They don't hire Mark Ruffalo [the new Hulk] to say one iconic line and strike a pose. They hire him because he has so much humanity in him. He's the antithesis of the iconic actor. He's so human. He was my first choice to play the part, and the fact he is playing the part is nuts! They went to great lengths to make that happen and they understood exactly why he was right for the part.

Concept Art For The Avengers’ SHIELD Heli-Carrier



Will SHIELD’s famous heli-carriers make an appearance in Joss Whedon’s “The Avengers”? It would appear so, at least according to these early concept artwork (via I09).

The designs look more “submarine”-ish than the SHIELD heli-carriers I’ve seen in the comics. As far as I know, the heli-carriers spent most of their time in the air, while these designs would seem to indicate they’re going to be spending just as much time on the water.

In any case, we’ll find out for sure when “The Avengers” opens in May 4, 2012.

Disney Gets The Avengers and Iron Man 3, Paramount Keeps Thor and Captain America



Looks like Marvel Studios is slowly but surely severing all ties with Paramount when it comes to their future properties. Marvel and Disney have struck a deal that should place all of their future characters under the Disney flag.

Press release:

   

Who knew guys and gals who wear their underwear on the outside of their pants would be such big business?

Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk Will be More Robert Downey Jr., Less Ed Norton



That is to say, you can expect a lot more humor and charm to Mark Ruffalo and Joss Whedon’s version of The Hulk aka Bruce Banner than, say, the miserable, running-for-his-life Bruce Banner that showed up in Edward Norton’s portrayal of the character in “Hulk”, or the somber, father issues suffering of Eric Bana in Ang Lee’s version.

Ruffalo tells Digital Spy:

   

This is certainy in line with Joss Whedon’s style, who is writing the script and will be directing for Marvel Studios. Whedon can get pretty dark at times when the need calls for it, but I’d say anywhere from 80-90% of his scripts are usually about the characters being charming or having fun. When you’re doing a movie about a group of superheroes fighting (from some rumors, possibly aliens from outer space), going “dark” is sort of silly.

“The Avengers” invade in 2012.

Apparently $160 Million is Not Enough to Make Joss Whedon’s The Avengers



$160 million or thereabouts, anyway.

Rumors are running rampant that Marvel Studios, as they are wont to do, is trying to curb cost on Whedon’s upcoming “The Avengers” even before the film starts shooting by limiting the budget to around $160 million (according to I09). That, says some insiders, isn’t nearly enough to make the movie, and as a result, there have been “delays” in the pre-production of the first-ever big-budget comic book superhero team movie.

   

Only in Hollywood would $160 million not be “enough” to make a movie. Meanwhile, you give the South Koreans or Japanese $160 million, and they would probably hand you back 4 “Avengers”-sized movies. Or hell, Whedon could probably give you 10 “Firefly” movies with that much money.

Personally, I think this is all very silly. My guess is, Marvel just wants Whedon to know that he’s not working with an unlimited budget, but when push comes to shove, they will of course sign over more bucks to finish the movie. “The Avengers” is a sure-fire mega hit that will launch not just a franchise, but franchises. You don’t turn your back on that just to save, what, $50 extra million? Hell, this movie might make that on first-week DVD sales alone.

So I wouldn’t worry, kids. The Avengers will assemble as expected in 2012.

The Skrull and Kree Dropping by The Avengers Movie?



That’s the word from the Albuquerque Journal newspaper (via AICN), who writes in the same article announcing that Marvel Studios will be shooting a hefty portion of “The Avengers” in New Mexico, the following:

 

It’s always been long rumored that the Skrulls (pictured, below left) would be involved in some capacity, perhaps even as the brains behind a “loose” Hulk that forces SHIELD to assemble the heroes to contain. And of course, it makes sense that the Kree (pictured, below right) would show up if those pesky Skrulls, their nemesis, were around.

This actually lines up pretty well with previous rumors about the movie. If you were going to assemble a superhero team like Thor, Hulk, Captain America, and Iron Man, you’d need a pretty damn big threat to do it. An alien invasion by the Skrulls (or, ahem, a “secret invasion”) would do it.

Source:- http://www.beyondhollywood.com/the-skrull-...avengers-movie/
It’s always been long rumored that the Skrulls (pictured, below left) would be involved in some capacity, perhaps even as the brains behind a “loose” Hulk that forces SHIELD to assemble the heroes to contain. And of course, it makes sense that the Kree (pictured, below right) would show up if those pesky Skrulls, their nemesis, were around.

This actually lines up pretty well with previous rumors about the movie. If you were going to assemble a superhero team like Thor, Hulk, Captain America, and Iron Man, you’d need a pretty damn big threat to do it. An alien invasion by the Skrulls (or, ahem, a “secret invasion”) would do it.

No Punching Disney Princess in The Avengers, But Definitely Another Female Hero



By now you’ve probably heard all the official denials that manufactured Disney princess Demi Lovato will not be in “The Avengers” as rumored, which apparently made a lot of nerds really happy. I don’t know, I think she would have made a fine addition; she’s not a really bad actress, per se. Or at least, it would have been funny watching her punch people in the movie, being that she got in trouble for that in real life. You know, as an inside joke kinda thing?

ANYWAYS. According to THR, though, the powers that be are actively looking at adding a second female character to the line-up to offset all the testosterone that will be provided by Hulk, Captain America, Iron Man, Hawkeye, and Thor, with only little ol Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) breaking up the boy’s club.

    It would make sense for the extra female character to be Wasp, or another female superhero. Adding an additional female character who is just someone’s girlfriend or background support or a SHIELD agent would be pointless, since I assume there would be plenty of that already. To really add something to the line-up, you’d need an actual superhero. So yes, the Wasp makes sense, not only because she’s an active member of the group and has been for a long time in its history, but also because the Wasp has been rumored since day one, and where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire.

Or just a really, really smoky chimney.

Then again, if not Wasp, how about … Spider-Woman? There’s your new spin-off franchise in the making right there…

spiderman not part of THE AVENGERS?

spiderman not part of THE AVENGERS?

spiderman not part of THE AVENGERS?

He used to be, for a little while...  Spidey is more like a backup. Wolverine too, and well, many others.

A membership that requires if they are fit in Avengers, right? 

"I have one hard copy that I am looking to sell and I will not be making any copies, therefore exclusivity is guaranteed," the script's owner told the UK movie site.

"Considering that the release of The Avengers is over a year away this script should generate a substantial amount of traffic for the website that acquires it."

The source then provided two pictures of script pages to prove its authenticity. The document, dated March 8, carries the title 'Group Hug' and is watermarked with Jackson's name.



The Pulp Fiction star will play Nick Fury in the Marvel ensemble movie, which features Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Captain America (Chris Evans).

Who Else Besides Loki Will Menace The Avengers? Find Out!



If you’re a daily reader of this site, or heck, any movie site, then you probably already know that Joss Whedon’s “The Avengers” won’t be fighting The Hulk in their first big screen outing (as they did in the comics), but instead will be facing the menace of Loki, Thor’s evil adopted brother.

This has been officially confirmed when Marvel released their “Avengers” press release at the start of production last month, with Tom Hiddleston prominently mentioned as returning, and there was that “Thor” easter egg scene to drive the point home in case you didn’t believe it. Yes, Loki will continue to menace Thor and the Avengers.

And of course, there were those rumors that the alien race known as the Skrulls would be invading Earth in “The Avengers”. Forget about it, it’s not a rumor — it’s pretty much true. At least, I haven’t heard/read anyone refuting this bit yet. From everything I’ve read, the Skrulls will indeed be attempting an invasion of the planet, as they are keen to do in the Marvel Universe. No word, though, on whether they’ll be making use of their shape-shifting abilities, but that seems likely given that it’s one of their biggest weapons.

But wait! There is actually a THIRD villain!

Latino Review, who have been pretty damn solid with their “Avengers” sources thus far, has another major news about yet another “Avengers” villain. I have to admit, you sort of saw this one coming given all the clues from “Thor” and “Captain America: The First Avenger”.

The other villain that the Avengers will have to contend with, besides the Skrulls invasion and Loki manipulating everything in the background?

How about THANOS.

Oh come on, when you saw the Infinity Gauntlet sitting in Odin’s chamber, you sort of knew, right? Plus, the Cosmic Cube will play a huge role in the Red Skull’s schemes in “Captain America”. When cosmic weapons are involved, Thanos of Titan is usually smack dab in the middle of it.

More about Thanos from Wikipedia for the uninitiated:



If you’ve never read the “Infinity Gauntlet” storyline by Jim Starlin, you’re missing out on some insanely good cosmic storytelling. Unfortunately, they couldn’t leave well enough alone, and it was followed by a bunch of lame sequels, but hey, that’s comic books for ya.

LR wouldn’t say how Thanos figures into “The Avengers”, just that he does. But given that the movie is already stuffed with villains (the Skrulls invasion itself should take up a huge chunk of the storyline), Thanos may not have all that big of a role … THIS time around. Who knows in a sequel?

The Avengers Assemble! … Courtesy of Someone’s Cellphone



Hey, beggars can’t be choosers, right? So, in that spirit, here’s your first look at an official teaser poster for Joss Whedon’s upcoming “The Avengers”, snapped by ESQ. (h/t CBM). The poster was on display at the Licensing International Expo, so it’s basically a very early, photoshopped-together poster to sell the movie’s merchandising licenses to various buyers who attends the shindig.

You shouldn’t expect the real thing to look too much like this, but it does give you an idea of what The Hulk, Hawkeye, The Black Widow, Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor will look like. In particular, it seems The Black Widow and Hawkeye really will have a pretty big role in this thing, and won’t just be supporting characters.

Whedon’s “The Avengers” assemble for real May 4, 2012.