The Avengers EDIT:- First Movie in history to make $200 Million in opening weekend

[neverending]

Nick Fury was an Avenger? Must have been after I quit reading comics.

[cheebacheeba]

No, he wasn't an actual Avenger (not that I know of) though as long time head of S.H.I.E.L.D he's had a lot of dealings with the team, and members of the team.
Though in the present "Marvel Universe" movies it seems they're spinning S.H.I.E.L.D into a role of overseeing the creation of the Avengers...?
History Mashing.

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[The_Return]

Despite lots of speculation that they may have sorted out their issues, it appears that Marvel has once-and-for-all decided to leave Ed Norton out of The Avengers.

A statement from Kevin Feige, Marvel's President of Production:

"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."

Nice subtle little kick in the teeth there, isnt it Mr. Norton? I'd bet he's got one hell of a Hulk rage building up right now.

But, nice to see they're looking at a name actor rather than an unknown. I've heard some completely unfounded speculation online about Sharlto Copely...maybe not a huge name yet, but one that's proved he can work well with an ensemble and who'd be dead-on perfect for the Banner side of the role.

[_____V_____]

He’s been the subject of rumors almost since the minute Edward Norton quit the role, but now it would appear that a flurry of deal-making activity means that Mark Ruffalo will be striding out on stage at today’s Marvel panel at the San Diego Comic-Con.

Of course, Marvel is naturally staying silent on the issue and with the panel mere hours away, we wouldn’t expect anything less, but with Deadline and at least one other site reporting that Ruffalo’s deal is sealed and he will indeed be the one to shoulder Bruce Banner’s big green burden. And that he’ll officially get the nod in Hall H at the convention centre alongside Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth and director Joss Whedon.

Oh, and not forgetting Nathan Fillion as Ant-Man. All right, that last bit was just Joss’s little joke, but it sent enough rumour flames scorching around the Interwebs to set several buildings on fire. But to be clear: Nathan is only appearing as Ant-Man in several fans’ fevered dreams.

[_____V_____]

Joss Whedon has confirmed that Jeremy Renner of The Hurt Locker will star as the superhero Hawkeye in Marvel Studios upcoming film The Avengers.

Rumours have recently circulated that the actor was in consideration for the part, but Marvel Studios had been keeping quiet about the film's supporting cast prior to the San Diego Comic-Con.

Comic Book Resources reports that Whedon said of the signing: "I think it's well-known that Jeremy Renner is joining us as Hawkeye, which is so exciting for me and the rest of the cast."

This news comes after various news outlets reported that Mark Ruffalo has also been signed to be Edward Norton's replacement as the Hulk in the film.

It is expected that the full cast of The Avengers will be announced today at Comic-Con.

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Ending a momentous and event filled day at San Diego's Comic-Con 2010 today, both Samuel L. Jackson and Robert Downey, Jr. introduced the entire star-studded cast of Marvel Studios 2012 release "The Avengers."

Calling the picture more ambitious than "Inception," Downey Jr. made news by announcing the long rumored additions of recent Oscar nominee Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton a.ka. the bow-welding Hawkeye and Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner, better known for his monstrous alter-ego The Incredible Hulk. The duo join Downey, Jr., who became a worldwide superstar after the success of the first "Iron Man," Scarlett Johansson as The Black Widow, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Chris Evans as Captain America and newcomer Chris Hemsworth as Thor.

The panel also featured the official announcement of comic book fan favorite Joss Whedon ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Firefly") as the film's director.

The "surprise" announcement had been buzzed about for weeks, but was in question after the studio decided not to welcome Edward Norton back as Bruce Banner following a difficult time on the 2008 hit "The Incredible Hulk."



[(L-R) Robert Downey Jr., Clark Gregg, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, Director Joss Whedon, Producer and Marvel Studios' President Kevin Feige from the motion picture "MARVEL STUDIOS' THE AVENGERS" in which Earth's Mightiest Heroes including Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Captain America, Thor, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Nick Fury and Agent Coulson assemble together on screen for the first time.]

After a long, crazy day at Comic-Con, weary fans got a surprise that made all the lines and bizarre incidents worth it: They met their Avengers!

At the tail end of the action-packed day (after a real-life blood bath over a seating dispute), Hall H patrons got their first looks at Chris Evans as Captain America and Chris Hemsworth as Thor, repping the two officially scheduled films on the Marvel Studios agenda.

Even if all they got was a glimpse of Evans in costume test footage as Captain America, fans screamed their support at the mere sight of the beloved WWII hero in red, white and blue. Director Joe Johnston, demurring that he'd only been in production for about a week, nevertheless played a rough cut of a scene in which Hugo Weaving (as Nazi baddie Red Skull, sans actual red skull) searches for a mysterious item that links Captain America to Marvel's other 2011 property, Thor.

Then, director Kenneth Branagh brought his cast on stage to premiere the first trailer for Thor, which depicts the son of Odin as he embarks on his path from disgraced demigod to earth-bound hero—with plenty of punching, kicking and smashing along the way. Branagh's Thor trailer also included lots of Natalie Portman (as Thor's love interest, Jane Foster, whom Portman described as a "frazzled, down to earth, grounded woman) and scenes hinting at his recruitment into the Avengers.

But wait, the panel wasn't over!

Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige played a surprise clip for the capacity crowd featuring a familiar voice and the single, tantalizing image of the Avengers logo. As palpitations rippled through Hall H, the owner of that voice—Samuel Jackson—sauntered onstage, bringing the entire geek collective screaming to their feet.

Jackson, channeling his Marvel alter ego Nick Fury, introduced the members of the superhero team the Avengers, who'll get their own standalone film that brings worlds within the Marvel universe together onscreen for the first time.

Clark Gregg, Scarlett Johansson, Hemsworth, Evans and Robert Downey, Jr. joined Jackson on stage. Downey, a Comic-Con favorite, took the podium to crack a joke about the day's shocking Hall H incident ("Don't stab anyone before I'm done talking," he quipped) and to introduce three more members of the planned Avengers film, a comic book-blending movie that he deemed "more ambitious than Inception."

The entire population of Hall H squealed with excitement (yes, fanboys squeal!) as Downey introduced Academy Award nominee Jeremy Renner as Avengers archer Hawkeye. Then, confirming online whispers and Deadline's casting scoop, Mark Ruffalo joined everyone on stage as the new Bruce Banner/Hulk, officially replacing Ed Norton in the role.

Rounding out the Avengers mania, director Joss Whedon came out to thank fans for their support, and suddenly all of those hours spent waiting in lines wrapped around the convention center didn't seem quite so bad.

The only members missing from Earth's Mightest Heroes were the characters of The Wasp and Ant-Man. Both were part of the first "Avengers" team in the 1960s story that found the heroes uniting against a common foe, but it appears they won't be primary figures in the first movie version of the super hero group.

The ensemble action epic will be released on May 4, 2012 and is expected to begin shooting sometime in the spring of 2011.

It will be preceded by Marvel's "Thor" next May and "Captain America: The First Avenger" approximately a year from now.

And finally, we have the fantastic new Avengers logo -

[The_Return]

God bless ComicCon.

[_____V_____]

On Set pics from Captain America: The First Avenger -

http://www.filmshaft.com/new-set-pic...first-avenger/

The pictures bring to life one of the happiest days in world history – VE Day, otherwise known as Victory in Europe Day or the day when the Nazi’s lost and we celebrated one of the world’s most evil dictators taking a bullet in his temple.

Born during the Great Depression, Steve Rogers grew up a frail youth in a poor family. Horrified by the newsreel footage of the Nazis in Europe, Rogers was inspired to enlist in the army. However, because of his frailty and sickness, he was rejected. Overhearing the boy’s earnest plea, General Chester Phillips offered Rogers the opportunity to take part in a special experiment… Operation: Rebirth.

After weeks of tests, Rogers was at last administered the Super-Solider Serum and bombarded by ‘vita-rays.’ Steve Rogers emerged from the treatment with a body as perfect as a body can be and still be human. Rogers was then put through an intensive physical and tactical training program. Three months later, he was given his first assignment as Captain America. Armed with his indestructible shield and battle savvy, Captain America has continued his war against evil both as a sentinel of liberty and as leader of the Avengers.

Joss Whedon in the Sunday Herald Sun -

“It is true that the movie is only going to have one female Avenger. But she will not be the only female character.”

“It will be a new story that has many things from different arcs of the comics in it. There is no one Avengers story that you can just do the way that you can do the origin of Spider-Man. You really have to cull from the original and The Ultimates, which is one of the Avengers titles.”

Black Widow from Iron Man 2 will be the female avenger joining the likes of Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, Nick Fury, Bruce Banner and Hawkeye for some superhero action.

So what other roles could there be for the girls? Internet rumour is rife.

The major discussion point seems to be Alice Eve playing a major villain in the form of Enchantress, but there are plenty of figures from the current crop of Marvel films would may or may not make an appearance of some sort.

How Whedon will fit it all into a two hour movie will be interesting to see, unless they split it into two parts like some current major productions.

[Morbidementia]

The only other time I remember wondering "How are they ever going to pull it off?" so much was for Watchmen. But Joss Whedon is good, and though I don't like some of the casting choices, and I'm still on the fence about some costumes, I'm still frickin excited as hell.