Our first revamped Mixed Marvel Arts Weekly Web-Up (which Shaun will inevitably still try to claim as the Martinews), couldn’t have started at a better time. This past week was chock full of movie and television news, highlighted by the first official set photos of Ant-Man. The Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to expand with casting announcements for the second season of ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. A familiar face is becoming a new Spider-character in this falls’ Spider-Verse, and learn what new features the Marvel Superheroes are bringing along to Disney Infinity 2.0. Join us, as we web-up the news from around the net. 

Ant-Man. After a rather shaky start, namely the loss of fan-favorite director Edgar Wright, Marvel Studios officially started production on the Paul Rudd/Michael Douglas-led Ant-Man. Peyton Reed helms the superhero-heist film which also stars Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll and David Dastmalchian. Marvel released the following plot summary to go along with their press announcement.

Armed with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, con-man Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) must embrace his inner-hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), protect the secret behind his spectacular Ant-Man suit from a new generation of towering threats. Against seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Pym and Lang must plan and pull off a heist that will save the world.

Ant-Man is scheduled for release July 17, 2015. superherohype.com

Marvel did not waste any time promoting the film as they released the first official set photo of Rudd’s Scott Lang one day after production began. superherohype.com

Not to be outdone by her co-star, Lilly took to Instagram to show off a Wasp-esque hairstyle for her character, Hope Van Dyne. superherohype.com

Also announced this week, John Slattery, who appeared in Iron Man 2 as a more matured Howard Stark, has signed on to appear in Ant-Man. Archer and Arrested Development darling, Judy Greer, will be popping up in the film as well.

Avengers: Age of Ultron. Stellan Skarsgård has confirmed that he will return as Eric Selvig in next summer’s Avengers: Age of Ultron. This will mark the actor’s fourth appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Dr. Selvig, a character oftentimes used to help break down the comic book science in Thor and Avengers. As put by Skarsgård: “I don’t know what I’m allowed to say. But usually they call me in if they need something explained. There’s a lot of explanations to do when it comes to that universe.” comicbookresources.com

Dr. Strange. Marvel is also taking an unusual approach with their Dr. Strange movie. Gone are the days of the origin stories, according to  Devin Faraci of Badass Digest. “Marvel’s new thing is no more origin stories. So, Doctor Strange movie no longer has an origin. It begins in medias res. It has Doctor Strange already established as the Sorcerer Supreme.” comicbookresources.com

Marvel Studios. Marvel is listening to fans on what other characters they’d like to see make the jump to the big screen, and according to Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, Captain Marvel and Blank Panther are at the top of that list. “They’re both characters that we like, that development work has been done, it’s continuing to be done on, and certainly it’s the question I get asked more than anything else, more than Iron Man 4, more than Avengers 3. That’s sort of the first time that’s really happened to us, so I think that makes a difference. I think that’s something we have to pay attention to… I’ve always said we have our plan, and it’s served us very well, and there hasn’t been anything that has managed to deviate or change from that based on an opinion, because opinions online change and they alter, and they are based on limited information they have to what’s going on behind the scenes, but in this particular case I think it is a groundswell, and I think it means something substantial.” superherohype.com

Guardians of the Galaxy. CBR News spoke with writer Brian Michael Bendis about a few upcoming story arcs featuring a team-up between Richard Rider and Star-Lord, and the team’s journey to the “Planet of the Symbiotes.” comicbookresources.com

Spider-Verse. Marvel released a first look at issue two of Edge of Spider-Verse, an event which is set to introduce a variety of new Spider-related characters to the comics. One of the more intriguing ones will be an alternate version of Gwen Stacy, who was bit by the irradiated spider and became Spider-Woman. Newsarama has a preview of artist Robbi Rodriguez’s work. newsarama.com

Big Hero 6. Anybody that has been enjoying the synergy between Marvel’s comics and movies, or any fans of Disney and/or Big Hero 6, may be in for a bit of a disappointment. Marvel has announced that it has no plans of restarting a comic book series based on the team of young heroes. Nor will they be releasing any collected volumes of the previous comics. Maybe they will reevaluate if the upcoming Walt Disney Animated Studio film performs well at the box office. newsarama.com

Spider-Man Unlimited. The upcoming mobile game will feature a variety of Spider-Men, which will help promote the Spider-Verse comic event. Marvel has a sneak peek at a few of the characters. Confirmed versions of the hero include: Spider-Man Noir, The Bombastic Bag-Man, Spider-Man (Ben Reilly), and Mangaverse Spider-Man. marvel.com

Disney Infinity 2.0: Marvel Super Heroes. Disney Interactive hosted a Toy Box Summit where developers and content creators had a chance to mingle and try out the latest version of the game. Two panels were held to discuss the success of the game, and the exciting launch of the Marvel Heroes version, due for release September 23, 2014. The developers also counted down the ten most requested features and how they have addressed them, including: #10: Make it easier to build, #8: Help me create games (both addressed by adding templates), #3: More adventures, and #2: More Disney characters in the Toy Box starter set. newsarama.com

Marvel Heroes. The weekly Operation Omega event is currently live and gives bonuses to SIF, RIF and XP, as well as featuring Omega-level bad guys and faster Omega leveling. marvelheroes.com

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ABC has been gearing up the announcements for the upcoming second season of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.  First up was the announcement that actress Adrianne Palicki, of the failed 2011 Wonder Woman pilot, will be staring as the popular character, Bobbi Morse, a.k.a. Mockingbird. She will join the show in the fifth episode. superherohype.com

Also coming to the show will be the notorious comic book villain, Absorbing Man. Carl “Crusher” Creel will appear in the second season’s premiere episode, portrayed by Brian Patrick Wade. Marvel has a first look at the man with the ability to absorb the properties of anything he touches. marvel.com

Daredevil. Vincent D’Onofrio, who will be portraying Wilson “the Kingpin” Fisk in Netflix’s Daredevil series, has a lot of faith in the shows potential. He even makes a lofty claim that his portrayal of Fisk will be one for the ages. “I think that there will be no other Wilson Fisk but this one after we’re all done with it. That’s what we’re hoping for.” comicbookresources.com