With so many comic book movies opening this year — Thor, Green Lantern, X-Men: First Class, Captain America: The First Avenger — it's easy to forget about The Avengers opening next year and bringing all of Marvel's characters together in one movie. Audiences are already familiar with Robert Downey, Jr. as Iron Man, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury and Scarlett Johansson as the Black Widow, and will have a chance to see Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Chris Evans as Captain America before The Avengers is released.
But what about Jeremy Renner? Will he show up in Thor as Hawkeye as has been rumored? The Hurt Locker actor told MTV before the Oscars that he "might" have a cameo.
"Go see it. Check it out," said Renner, who admitted that he hasn't seen his Hawkeye costume yet, so, if he does show up in Thor, it may be in plainclothes.
Another newcomer is Mark Ruffalo as Dr. Bruce Banner, a.k.a. the Hulk. Ruffalo is the third actor to play the character over as many movies, but, as the actor pointed out last September, will be the first to also portray the Hulk in motion-capture. Ruffalo described the process to The Telegraph after apparently shooting some tests as the Hulk.
There’s this algorithm that digitally puts 2,000lbs of muscle onto my body. It’s weird. I wear this skinny little suit with reflective balls all over it. When we shot the stuff, I was actually standing in a warehouse with a couple of cardboard boxes and some foam mats. But when I looked at the monitor there I was as the Hulk in this landscape with cars and boulders and hills.
Ruffalo told MTV that his time playing the Hulk and Banner is "about equal" with the human side getting a new "slant."
There's some great Bruce Banner stuff [in Avengers], kind of a slant on him that we haven't seen before. He's introduced in a really great way.
Then there are the villains of the movie, which have yet to be revealed. The shape-shifting alien race known as the Skrulls were rumored to be in the movie at the end of last year before being debunked. Speaking with their sources, Latino Review reports that they have discovered who the "bad guys" are that writer/director Joss Whedon has included in the movie.
The main villain for The Avengers is none other than Thor's adoptive brother and archenemy LOKI!
But that's not all, Loki needs some serious muscle to go up against The Avengers and he does this by using the cosmic cube seen in Captain America: The First Avenger and also seen in the screen capture I took of the Thor Comic-Con trailer. Loki uses the cube to get a hold of the Aliens (aka The Skrulls) to invade Earth and fight The Avengers. Skrulls are green-skinned reptilian humanoids with large pointed ears, red or green eyes, and corrugated chins.
While this is unconfirmed, AICN somewhat confirmed the Latino Review report by speaking to their sources, who revealed that Marvel has already shot a "special teaser trailer" for The Avengers which includes Loki (Tom Hiddleston). Of course, Loki's inclusion is not exactly a secret, since Thor's brother and lifelong nemesis was the villain that first brought the team together for the 1963 debut issue of The Avengers comic book. What Whedon has done, if the rumors turn out to be true, is to add the Skrulls and the Cosmic Cube as well.
While the villain rumors may be somewhat shocking to some, the jaw-dropping revelations are far from over. Another character from Thor will appear in The Avengers, 411Mania reports. Speaking to Swedish newspaper Exressen, Stellan Skarsgård revealed that he will reprise his role as the scientist "Doctor Selvig" (the character's name is actually Professor Andrews) from Thor for The Avengers. Minds blown? We thought so. But there's more.
With shooting on The Avengers to start this spring in New Mexico and New York, a new city has been mentioned as a possible exotic, third location: Cleveland. The city isn't confirmed just yet, but landing the production could mean good things for the city's struggling tourist industry.