I support this

Litwall | July 24, 05:37 CET

I'm actually pleased about this. More Jeremy Renner is a good thing.

cardea | July 24, 05:40 CET

"If the story is not compelling, nobody will care."

Exactly why we love him.

Tyler823 | July 24, 05:50 CET

Perfect casting this be.

The First Weevil | July 24, 06:10 CET

I can't get past how perfect Alan Alda was for the role.

Simon | July 24, 06:42 CET

Although - you must admit - Daniel Day Lewis had some fine moments in the role as well.


ETA: And I claim credit for articulating the whole death issue first.

[ edited by brinderwalt on 2010-07-24 06:53 ]

brinderwalt | July 24, 06:50 CET

This makes perfect sense given that Joss probably wouldn't want to work with Donald Sutherland again anyway (last thing you need on a huge film like Avengers is friction on set).

And Jeremy Renner's a really good choice. I mean, he's no Morgan Freeman but still...

Saje | July 24, 07:18 CET

He's not Morgan Freeman?! But I thought...

*blushes and slips away silently*

cabri | July 24, 07:35 CET

Cool! I'm a fan of Jeremy Renner.

How many Avengers are there? It seems like assembly might take the whole film.

WilliamTheB | July 24, 07:56 CET

4 at the very start but in total over the years ? Maybe 40 or 50 ? Presumably they'll plump for something in between as a main cast (the Hulk wasn't in the first issue for instance but seems to be in the film fairly definitely) although they might have a big "splash page" style battle with some fan-boy shout-outs just appearing in the crowd.

Still not sure about how it's all going to fit together. Is Avengers being made before or after Spider-Man 4/whatever ? So is Spider-Man being played by Andrew Garfield or is he not in it at all (seems unlikely) ?

He's not Morgan Freeman?! But I thought...

An understandable mistake, such are the chameleon-like abilities of The Freeman.



edited to remove what amounts to an "Is it X or Y ? Yes." type exchange ;)

[ edited by Saje on 2010-07-24 08:13 ]

Saje | July 24, 08:06 CET

Fan friggin' tastio news!
Renner was precisely my top choice to play Hawkeye, and it's wonderful to see a (fan)dream come true like that

Astonishing_Chaos | July 24, 09:05 CET

The Spider-Man reboot(ugh, much. I hope they skip the origin story entirely ala TIH) and his character does not fit into MFU(marvel film universe) since its owned by Sony. Untitled Spider-Man film starts filming in December and The Avengers starts filming in January.

eddy | July 24, 09:15 CET

Good news!

Was it just me, or did Joss seem rather like he'd had one over the eight?

But I can't wait. What Joss excels at is family (one of the big criticisms of Dollhouse I recall was that it took too long for them to be a family, especially by comparison with B, A and F), and I've already read an interview where he compares the Avengers to a family. They're in safe hands.

Coleberg | July 24, 09:59 CET

I loved this about the actors:

"I'm honored to be in their presence. I hope they don't kill each other." :)

Great video, looks like frenetic fun.

Shey | July 24, 10:08 CET

Actually, the Hulk was in the first issue - Loki manipulated the Avengers into thinking Hulk was a villain, and I could definitely see that being a plot in the movie.

One thing that makes me really excited is that Joss confirmed that he's writing the movie, not just touching up Zak Penn's script!

[ edited by Hexaphim on 2010-07-24 11:12 ]

Hexaphim | July 24, 10:56 CET

Cool. Totally forgot Renner was in Somnambulist, though. Been ages since I've rewatched Angel (or Buffy, for that matter). Heh.

Anyway, he seems like a fine choice to me. I'm still slightly skeptical on how such a massive group of characters will fit together in one big honkin' movie, but having a Joss script will certainly make that easier. (Even though it certainly won't make writing that script easier for Joss ;))

GVH | July 24, 11:17 CET

Actually, the Hulk was in the first issue - Loki manipulated the Avengers into thinking Hulk was a villain, and I could definitely see that being a plot in the movie.

Absolutely right Hexaphim. He wasn't in the original Avengers lineup but he was in the first issue. Even on the cover in fact. I sit corrected ;).

Untitled Spider-Man film starts filming in December and The Avengers starts filming in January.

So does that mean Spider-man isn't in 'The Avengers' movie ?? And I say again '?' Isn't that a bit like making a JLA film without someone like e.g. the Flash (maybe not quite the same since Flash was a founding member but still...) ?

And is January for definite ? Because now i'm really confuserised. It's not written yet but they have a firm date to start filming ? Am I in backwards world again ? Cos I hate that (shaving's a bitch).

Saje | July 24, 12:43 CET

Spider-Man is a very recent addition to the Avengers (he joined New Avengers in 2005), so him missing would be more like a JLA movie missing... some popular character who only recently joined the team? (I haven't read a lot of DC ;). The biggest hurdle to having Spider-Man in the movie is the rights issue, though. Sony owns the rights to making Spider-Man movies, so he won't be any movies released by Marvel/Disney anytime soon.

Hexaphim | July 24, 13:06 CET

Wasn't he in it in the early 90s in some capacity ? Or maybe he was just in the comic rather than the team.

(I haven't read a lot of Marvel ;)

Saje | July 24, 13:15 CET

Surely, if Marvel really wanted him, they could get Spidey through some Marvel/Sony merger deal thing.

...Sorry, did I confuse you all with my business acumen?

Jaymii | July 24, 13:26 CET

Totally, can you say that in plain English ?

;-)

(guess there's just too much money at stake. Why would Sony help Marvel out when billions of dollars are potentially at risk ? S'not how I see it, to me it'd just make them both more money but I doubt they'd agree)

Saje | July 24, 13:46 CET

I remember Spider-Man trying out for The Avengers in a really old comic book I read as a kid, but he was never an official member (to my knowledge) until New Avengers, when the team was shaken up quite a bit. That's when Wolverine joined the team as well.

Hexaphim | July 24, 14:01 CET

Are the other stand-alone feature guys all confirmed for this yet? Downey, Hemsworth, Evans? I know the theory from the start was that the Marvel films were being made that way on purpose, but since Norton's out, figured it's worth asking.

KingofCretins | July 24, 14:30 CET

Downey,Hemsworth,Evans,Jackson etc. are all signed on.They have multi film contracts.

Spider-Man won't be in The Avengers.Sony still holds the rights and as long as they keep making films,Marvel can't get the rights back.Same goes for the X-Men franchise and all mutant characters,Fantastic Four,Daredevil and Ghost Rider.That's why Sony is rushing a Ghost Rider 2 into production.So they don't lose the rights at the end of the year back to Marvel.

Buffyfantic | July 24, 14:44 CET

Hemsworth and Evans are definitely signed on, as is Samuel L Jackson (that was part of the "9 picture deal" kerfuffle before "Iron Man 2"). Last I heard, Downey Jr. wasn't categorically locked in but there've been strong rumours (as well as circumstantial evidence ;) so personally i'd be pretty amazed if he doesn't play Stark, especially given the success of the Iron Man movies.



ETA: Oops, simul-post ! ;)

[ edited by Saje on 2010-07-24 14:46 ]

Saje | July 24, 14:45 CET

Ah but who owns Spider-Ham?

Simon | July 24, 14:46 CET

Can anyone really own Spider-Ham ? Can you cage the wind ? Can you box love ?

Saje | July 24, 14:52 CET

This casting I can support. I guess Mockingbird came later.

Are there any girls in this? Wasp? Anyone?

redeem147 | July 24, 16:20 CET

I think Joss needs some women. He wouldn't write this movie without a strong woman, right?
As of now: Black Widow is supposed to be in it.

roadi | July 24, 17:08 CET

Joss is directing a remake of MASH now?

mr_waterproof | July 24, 18:18 CET

Joss can't pull in Kitty as a crossover because of the X-Men rights, so he'll either have to go with Black Widow or he'll OC a new Marvel character that's an adolescent girl who is somehow broken emotionally or mentally but realizes her profound and unique power over _____ and saves the day? Or something :)

KingofCretins | July 24, 18:35 CET

EDIT: Apparently, Joss confirmed to Io9 that Ant-Man won't be in the movie, so I doubt Wasp would be.

Remember, this is very influenced by the Ultimates take on the Avengers. Therefore, Joss has the freedom of development female characters that are members of SHIELD in some capacity, but aren't necessarily established heroes.


At the same time, a Joss Whedon She-Hulk or Ms. Marvel would be brilliant.

EDIT: Amy Acker as She-Hulk/Jen Walters with Avatar style CGI motion-capture! *Drools*

[ edited by Arsenal on 2010-07-24 18:46 ]

[ edited by Arsenal on 2010-07-24 18:54 ]

Arsenal | July 24, 18:42 CET

Much as I like Scarlett Johansson, her Black Widow (not that she was ever called that in the film, just had her alias and her actual name, which is fine 'cause I like the superhero movie adaptation convention of either doing away with the cheesy code names or using them less than the real ones, with the exception of Spider-Man, Batman, and Superman) in Iron Man 2 was one of the most underwhelming characters in the film (not visually, just plot-wise), alongside Mickey Rourke's underdeveloped villain. Iron Man 2 as a whole was just way less fun and compelling than the first one (maybe it was that it just wasn't new anymore, maybe I wasn't up for a "now there are more machines!" plot-obstacle, maybe the soundtrack was annoying, I dunno). If they lose Johansson for The Avengers, won't be too broken up about it.

If that's the best Marvel Films has to offer for female heroes so far, I'd rather Joss just introduce someone new (to film adaptations) like a lot of you are suggesting. So far, out of the currently introduced female supports, Gwyneth Paltrow's Pepper Potts is the only one I'd be interested in seeing in a cameo (or larger supporting role, if Tony Stark's story's gonna take up a lot of room in The Avengers). If they hadn't replaced Ed Norton, Liv Tyler's Betty might've been worth bringing in (or Jennifer Connelly's version, if Eric Bana was the replacement, which I still think would've been a cool move). Hopefully they'll introduce some worthwhile/compelling ladies in Thor and Captain America (don't know much about the women associated with those guys, doesn't seem like they're as prominent as Mary-Jane is for Spider-Man or Lois Lane is for Superman).

Heck, since they made Nick Fury black (I know, taken directly from the "Ultimate" re-interpretation of the Marvel Universe) and the Daredevil/Spider-Man villain Kingpin as well, why not change it up a little more by making Thor and/or Steve Rogers either exclusively loner characters/bachelors or gay ? If the studios are flexible about how true the writers and casting folks are to the original skin tone of the characters, then in theory sexuality's just as easy to change as well.

It'd never happen due to reasons of marketability (plus major portions of the fanboys getting up in arms--and I'm not saying Hollywood's too chicken or homophobic or anything, I knw that they're not gonna risk profits by being crazy reckless like that and it'd be unfair to expect them to), but I'd kinda love to see the media's, fan community's, and general population's reactions to a gay Captain America.

[ edited by Kris on 2010-07-24 20:59 ]

Kris | July 24, 20:48 CET

Remember, this is very influenced by the Ultimates take on the Avengers. Therefore, Joss has the freedom of development female characters that are members of SHIELD in some capacity, but aren't necessarily established heroes.


But I don't LIKE Ultimates. :(

redeem147 | July 24, 21:12 CET

Well Natalie Portman is going to be the/a female lead in Thor so there's a chance she might be turning up but I don't know if she's contracted for it. (I think they went a bigger for that film's secondary casting to test the waters of a more affordable lead actor taking on a major hero.) I don't really know about how Captain America would work given how I thought most of that movie is a period WWII origin story. (Apparently Sharon Carter, who exists "now" really is one of those weirdly similar looking descendants/relatives to a figure Capt met in WWII though so they might be able to reuse the actress.)

There are tons of relatively powerful and/or interesting female heroes* who I'd be interested in seeing in film but I admit most of them couldn't support a movie of their own to most audiences. It'd be sort of amazing if Joss padded out the Avengers with a team half comprised of women who obviously wouldn't be able to get a movie of their own ala Iron Man...

*They're all mostly languishing under Fox's X-Men though.

orangewaxlion | July 25, 00:10 CET