New pics for Inception, Iron Man 2, Scott Pilgrim, Toy Story 3

With that new Clash of the Titans trailer yesterday, and the fresh Alice in Wonderland trailer today, it seems audiences are being primped and primed by the big studios in readiness for next year's onslaught of major releases. So, in that vein, we have a new poster today from Christopher Nolan's keenly-anticipated Inception, as well as stills from Iron Man 2, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and Toy Story 3.

First up is that Inception one sheet, released via the movie's own official website. Details have been fairly scarce on Brit director Nolan's follow-up to the quite popular Dark Knight, but we do know that it stars DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Ellen Page, as well as Batman alumni Cillian Muphy, Ken Watanabe and Michael Caine. We also know that Warner Bros. has handed Nolan a whopping great budget that could buy a coffee and a cheeseburger for everyone in Latin America. The teaser trailer had little echoes of The Matrix, as does the publicity guff about 'the architecture of the mind' (is Inception set to deliver Prestige-like levels of pomposity/unintentional hilarity?). Anyway, things should all get a little clearer as we draw nearer the scheduled July 2010 release date.

In recent months, I have found it a right rum old riddle just how excited folks seem to be getting about Iron Man 2. Okay, so the first one was less horrifically awful than the majority of recent Marvel Comics movies, and there is no doubt that director Jon Favreau and star Robert Downey Jr. have charmed the fan community with the easy success of a head cheerleader wooing the president of the school science club - yet the level of unquestioning drooling over this follow-up has definitely taken me aback.

For one thing the new movie appears chronically overladen with outlandish characters (triple threat villains in the shape of Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow, Mickey Rourke's Whiplash, and Sam Rockwell's nasty tycoon Justin Hammer, additional hero in the form of Don Cheadle's War Machine), all of whom will need fairly meaty chunks of explanation. I think it could all lead to a bit of a blockbuster blancmange-splatter when Iron Man 2 hits theatres in May next year, but I would be perfectly happy if Favreau and Downey Jr. prove capable of making me eat my doubting words.

Another project which is very much in the bloodthirsty sights of online film fans is Edgar Wright's Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, based on the pop culture-drenched comic strip by Bryan Lee O'Malley. The below still appeared on JoBlo, and features several of the major cast members in character.

Going from left to right we have: Michael Cera as Scott Pilgrim, bass player in Sex Bob-omb and pleasant and simple heartthrob; Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Ramona Flowers, Scott's enigmatic paramour and owner of the seven evil ex-boyfriends with whom he must do battle; Johnny Simmons as Young Neil, Sex Bob-omb's keenest advocate; Ellen Wong as Knives Chau, the seventeen year-old Scott is dating when he meets Ramona; Alison Pill as Kim Pine, Scott's high school girlfriend and drummer in Sex Bob-omb; and Mark Webber as Stephen Stills, moody guitarist and songwriter for Sex Bob-omb.

Last of all this morning is a still from Toy Story 3, courtesy of Empire, and featuring the familiar gang of toys fretting over something. Boy, do they ever look a worried bunch. But, you know what? I think it's probably all going to work out okay for them in the end.