Robert Downey Jr Weighs-In On BLACK WIDOW, HAWKEYE And HULK Movies

Robert Downey Jr. is in a cool position, as he's signed-on to reprise the role of Tony Stark one more time in Avengers 3. The third installment isn't due until 2018-2019. Meaning, the elder statesman of the Marvel cinematic universe isn't going anywhere for some time. Allowing him to be outspoken about Marvel chatter concerning rumors and future projects. Speaking to USAToday, Robert did just that addressing Marvel's delay in announcing a Black Widow spin-off film.

The delay has sparked a bit of criticism, not having a female superhero officially announced as part of Marvel's future releases. Even more so, in the wake of the female Spider-Man spin-off at Sony and unofficially Warner Bros. solo Wonder Woman movie. Robert simply states the obvious and rational question, "doesn't Scarlett deserve a break?"

“Look, I think that the interesting thing particularly after [Guardians of the Galaxy] with Zoe [Saldana], even from the first Iron Man where Pepper was kind of this really – to me the Iron Man franchise would never have taken off without [Gwyneth] Paltrow. There’s something about her that grounded the story. She’s not your typical lady in a superhero movie, and then by Iron Man 3 she’s swallowing serums and putting on suits and kicking [butt] and all that stuff. It would be kind of more appropriate for a character that already was like a Black Widow [to lead a movie]. It just seems like whatever Scarlett does people want to go see it.” 

He makes some valid-points. Scarlett has played Black Widow in four movies, and could be expected to be apart of future projects. We all understand the demand for her own solo adventure. But it's really up to her when she wants to go back to making films, as a new mother. I think we can all respect that, even if it might delay production on a solo outing for a couple of years.

Oddly enough, Robert continues the discussion by pondering solo movies for both Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Hulk (Mark Ruffalo). The latter we've been hearing for sometime development on a new Hulk film, going back to 2012. Indestructible Hulk and Planet Hulk story theories have been circling for a couple of years. Ruffalo and Joss Whedon teased in Avengers press tour, that two could work together on developing a new film (Whedon possibly writing the script).

“The funny thing is honestly at this point everyone deserves a franchise. I think Jeremy Renner is — when folks see the Avengers: Age of Ultron he’s just a rockstar, a badass. And Ruffalo is pumped. He does great (work). I’d like to hear them talk even more seriously about a Hulk franchise, because that’s been one of the toughest ones to get right. But I’m sure that my parent company is feeling expansive and and bold after the summer they’ve had.”

Again, we hear from RDJ how impressive Jeremy's role in Avengers: Age of Ultron will be, hyping-up the character even more. It's possible Clint Barton could have an equally strong role in Captain America 3 as well. Originally, filmmakers wanted and wrote Barton into The Winter Soldier. Renner had to decline due to other projects. I've been under the impression that Renner could lead a West Coast Avengers film. That's if Marvel indeed plans on splinting the main group into two teams. Which is already rumored for Age of Ultron, leading up to the events of Civil War. Finally, giving Hawkeye more of a main character role than previous movies.


SOURCE: USATODAY

Black Panther And Hawkeye Showing-Up In CAPTAIN AMERICA 3?

Collider's Frosty was taking to Twitter to see if anyone has questions for the Russo Brothers, and LatinoReview's El Mayimbe coyly took him up on that. Adding what very well could be his own scoop, that Black Panther is rumored for an appearance in Captain America 3. I truly hope this one turns out to be right on-the-money.

.@colliderfrosty Yes, please ask Russo bros if it is true THE BLACK PANTHER will be making an appearance in CAP 3? :)
— Umberto Gonzalez (@elmayimbe) August 27, 2014

There have been rumblings for years that T'Challa would have a cameo, before his own feature film. However, all we've had since those rumors have been easter eggs (Cap's shield/meta human map). It's said that Wakanda is actually going to mentioned and possibly even shown in Avengers: Age of Ultron, that also remains to be seen.

Kevin Feige has given an update recently during Comic-Con confirming Panther is back in active-development at the studio. We are expecting Black Panther to become one of the next new solo films announced by the studio. As the project was said to have competed against Guardians of The Galaxy for the August, 2014 release spot. There is even talk that Chadwick Boseman (Get On Up, 42, Gods of Egypt) is the top-pick for the role of T'Challa, another bit of information that originated from LR.

UPDATE: Co-director Anthony Russo was asked by Movies.com, what new characters would be included in the third film? His answer is obscure but promising since fans would "freakout" with this addition. The only character I could think off making fans freakout, would be Black Panther. Rogers and T'Challa have crossed paths on more than a few occasions, with Cap's modern-day globetrotting he'd have to at one point bump into Wakanda. Of course a new threat of HYDRA would also put the population of Wakanda at risk as well.

"I can't divulge who is going to be in the film, but I think the fans are going to freak out when they hear about it." 

Speaking of Collider, Jeremy Renner mentioned Captain America 3 "rumblings" to the site. That's if he can find the time to shoot it, since he has Mission: Impossible 5 and Bourne 5 on-deck. We already mentioned what this could mean for Barton and the MCU, bulking-up his presence in the universe could lead to him getting his own superhero team to lead (Avengers West Coast).

SOURCE: LATINOREVIEW

SPECULATION: Marvel Studios Quietly Setting-Up AVENGERS WEST COAST?

Marvel has become the leader in finding new concepts and angles for the superhero film genre. It's a hard business to be in, but they've found their niche and it's not being predictable. The studio has taken some massive risks over their 10 film career. Mainly, releasing a film like Iron Man when a majority of the public had zero awareness or knowledge the character even existed. They took that success from Iron Man and ran full force. Releasing four more films, before making the giant-leap to an ultimate team-up film The Avengers. They went as far as tearing-down SHIELD in Captain America: The Winter Soldier to give us real stakes and prove nothing is safe in the MCU.

In Guardians of The Galaxy, the studio's most risky and ambitious project to date, they gave us our first real glimpse into the massive Marvel cosmic universe. Proving again, that even a talking tree and raccoon can be compelling if done right. The group of characters are way more obscure than previous characters explored on screen, the film becoming the biggest domestic hit of the summer is something of a miracle.

So, how does Marvel move forward without becoming stale? Shaking things-up is what seemingly the studio does best. The comics have a time-honored tradition of roster changes, guest-appearances and crossovers. We do expect The Guardians to cross-paths with The Avengers at some point in the films. However, what can we expect for our Earthbound heroes?

My theory isn't a new one, UnleashTheFanboy have already clued-in to the possibility of a second Avengers team coming in the future. UTF seemingly had word it will happen in Phase 4 (post-Avengers 3). I'm in the belief this has already been happening in-front of our eyes and Age of Ultron/Phase 3 will ultimately setup this new group. The team is being called The New Avengers by UTF, but I would bet that it ends-up being called the more established Avengers West Coast.

Ant-Man will be our first film in Phase Three, and convently enough includes two members of Avengers West Coast. Doctor Henry Pym, the mentor figure to Paul Rudd's Scott Lang and father to Evangeline Lily's Hope Van Dyne (likely Wasp). It's location of San Francisco is a bit telling as well, since we haven't really seen films other than Iron Man set in California. The second team's base of operations is L.A., but could be reworked to fit the more colorful city by the bay.

Another big clue, is that a majority of the team roster is pretty-much established, and there are enough actors to fill a new team. A bulk of them will be appearing in Avengers: Age of Ultron. That lineup includes team-leader Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), War Machine (Don Cheadle), Doctor Henry Pym (Michael Douglas), Vision (Paul Bettany), Wasp (Evangeline Lily), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), Quicksilver (Aaron Johnson) and newly added heroine Mockingbird (Adrianne Palicki former Gamora candidate).

Pym in particular could become the Nick Fury/Stark of the new team, since we might be seeing his origins with SHIELD explored in Ant-Man. Having Pym heading-up Avengers West Coast (like Nick Fury) with Hawkeye/Captain America leading the team could be a very cool way to go about it. We've heard rumblings that RDJ's role as Stark in MCU would eventually become more Fury-like as well.

Joss Whedon has talked about his destain for Wonder Man and wish to include Tigra into the film universe. These characters are also well-known West Coast Avengers heroes. He's changed his tune already concerning Carol Danvers, maybe he'll come-around concerning Wonder Man.

Another West Coaster we all love and are dying to see show-up is the complex supernatural vigliante Moon Knight, who just happens to live multiple personas (besides his superhero one). A TV show was in development for ages, but couldn't come together. The character might be a bit too dark and violent to get his own movie, but we've been rooting for Moon Knight to become apart of the second wave of Netflix's Marvel series (aka Midnight Sons).

What happens when these Avengers leave for California? Others will take their place of course. Characters like Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), Doctor Strange (?), Black Panther (?), Ms Marvel (?) and others getting their own solo adventures on screen (Daredevil, Fist, Cage, Jones) could easily fill the gaps moving forward. Marvel could expand their Earthbound heroes doing it this way, and can interchange the lineups. This is where we might also see a rebranding of the Avengers name aka The New Avengers.

Why setup a second Avengers team? Well, the Civil War storyline has been mentioned before as a possibility by Kevin Feige. The storyline was slightly teased with the forest-fight in the film first. However, for it to even happen you'd need to established two groups, before the clash could start. That is a lot of Marvel characters to introduce and explore. Netflix characters like Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist and Luke Cage could also come into play here (there have been possible hints they could make the jump to movies). Civil War could also be the entry-point for Thanos, and his minions to invade Earth, perfect timing for the Mad Titan.

A set photo from Age of Ultron seemingly reveals that Stark and Rogers are recruiting candidates. Perhaps, developing a new version of SHIELD together (HAMMER/SWORD?). The extras are unlikely Ultron bot stand-ins, mainly because they aren't wearing motion-capture suits. But, more like warm-up/active wear, I assume Rogers is training them.

Having Hawkeye taking-charge of his own team might sound like something out of left-field, but we've been hearing his role in Age of Ultron is getting bulked-up from the last one. Not to mention Jeremy Renner's own teases he'll show-up in Captain America 3. If Marvel is able to develop Clint Barton into a capable leader of a splinter Avengers team, I think they might be unstoppable. Turning-around public opinion of the least-liked team member, would be a giant leap-forward.

Renner himself is an established action star, he is about to begin shooting Mission: Impossible 5 and his sequel to Bourne Legacy. Having him in a more active-role in the MCU sounds like a no-brainer. We've seen what the Russo Brothers can do for these action-based spy characters, so hopefully they're able to amp-up the character to the point we want to see him lead a film (even if it's not a solo one). We also haven't seen his other superhero personas come into play, since Barton has become alternate heroes in the comics (mainly, Goliath and Ronin).



What do you think? Is Marvel prepping for a second Avengers team, or will they keep adding-on to the existing group?

Could Scarlet Witch Become An Asgardian In Thor 2?

We've been hearing a bit on the progress of Thor 2 but nothing concerning villains or new characters. It's been reported that we could see the cast of Asgardians double. So that means we could see at least six new characters in the sequel. One character that's been knocked around since Iron Man 2 is Scarlet Witch.

Yes, in the comics she is a mutant and the daughter of Magneto. However, she's been more active in The Avengers and West Coast Avengers comics and has magic based powers. This might exclude her from the X-Men/Fox deal and that she very well show up in Marvel Studios' films. Previously director Jon Favreau had Scarlett Johansson in mind for the part when Witch was originally included in Iron Man 2.  Emily Blunt vacated the Black Widow role which was filled by Johansson leading to the character to be cut from the film. I don't think Kevin Feige would have even allowed Jon to play with the idea unless they actually have control of the character. I could see the studio making Witch an Asgardian since it's a good way to reinvent the character for the screen.

It wouldn't be the first time Marvel has reinvented a character to fit their Cinematic Universe. Bucky Barnes, Black Widow, Whiplash, Justin Hammer, Jane Foster and Thor have all had their characters retooled to fit the films so it wouldn't be shocking to see it happen again. My thought is that Scarlet could end up being one of the many new Asgardians in Thor 2. Thor's rogues gallery is full and colorful his group of cohorts is somewhat unbalanced. The amount of villains out weights the group of allies and friends, considering the scale of this fantasy world. We should expect characters like Balder (The Brave), Amora (The Enchantress), Skurge (The Executioner) and Brunhilde (Valkyrie) but the impression I get is that we could see the studio give us even more. Scarlet is also a prolific member of the Avengers so she could make an excellent addition to the mostly male lineup.

If I had to choose someone to play the heroine it would be Ruth Wilson who is best known from the BBC series Luther and The Prisoner mini-series. She's also attached for the female lead in Disney's The Lone Ranger alongside Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer.