Scruffy McGhee says: Holy shiite! This is going to break some records, my friends! How many? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.

VIA IGN:

A new Japanese trailer for Marvel‘s The Avengers shows the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier and Iron Man‘s Gwyneth Paltrow reprising her role as Pepper Potts, as well as lots more aliens and superhero action! You can see it all for yourself (and in Japanese) below:

Scruffy McGhee says: Could we be seeing the developing of the Nine Realms as a potential story arc?

Jared Harris has signed on to play Professor Moriarty in Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes 2, says a scoop from Latino Review.

VIA CS:

Harris is best known for his ongoing appearance on AMC’s Mad Men, as Lane Pryce. The son of the acclaimed actor Richard Harris, Jared Harris has also appeared as a recurring character on Fox’s Fringe and on the big screen in films like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Igby Goes Down.

Both Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law will return for the Sherlock Holmes sequel, joined by Noomi Rapace as the unknown female lead and Stephen Fry as Sherlock’s brother, Mycroft Holmes.

A number of names have been rumored for the part of Moriarty, most notably Brad Pitt. The character, a criminal mastermind and arch-nemesis of Holmes, appeared in the original Arthur Conan Doyle stories, “The Valley of Fear” and “The Final Problem.”

Clark Kent asks: Who would you have rather scene Robert and Jude face-off with — Brad Pitt or Jared Harris? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Many of you probably noticed that Iron Man 2 was missing a sequence that was prominent in the trailers.

Clark Kent says: Well after the jump you can see it for yourself!

VIA SF:

The moment on an aircraft where Pepper kisses Iron Man’s helmet before throwing it off board and Tony dives to retrieve it as he makes his entrance into Stark Expo. Director Jon Favreau has said that the sequence was removed because he wanted to give Robert Downey Jr. a big entrance, and the reveal of Stark on stage after landing worked better without the opening bit of comedy. There is actually a bunch more to the sequence that we didn’t see, including Iron Man and a toilet.

Clark Kent says: For those of you who are interested in seeing the three minute opening scene — see for yourself below:

Clark Kent says: Missed Comic-Con? Me too… But the good folks over at SuperHeroHype got us all covered. Find out what we didn’t see after the jump.

VIA SHH:

Marvel Studios also revealed the Captain America shield and the Infinity Gauntlet from Thor at the studio’s booth today at the San Diego Comic-Con! Both items that were on display are the actual ones used in the two films! Throughout the week, Marvel Studios also revealed Odin’s throne, the Destroyer and Thor, Loki and Odin’s helmets.

Below are just a few images from the San Diego Comic-Con:

Clark Kent says: I’m not yet sold on ‘Thor’ but definitely dig Cap’s shield. Are you excited about ‘The Avengers’…? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

Clark Kent says: There are some perks to being your own boss — you can see what you want, when you want! It took me two times to watch ‘Iron Man 2′ to come to this conclusion. Did Robert Downey Jr. win big with Don Cheadle on his team? Find out after the jump.

GOOD: ‘Iron Man 2′ has been a project fan’s have been anticipating ever since Jon Favreau and Robert Downey Jr. first brought Tony Starks to the silver screen. The sequel sets out to introduce the audience to more of Starks’ world. The sights are a delight to behold. From the menacing sight of Mickey Rourke as Whiplash to Don Cheadle taking over for Terrence Howard as Lt. Col. James Rhodes and donning the War Machine suit — Favreau has fun with his new toys. Cheadle brings more gravitas to the role as Rhodes — a feat that Marvel was banking on after the fallout with Howard.  Everything in ‘Iron Man 2′ looks astounding as special effects pop with John Debney’s memorable score adding on to the experience. Sam Rockwell — who plays Justin Hammer — gives Tony hassles as the biggest thorn in his side. Rockwell has the perfect balance of cockiness and incompetence that makes him the Wile E. Coyote to Stark’s Road Runner. Favreau and Justin Theroux (‘Tropic Thunder’) never spend too much time on one character or storyline for it to ever turn stale. Robert Downey Jr. again is so smug and outspoken as Tony Starks that he turns even the most serious situations into pure comedy. Intellectually cool and surrounded by the beautiful duo of Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Natalie Rushman (Scarlett Johannson) — Iron Man and the rest of the major players fill their roles nicely and never divert your attention from everything else that’s going on in the film.

BAD: ‘Iron Man 2′ and its plot comes off as subtly shallow in many regards. Scenes featuring many of the major players find them appearing and disappearing at random — with some being lost in the shuffle. Favreau and Theroux’s story rushes from one set-piece to another and never establishes itself as one the audience particularly needs to be involved in. Sharply uneven a lack of new ideas or surprises after the first reel help to make the narrative disappear amidst the action sequences. The CGI works as a crutch in this case and ‘Iron Man 2′ suffers from not building on the dramatic foundations of the first movie. Even some of what is carried over from the first film doesn’t work either — most notably the relationship between Tony and Pepper. Originally what came off as delightful and cute in ‘Iron Man’ comes across as forced in the sequel. Their burgeoning romance loses its charm amidst all the other sub-plots that are going on in the flick.

UGLY: To put it plainly — ‘Iron Man 2′ is a worse movie than its predecessor. Visually stunning and armed to the teeth with CGI special effects meant to leave your jaw on the theater floor, returning director Jon Favreau and writer Justin Theroux spend 124 minutes of our time and don’t really do too much storytelling amidst all the sights and sounds. Sam Rockwell absolutely delights on-screen as Justin Hammer. Stepping up to the plate he is smarmy in a way that no one else can do half as well. Gwyneth Paltrow and Scarlett Johannson are left with table scraps and very few scenes, while Don Cheadle and Samuel L. Jackson are equally underused. Mickey Rourke is spectacular as supervillain Whiplash and deserves credit for trying to pull off a Russian accent. Unfortunately, Robert Downey Jr.’s portrayal of Tony Stark comes off more cheaply with very little depth. Facing his own personal issues, none of the nuance and self-loathing is in ‘Iron Man 2′, Starks comes off as a fun drunk in an Iron Man suit. It’s as if the minds behind the movie never looked at the ‘Demon in a Bottle’ saga. While ‘Iron Man 2′ is an entertaining Summer movie — it feels more like a bridge to an action-packed third movie than a repeat of what was so special about ‘Iron Man’.

Clark Kent says: In short… See It! If only to see for yourself how good the movie was and how great it could have been. Let’s hope that Favreau and company are taking note and step it up for the third installment. Got an opinion? Share it below and enjoy the trailer!

Clark Kent says: Words cannot describe how awesome this movie is going to be. You have to see for yourself after the jump.

VIA U:

After the Oscars ended, and then the local news, and then some alleged comedy on the Jimmy Kimmel show, folks who were still awake got to see the new ‘Iron Man 2‘ trailer.

If you weren’t one of them, we’ve got you taken care of.

Featuring more breezy zings from Robert Downey, Jr, this new trailer also proves that, yes, Sam Rockwell is in this film (you can barely see him in the first one) and Scarlett Johansson will do more than crouch in tight black clothing. She’ll actually speak (though Stark will refer to her as an object, not a human, in one of the more shockingly sexist sound bytes in a recent movie aimed at the youth market.)

The new trailer also follows up on what we saw the first time – that Mickey Rourke will completely rule in Iron Man 2.

Clark Kent says: You cannot forget how cool it will be to see Downey and Don Cheadle tag team against evil. SlashFilm has over 100 hi-res images from the movie. I’d consider it a spoiler to look at them all. But you can take a look at the new trailer below:

Paramount has released a new high-resolution image from Iron Man 2, which opens May 7.

Clark Kent says: Pretty cool pic, right?

VIA RM:

The new photo depictis Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) in the cockpit of his race car, gearing up for a race. It is no doubt the same car that Whiplash (Mickey Rourke) slices in half in the Iron Man 2 trailer.

Clark Kent says: Speaking of trailers… here goes ‘Iron Man 2′ if you haven’t seen it already.

Iron Man 2 director Jon Favreau talked to the Los Angeles Times about the fact that Iron Man will not have a secret identity in the sequel.

Clark Kent says: You can see him come out and see Robert expose his secret identity by clicking here!

VIA SHH:

“It allowed us to draw upon our experiences and certainly Robert’s experiences,” the filmmaker said. “Robert had strong points of view on these things. He was propelled quite publicly to a much more successful station and we were able to draw upon that. We were able to comment on the phenomena of celebrity as we know it today.”

Clark Kent says: You can read more of the interview here. Iron Man 2 hits theaters and IMAX on May 7.

IMAX Corporation, Marvel Entertainment and Paramount Pictures today announced that the highly-anticipated action-adventure Iron Man 2, directed by Jon Favreau and starring Robert Downey, Jr., will be released to digital IMAX theaters simultaneously with the film’s worldwide release on May 7, 2010.

Clark Kent says: I missed ‘Avatar’ on IMAX, but I will not miss ‘Iron Man 2′. Sound off if you feel me!

VIA SHH:

The film’s limited IMAX release will be digitally re-mastered into the image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience with IMAX DMR technology. Iron Man 2 will be distributed by Paramount Pictures.

“The success of the first ‘Iron Man’ movie catapulted the franchise from the comic books to theatre screens, and we’re excited that the IMAX format will offer fans an even more immersive way to experience the sequel,” said Tim Connors, Chief Operating Officer, Marvel Studios.

“‘Iron Man 2′ is a fantastic addition to our growing film slate for 2010, which is filling out faster than any previous year,” said IMAX CEO Richard L. Gelfond. “The rollout of our digital projection system has enabled us to add more films to the slate, and we’re very excited to partner with Marvel and Paramount on this next installment of the incredible ‘Iron Man’ franchise.”

“We’re thrilled to once again be working with Paramount and our long time friends at Marvel Entertainment as we help to bring their characters to life in IMAX,” said Greg Foster, Chairman and President of IMAX Filmed Entertainment. “The combination of Marvel’s iconic ‘Iron Man’ story, Jon Favreau’s brilliant vision and Paramount Pictures’ talented team coupled with IMAX will make for a wild cinematic experience.”

The IMAX release will be digitally re-mastered into the image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience with proprietary IMAX DMR (Digital Re-mastering) technology. The crystal-clear images coupled with IMAX’s customized theatre geometry and powerful digital audio create a unique environment that will make audiences feel as if they are in the movie.

Clark Kent says: There’s a top 5 list in here some where. Check back with me next week and let’s discuss.

According to Collider, DreamWorks, Universal and Platinum Studios aren’t resting on their laurels replacing the departed Robert Downey Jr. as Zeke Jackson in the Jon Favreau-directed movie based on the graphic novel Cowboys & Aliens.

Clark Kent says: Craig could do well as an action guy himself.

VIA SHH:

Already in talks to play the role is none other than James Bond himself, Daniel Craig.

Written by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci of Transformers and Star Trek fame, the project involves a supergroup of producers including Imagine’s Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, Steven Spielberg and Platinum Studios’ Scott Rosenberg.