Marvel’s other big news is that Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World will be converted from their 2D shoots for release in 3D. I have to say I’m not too excited by this. I don’t think either of the films will greatly benefit by being put in 3D, and it seems like just another way to inflate box office figures. Obviously it’s the financially prudent decision, as The Avengers was greatly assisted by its 3D release, but this writer will still be seeing both those films in their traditional form.
Also of note is the Disney announcement that Saving Mr. Banks will release December 20, 2013. The John Lee Hancock film is about Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) and Mary Poppins writer PL Travers (Emma Thompson.) The cast also includes Colin Farrell, Ruth Wilson, Paul Giamatti, B.J. Novak, Jason Schwartzman, and Bradley Whitford. That date likely means that Disney thinks they have an award contender on their hands, so I’m quite excited to see more about this film.
For those who’ve yet to see it, we’ve included a plot synopsis below:
When Travers travels from London to Hollywood in 1961 to finally discuss Disney’s desire to bring her beloved character to the motion picture screen (a quest he began in the 1940s as a promise to his two daughters), Disney meets a prim, uncompromising sexagenarian not only suspect of the impresario’s concept for the film, but a woman struggling with her own past. During her stay in California, Travers’ reflects back on her childhood in 1906 Australia, a trying time for her family which not only molded her aspirations to write, but one that also inspired the characters in her 1934 book.
None more so than the one person whom she loved and admired more than any other—her caring father, Travers Goff, a tormented banker who, before his untimely death that same year, instills the youngster with both affection and enlightenment (and would be the muse for the story’s patriarch, Mr. Banks, the sole character that the famous nanny comes to aide). While reluctant to grant Disney the film rights, Travers comes to realize that the acclaimed Hollywood storyteller has his own motives for wanting to make the film—which, like the author, hints at the relationship he shared with his own father in the early 20th Century Midwest.
Disney has given us a ton to talk about today, so head to the comments section and share what you think of Ant-Man kicking off Phase 3 and the rest of the announcements.