Marvel Studios shuffles Thor, Cap & Avengers release dates

So first the news:

Thor • Original release date: July 16, 2010 • Updated release date: June 17, 2011.

Captain America • Original release date: May 6, 2011 • Updated release date: July 22, 2011.

The Avengers • Original release date: July 15, 2011 • Updated release date: May 4, 2012.

And although it’s not a Marvel Studios film, Spider-Man 4 now also has a date: May 6, 2011.

A lot more realistic now than the original dates as casting hasn’t even began on any of the films but it’s good to know that they’re actually moving forward with these films. Rumors right now are that Thor director Kenneth Branagh is leaning towards actor Alexander Skarsgard for the title role. No real news for Captain America has surfaced but the interesting thing about The Avengers is that the reason that Iron Man 2 got bumped and put on the fast track was to get Jon Favreau on board to helm that film. At Wondercon last year, Favreau mentioned that his dream project would be to direct an Avengers movie and it looks like with all this reshuffling, it could very well happen. All I know, it’s gonna be a good time to be a nerd for years to come.