[E3]Wolverine Game Formally Announced

Nothing much was said about it, but the X-Men Origins: Wolverine movie will be getting a movie-to-video game counterpart.  It was announced during the Activision panel at E3 2008 yesterday.  No details were attached, just that it’s being made.

BET & Marvel Give A Sneak Peak Of Black Panther At SDCC

So, at next weeks San Diego Comic-Con you can get a chance to see a sneak peak of the Black Panther cartoon that will be debuting BET sometime in the future. 

BET Networks and Marvel Animation are teaming up to produce an animated series based on the legendary superhero, THE BLACK PANTHER. Casting is already underway for the series that is slated to premiere in the first quarter of 2009. A special sneak preview will premiere at Comic-Con in July during BET’s panel on Saturday, July 26. The series will be adapted directly from the first six issues of the Marvel Comic written by Reginald Hudlin (issues #1 – #6 “Who Is The Black Panther”).

The partnership between Marvel Animation and BET Networks marks an important milestone in the expansion of the channel’s animation division and the realization of a project that has been a labor of love for BET’s President, Entertainment, Reginald Hudlin.

“As a lifelong comic book reader, I didn’t think anything could top the excitement of writing one of my favorite characters, the Black Panther. I’m so proud I’ve been able to maintain a successful run of the series over the past three years while keeping my ‘day job’ of programming a network. But now to have both of my worlds collide, to have a faithful adaptation of my own work as a prime time series on the network — it’s a dream come true. The Black Panther has always been an inspirational character to me, and now I get to share that inspiration with the widest audience he’s ever had.

“I’m very excited to be working with Marvel. It’s been great working with Joe Quesada and Axel Alonso on the publishing side, and I look forward to a similar experience with Eric Rollman and his team at Marvel Animation.

“I want to give special thanks to Denys Cowan, my SVP of Animation, who is doing a fantastic job of bringing the art of John Romita Jr. to life,” says Hudlin.

Eric Rollman, President of Marvel Animation adds, “The Black Panther is a working example of Marvel’s initiative to broaden our fan base by working with new and innovative partners. Reggie and his team can uniquely take material that is near and dear to them and re-imagine it for a whole new audience. We look forward to a long and successful relationship with BET.”

The Black Panther animated series is executive produced by Reginald Hudlin, President, Entertainment and Denys Cowan, SVP Animation for BET Networks. Eric Rollman, President of Marvel Animation, and Cort Lane, Director of Animation Development, are the executives on the series for Marvel.

What Happened To The Marvel MMO? Bendis Tells All…

Brian Michael Benids…you either love him or hate him.  He is one of the top minds at Marvel currently…and he was also one of the executive producers of the ill-fated Marvel MMO.  He recently spoke with ComicMix and gave a little insight on what happened to the Marvel MMO.

CMix: It’s no secret that you’re an avid gamer. Is there any comic character or title that you’d still like to see in a videogame that hasn’t popped up yet?

BB: Well, you’re talking to one of the executive producers of the ill-fated Marvel MMO that went away. I have my laptop here, and on it I have the “X-Mansion” level fully completed that only I and five other people have access to play. It’s gorgeous and fantastic and no one will ever see it. So I feel bad, because I think that MMO was a phenomenal idea that was extremely well executed and it went away because some guy at Microsoft who we’ll never know pulled the plug on it before it even got underway.

But adding to that, I think that they should take each of these Marvel events and turn them into a videogame franchise. “Civil War,” which will be part of the next Ultimate Alliance, “House of M,” “Secret Wars”…

CMix: “Secret Invasion?”

BB: “Secret Invasion.” Absolutely.

I think the idea of them doing a video game series based on comic events would be awesome.  MUA: Secret Wars, then MUA: House of M, then MUA: Civil War, etc etc.  So there you have it a “faceless person at Microsoft”.  Do with it as you will….faceless bastard!!!

Two New Marvel Animation Projects For Direct-to-DVD/Bluray

When Marvel and Lionsgate launched their slate of Direct-To-DVD/Blu-Ray feature films we set out to bring comic fans an animated experience unlike anything seen before from Marvel animation. By creating films for the small screen we are able to tell stories with more drama, romance, and action than Saturday morning series will allow while taking chances on characters and storylines often deemed too risky for larger scale theatrical releases.

In January 2009 two of the most famous battles in Marvel’s comic book history are finally being brought to life in the sixth Marvel/Lionsgate Direct-to-DVD/Blu-Ray release “HULK VS.” Here’s a little info on the films included in this release

HULK VS THOR – It’s gods versus monsters in this epic 45 minute movie! Never have we explored the explosive power of the Hulk like we have in this new film, every major character from the Marvel Thor universe is thrust into battle with this Green Goliath as he brings a new Ragnarok down upon the realm of gods.

HULK VS WOLVERINE - This dark, violent, smash and slash story was first told in issue 181 of THE INCREDIBLE HULK and the rematches have continued to thrill comic fans ever since. Now Marvel and Lionsgate takes the best of those famous comic book battles and merges them into one heart pounding 33-minute story.

We’ll have more on Hulk VS Thor in the coming months but here’s a brief description of Hulk VS Wolverine:

“ALBERTA, Canada. Over the past week, The INCREDIBLE HULK has been tearing a line across the Canadian wilderness, leaving a swathe of destruction in his wake. He has to be stopped, and there’s only one man up to the job.

He’s the best at what he does, but what he does isn’t very nice.

He’s WOLVERINE, an elite agent of Canada’s top secret Department H, and he’s been put on Hulk’s trail with a single objective: stop the Green Goliath… at all costs.

Hulk and Wolverine are about to enter the fiercest battle of their lives. And they have no idea that there are a few unpleasant surprises waiting for them on the other side.”

Most people will need to wait until January 2009 to see this film BUT you don’t have too…

Come meet Supervising Producer/Co-Writer Craig Kyle, Producer/Supervising Director Frank Paur, Co-Writer Christopher Yost and others involved in this Marvel Animation Milestone and watch the complete “Hulk VS Wolverine” film before it’s January 2009 Blu-ray and DVD release at the 2008 San Diego Comic Con.

The world premiere screening takes place on Thursday July 24th at 4:15PM in Hall H.