The Avengers

[Dan]

Set up this thread to discuss the upcoming film adaptation of the Marvel super hero group "The Avengers."

Here is what is confirmed as of this post:

Joss Whedon has been tapped to direct and possibly co-write. In addition to his pop culture icon status behind the shows Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Firefly/Serenity, and Dollhouse, Whedon also wrote a number of popular and critically acclaimed issues of Astonishing X-Men and Runaways for Marvel.

Also penning the script is Zak Penn, who has been involved in writing the scripts for X-Men 2 and 3, Elektra, and The Incredible Hulk.

Confirmed cast so far:
Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America
Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man
Chris Hemsworth as Donald Blake/Thor
Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury
Don Cheadle as James Rhodes/War Machine
Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow

Ain't It Cool News is reporting that Academy Award nominee Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker) has been cast to play Clint Barton aka Hawkeye.

Edward Norton and Lou Ferrigno are expected to be on the cast before shooting begins.

There's rumor that Nathan Fallon (Firefly/Serenity, Castle) is being considered for Hank Pym aka Ant-Man as well as Malin Åkerman (Watchmen) for Janet van Dyne aka Wasp.

[Dacey]

I was hoping that they wouldn't include Ant Man in the film. I would love to see Scarlett back as Black Widow, though.

[GeorgeC]

You've never read the original comics, Dacey?

Ant Man (Hank Pym) was a founding member of the Avengers.

{This nonsense of tying in Fury -- especially black Fury (the mainstream Marvel Universe Nick Fury is a Caucasian World War II veteran who prolonged his life and vitality with an age-retarding serum) -- is more of a nod to the Ultimate line of Marvel Comics. No offense to (Samuel L.) Jackson, but the less nonsense tied in to the Ultimate comics, the better off all these Marvel movies will be.

{Fury had NOTHING to do with the formation of The Avengers in the original continuity. Both Fury and SHIELD were very much in embryonic forms at the time the Avengers comic hit issue 12...}

The movies are set in their own continuity to be sure, and that does upset some people who want a perfect universe where everything is connected --- and even the original Marvel Universe isn't THAT orderly(!) --- BUT a big secret of these films is that the further they stray from the source material, the worse they come off.


Of course they have to appeal to a mainstream audience but the less these character appear and act like the original comics versions the less successful the movies tend to be...

[Ben]

Edward Norton and Lou Ferrigno are expected to be on the cast before shooting begins.

Huh!? Ed Norton as Banner and Lou ("Twenty Dollars") Ferrigno as Hulk?

[EricJ]

...What, is Ferrigno going to repeat his role as the Security Guard?

Thus emphasizing that there is a distinct difference between "Confirmed" and "Read three years ago on the Internet."
Just because you can sweep them all into one post does not make it, y'know, Fact.

(For one thing, we still don't know as of this posting whether Downey really WILL be back as Iron Man, or whether he'll characteristically blow off the gig, saying that he did it for the one movie franchise, but c'mon...)

[Dan]

Downey's committed to Avengers. He was recently seen buying a pile of Avengers books in preparation.
http://blogs.coventrytelegraph.net/theg ... ics-t.html

Ferrigno was not only the security guard, but also the Hulk vocals in Incredible Hulk.

[Ben]

Yes, actually Eric, Downey was signed to Avengers #1 when he completed his deal for Iron Man 2 and 3, as reported here:

http://animatedviews.com/2008/go-speed- ... -and-more/

Lastly today, the big news is not only that director Jon Favreau and star Robert Downey Jr [pictured left to right] will regroup for the hotly anticipated Iron Man 2 for Marvel, but have both confirmed participation in the fledgling studio’s The Avengers motion picture! Downey Jr – who has a four-picture deal with Marvel – will reprise his role of as Tony Stark in both the sequel to this year’s $578 million grossing surprise blockbuster and the new Avengers movie. Favreau directs the sequel and will executive produce the Marvel team-up. In both films Downey Jr will also be joined by Don Cheadle, as Stark’s best friend Colonel Jim Rhodes, replacing Terrence Howard from the first film, and set to become the suit-wearing War Machine.

Iron Man 2 is expected to lead to at least one further entry in the franchise (hence Downey Jr’s four-picture deal), while The Avengers will bring together an extensive live-action grouping of super heroes to the screen for the first time ever, including Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, the Hulk and more (the “more” not stating or denying Spidey’s no-show or if Edward Norton’s participation as Bruce Banner is on the cards). Marvel’s current design is to introduce these additional characters via individual movies that lead to their banding together to “battle the biggest foe they’ve ever faced”. Iron Man 2 is scheduled for May 7 2010, with Avengers to follow on July 15 2011, both through Paramount.

[Dacey]

Ant Man (Hank Pym) was a founding member of the Avengers.

I know that. I just don't think that the character would work in live action. A superhero who controls insects might seem really, really silly onscreen, you know?

[EricJ]

Yeah, that's why the recent canon of the past few decades has him going the other direction as "Giant-Man". (Which at least "Watchmen" could bring off plausibly, but just as silly.)
And that when he's actually in action, and not just the "team scientist" while Janet gets all the battles.

[Dan]

Courtesy of HitFix

Marvel Studios has now confirmed that it is moving forward on development with their summer 2012 blockbuster "The Avengers," and they have decided not to cast Edward Norton in the key role of Bruce Banner, aka The Incredible Hulk.

In a statement sent in direct response to yesterday's story from the set of "Captain America" in London, Marvel Studios President of Production Kevin Feige forwarded the following exclusively to HitFix:

We have made the decision to not bring Ed Norton back to portray the title role of Bruce Banner in the Avengers. Our decision is definitely not one based on monetary factors, but instead rooted in the need for an actor who embodies the creativity and collaborative spirit of our other talented cast members. The Avengers demands players who thrive working as part of an ensemble, as evidenced by Robert, Chris H, Chris E, Sam, Scarlett, and all of our talented casts. We are looking to announce a name actor who fulfills these requirements, and is passionate about the iconic role in the coming weeks.

And that, as they say, appears to be that.

Fan reaction regarding Norton's departure from the role has been vocal, and there has certainly been much outrage at the idea of such a major piece of the puzzle being recast. There are also fans who are so anxious to see any version of "The Avengers" onscreen that the individual casting is less important to them than the issues of villains or storyline. One thing that is interesting in the statement is the indication that they are, indeed, looking for a name to replace Norton, and not an unknown. Who they pick will ultimately determine whether this continues to be an issue for fans or not.

For now, it appears Marvel has made their choice and has no plans of reacting based on fandom's initial outcry.

Whatever the case, "The Avengers" is set to open on Friday, May 4, 2012.

[Dacey]

That sucks about Ed Norton not returning. I thought that he was a good Bruce Banner.

[Randall]

Norton may be puny, but there are many others who could do Banner justice. I can't imagine that Banner will have a huge role, anyhow, given the ensemble cast and the need to give The Hulk himself screentime. So, Norton would have been welcome, but this doesn't bother me much.

By the wording of the statement, they seem to imply that Norton was already over-exerting his influence on the whole production, and they couldn't afford the ego trip.

Norton's a great talent, but if the producers felt that he couldn't fit into this production, then that's that.

[GeorgeC]

I'd more excited about this if I felt Marvel were doing justice with its characters... aside from reprints of better storylines before the last 20 years!


Bah.


They're going to cast like any Hollywood project.




I'll be pleasantly surprised if this turns out like Iron Man 1 but I seriously doubt it will.



Teams have only been done well once --- Justice League --- and that was an animated series.

[Ben]

"...rooted in the need for an actor who embodies the creativity and collaborative spirit of our other talented cast members" - OUCH!!

No reading between the lines there, me thinks! Either they didn't even consider him, given the who-hah over his Hulk movie, or he started playing hardball too early and, like Rand said, they decided they could do without Norton and his Hulk-sized ego.

But...could it also actually do with money, or specifically, billing?

Although Norton is well established, it can easily be argued that Downey Jr is now the more bankable name. And he's probably angling for top billing. The way some producers can get around this is to offer the second banana (and Norton would certainly be that) more money, to take off the "sting". Perhaps he wanted too much, or perhaps he didn't want any more and wasn't going to budge on not having his name on top of the poster/alongside Downey Jr's?

As always, I'm sure there is much more to this than meets the eye, but the way Marvel has put out this statement (during shooting on another movie entirely, almost as an aside) and the way it was worded, is damning enough.

[Randall]

And here's the follow-up:

http://www.spinoffonline.com/2010/07/11 ... at-marvel/