Marvel Studios president of production Kevin Feige has spent a good bit of time talking to the public lately, first during a press visit to the Iron Man 2 set which is still under embargo, and later to an audience at the Produced By Conference on the Sony Pictures lot in California. FirstShowing.net was there to listen to Feige's comments that can be reported at this point, and got a little bit of information about where Marvel is headed with the huge amount of franchises it's trying to kick off.

The full article has lots of details, but here are the big ones. Chris Hemsworth (Thor in Thor), Tom Hiddleston (villain Loki in Thor) and Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow in Iron Man 2) all signed multi-picture contracts similar to the one that Samuel L. Jackson did, meaning they'll all be around for multiple sequels as well as the group Avengers film. Before that omnibus though comes Captain America, which Feige confirmed will take place during World War II and which he says will be inspired by Raiders of the Lost Ark. He even compared it to The Rocketeer, which, as a child of the 90s, I am thrilled to hear.

Other details on Iron Man 2, Kenneth Branagh's plans for Shakespeare in Thor, and the surprise element of The Avengers at First Showing. Personally, I'm really just overwhelmed by all of this. Can't we just go back to the days when the only superhero franchises worth caring about were Spider-Man and X-Men? No? Well, I guess I at least have the rest of this superhero-free summer to prepare for the Marvel future.