245 replies to this topic

[Peter T Chattaway]

Not to be confused with the 1960s TV series or the 1998 movie version thereof. (But, gosh, wouldn't it be weird if the two franchises crossed over in some way.)

Links to our threads on Iron Man (2008), The Incredible Hulk (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), Thor (2011) and The First Avenger: Captain America (2011).

As with all threads on sequels, it is assumed that the reader is already familiar with the earlier films, and so there will be SPOILERS with regard to those earlier films (but spoilers for THIS film should still be marked as such).

As those of you who stayed through the end credits for Iron Man already know, Samuel L. Jackson has a cameo as Nick Fury, showing up at Tony Stark's house and informing him that he would like to discuss something called "the Avenger initiative" with him. And rumour has it that Robert Downey Jr. will appear as Tony Stark and/or Iron Man in The Incredible Hulk next month. Well, it looks like Marvel Studios really DOES plan to pursue these inter-connections, since they announced today that they are releasing Iron Man 2 and Thor in the summer of 2010, followed by The First Avenger: Captain America in May 2011 and, two months later, The Avengers itself.

Questions come to mind.

Jon Favreau has talked about doing an Iron Man "trilogy". Will The Avengers get in the way of that somehow? Will it be the third film?

It may or may not be noteworthy that no Hulk sequel is currently planned, prior to The Avengers. That may or may not be because The Incredible Hulk has been plagued with rumours of trouble in the editing room. Given how incredibly hands-on and micro-manage-y Edward Norton reportedly is, would he allow his version of the Hulk to become just another member of the team in The Avengers? Or, given that the Hulk himself is a CGI creation, would the studio be free to cast a different actor as Bruce Banner? Would the studio be ready to rush a sequel into production BETWEEN The Incredible Hulk and The Avengers if the former film turns out to be a big hit after all?

Edited by Peter T Chattaway, 03 March 2010 - 10:10 PM.

[John Drew]

Downey... Cheadle... Favreau... The Avengers deal is underway (as well as Iron Man 2 and 3)...

"Iron Man" duo Robert Downey Jr. and Jon Favreau will reunite for "The Avengers," Marvel Studios' film about its team of superheroes. Don Cheadle, whose deal to replace Terrence Howard in the "Iron Man" movies has been finalized, also has signed to perform in the action movie.

Downey and Cheadle are the first stars to sign on for "Avengers," whose team roster features such heroes as Iron Man, Captain American, Hulk, Wasp, Giant Man, Hawkeye and Thor.

Full story here.

[CrimsonLine]

I read somewhere that there's a strong possibility that the Hulk will be the villain in the Avengers movie, at least at the beginning.

[Peter T Chattaway]

CrimsonLine wrote:
: I read somewhere that there's a strong possibility that the Hulk will be the villain in the Avengers movie, at least at the beginning.

Yeah, the director of the most recent Hulk movie said he ended the movie the way he did to leave that possibility open, and the writers on the Iron Man movies say they think the Avengers movie should go that way, too -- and then the Marvel Studios chief said the other day that he finds the idea intriguing.

[Peter T Chattaway]

Did you notice that the official Marvel press release says: "In a movie event, THE AVENGERS will bring together the super hero team of Marvel Comics characters for the first time ever, including Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, the Hulk and more, as they are forced to band together to battle the biggest foe they've ever faced" (emphasis added)?

Interesting also that this press release would seem to say that, uh, no, the Hulk is NOT the foe. But, hmmm. Maybe the Hulk BEGINS as a foe, who is actually being manipulated by another foe -- kind of like Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United.

[CrimsonLine]

Did you notice that the official Marvel press release says: "In a movie event, THE AVENGERS will bring together the super hero team of Marvel Comics characters for the first time ever, including Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, the Hulk and more, as they are forced to band together to battle the biggest foe they've ever faced" (emphasis added)?

Interesting also that this press release would seem to say that, uh, no, the Hulk is NOT the foe. But, hmmm. Maybe the Hulk BEGINS as a foe, who is actually being manipulated by another foe -- kind of like Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United.

That would be my inkling. Isn't that how it worked in Avengers #1? I don't remember.

[Thom Wade]

Did you notice that the official Marvel
Interesting also that this press release would seem to say that, uh, no, the Hulk is NOT the foe. But, hmmm. Maybe the Hulk BEGINS as a foe, who is actually being manipulated by another foe -- kind of like Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United.

That would be my inkling. Isn't that how it worked in Avengers #1? I don't remember.

Yeah, basically, Loki tricks the Hulk. And at least with the Hulk the traditional team up of "heroes meet, have misunderstanding, fight, realize mistake and team up" is understandable and plausible.

[Peter T Chattaway]

First Draft Of 'Avengers' Script Completed
With rampant speculation about the casting of "Captain America", the continuing reports from the set of "Thor" and the pending release of "Iron Man 2" dominating the comic book movie news cycle, updates about "The Avengers" movie have appeared infrequently during the past few months. However, Marvel's editor-in-chief reports that he received a draft of the "Avengers" script yesterday.
"Definition of 'goose bumps.' Pressing enter and watching a screenplay entitled 'AVENGERS' come out of my printer," wrote Marvel EiC Joe Quesada on Twitter. Quesada later added, "It's official, I have the greatest job in the world." . . .
MTV Splash Page, March 3

[Peter T Chattaway]

Note to Joss Whedon fans: he's on the short list to direct.

[Overstreet]

Just get him to write the darn thing. That would be reason enough to celebrate. Direct? I'm not so sure that's the best idea.

[Ryan H.]

Overstreet, on 05 April 2010 - 12:38 PM, said:

Just get him to write the darn thing. That would be reason enough to celebrate.

Given his woeful script for ALIEN RESURRECTION, I'm not so sure. Whedon seems to do better when handling his own creations than when dealing with the creations of others.

[Overstreet]

True. But his Ultimate X-Men comic series is fantastic. I don't usually buy comic books for the writing - heck, I don't usually buy comics at all - but that's why I bought those.

Edited by Overstreet, 05 April 2010 - 01:06 PM.

[Ryan H.]

Overstreet, on 05 April 2010 - 01:05 PM, said:

True. But his Ultimate X-Men comic series is fantastic. I don't usually buy comic books for the writing - heck, I don't usually buy comics at all - but that's why I bought those.

I'll take your word for it. Unlike you, I am something of a comic book reader (though I've given up on superhero comics), but I've never read any comic penned by Whedon.

Edited by Ryan H., 05 April 2010 - 01:21 PM.

[N.K. Carter]

Whedon wrote Astonishing X-Men, actually. I know, it's hard to keep track of the randomly assigned adjectives. Ultimate X-Men was written by Mark Millar, who's responsible for another super-hero movie you might have heard of, and his work with the X-men was not especially good.

Whedon was definitely an X-Men fanboy before he started working on Astonishing, though, and it shows, in that he has a really firm grasp of and fondness for the characters. I don't know if he has similar feelings about the Avengers.

[Peter T Chattaway]

Ryan H. wrote:
: Given his woeful script for ALIEN RESURRECTION, I'm not so sure.

Which version? If memory serves, he first wrote one version without Ripley (because, of course, Ripley had died in the previous movie) and then he was told that they were going to bring Ripley back to life, so he had to write a whole new version.

And before that, Whedon worked on Toy Story -- which, granted, isn't as good as Toy Story 2, but anyhoo.

[Peter T Chattaway]

Mike Fleming says Marvel and Joss Whedon are in "final negotiations".

[Anna J]

Huzzah!

[Overstreet]

Entertainment Weekly headline: "Joss Whedon to direct 'The Avengers'?: Existence of God no longer in doubt"

So... does that mean God exists?

Or he doesn't?

I'm kinda anxious to find out. It matters.

Especially since Whedon's an atheist.

[Tyler]

I read Peter's link, and finally realized this movie isn't about the 60s British show starring Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg. (Which has already been a movie, of course.)


[edit] Apparently, I never read his beginning post on the thread, either.

All the superhero discussions on this thread make a lot more sense now.

Edited by tyler1984, 13 April 2010 - 05:42 PM.

[CrimsonLine]

What has Whedon directed?