So now it’s officially officially confirmed – twins Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver will be joining the team in The Avengers 2! Writer/Director Joss Whedon hinted at their inclusion on the red carpet premiere of Iron Man 3 and Entertainment Weekly later said they had also heard they would feature. However, Kevin Feige naturally said that he wasn’t confirming or denying, and that the draft could change from now until release. Now, in an interview with IGN, Whedon officially confirmed the Maximoff Twins would join the roster in the sequel. Read what he had to say below:

“You know, they had a rough beginning. They’re interesting to me because they sort of represent the part of the world that wouldn’t necessarily agree with The Avengers. So they’re not there to make things easier. I’m not putting any characters in the movie that will make things easier.”

Oh, Joss, you harsh bastard. This would bump the roster up to eight members, and along with all the other shit going down in the sequel I sure hope Whedon has a tight hold on it. It’s well-known that the duo are the twin children of Magneto in the comics, but because their rights are shared by Marvel and Fox that means their origin will definitely be changed for the movie.

Are you excited for Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver in The Avengers 2? Share your thoughts below!

SOURCE: IGN

Could we ‘FINALLY’ see the trail blazing, eyebrow raising, pie eating, jabroni beating, king of the squared circle Dwayne The Rock Johnson on the big screen as a Superhero? Kevin Feige, aka the head honcho of Marvel Studios wants to make it happen! In a recent interview with Collider the MCU architect had the following to say;

I think yeah, I mean his name has come up in the past.  I’m a gigantic fan of his, I think he’s an incredible – I might have met him once a long time ago, but I haven’t really met him.  I don’t really know him – but I think he’s an unbelievable personality and an unbelievable sort of force of nature.  He’s awesome in ’Pain & Gain,’ he was great in ’G.I. Joe,’ he’s really kind of an amazing human being. His Twitter’s always cool and he promotes the hell out of everything he does.  I would love him to be part of the Marvel universe somewhere, someday.

Luke Cage is the obvious choice for the Brahma Bull to showcase his wit, charisma and ridiculous superhero physique (okay we’ll try and stop gushing now but BAH GAWD we love The Rock), who would you like to see him play in the MCU? Sound off below.

Source: Screen Crush

To the surprise of geeks across the globe, rather than fan-favourite heroes such as Ant-Man and Wasp, Ms. Marvel and Black Panther joining The Avengers in it’s 2015 sequel, it was confirmed a few weeks ago that it will in fact be the Maximoff Twins, AKA Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, joining the cast. The movie is set to go in front of the cameras early next year so casting has to occur sometime soon… Which is why we’ve got this article for you.

SuperHeroHype report that they know which actress Joss Whedon and Marvel are using as a “prototype” for the role of Scarlet Witch, and that’s none other than Irish actress Saoirse Ronan. She’s been on many fan wish-lists for the character for quite some time, so it’s awesome to hear that she may be being looked at. Of course no meetings or formal offers have likely taken place yet, but don’t be surprised if we know by at least the end of June.

Additionally, the site also say that instead of casting eastern-European actors like in the comics they’re “going British”. No word on Quicksilver however, but he’s described as “euro” and “edgy”. Tom Felton anyone?

What do you think? I haven’t seen any of her material so I can’t really comment acting-wise, but I’ve heard great things and she looks the part. Share your thoughts below.

SOURCE: SHH

Following our earlier article on the heated contract negotiations between Marvel and it’s Avengers cast, The Hollywood Reporter have accidentally let slip that their huge star Robert Downey Jr is negotiating a new contract with the studio (it was up with Iron Man 3) to appear as Tony Stark in The Avengers 2 and 3. But what about Iron Man 4?

Sources close to the dealmaking say Downey has entered negotiations to reprise his role in Marvel’s The Avengers 2 and The Avengers 3, the first of which has a May 1, 2015, release date and will cap what is known as Phase 2 of the Marvel movies in the same way 2012’s Avengers culminated the first Marvel wave that began with 2008’s Iron Man. Avengers 3 has no release date and probably will not hit screens at leastuntil the end of Phase 3, in 2017. But sources say Iron Man 4 has not been part of the discussions, and it’s unclear whether Downey, 48, wants to return for another stand-alone sequel.

There had been some uncertainty that a fourth movie would happen by both fans and the cast, however as the third instalment is already nearly at $750m worldwide (with it scheduled to hit $1B by next week) I imagine it’s hard for talk not to turn to a fourth movie at Marvel’s creative meetings.

I’m not really that fussed about seeing a fourth Iron Man film at all, but I wouldn’t mind if the character was relegated to Avengers appearances only. I’d much rather have Tony Stark either die/leave at the end of the second film but obviously because this is Marvel’s cash cow there’s no way in hell that’s happening.

What do you think about all this negotiation shit? How many more movies do you want to see Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man in? Share your thoughts below!

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter

This reminds me more of a War Machine suit than an Iron Man suit. It does make me wonder how this would have been used in the context of the plot; was this gonna be the original Mark VII, with the codename ‘The Fucking Awesome Tank Suit’? I guess we’ll never know, but it’d be interesting to see if it pops up in a future Iron Man/Avengers movie. You can also check out this cool art for Iron Man 3 by Granov, where Tony tests out a comic-accurate Extremis…

What do you think? Would you have liked to see that armour appear in The Avengers? Share your thoughts below!

SOURCE: Tumblr via Bleeding Cool

So. Much. Marvel. News. While doing the press rounds for Iron Man 3, Collider managed to get a quick word with Kevin Feige about the status on their hotly-anticipated sequel to The Avengers, Joss Whedon’s script for the movie, whether it’ll have a subtitle (spoiler: probably) and more. Check it out below!

“Joss has said it on the record in the past, it’s not about going bigger.  It’s not about, ‘And this time there will be five more explosions in this section!’  I mean certainly you want to up the ante, you want to exceed people’s expectations, but I think there are various ways of doing that and Iron Man 3 is a very, very good test for us of doing exactly that.  The first movie we make after The Avengers has our hero spending more time out of the suit than any of the other movies; that seems potentially counterintuitive to some people, but that was exactly why we did it.  We didn’t want to say, ‘Oh now it has to be bigger and he fights 100 people in armored suits.’  Yeah the action sequences are big, there’s more action in Iron Man 3 than in the other two movies, but at the same time it’s a much deeper and a more exploratory character journey on the heels of our biggest spectacle with The Avengers.”

While Iron Man 3 wasn’t my favourite MCU film, I really loved the structure of the film and how it completely stripped Tony Stark back to his bare bones and I’m glad they’ll be following that same template for The Avengers 2. How awesome would it be to see the second act of the film feature the Avengers either being hunted, or stranded, or just completely on their own?

“We’ve been consistent in talking about this leading up to The Avengers: what is most interesting to us and why we hired Joss Whedon in the first place is the interaction between the characters.  That’s more fun to us than the massive action scenes that are gonna have to come with it that we’re gonna have to figure out, and we’re gonna have to be clever and raise the bar, but already the scenes that Joss has of just the characters sitting around and interacting are hilarious and are awesome and are moving and a notch or two above the first movie, and to me that’s where you wanna top yourself.”

“I would say that if you look at the trend of our upcoming movies, Iron Man 3 is the only one that has a number.  I like Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back,Star Wars: Return of the Jedi instead of Star Wars 2, Star Wars 3.”

A week ago Joss Whedon let slip on the red carpet premiere for Iron Man 3 that a “brother/sister act” would be appearing in the sequel to Marvel’s The Avengers. Obviously every fan on the interwebs started thinking of Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver – the Maximoff Twins – who are best known in comics for being extremely powerful, members of both X-Men and the Avengers, and being the children of Magneto. Given this, these characters’ rights are shared by both Marvel and Fox, but neither studio are allowed to reference each other’s versions.

Inside Entertainment Weekly‘s big cover on all things Phase II and Iron Man 3, they reveal that:

A source confirms to EW that the twin characters Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch will be joining The Avengers 2, which Whedon hinted at recently when he said he was writing a brother-sister duo into the movie.

When Kevin Feige was asked about it, he simply said “ I’m not confirming or denying. The draft could change six months from now.” However, I’m taking this as pretty much a lock the brother/sister act will be appearing in the movie.

What do you think? Do you want to see Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver in The Avengers 2? Share your thoughts below.

SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly

Ever since Agent Coulson’s tear-jerking (well… Maybe that’s an exaggeration) death scene in last summer’s The Avengers, fans have been speculating to no end about whether his death was actually faked or whether he really died. For the first few months most fans didn’t believe the scene and figured he’d be back sooner or later, possibly as the Vision. However, at New York Comic-Con last year Kevin Feige and Joss Whedon took to the stage to reveal that Clark Gregg would return as Agent Coulson and lead the brand new Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. show, starting this Fall.

So since then no one’s really known how he’ll come back. Re-built as a robot? Life Model Decoy? A pure fake? If you guessed the last one, you might be right. /Film have got the scoop on how he really did survive a stab from Loki…

In the pilot, it’s revealed Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), the ultimate super spy, faked Agent Coulson’s death on purpose to motivate The Avengers. Some S.H.I.E.L.D. members were in on it (including, possibly, Maria Hill played by Cobie Smulders) but The Avengers were not. Their security clearance wasn’t high enough. Coulson was forced to hold his breath as part of the ruse and that’s a point of contention among his colleagues  After the fact, Fury moved him to a remote location until things died down, and then he was reinserted into duty at the time of the show.

While it’s a bit of a cop-out, I do still like it; plus, it progresses both Coulson’s and Fury’s characters a whole lot more. What do you think? Are you excited to see Agent Coulson return in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.? Share your thoughts below!

SOURCE: /Film

Last night the U.S. red carpet premiere of Iron Man 3 took place (releasing in cinemas everywhere today in the UK), and the new Godfather of Marvel Studios himself Joss Whedon was in attendance. Yahoo! Movies got the chance to speak to him on the carpet about all kinds of cool Marvel stuff, ranging from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. to The Avengers 2. However, more interestingly, Whedon seemed to spill the beans on two certain characters popping up in the movie…

“I’ve got these two characters in the movie, who are two of my favourite characters from the comics, a brother/sister act. They’re in the movie, that’s exciting.”

If you don’t know, Scarlett Witch and Quicksilver are the two mutant children of Magneto, however because of their affiliations with both characters in the MCU and X-Men the rights to these characters are shared. Fans have been speculating for a long time on who’ll be joining the team in the sequel, and while I had my heart set on Ms. Marvel I’d be very happy with the Maximoff Twins.

What do you think? Do you want to see Scarlett Witch and Quicksilver join the ranks of The Avengers? Share your thoughts and click the link below to read the rest of the interview!

SOURCE: Yahoo! Movies

As we told you earlier, Morris Chestnut is maybe sharing a little too much information when it comes to this top-secret role he’s in talks to play, which is none other than Black Panther. The actor’s been tweeting non-stop not-so-cryptic-hints towards his involvement in the film, but what he tweeted earlier was A LOT worse than anything that came before…

Not final. #BlackPanther may be in #avengers2 first. RT @jamaal91604133: @morris_chestnut Can’t wait to see this movie. #BlackPanther

— Morris Chestnut (@Morris_Chestnut) April 9, 2013

The tweet has since been deleted (which isn’t particularly surprising), but a ton of news/geek sites have already picked up on the news You can’t get more reliable than the actor himself, so if the Wakandan king will be making an appearance in The Avengers 2 Chestnut would know.

What do you think? Do you want to see Black Panther join the ranks of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in The Avengers 2? Notice that he said it “wasn’t final,” so there’s a chance we could still be waiting to see him on the big screen by the time Phase III rolls around. Share your thoughts below!

SOURCE: Twitter

UPDATE: So Chestnut has been tweeting again.

But this time it’s something different. The actor reveals that we all misunderstood his previous tweets and he is simply a fan interested in the character, but is flattered by the support from fans.

Thx to the fans for bringing #blackpanther to my attention, NOT in talks about this project with .@marvel

— Morris Chestnut (@Morris_Chestnut) April 10, 2013

This can mean three things:

• 1. He’s telling the truth and Mr Chestnut just has a very hype-inducing way of expressing his interest.
• 2. He’s lying, and Marvel told him to STFU before he leaked anything else.
• 3. He got Jason Momoa’d, which means he really isn’t in talks… Anymore.

So it looks like Black Panther may not be appearing in The Avengers 2 after all.

With May coming in just a few short months, Marvelites know what that means: Iron Man month! With Iron Man 3 set to make waves, you can bet your hats that Disney and Marvel will do all in their power to advertise and hype the film (not that they haven’t already!) Prequel comics, cell phones apps/games, a DTV film, etc. But Walt Disney Pictures has one more thing up their sleeve!

To celebrate Iron Man 3‘s theatrical release, a few participating movie theaters (presumably US ones) will be playing all the Iron Man films on May 2nd. The included films are Iron Man, Iron Man 2, and….Avengers? Weeeelll, I guess Iron Man is a main character in that film, so I guess it makes sense. Not to mention that Iron Man 3 begins only a bit where Avengers left off, I hear. Oh, and they will also play Iron Man 3 afterwards, so don’t fall asleep!

Unfortunately, Walt Disney Pictures hasn’t released a list of the participating cinemas yet. I assume that they will give us the full list in a few weeks, but they had better advertise it! I might want to buy tickets for this, and it would be a shame if I missed it due to bad advertising! The film marathon will begin at 1 P.M., with Iron Man 3 starting around 9 P.M.

So….excited?

Source: CBM

On February 2, the 40th Annual Annie Awards too place. I am pleased with many of the winners. I think (hope) you will be too.

Wreck-it Ralph stole the show, winning five categories. It got Best Animated Feature, which sounds about right, since Pixar’s Brave received only average reception. Rich Moore, director of Wreck-it Ralph, received the award for “Directing in a Feature Production”. Music in an Animated Feature went to Wreck-it Ralph‘s various composers, and Writing in an Animated Feature also went to Wreck-it Ralph. And last, but not least, Alan Tudyk got the “Voice Acting in an Animated Feature” for his role as King Candy in Wreck-it Ralph.

Meanwhile, the Robot Chicken DC Comics Special, which aired in 2012 on Adult Swim, received the “General Audience Television Production” award. I never watched the whole thing, but what I did see was very funny, so good for it.

Paperman, the short black-and-white film that played in theaters before Wreck-it Ralph, earned the “Animated Short Subject” award. I can see why; it was a beautiful film, and a lot of people argue that it was better than Wreck-it Ralph itself! Disney began streaming Paperman online this week, so if you haven’t seen it yet, now you have no excuse!

The Avengers, still going strong, received the “Animated Effects in a Live Action Production” award. Avengers was awesome and epic, so it deserves any awards that come its way, and the effects were very good.

Tron: Uprising, which recently finished airing on Disney XD, received two awards: “Character Design in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production” and “Production Design in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production”. The show deserves the awards; when the series was first airing, people hated the animation, but towards the end, everyone loved it. The animation can take a bit of getting used to, but once you do, it is impossible NOT to love it!

There are a few other awards that were given out, check them out here.

Dammit Jesse!!!

Apparently Samuel L. Jackson wants to star as Nick Fury in everything. Besides voicing a keen interest in reprising his role as the one-eyed S.H.I.E.L.D. director in the tv series, Jackson’s also tried to weasel his way into AMC’s Breaking Bad. In other news, he also likes money (petty joke, but I just had to say it. I hope zombie Coulson doesn’t kill me in my sleep)

In a recent interview, Jackson revealed that he planned to sneak into the Pollos Hermanos set while he was filming THE AVENGERS last summer in Albuquerque, stating…

“I just wanted to order a three piece and really freak people out,” he chuckled. “Then people would be going, ‘Wow, was that him?”

As sacrilegious as it’d be to incorporate our precious Marvel franchise into the Meth dealing world of Walter White, I love Samuel L. Jackson in just about every motha fucking thing (especially when he’s rocking out as Nick Fury) so I’d be completely on board with a cameo.

Although, that’d make for a pretty awkward “Avengers Assemble!”. Can you imagine it?

“Hey Cap. It’s Fury here… I found this creepy bald science teacher who’s selling meth out of a chicken factory. There’s also some crazy skinny blond kid who seems good at killing people, so get Hulk and Thor here ASAP!”

I know Red Skull would be pretty pissed if his Heisenberg connection went out of biz…

Meth… not even once

SOURCE: Playlist

Now, after the pants-staining awesomeness of THE AVENGERS, I think it’s pretty obvious what’s happening here. Mark Ruffalo killed the Hulk show. His gamma powered beastie was just TOO damn cool and Marvel can’t be bothered to bring another iteration to the mainstream.  Especially if that would alienate fans of the Ruff-meister’s big screen version.

Check out the video below:

“Right now all I know is we’ve been in a holding pattern for the last eight months.  All they say is we’re waiting on a writer, but it’s been inactive.  It’s still there as far as I know, but there’s been no action on it.”

In all honesty…

SOURCE:MTV

Here’s the full quote:

I think the tendency, with those films, would be to probably not bring a villain back. They might for The Avengers, but I didn’t think I’d be in Captain America 2 or 3. I don’t think Red Skull will be there. And it’s not something I would want to do again. I’m glad I did it. I did sign up for a number of pictures and I suppose, contractually, I would be obliged to, if they forced me to, but they wouldn’t want to force someone to do it, if they didn’t want to. I think I’ve done my dash with that sort of film. It was good to do it and try it out, but to be honest, it’s not the sort of film I seek out and really am excited by. As an actor, to do all sorts of different films is great. It stretches you in different ways. But, I increasingly like to go back to what I used to always do, which is to get involved with projects that I really have a personal affiliation with.

Hmmm…

As much as I hate to see actors bail on their characters, I can understand Weaving’s perspective. The Red Skull is a bit of a one note baddie.

What do you think?

SOURCE: COLLIDER

According to the Daily Mail, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes will recruit another powerful vixen to the team in the form of Ms. Marvel… and Emily Blunt wants the role!

AWESOME!

Now, if you’re unfamiliar with this particularly buxom heroine, allow me to upload some wiki guided facts to your cranium.

The blonde bombshell’s walking name is Carol Danvers, a one-time Air Force major who was gifted with super awesome Kree powers not unlike the other commissioned officer of the same surname, Mar-Vell. She’s been a member of The Avengers for a few decades, and while she’s assumed the title of “Captain” in recent months, fanboys still remembers her as that same “Ms.” who got her ass beat by the spirit sucking mutie Rogue.

If Danvers makes an appearance in THE AVENGERS 2 , I expect that Joss Whedon will tweak her origins to better fit with the established characters. If I was a gambling man, which broke-ness has sadly prevented, I’d bet that she’ll be an Agent of SHIELD before she dons the ol’ black onesie and red scarf.

Though, while the MCU is starved of strong female characters, and Ms. Marvel is a welcome addition, I really hope they don’t emphasize the sex appeal too much. She’s already a REALLY awesome character.  They don’t need to seduce us with a skimpy costume and ridiculous bosoms.

After all, that’s what Black Widow’s for.

SOURCE: DAILY MAIL (via CBM)

Following fandom’s reaction to Bruce Banner and Tony Stark’s onscreen bromance in THE AVENGERS, The House of Ideas has decided to dive into a full length, etched and sketched flick starring the two heroes, titled Iron Man & Hulk: Heroes United

Here are the first images:

This new movie will pit the Master of Smash and his Knight in Shining Armor against the electric fiend known as Zzzax.

Yeah… the big yellow ball of lightning is about as cool as he sounds, coming in just above “Emo Spidey” on the lame-ometer.  But who knows?  Maybe he’ll receive the Laufi treatment and be kinda, sorta awesome.

The two heroes look great in the artwork above, and if they manage to construct a story of similarly nerdgasmic proportions, then I think we’ll be more than satisfied.

Still.. Zzzax?

SOURCE: EW

No… it’s not Barney the great big dinosaur!

I’m talking about Thanos the Mad Titan of course! The Lover of Death! The Courtier of Mortality! The Grand Nihilist! The… something or other!

I think you get the point by now.

Anyways, following the baddie’s post-Avengers reveal, the fanboy masses have clamoured for any additional peeks that Marvel would be willing to release. Well, we’ve finally been granted some original concept art, filled with gold gilded awesomeness and cosmic terror.

Check it out below:

So what do you think of the ol’ space wanderer? Is he perfectly realized in these mockups, or do you prefer a more realistic design? Assuming, of course, that Thanos could ever be interpreted as anything “realistic”.

SOUCE: CBM

Recently there have been bits and pieces of Collider’s interview with Chris Evans published (those bits and pieces were about him wanting a cameo in Thor: The Dark World and saying Captain America: The Winter Soldier will film in March), but now the full interview is online and it’s a goldmine of Marvel goodies. Evans talks about how many Marvel movies he’s signed on for, what Captain America: The Winter Soldier will be like, what it was like working on The Avengers, and he briefly comments on Captain America 3. Read the important bits below and if you want to read about his indie work you can hit up the link below too.

I believe most of the Marvel people had to sign 8 or 9 picture deals.  I heard that with you it was more like a 5 picture deal.

We got 6, which was good because initially it was 9.  I was like, “I can’t do 9.”  But even 6 – you can do 6 over 10 years.  It is a big commitment.

With Joss now signing on to Avengers 2 and with him being part of the Marvel Universe and I’m sure you got him to tweak the Captain America 2 script no matter what, get him to work on it. The fact of the matter is that if I am you, and I say this as an outsider, you make sure that when you are not making the Marvel movies, you are picking the best scripts you can that give you the most diverse range to show your talent.

That is why I do things like this.  That is the goal, you know?  I will do the Marvel and that is a studio thing.  That is my obligation and they are great.  I’m very lucky that I happen to be under a contract with a fantastic family, a fantastic franchise.

For fans of Captain America, I believe that you have directors on Captain 2? When do you actually film? What is your schedule?

I think we start at the beginning of March.  So I start another movie in October and I think probably around December I am going to try and sit down with them and start trying to talk about direction and tone. 

It has come out that you guys are going to do Captain America: The Winter Soldier.  How early on did you know that was going to be that?  Have you read the comics?  Are you familiar with that whole storyline?

Oh, I am fully up to date with my comics.  I know all about it.  Kevin Feige was talking about that when we were filming the first Captain America and well before The Avengers.  During the first Captain America we were talking about potential futures and, you know, I don’t want to give too much way.

So you basically know hypothetically where even the third movie might go?

Maybe.

Head to the link below to read more from Evans. But for now, what do you think about his comments? Share your thoughts below.

SOURCE: Collider

Ever since that big purple guy with the creepy chin appeared at the end of The Avengers, both fans and audiences alike have been wondering where the hell he’ll show up next. Thanos creator Jim Starlin reportedly revealed at Montreal Comic-Con that the Mad Titan would appear in both Guardians of the Galaxy and The Avengers 2, and even though that’s likely it’s just a rumour. In an interview with MTV Kevin Fiege discussed the future of the character, and hinting how far the story of Thanos will be stretched out…

“Clearly, there’s a purpose to us putting him in the end of that movie. We do have plans for him. I wouldn’t say we ever feel the need to rush anything one way or the other. We succeeded in Phase One because we stuck to our guns and stuck to the plan. That plan took place over many, many years and it ultimately paid off. I see Phase Two unfolding in the same way of us taking our time, us doing what’s right for each individual movie, while folding in elements that will not only build up to the culmination of Phase Two, but even Phase Three.”

“Suddenly, you have a million people who had never heard of an Infinity Gauntlet or a Mad Titan learning those terms. I love that. I love when the experience goes beyond the movie theater and encourages people to look deeper into our universe.”

Relatively unknown actor Damion Poitier was cast as the mo-cap guy for Thanos in The Avengers, and when asked if they would keep the actor he said,

“I think we feel pretty free to recast. That was cast for literally that one shot. Depending on what the role requires from future movies, we’ll go from there.”

I love it too Kevin. I expect they will re-cast and go for a big name guy, but I have no idea who. Also, it’s good to see a hint from Fiege saying that their plans for Thanos will probably go through Phase III. Who do you want to see play Thanos in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Share your thoughts below.

SOURCE: MTV

Speaking with German movie site FilmJunkies, Marvel Exec Producer Louis D’Esposito answered various questions about the Blu-Ray/DVD release of The Avengers, and spilled the beans on when Ant-Man will hit the big screen, when we should see the first teaser trailer for Iron Man 3 (which was screened in London the other day) and what we should expect from future Marvel One-Shots, after the commercial release of Item 47.

When asked about the Ant-Man test reel and when we will see the actual film, he said,

“Yes, I think so [in regards to being asked when if we'll see the reel soon]. Edgar (Wright) is just adding the finishing touches and then we will once again make the final visual effects editing. The process is almost complete. Then we will decide when and how we can make it available to the fans. We are more than happy with it. He’s a great filmmaker and we look forward to.”
“I was there when he made the test reel. I now know how it works and it’s going very methodical and planned. First, he designed the concept, then the storyboard, then he produced an animatic, so he knows exactly what he’ll turn. Every morning we visited him, and he had added new material, which we then looked at together. He is a passionate filmmaker and it that’s contagious. We’ve only looked at it yesterday and every time we see it, then we think, ‘Wow! We can not wait to make this film!’”

“I’m not sure, [on the subject of if Ant-Man will be a part of the Phase 2 slate] so I can not make a definitive statement. Once we know the more accurate schedule, we will make this announcement publicly.”

When can we expect to see the Iron Man 3 teaser?

“I [don't?] have the exact date…it’s just not ready. But I think it is mid to late October, you can watch a first teaser trailer.”

And finally, he talks about the upcoming Marvel One-Shots and whether any of them will introduce the smaller characters, like Black Panther and Luke Cage.

“We do not know exactly what they will be. Only, I will stage one of the short films and we are looking for a guest-director for the other. We are just in the development process. I currently have about 15 different concepts to be on my desk. And this part is nerve-wracking. We ask ourselves, who will continue the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or which one is suitable, the fans or the moviegoers best. We sit together as a group and try to select and then choose one with which we try. The time for this is from but, I have to decide by next month.“

“I love Black Panther, he is one of my favorite characters. But before we have a filmmaker on board, it is difficult to do anything. Because we want to involve them in the processes such as casting or design issues or even other areas for which one hires a director. So if we have a director on board and knew that we would turn Black Panther or Luke Cage and Ms. Marvel or whatever for a figure that is, then we would do maybe. But right now it is logistically a difficult hurdle.”

Clark Gregg must feel terrible knowing that just a few months after his murder at the hands of Loki, Marvel announced that Joss Whedon would write and direct a SHIELD TV show, not featuring Agent Coulson. When asked about the show at the ‘Toronto Film Festival, the actor was surprised, as he was unaware that the show was even being made. Read his comments below:

“Really? Joss is going to do what I’m sure will be a really cool, insanely funny, exciting ‘S.H.I.E.L.D.’ TV show with Coulson on a slab, wherever the S.H.I.E.L.D. grave yard is?”

When asked if he was sure that Coulson was definitely dead, he replied:

“It’s funny. I was watching … some of the scenes from Avengers where everyone is like Coulson’s down. Agent Coulson’s down. And there’s a lot of blood. And I’m thinking, you know what? I might be kind of dead,” the actor said with a laugh. “I’m having to [accept my fate]. I’m scared that I’m going to go to ‘Thor,’ and they’re going to have Agent Coulson’s funeral. I got way too attached to this character.”

“I’m excited. I’ll be watching it every week, but it’s a cruel twist of fate.”

I hope we see some flashbacks of Coulson, as I REALLY want to see more of him (he’s just awesome). He must be pretty bummed that he’s not on the show. What do you think? Share your thoughts below.

SOURCE: MTV

Just now, we posted an online rumour that Ultron and the Masters of Evil would play a role in The Avengers 2, and Joss Whedon’s latest quote regarding the sequel certainly gives credit to that. Speaking at the Toronto Film Festival, Whedon described the film’s story as “complex,” and talked about the task of overseeing the entirety of Marvel’s Phase 2. Plus, he disses Christopher Nolan!

“Very talented people are writing and directing these movies, and what I don’t want to be is the guy they dread, who’s going to come in and say,” (as he puts on a British accent), “‘Oh, well I have the power to say change this.’ I’m not that.”

“The creation of the team is not the happy ending,” he says. “It is the beginning of something that is complex and difficult, and now I get to dig a little deeper. And maybe, while I’m digging, just twist that knife. And that’s exciting for me.”

“It’s still in the story stage. But I’ve been working on it pretty much from about an hour before I said, ‘Let’s make a deal.’ It just caught fire with me,” he said. “We’re hard at work. We would like to be not as rushed as we were with the first one.”

Whedon’s comments fill me with hope, and given he has nearly two more years to work on the script I’m sure he’ll deliver something amazing. What do you think will happen in The Avengers 2? Sound off below.

SOURCE: Vancouver 24HRS Via CBM

An otherwise unremarkable Twitter account for a source?  What are you thinking UTF?!?!? 

Well, he’s predicted (or leaked) some Captain America: The Winter Soldier news in the past, leading many to believe he’s an insider at Marvel Studios… or Kevin Feige’s annoying, attention seeking teenage son who just wants Daddy to play catch in the backyard.

In any case, Mr. Wardell is back to his old tricks, leaking a series of enigmatic Tweets over the past few days.  If you’ll indulge us one last time, let’s see what potential news this guy has to offer.

On September 8th he released a series of scrambled numbers, urging his followers to put them in proper order:

While fans have pressed him for more deets, Wardell refuses.  Though, he did mention that 4 of these numbers belong to a given year, a statement he quickly deleted.  A few bright minds from the Marvel Studios subreddit (led by CWATTS22) discovered that the numbers correlate to the release of Avengers Vol. 1 #54 “The New Masters of Evil“.

BTW, that's Goliath people... not Magneto!

What’s the significance of the story?  Well, in this romp, Jarvis betrays Earth’s Mightiest Heroes by offering super secret logistical information to the Klaw, Whirlwind, and Radioactive Man (one of the villains set to appear in Iron Man 3).  Oh… and it features the first appearance of Ultron, Hank Pym’s murderous robot creation.

Now, there’s plenty of juicy threads in this tale that could translate onto the silver screen, but let’s remember that this is all based on a RUMOR.  We have no way to verify @RogerWardell except for his reliability in two previous instances (those Captain America leaks I mentioned earlier),  and even if this small hint to fans has some connection to Joss Whedon’s plans for the greater Marvel Universe, what the hell would it be?

Is this a hint about Ultron? Will he be in THE AVENGERS 2?  Or maybe The Masters of Evil appear instead?  And what the hell is gonna happen to Thanos!?!?!? What’s going on!?!?!?

Are you pretty f***ing confused?

Yeah, I feel the same way, but someone had to wade through this mire of s*** that the rumour mill is churning out, and who better than your Friendly Neighborhood Fanboy?

What do you guys think?  If any of this happens to be true, would you be stoked to see any of these characters on the Big Screen?

Looks like ol’ Ultry is more than happy to join the party.  He’s still a bit pissed that he missed out on all of the free Shawarma last time!

]]> http://www.unleashthefanboy.com/movies/avengers/are-the-masters-of-evil-headed-to-the-avengers-2-is-ultron/27314/feed 6 http://www.unleashthefanboy.com/movies/avengers/so-whats-on-the-avengers-blu-ray/27230 http://www.unleashthefanboy.com/movies/avengers/so-whats-on-the-avengers-blu-ray/27230#comments Mon, 10 Sep 2012 02:25:47 +0000 Edward http://www.unleashthefanboy.com/?p=27230 Read More >>]]> With THE AVENGERS Blu-Ray just around the corner, its about time we look at what’s on the disc.

Well, first up, obviously, is THE AVENGERS movie itself. Really, if you’ve seen the film then you no doubt know this makes it worth the money to begin with. But there are still a few extras that are always welcome.

The biggest thing besides the movie itself, of course, is ITEM 47. Similar to THOR and CAPTAIN AMERICA, this is a short (12 minute) film that focuses on aspects outside the main superheros, often involving S.H.I.E.L.D agents. In the case of ITEM 47, it deals with the aftermath of THE AVENGERS when two members of the public find an alien weapon. This has got to be the most unique aspect of the Blu-ray, offering something a little extra for your money. (click here for my official review)

As with any movie these days, there’s a handful of deleted scenes. Some of these have been shown already, but they are fairly interesting none the less. For the big time Marvel fans, there’s a few scenes included that you might have liked to have seen in the film. I know one  involving Captain America and a cameo from a Mr. Stan Lee left a lasting impression. Its plain to see why some of these scenes were left out, but its a shame to know such good material was left on the cutting room floor.

The gag reel, on the other hand, is surprisingly hilarious. Most gag reels tend to be nothing more than ‘filler’, but a lot of thought has gone into making sure only the genuinely funny gags make it into this cut. If its not a slow motion shot of Thor failing to catch his hammer, or Cobie Smulders impersonations of Maria Hill, there is plenty to keep you laughing long after the short reel has ended. You can’t always take films seriously and everyone appreciates a good laugh.

Likewise, there is the almost obligatory documentary, A VISUAL JOURNEY. As the name suggests, this is a quick recap of the marvel films and comics. This might be prove interesting to some, but it doesn’t exactly offer anything entirely new for long time Marvel fans.

Of course, you’re still getting THE AVENGERS, so these are always extras, not the main focus. Besides ITEM 47, these are all the usual obligatory extras. Still, they’re done quite well; I’m impressed with the effort that’s gone into making most the content worth while, rather than simply menu fluff.

Marvel’s The Avengers is due to arrive at local shops on Blu-ray and DVD (in all its various combo packs) on September 25th.  Originally, the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One Box Set was due to arrive on the same day.  Sadly fans, that’s not going to happen.

According to SuperHeroHype:

Speculation suggested that the delay was due to a pending lawsuit on the part of the company that manufactured the case for the film and some fans feared that the set may be cancelled altogether.

There’s some positive news today, however, as the Phase One set will indeed see a release, albeit next spring instead of later this month. SuperHeroHype has confirmed that case design will change, although we’re not yet certain exactly how significantly. Check back for details as they become available.

So there ya go guys, are you disappointed about the delay?  Does this affect your purchase plans on the 25th?  Sound off with your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.

SOURCE: SuperHeroHype

In the comics, Oracle is the name of the company that Namor eventually becomes CEO of when he’s above-ground, which aims to reduce pollution levels (in the ocean of course). Oracle is also the name of a real tech company that has partnered with Marvel in the past, including playing a part in the Iron Man 2 viral-of-sorts and getting easter eggs in both Iron Man movies. Are you looking forward to Namor The Sub-Mariner’s big-screen debut? Sound off below.

Additionally, due to the Japan release of The Avengers, Marvel’s superhero team-up of a life time has now made past $1.5B worldwide. This is truly a fantastic year for comic book movie fans and general geeks, in terms of quality and finance!

#TDKR breaks $1B mark! $28.5M est 7day debut in China. Intl up to $574M, global at $1.005B. bit.ly/p7eQ67

— Gitesh Pandya (@giteshpandya) September 2, 2012

SOURCE: Gitesh Pandya

Just the other day it was revealed that Joss Whedon would serve was writer on the first live-action Marvel Studios TV series, based on SHIELD. And about three weeks ago, it was also announced that Whedon would practically ‘Godfather’ the next phase of the MCU, which includes writing and directing The Avengers 2. Fans everywhere are excited to see what Joss has to offer, and in two seperate interviews with EW and Vulture Joss comments on his next stage of work.

On why there was so many deleted scenes:

“Two factors. One: The movie was three hours long. Two: Audiences didn’t respond to it as well in the movie as I think they would as a DVD extra. Most of them didn’t know who this character was or what the context was, and they were like, Uhhh, I don’t know why I’m supposed to be personally involved in this character I don’t know. The rollout to the Avengers getting to Loki was so gradual that people were getting restless. I thought Cobie nailed it, and the reason I thought it was necessary is because I was trying to make a war movie and I wanted to give context that something bad had happened in the past. In a war movie, you don’t know who’s going to live or die, but you do know that this war happened and that [the characters] are going to be in a dire circumstance, and I wanted to create that atmosphere.”

On the SHIELD TV show he’s developing:

“The S.H.I.E.L.D. show kind of dropped in my lap, and I love working in TV. I get to really build a show with people I really trust and love. What we’re building is entirely autonomous from The Avengers. It’s gotta be a show that works for people who haven’t seen the Marvel movies. It will please Marvel fans, I think.”

On The Avengers 2:

“The Avengers sequel, I’m pretty on fire with that. We’re slated to come out May of 2015. Last time [with The Avengers] we started shooting in April, which was pretty hilarious. I wanted to murder people, they wanted to murder me.”

“It was part of what made it attractive to me. I loved the idea of being a consigliere. Every writer loves the idea of being able to go in and fix a problem and then leave without obligation. It’s fun! I also love these characters and the Marvel universe, and I grew up reading the books, and I’ve been going back and reading the old books and realizing that they shaped my storytelling way more than I give them credit for. Now I’m starting up a TV show, which is something I really wanted to do, but I thought it wasn’t going to be a part of my life for the next several years. It’s like a tapas menus of projects that excite me, in addition to the Avengers sequel, which I’m excited for because I’m incredibly excited about the next story that I’m going to tell. For me, it’s a huge win.

It is unbelievably daunting, especially because I don’t want to lose sight of all the other things I have on my docket and in my heart. So, it’s going to be an insane few years, but I feel ready for that. It’s an unholy amount of productivity, but as long as I give it all I can, it’s a good thing. What’s great is that the deal with Marvel is nonspecific, so I will give all I can, but the moment I can’t, I just walk away. The moment I say, “You know, I’d like to help more on this project, but I need this time for The Avengers,” there’s no obligation. It’s not like, “You must spend this amount of time on this movie.” It’s as much as it needs to be.”

Hit up the links below to check out  more comments from Whedon. There’s a lot of stuff. Share your thoughts below.

SOURCE: EW and Vulture

Today via their Facebook page Marvel announced the imminent theatrical return of The Avengers.  The superhero team is set to grace the silver-screen once again, starting tomorrow.

The message Marvel attached to the above image:

Marvel’s The Avengers is back in theaters for Labor Day Weekend!

Don’t forget to stay through the credits…

Is it just me, or is that message a tad-bit cryptic?  I suppose it could be read as a helpful reminder for fans to not miss the awesome after credit sequences, but is it possible there’s a new Cinematic Universe tease for Phase Two?  Perhaps they threw in a trailer for Iron Man 3 or maybe a previously deleted scene got added back in?  I don’t know, but I’ll admit I’ll gladly fork over some money and go see the movie again to find out.

Here’s one of the trailers to help relive the awesomeness:

So will you guys head back to theaters to catch the flick again or is this just a waste of your time and money?  Do you think there’s anything new or is it just the same movie that was released back in May?  Sound off with your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.

SOURCE: Marvel’s Avengers Facebook Page

By far my favourite deleted scene from The Avengers, and one I seriously wish had been kept in, Marvel have officially released the ‘Man Out of Time’ deleted scene from the movie. It’s an extended introduction to Captain America, ending at the gym scene, helping portray the man out of time aspect of Steve Rogers. Watch it below:

SOURCE: Latino Review

Joss Whedon is returning to television and he’s dragged the lot of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with him.

The Great Ginger Baldy will lead the House of Ideas into uncharted waters with their first live action series. Focusing on the various misadventures of the world’s greatest espionage agency S.H.I.E.L.D., the show is destined for greatness… and witty zingers.

Whedon will be in almost entire control of the venture, as producer, writer, and possible director. He’s already wrangled his frequent collaborators Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen into production, with work to begin immediately.

Now, down to the meaty goodness… What do you think it’ll be about?

Considering the hefty paycheck Samuel L. Jackson would request to return as Nick Fury, I think this series will focus on the underbelly of the spy organization, akin to the latest Marvel one-shot ITEM 47. Hopefully they’ll avoid the cespool of melodrama that plagues television programs, but we’ll just have to wait and see. If they keep the series limited to short 12 episode seasons, then they can easily maintain quality while providing an interesting story… one that hopefully leads into THE AVENGERS 2 in all of its Thanosy glory.

What say you?

SOURCE: deadline

Last week all the deleted scenes for The Avengers leaked online, including an alternate opening and ending. They both consisted of an interrogation of Maria Hill by the World Security Council, and fortunately the alternate opening has now been officially released by Marvel. Except it’s shorter than the real scene and misses out all the cool bits. Damn you Marvel! Anyway you can check it out below:

We should be seeing more of the deleted scenes (which will be available on the Blu-Ray) pop up officially online over the coming days. And expect more shorter versions as well. Do you think they should have kept this? Sound off.

SOURCE: Marvel UK

If there’s one striking characteristic of THE AVENGERS‘ resident silver screen deity, besides the fact that he’s a f***ing blond badass wielding a really short hammer, it’s his mastery of one of the most amazing forces of nature… LIGHTNING. With every swing of mighty Mjolnir, the Odinson unleashes the power of Asgardian storms, destroying everything in his path… or at least he should, but we’ve never really seen that on film.

Sure, his first outing in Kenneth Branagh’s creatively titled THOR included a few glimpses of unbridled bolts of electric energy, but that was only specific to the fight scene on Jotunheim (the Ice Giant homeworld for all ye’ slackers).   With so few superhero tools, you think he’d use it more, especially in all of those duels with his bratty little brother.

“What’s that Loki?  You’re trying to take over the world again?  Yea, we should totally just fight hand to hand, even though I can fly and stuff”

The sparcity was even worse in Joss Whedon’s AVENGERS. At least Branagh allowed Thor’s magical lightning to be entirely destructive, wiping out miles of an icey planet surface in one strike (see trailer below). Jossy only ever used a few bolts at a time and they were always the skinny, unimpressive ones.

I like my lightning thick, long, and… never mind.

That kinda sounds like I’m talking about something else. Which I wasn’t, in case anyone asks.

Allow me to shamelessly use Batman as an example. In almost every Caped Crusader film, a group of baddies are fumbling around in an abandoned warehouse, when suddenly the lights go out. The gangsters, drug dealers, or what have you will simultaneously s*** themselves as the sound of a giant flapping cape fills the room. Then BAM… the Batman reveal.

Thunder is totally cooler than a billowing piece of cloth!

Imagine a handful of Dark Elves are being mischievous and all around dbags. They’re accosting a group of innocents, content with their latest bout of evil, when all of a sudden… THUNDER!

Not the AC/DC kind, though. We’ll save that bit of Rock and Roll fever for Robert Downey Jr.

So please, Marvel Studios, appease my minor fanboy gripe. Rock my world with some earth shattering, ear drum rupturing, genital erecting lightning and thunder effects.

You know, if you feel like it. I don’t want to sound too needy.

As promotional efforts for the Blu-Ray and DVD release of The Avengers continue, Collider have been granted an exclusive clip from ‘Marvel’s The Avengers – A Visual Journey’, available on the Blu-Ray, which focuses on the creation of the helicarrier. It’s extremely interesting to watch, as we listen to Joss Whedon talk about how much was real and how much was digital and looking at some concept art and different designs for SHIELD’s floating fortress. Watch it below:

SOURCE: Collider

With THE AVENGERS, the House of Ideas has successfully mixed and matched 4 of their most colorful and zany superheroes in the supposed “twilight” of comic book movies, producing the 3rd highest grossing film of all time… and I’m still absolutely BAFFLED as to how.

Of course, we few fanboys knew our favorite repulsor blasting, thunder wielding, gamma sickened, shield slinging heroes were pretty damn cool, but cool enough for $1.5 Billion?

Well, a very special documentary titled Building A Cinematic Universe will be making its way to fandom via THE AVENGERS Blu-ray release, and it’ll reveal exactly how Kevin Feige and the think tank at Marvel Studios pulled it all off.

Luckily for you, we’ve managed to get our hands on 25 minutes of this ooey gooey treat. Check it out below.

SOURCE: TR

Following the leak of the gag reel for The Avengers, the new Marvel One-Shot Item 47 and all the deleted scenes for the movie have now appeared online, and there’s also an extended exchange between Loki and Hawkeye. Item 47 was hilarious, as was the alternate ending (the alt. beginning felt a little awkward to me). But if there’s one stand-out for me it has to be the scene featuring Steve Rogers. It was really touching and displayed very well how Steve truly is a man out of time. Check them all out below:

What do you think of all the deleted scenes? Share your thoughts below.

SOURCE: CBM

In anticipation of The Avengers Blu-ray release, Marvel has treated us with 4 sumptious minutes of star spangled, hammer wielding, line fumbling, behind the scenes fun from Joss Whedon’s production.

Between Tom Hiddleston’s impression of the villainous Alan Rickman (Professor Snape for all of you know-nots) and Agent Coulson’s accidental “f***s”, this clip is a perfect way to start the day. Or end it. Maybe even middle it.  I wouldn’t want to presume anything about your time zone.

That’d just be rude.

The Avengers will hit stores September 25th, full of good ol’ Blu-ray exclusives, like the short film Item 47 (which we’ll review on the 10th!!!)

SOURCE: classified

Despite the movie opening in April in nearly every market in the world, The Avengers was only released in Japan last week, so Joss Whedon and co are still (!) doing the press rounds for the movie. Two weeks ago it was confirmed that Joss would write and direct the sequel, and in seperate interviews with Gizmodo Japan and Kotaku Japan the director drops hints toward the next instalment and briefly comments on the new Marvel TV show he is developing. Read them below:

(Thanks to ScreenRant for the transcription)

• For the sequel, Whedon wants a somewhat smaller-scale film in that it’ll be more personal, but teases larger event, team and villain.
• Whedon teases a bigger team for The Avengers 2, with at least one new character he’s adding.
• “The Avengers” is more than a recognizable brand and will be used to promote Whedon’s TV series.
• Whedon will be working with Marvel Studios President of Production and producer Kevin Feige on organizing all the Phase Two films.
• He talks about each film leading up to The Avengers 2 needing their own identity, being able to stand as their own franchises, their own type of fun.
• Viewers won’t need to have watched all the solo films to understand and get into The Avengers 2. Like the films leading up to it, it will stand on its own.
• For each film, Whedon believes each character should be treated as if it’s the only chance to use that character.

It definitely seems Whedon has a solid idea for the sequel. You can read my editorial about what I think should happen in The Avengers 2 HERE. But for now, what do you think? You can read more comments from Whedon at the link below.

SOURCE: Screen Rant

In promotion for the Blu-Ray/DVD release of The Avengers in a few weeks, Marvel have released the first deleted scene from the movie, featuring Bruce Banner post-Hulk out, in the warehouse he crashed in with more time between Mark Ruffalo and Harry Dean Stanton. Personally, and I know this view is shared with many others, I think that the security guard should have been played by Stan Lee and served as his cameo. Given the fact that The Avengers is currently the biggest Marvel movie ever made, and the one Stan is probably most proud of, I was relatively pissed off when his cameo took two seconds and sucked. Watch the scene below:

SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly

“By not trying to go bigger. By being smaller. More personal, more painful. By being the next thing that should happen to these characters, and not just a rehash of what seemed to work the first time. By having a theme that is completely fresh and organic to itself.”

This is the comment Joss Whedon made all the way back in April when he was asked about The Avengers 2, which he has now been confirmed to write and direct. Since then, fans everywhere have been rabidly speculating about what the plot and villain of the sequel will be – and it seems the two main options are Ultron and Thanos. As an aspiring screenwriter/director, I myself have been trying to piece together my own plot and I have been in a continuous battle between the two villains, who are both fantastic choices. But, who should be the villain? And what should it be about?

Without a doubt, Ultron is the Avengers’ greatest villain, and he ticks all the boxes set up by Whedon in the above quote. He can definitely provide a bigger threat than Loki and the Chitauri, by placing Earth on lockdown, taking control of all technology, ordering the Iron Man suits to attack the planet, put his “father” Hank Pym (Ant-Man) through the ringer and could potentially destroy the Avengers as a group and create a sense of distrust between them all. When people think of Thanos, they think of huge cosmic space battles, death, destruction, all-round epicness, you get the point. But after careful consideration, taking in Kevin Fiege’s quotes and common sense, I can safely say the villain of The Avengers 2 will NOT be Ultron.

Why? Well, when has Fiege ever mentioned Ultron? People make the assumption that because the Pym’s are getting a movie and will probably join the roster in the sequel, that damn robot will follow. But he has continuously mentioned Thanos and “going cosmic”, and so far the only cosmic movies we’ve got from the MCU are Thor and The Avengers, and the upcoming Thor: The Dark World and Guardians of the Galaxy. I honestly think it would be a completely change of pace from building up Thanos and the cosmic universe, to then switching to a robot on Earth and I think it would be for the worse.

While I was thinking about the content for this editorial, a central theme from The Avengers came to mind. “Phase II” is the codename used by SHIELD for a project which is using the Tesseract to make weapons, in order to prepare for galactic threats (after Thor visited Earth and they realised they were not alone). During the huge argument between the team in the film, Thor says “your work with the Tesseract is a signal to all the realms that the Earth is ready for a higher form of war.” And at the end, when speaking to the World Security Council, Nick Fury practically confirms Thor’s statement, saying this was the point of the Avengers Initiative.

“I don’t think you understand what you’ve done. Letting the Avengers on this world. They’re dangerous.”

“They surely are, and the whole world knows it. Every world knows it.”

“Was that the point of all this? A statement?”

“A promise.”

The events of The Avengers show people like Annihilus, Thanos, Galactus, the Kree, the Skrulls and more that Earth can now play in the big leagues, and they can compete in cosmic battles, with the Avengers as their representatives. I strongly believe that the sequel will delve even further into the cosmic universe, basing the story on Secret Invasion, with the Skrulls working for Thanos, wanting to destroy the Avengers and leave Earth defenseless. That would certainly fit with Whedon’s ideas.

The Skrulls can reveal that they have been on Earth for years, and there are plenty of ways they can break up the Avengers. Be disguised as a main character (either a team member or a SHIELD official), kill off an Avenger (Black Widow?), create a sense of distrust (more arguments!), the possibilites are endless.

Well there you have it. What I think should happen in The Avengers 2, and what I’m certain will actually happen, Skrulls or not. It would have a very similar tone and theme to The Empire Strikes Back, probably one of the greatest sequels of all time. The Avengers would actually lose, setting up their triumphant return in The Avengers 3, or an Infinity Gauntlet movie.

What do you hope to see in The Avengers 2? Sound off below!

That means we only have a three-year wait (he said enthusiastically) until we see earth’s mightiest heroes on the big screen once again. MTV reported this last week, but back then it was just a rumour.

Joss Whedon will write and direct the movie, and also oversee the other Phase II movies from a creative standpoint, which are Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man. How excited are you? Sound off below!

SOURCE: Variety

Apparently Vin Diesel wants to play the Vision in the Marvel Cinematic Universe… or, at least, that’s what he’s hinting at. If you take a quick trip to his Facebook page, you’ll notice that both his profile picture and his timeline banner are interpretations of everyone’s favorite Scarlet Witch banging android. Coincidence? I think not!

The Dies-meister is dripping some Vin juice in the fanboy Kool-aid, but are you guys drinking? I don’t know about you, but I’m still partial to the notion of resurrecting Agent Coulson as a weirdly awesome onscreen adaptation of The Vision.  Part man, part bot, all sass!

What say you?  Is Diesel a good fit for Avengers 2?

SOURCE: facebook (via CBT)

It hasn’t been that long since we posted news about Joss Whedon becoming the man central to the next phase of the Marvel Cinematic universe (you can read that article here), but now an anonymous insider has some more news to share.

Here’s what the insider claimed when talking to MTV News:

Marvel has a very set agenda of what they want to do, they are already kind of ahead of the game [on the sequel] because they’ve got the guy that did it before doing it again and something tells me Joss already has the template [for the film].  In terms of the time frame, I think that it is well in the works. … It looks like the release date might be May 1, 2015, but that can change depending on people’s schedules.

So there you have it guys, it looks like we have the climax of the second phase in 2015, which makes a lot of sense considering the currently known release dates for this future slate of films (you can read more about them here).

But what do you guys think?  Are you excited about the next slew of movies?  Are you interested in the Avengers 2?  Or should Marvel not try another outing with the super-team?   Sound off with your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.

SOURCE: MTV News

Here’s what he said:

“At the end of the day, 90% of the movie, I’m not the character I signed on to play. I’m literally in there for two minutes, and then all of a sudden… All I could really work on was the physical part of it all, because that didn’t change”

Apparently relegating Clint Barton’s heroics to brainwashed thuggery wasn’t something he favored. Who knew?

Here’s a bit more from the interview, when HC asked what aspects of Hawkeye appealed to Renner.

I prefer the good, because if we go to the evil part, or hypnotized or whatever the heck you want to call it, it’s kind of a vacancy. Not even a bad guy, because there’s not really a consciousness to him. The interesting part was being guilty about the bad things I did do when I was hypnotized. I think he’s already an interesting enough character. To really kind of take away who that character is and just have him be this sort of robot, essentially, and have him be this minion for evil that Loki uses. Again, I could just focus on the task. I was limited, you know what I mean? I was a terminator in a way. So yeah, fun stunts. But is there any sort of emotional content or thought process? No. That doesn’t exist in that time [that he's hypnotized]. It happens to be for most of the movie.

For more, make sure you click the link below.

SOURCE: HC

It has just been revealed that The Avengers director, Joss Whedon, has officially signed on to write and direct the sequel to the third highest grossing film of all time!

After the success of The Avengers was there really any other choice for Marvel?

Disney also announced that Whedon would be involved in the development of the upcoming ABC live action TV series which will be in the same continuity as the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

What do you guys think? Great news, or do you think Whedon might struggle to recreate the magic of The Avengers first outing?

Source: SlashFilm

Big news today guys, according to Variety, Marvel Studios and Twentieth Century Fox might be working on a potential movie-related trade.

Here’s a bit of the report from Variety:

Fox is in discussions with Joe Carnahan to direct what’s been described as a “Frank Miller-esque, hardcore 70s thriller” take on [Daredevil]. Sources say Marvel would give Fox more time to make Daredevil in return for the rights to use characters from the Fantastic Four universe, including the giant, supervillain Galactus, and future use of Silver Surfer.

I’m going to let my little fanboy dreams run wild with this little rampant rant of speculation.  Is it possible that will be seeing a pseudo Annihilation type movie in the future?  Could this be the direction of the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Two?  Let’s look at the facts, Thanos is introduced at the end of the Avengers, there’s a Guardians of the Galaxy movie coming and recently that movie got a new screen writer (we reported on that here).  Add that to today’s news and this all could be building towards an intergalactic showdown of epic proportions!

So there you have it Mavel fans, but what do you guys think about this?  Is this an overall a smart move or could this be a big mistake?  Sound off with your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.

SOURCE: Variety

Back when Zak Penn (Elektra, X2, X-Men: The Last Stand) was writing the script for the superhero team-up of a lifetime The Avengers things were a little different than how they turned out in the finished product, after Joss Whedon re-wrote the whole thing. Details leaked online last year, revealing that instead of the Chitauri the alien invaders were Skrulls and both Agent Coulson and Maria Hill were Skrulls, with the latter being Princess Anelle. Added to the details released by the writer today in an interview with Comic Book Resources, it’s clear that the movie would have failed critically and probably a little less financially if Joss had just been a director, or had not been involved with the project at all.

“My job was to keep revising the draft…for about four or five years, that’s what I did. The story was basically the same, but it kept shifting. Then, once Joss (Whedon) came in, he took over from there.”

Surprisingly, Penn revealed that he wanted Marvel to release Thor AFTER The Avengers so he could introduce him in his movie! If that plan had gone forward however, Red Skull could have been the villain in the movie, as he said that there was “some discussion of it being Red Skull.” Interestingly, the writer said that Thanos wouldn’t have had any role in his script.

“If I thought I could have gotten away with Thanos. I would have put him in there.”

Are you glad with how the movie turned out in the finished product? What do you think of Penn’s version? Sound off below.

SOURCE: Comic Book Resources

Well, we’ve managed to get the juicy details of the project (via our good friends at Deadline), so check out the deets below:

I’ve learned that Marvel’s TV division is in conversation with ABC and ABC Studios about doing a drama series in the Avengers world. [...]

I hear the project is in a nascent stage, described as “a kernel of an idea,” with a number of scenarios being explored, including a high-concept cop show

Well, well, well…  What’s with this “high-concept cop show” idea?  Is that a pretty transparent allusion to Nick Fury and his buddies at SHIELD, or could it be more akin to the indie comic Powers?

All I know is this… as long as J.J. Abrams stays away from this project (curse you and your cliffhangers!), then I’m game. Although, I’d much rather watch an ‘R’ rated series starring one of Marvel’s superheroes. The Punisher, perhaps?

SOURCE: deadline

Remember that time when you had no clue who Chris Hemsworth was? Back before he was in Thor, Avengers and Snow White and the Huntsman? Well those days of obscurity are long gone, reinforced by the face Hemsworth is rumored to star in the new Speilberg film, Robopocalypse.

For those of you who haven’t heard of this robo thriller , the IMDB synopsis goes something like this:

In a futuristic world where computer minds and robots are in everyday life, Man Kind finally creates the first mass intelligence computer brain; Archos escapes from captivity with the intent of preserving “life” and the world, even if this means wiping out the human race in order to do so. The story follows the events of several characters as they form the human resistance and fight back against “Big Rob” and the machines.

Deadline claim “amid much secrecy (including assumed names), Spielberg met and now wants Hemsworth in his next helping effort.” Nothing has been confirmed as no official offer has been made to Hemsworth yet but it’s definitely a possibility. I’m a fan of this guy so I hope this news pans out! What d’you reckon, happy to see more of this big ol’ lug?

Source: IGN