Upcoming from Marvel Studios...

Did you see that Iron Man topped $200 million for its opening weekend? $104 in the U.S. alone? Wow. While those are impressive numbers for any film, I've been really pulling for Iron Man because it is the first movie project developed in-house at Marvel. You remember those Spider-Man, X-Men, Blade, Fantastic Four, Hulk, Punisher, Daredevil, Elektra, and Ghost Rider movies? Some were good, some were awful, but all of them were produced by film studios who licensed Marvel properties. Iron Man and the forthcoming The Incredible Hulk are the first efforts now that Marvel is making their own films. I'd say they hit it out of the park with their debut.

Today Marvel released its first quarter earnings report, and it includes a summary of what Marvel Studios have to come. Yes, this has me smiling from ear to ear.

The Incredible Hulk (June 13, 2008)
Iron Man 2 (April 30, 2010)
Thor (June 4, 2010)
The First Avenger: Captain America (May 6, 2011)
The Avengers (July 2011)
Ant-Man (writer/director engaged)

So should I just get a countdown clock for May 6, 2011, now? I'm thrilled to see that on the schedule.

Punisher: War Zone (December 5, 2008) and X-Men Origins: Wolverine (May 1, 2009) are also forthcoming, though they've been helmed by other studios. I'm confident the Wolverine movie will be worth watching, but the last Punisher flick was a disaster.

Oh, and there are Wolverine and Iron Man cartoons coming to Nicktoons in early 2009, as well as direct-to-DVD animated movies Thor: Son of Asgard (late 2009) and Planet Hulk (early 2010). Certainly plenty of product coming, and that's aside from the funnybooks. Not a bad time to be a Marvel zombie.

Thanks to Newsarama for the tip.