Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3, The Avengers..., les Studios Marvel ont des projets plein la tête!
Iron Man 2 blazes a trail to The Avengers and beyond
By David Bentley on Aug 2, 09 01:30 AM
CoventryTelegraph.com
EXCITING times are ahead for Marvel fans: Iron Man 2 and Iron Man 3, Thor, Captain America, Avengers, more of Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow, a reappearance of the Hulk somewhere in the mix, and then Doctor Strange and Black Panther among a second wave of comic book heroes.
Marvel has a movie masterplan and it's not afraid to flaunt it.
And never was it displayed to more dazzling effect than at San Diego Comic-Con, where it sent the geekometer off the scale.
Amid the rapturous reception for the new Iron Man 2 footage screened at the convention, the way ahead for Marvel Studios' comic book adaptations was unveiled.
Watching Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark on a blazing race track, Mickey Rourke cracking electrically-charged coils as the villainous Whiplash, and Ms Johansson in action as the deadly Black Widow, the future looks dynamic, and that's just the start with Iron Man 2.
Marvel's superhero strategy has been carefully mapped out, with solo movies Iron Man 2, Thor and Captain America coming together like pieces of a jigsaw that will eventually lock into place for The Avengers ensemble film opening on May 4, 2012.
So, what exactly does Marvel Studios have in mind? A whole mass of information surfaced at Comic-Con, so let's try to bring it all together to lay out the road ahead.
Iron Man and the journey towards Avengers
At the Comic-Con panel, after the Iron Man 2 clip was shown, director Jon Favreau said: "We wanted to add characters, but not too many. To maintain the same tone and dynamic between the characters that you love while adding people that would further move us towards the eventual Avengers film that's coming."
When asked whether he was going to direct Avengers, he said: "I've still got a year to go on this one. But they're getting ready to make Thor with Kenneth Branagh, and I'm watching the stuff come together, because Marvel has its own studio location now.
"So I've been looking at some of the prep work and the artwork, and it's looking really fantastic. So hopefully when that stuff comes together, I'll be involved in some capacity. But Kevin and I haven't discussed anything like that.
"What's fortunate, though, is that it doesn't shoot until we're done with Iron Man 2, so hopefully the movies will continue to cross-pollinate with one another and inform one another, and I'm looking forward to being involved in that project in some way."
Favreau believes the Avengers might make a better trilogy climax than an Iron Man 3, saying in a Comic-Con interview: "The Avengers might be the thing that helps rescue us from the inevitable sequel slump that you get into because you're throwing everything on its ear."
In a separate interview, he told MTV: "We're working towards Avengers, but by the same token we want to resolve this film and make [Iron Man 2] play on its own. It's not a serial. It's a self-contained film."
"It's not building towards a cliffhanger that's the next movie," he explained. "It's about wrapping up our story and making it a complete tale."
But he does believe there will be a third Iron Man instalment, telling Movies Online: "There's an Iron Man 3. Here's how I know. When they make the option deals, they include Iron Man 3. So I know they're planning on 3. Whether that would be before or after Avengers, they've announced that Avengers is next but they pushed back The Avengers once, which I thought was encouraging."
Scarlett Johannson, who plays Black Widow in Iron Man 2, says she would be happy to reprise the role: "I think it all depends on how the fans react to the character. I hope people like the character, of course, and I love the character. I hope that she does turn up, if not in her own film, in the future series."
Avengers assembled: the team line-up and the villains
So where are we with The Avengers? Marvel Studios production president revealed the line-up to io9: "I think we know. I think it's going to be Iron Man and Thor, Captain America and Nick Fury. I think it's safe to assume that there will be some members of the Hulk universe in the film as well.
"In terms of the additional I think Black Widow, sure. The SHIELD organisation for sure. What's exciting, for me, about The Avengers movie is seeing those four characters interact with each other.
"I think anywhere from the first issues of The Avengers to Civil War the dynamic between Steve Rogers and Tony Stark is just awesome, it's fascinating. It brings out sides in others that won't be brought out in the other franchises. Going forward with the mix is a whole other thing, I think it will be cool. So to pile on another 15 or 10, frankly more than four would be too many."
And there has been speculation about the villains too. Over at CHUD, they believe that the Avengers will take on the shapeshifting alien race called the Skrulls. Another possibility is the criminal organisation called HYDRA, says the site.
Where does The Incredible Hulk fit in?
No mention of the Hulk in all that, you will notice. In the comic books, the Avengers first came together to stop the Hulk. He ended up joining the team but left and the Avengers were often shown trying to find and contain his raw, rampaging power. So there is scope to weave the green goliath into the story.
Feige said Hulk may be involved in Avengers and added that an Incredible Hulk sequel would come after Avengers, if it happened.
Edward Norton last year told MTV that Marvel had yet to contact him to star either in The Incredible Hulk sequel or The Avengers.
"The minds of Marvel are sometimes opaque," Norton said at that time. "I won't say [they're] obtuse, but I don't have any idea what they want to do. They've got this notion of collecting the Marvel characters. Who knows where they'll go?"
But at this year's Comic-Con, Norton was far more guarded. According to Sci Fi Wire, he said: "I probably won't comment on that just because [Marvel] keeps a pretty tight rein on what they are letting out. I'll let them [address it]."
Fans believe he is keeping tight-lipped because there are plans afoot for the Hulk to be part of The Avengers.
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