to 'Austin Powers'. But the teaser promo, which aired during the Superbowl, seems to have calmed those fears.
The film will focus on a weedy and sickly soldier called Steve Rogers who is drafted into a US army experimental programme. He is injected with super serum which enhances his speed, agility and strength to Olympic athlete standard.
Evans in fact turned down the project several times, explaining, “At the time, I remember telling a buddy of mine, 'If the movie bombs, I’m f**ked. If the movie hits, I'm f**cked! I was just scared. I realised my whole decision-making process was fear-based, and you never want to make a decision out of fear. I can't believe I was almost too chicken to play Captain America. I think Marvel is doing a lot of good things right now, and it's a fun character. ... I think the story of Steve Rogers is great. He's a great guy. Even if it were just a script about anybody, I would probably want to do it. So it wasn't necessarily about the comic itself.”
Marvel bosses and Disney seem confident – they're already working on a script for the sequel. At any rate, it's bound to be more successful than the campy straight-to-video film adaptation of the early 1990s.
‘Captain America: The First Avenger' is released 29 July.
Thor
Like Captain America, Thor will end up in 'The Avengers' – Joss Whedon's superhero team up movie, which will comprise of both those characters plus Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk.
So how will the story of Thor's origin play to a mainstream audience? It's hard to tell.
Relative newcomer Chris Hemsworth, best known for starring in 'Home and Away' and the 'Star Trek' reboot, will play the titular hero. He was originally turned down before the studio decided to give him a second chance to read for the part.
An appearance in the 1988 TV movie 'The Incredible Hulk Returns' notwithstanding, 'Thor' will be all new to a large part of the audience. Our very own Kenneth Branagh is the man Marvel hired to helm the story about the brash and arrogant warrior who is banished to Earth to live among humans as punishment.
The Superbowl promo was met with a fairly 'Meh' response, with the Kingdom of Asgard scenes looking like leftovers from camp 80s 'classic' 'Master of the Universe'. However, the new trailer is far more focused, and plays up to its strengths.
Playing up the fish out of water aspects, it shows far more humour than the original trailer, as well as providing more story elements. In short, the adventures of the God of Thunder looks like pretty good fun while the dramatic element is helped by having the acting talents of Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman and Stellan Skarsgard at the director's disposal.
‘Thor’ is released 27 April.
The Green Lantern
The film could really go two ways – spectacularly epic space opera or a big screen mess of intergalactic proportions. The plot of a man being handed a ring which gives him the power to wield solid light constructs (it's hard to describe, just watch the trailer) runs the risk of being laughed out of the cinema. When you add in the fact that he also carries a green lantern around, as well as uttering the oath “In brightest day, in blackest night, No evil shall escape my sight. Let those who worship evil's might. Beware my power... Green Lantern's light!” , then you can see the concerns. Oh, there are also other green lanterns in the universe featured in the movie that look more like they belong in Flanimals than a summer blockbuster!
That would maybe explain why one of the ideas of a film version was to make it a Jack Black comedy.
Cue massive outrage from fans of the comic book.
Instead, taking inspiration from the acclaimed stories by Geoff Johns, this is a serious take on the character.
It's a no-brainer for Ryan Reynolds as the cocky test pilot who finds himself in possession of the ring. It's the sort of thing he can do in his sleep, while the film is bolstered, much like 'Thor, with strong acting talents like Angela Bassett, Tim Robbins, Mark Strong and Peter Sarsgaard.
Yahoo! Movies visited the New Orleans set last year and, thanks to an overzealous special effects crew-member, saw the entire storyboard for the film – and it looks pretty epic to say the least.
'Casino Royale's Martin Campbell is more than capable of providing the required stunts and awe-inspiring set pieces that are needed for this kind of film, so it should be an enjoyable trip to the cinema at the very least.
‘The Green Lantern’ is released 17 June.
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