Issue #206 of Total Film magazine features a Joss Whedon interview in what appears to be a huge Marvel-centric issue. In it, Joss talks about Avengers 2, but he also talks a little bit about the Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. pilot and how it fits in to the greater Marvel universe.

“The S.H.I.E.L.D. show fits into the mythology of The Avengers remarkably well and they both complement each other. So it just seemed like a no-brainer – although it has required a lot of my brain to get it right,” Whedon told the magazine.

“We have just finished shooting and I am excited. I think Marvel fans will…

Young adult franchise hopeful The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones doesn’t open until August 23, but Constantin Films is already working on a prequel.

The company has thrown into development Infernal Devices, an adaptation of the spin-off book series written by Mortal Instruments author Cassandra Clare, and has hired Stephanie Sanditz to write the screenplay.

Mortal Instruments, a best-selling series of fantasy romance books, centers on a young girl who discovers she is part of a hidden race of angels known as Shadowhunters locked in a battle with warlocks and vampires called…

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is set for release one year from now, on April 4, 2014. So that’s exactly how long directors Anthony and Joe Russo will have to complete the film. Principal photography began Monday, and Disney released the first image along with a full press release. The release confirms the returns of Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, and the presence of new additions Robert Redford, Anthony Mackie, Frank Grillo, Georges St. Pierre and others.

Check out the photo, they use regular old flags and C-Stands just like we do on the low budget indie productions I…

ABC has released some new information about their pilots, which includes a new title for the S.H.I.E.L.D. TV show, apparently, possibly to separate it from The Shield.

The new title is listed as Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Yeah… that seems like a completely suit driven and politically motivated title for the show. I hope that does not foreshadow other political motivations for the show. Ugh. What a completely uninspired name.

Heres the synopsis.

Fresh from his role in the summer’s box office smash, MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS, Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) returns to the…

Joss Whedon‘s habit of calling back former Whedonverse alums is well established. But with the exception of Clark Gregg, who’ll reprise his role from the movies as Agent Phil Coulson, the cast of S.H.I.E.L.D. has so far been populated with all-new faces. (Well, new to Whedon.) That changed today, as former Angel star J. August Richards joined the ABC superhero series in a mysterious role.

Excellent! I haven’t seen him in anything for a while and I liked him in Angel so this seems like a good thing to me.

Other info:

Aside from Gregg, Richards joins Ming-Na, who plays soulful…

For Zack Snyder‘s Man of Steel, composer Hans Zimmer an unenviable task. Unlike in 2006′s Superman Returns where composer John Ottman was able to use John Williams‘ iconic 1978 Superman theme, Snyder preferred to distance his film from all of the previous Superman films. That meant Zimmer was tasked with writing music that would work to inspire in the context of the new film, but also wouldn’t be totally overshadowed by Williams.

I’ve been on record as liking Superman Returns. Still, I am looking forward to seeing what this complete reboot could bring to the table. And yet I still think…

Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic Roger Ebert died at age 70 in Chicago on Thursday, just one day after posting an update about his health scare and career plans online.

The Chicago Sun-Times, the publication for which Ebert wrote his movie reviews, posted news of his death and a detailed obituary. Ebert had been battling thyroid and salivary gland cancers in recent years and, in 2006, lost some of his jaw and consequently his speaking abilities. He penned one more piece — titled “My Leave of Presence” — on April 3.

This is sad news. This week’s theme seems to be about death for me…

Typically, I write over 200 reviews a year for the Sun-Times that are carried by Universal Press Syndicate in some 200 newspapers. Last year, I wrote the most of my career, including 306 movie reviews, a blog post or two a week, and assorted other articles. I must slow down now, which is why I’m taking what I like to call “a leave of presence.”

What in the world is a leave of presence? It means I am not going away. My intent is to continue to write selected reviews but to leave the rest to a talented team of writers handpicked and greatly admired by me. What’s more, I’ll be able at…

Love her or hate her, Ellen DeGeneres is Dory from Finding Nemo. The character just wouldn’t be the same without her. And apparently Ellen has been pushing for a sequel for years. I don’t follow Ellen at all so I didn’t know it, but the video she put together below is pretty funny in showing that.

I just have a couple things to say about all this.

Firstly, I’m starting to worry about Pixar cranking out all these sequels. Well I have mixed feelings on it actually because they’ve cranked out some really good sequels — Toy Story 3 for instance may be one of their best films. At the same…