Talk of the Guardians of the Galaxy comic book series being turned into a movie first emerged in August 2011.

The team first appeared in print back in 1969 and were portrayed as 31st century heroes, each the last of their kind, who banded together to stop alien invaders.

A crossover storyline called Annihilation: Conquest set the scene for a new version of the cosmic ensemble, launched in 2008.

So, while the company now has its own studio making the films for Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Avengers and many more, the screen rights for Ghost Rider and Spider-Man are with Sony and those for X-Men, Daredevil and Fantastic Four are with 20th Century Fox.

Other rights have moved around over the years but that's the gist of how the land lies today.

And this year, Sony is re-spinning its Spider-Man franchise with a reboot starring Andrew Garfield. New cast and crew, different villain, different love interest and a new parental backstory.

And although Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige isn't directly involved with Sony's Amazing Spider-Man, the character is still part of the Marvel heroes family and Feige has seen an early version of the new film.

There will be no shortage of releases to keep fans happy over the coming years. Next up is Iron Man 3, which hits on May 3, 2013, followed by Thor 2 on November 15, 2013, and there will be two films coming out in 2014.

We know Captain America 2 will be one of them, hitting screens on April 4, 2014, while the other is so far unspecified and will launch on May 16, 2014. It might well be Edgar Wright's slow-crawling Ant-Man movie that takes that second slot on the calendar, or perhaps a film focusing on Nick Fury and his SHIELD agency.

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has been bombarded with questions about these other films while doing the rounds promoting The Avengers (or Marvel Avengers Assemble, as it will be called in the UK). He has already given some thoughts on Iron Man 3 and on whether they are planning another solo film for Hulk.

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment announced the upcoming arrival of Josh Trank's feature-film directing debut in UK stores.

Trank has since gone on to be linked with other superhero projects, namely Fox's planned Fantastic Four reboot and Sony's Spider-Man spin-off Venom.

A survey of customers by tickets site Fandango names the superhero ensemble as the film that people are most looking forward to seeing.

Although it began life as a straightforward prequel to Alien, the project spun off into something else.

Damon Lindelof, who co-wrote the script with Jon Spaihts, had earlier explained how Prometheus and Alien are connected.

After Eric Bana and Edward Norton's iterations, this time it's Mark Ruffalo with green, clothes-ripping, anger management issues.

The new version of Hulk has been well-received already, so will there be another standalone movie?

Disney, Marvel Studios and DMG Entertainment issued a joint statement about the partnership. It explained that DMG will invest in the project and co-produce it as well as distributing the film in China in collaboration with Disney.

DMG chief executive Dan Mintz said: "Our collaboration with Disney and Marvel marks a milestone in the global entertainment landscape, as this signifies the first multi-billion dollar franchise to be produced between Hollywood and China."

The film has now earned $531m globally and with sequel Catching Fire set to shoot in August ahead of release on November 22, 2013, the race is on to secure a new director after Gary Ross confirmed he wouldn't be returning.

According to the LA Times movie blog 24 Frames, Lionsgate has compiled a list of seven or eight contenders that includes Alfonso Cuaron (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Children of Men), David Cronenberg (The Fly, A History of Violence, A Dangerous Method, Cosmopolis) and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Babel, Biutiful).

Various names are also being linked to the remake of RoboCop, to be directed by Jose Padilha with Joel Kinnaman starring as murdered police officer Alex Murphy, who is revived as a cyborg.

The Tracking Board reports that Edward Norton is in line for the role of the scientist who creates the half-man, half-machine crimefighter, while Sean Penn (pictured) may play a right-wing news reporter called Novack.

In addition, Gael Garcia Bernal (recently cast as the new Zorro) and British actress Rebecca Hall (Frost/Nixon, The Town) are under consideration for supporting roles. Bernal is set to join the production as Jack Lewis, the title character's former police partner who begins a relationship with Hall's character Ciara, the wife of Alex before he was transformed into RoboCop.

You should, of course, avoid the clips if you are trying to stay free of spoilers.

The film's US premiere was held in Los Angeles on April 11, with the European premiere taking place at Vue Westfield, Shepherds Bush, London, this Thursday, April 19.

In the UK there has already been an advance screening for multimedia writers which I attended last Friday, April 13. There's an embargo on reviews until April 20 (so check back then for my full verdict) but we were allowed to tweet and you can see my reaction by visiting my Twitter page.

The UK also held a fan screening on Saturday, April 14, as part of a series of such events worldwide.

Screenwriters Cory Goodman and Jeremy Lott are adapting the book, according to HeatVision.

The story, which was originally written and illustrated by husband and wife team Ashley Wood and T.P. Louise, sees the return of beasts once held at bay by a secret society of shepherds.

Meanwhile, Variety is reporting that Sharlto Copley (pictured; District 9, The A-Team) has been offered the part of the villain in Spike Lee's Old Boy, a remake of a 2003 South Korean film based on a Japanese manga.

The Mandate Pictures production will follow a man called Joe (played by Josh Brolin) who is kidnapped and locked in a hotel room for more than two decades and then freed with just five days to find out the reason for his imprisonment.

Colin Firth previously turned down the role of the villain, which was then rumoured to have been offered to Clive Owen.

A previous incarnation of the project developed by DreamWorks was to have starred Will Smith and been directed by Steven Spielberg. But it was scrapped amid claims by the manga publishers that the Korean film's producers gave the rights to Spielberg without their permission.

Following the release of four stills from the film - which you can check out here (one above, the others below) - comes the first official poster, which is featured in full below.

The upcoming film is based on the best-selling novel by Stephenie Meyer in which Earth is the target of an unseen alien enemy known as souls. Humans become hosts for these invaders, their minds taken over while their bodies remain intact.

Among the films hoping for a slice of Dark Knight acclaim will be Zack Snyder's Superman reboot Man of Steel, with Henry Cavill as mild-mannered Clark Kent and his heroic alter-ego.

Dylan Sprayberry (above) is playing Clark at the age of 13 and offered some insight on the production to Clevver TV, saying: "When Zack [Snyder] and I were talking about it the first time, he was saying how they want to give it a more edgy feel like The Dark Knight but also make it more realistic and emotional so it's not just the all-American superhero that saves everyone.

The $78million film has been a major success at the box office, earning $464million so far in just under three weeks.

Ross was paid a relatively low $3million for The Hunger Games, though he will also get 5 per cent of the final profits.

It's all part and parcel of today's internet news in which we rarely get an official announcement from the studio of who has a particular job. Instead it's all played out in the online arena and we follow every step of the process as shortlists get shorter and possible recruits inch towards the table with the contract on it.

In the light of that, F. Gary Gray was said to be among those being considered for Captain America 2 - due out on April 4, 2014 - but Deadline reveals he has dropped out in the hopes of taking on Straight Outta Compton, a biopic about US hip-hop group NWA.