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At one point, director Louis Leterrier was on the short list to direct Marvel's upcoming adaptation of The Avengers, until Joss Whedon won the job. While attending the Long Beach Comic-Con, MTV asked Leterrier what he intended to do with The Avengers had he been hired to direct the movie.
Leterrier's plan was the "ultimate" >> Posted 10.21.10 by Ryan -
By now, comic book movie fans have had time to mourn the loss of Edward Norton from Marvel Entertainment's upcoming The Avengers movie. When Marvel president of production Kevin Feige announced in July that the studio had decided to not bring Norton back for The Avengers, Feige explained that the decision was "not based on monetary factors" but instead because of "the need for an actor who embodies the creativity and collaborative spirit of our other talented cast members." Norton's public statement on the matter remained classy, thanking fans for their support, and weeks later Mark Ruffalo was announced as Norton's replacement. In a recent interview with MTV, Norton gave more details about why Marvel decided to let him go.
what really got norton the boot? >> Posted 09.20.10 by Ryan -
Sure, Marvel has Iron Man 2, Thor, The First Avenger: Captain America, and Avengers lined up for release through 2012, but that's not stopping them from planning even more Marvel movies. According to CHUD, Marvel is meeting with screenwriters and directors about some of their less mainstream characters — the sorcerer Doctor Strange, preteen superheroes Power Pack, mutant and pop star Dazzler, hero-for-hire Luke Cage, and many others.
More on Lee's top choices and his Thor cameo details >> Posted 04.23.10 by Ryan -
Director Louis Leterrier's The Incredible Hulk was generally well received by comic book fans, but struggled to find a wider audience, only making back its $150 million budget when taking into account foreign ticket sales. The movie's lackluster performance alone makes it unlikely that Marvel Studios will ever pull the trigger on a sequel, but Leterrier recently offered up another reason why The Incredible Hulk 2 might never get made.
read why Hulk 2 'wouldn't make sense' >> Posted 04.14.10 by BrentJS -
Director Louis Leterrier has been mentioned often for comic book movies after his work on 2008's The Incredible Hulk, which left some fans split on the final product. Leterrier told MTV he and his Hulk star Edward Norton both learned a few lessons from working on the movie.
Find out what they were Posted 04.01.10 by Ryan -
Though actor Edward Norton was in attendance at the South By Southwest Film Festival to promote his new movie, Leaves of Grass, he was asked in several interviews about the possibility of reprising the role of Bruce Banner, aka the Hulk, in a sequel to director Louis Leterrier's The Incredible Hulk, or in a cameo appearance in one of Marvel Studios' other superhero movies. Norton's responses made it sound as if his appearance in The Incredible Hulk 2 or in any other Marvel Studios movie was unlikely to happen.
However, Norton did offer up some optimism when he was once again asked about reprising the role at the end of a Leaves of Grass interview with Hit Fix. Norton commented that it was up to the fans and the press to decide if he should come back to the role.
It's really up to you guys. Is it important to you? Does that continuity matter?
The Incredible Hulk wasn't quite the smash hit that Iron Man turned out to be, but the movie still made a hefty profit at the box office. And, with both of the Hulk's antagonists alive and well at the end of the movie, and the Hulk figuring prominently in Marvel Studios' super-team movie, The Avengers, it seems more than likely that Norton will will be back on screen as Bruce Banner at some point.
Posted 03.18.10 by BrentJS -
One of the biggest questions in regards to Marvel's upcoming slate of Avengers-related movies — next to who will play Captain America — is whether Edward Norton will appear again as the Hulk in either a sequel, a cameo in other Marvel movies, or The Avengers movie opening in 2012. This weekend at the SXSW Film Festival, Norton spoke to every media source on the topic, telling Cinematical that The Incredible Hulk 2 probably wasn't likely to happen.
I don't think so. I think it has got more to do with what Marvel is doing. I get the sense they have this grand vision of unspooling a lot of their characters and then starting to put them together. I think they can only do so many at a time. Obviously, they are doing Iron Man 2 and then getting some of the new ones out.
When asked about Hulk 2 by MTV, Norton sounded slightly more positive about a sequel.
We'll see what they [Marvel] want to do. I figure it's a ways down the road if it's going to happen.
Norton also said he doubted a cameo from him would "uplift" Captain America or Thor. As for an appearance in The Avengers, Norton said he was open to a return last year, and in another recent interview with MTV, mentioned that he'd like Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier to direct the movie as long as he is granted more freedom.
I loved Louis Leterrier. I thought he was just the greatest guy. I wish they'd given him more free reign than they did. The thing that was so cool about seeing The Dark Night was seeing that those guys really let Chris Nolan go there. They let him go long and dark and deep and we had been trying that and I think they weren't as comfortable with it.
Leterrier has mentioned on several occasions that he would be interested in the Avengers gig if it was offered to him.
Posted 03.17.10 by Ryan -
With the official synopsis for Thor only recently revealed, details on the upcoming comic book adaptation have been few aside from casting. Jon Favreau has explained that Iron Man and Iron Man 2 will take place before The Incredible Hulk, leaving where Thor fits into that timeline a huge question mark.
According to Latino Review, a source close to the project revealed where Thor fits on Marvel's movie timeline — which also includes The First Avenger: Captain America and eventually culminates in all characters teaming up in The Avengers.
In terms of time-line, Thor is set after The Incredible Hulk.In the script we make mention of gamma radiation and one of the scientist characters, I think Stellan Skarsgard's Professor Ford recalls, "There was brilliant scientist (Bruce Banner). He was a genius with gamma radiation and somehow S.H.I.E.L.D. made him disappear." So Thor's story would take place after The Incredible Hulk.
The ending of both The Incredible Hulk and Iron Man teased the upcoming Avengers, and the source claims that Thor will be no different.
Basically, at the end of the movie, Thor makes mention to Clark Gregg's character Agent Coulson that his kingdom of Asgard and S.H.I.E.L.D. are on the same side and whenever they need his help, he will be there to assist them in battle. It does leave it open, with Thor basically saying "When you need me and you want to assemble a team, I'm down." So, this is obviously pre-Avengers, post-Incredible Hulk.
The source praised Kenneth Branagh, calling the director "passionate," and describes Chris Hemsworth as "a cool guy and about as normal a guy that you'll ever meet" and "a perfect Thor." Marvel's presence on set was also praised since they have "done a really good job of trying to blend what they need to have a successful movie and what they need to keep all the fan boys happy," including Thor's costume.
Surprisingly, the costume looks amazing. We could tell early on from the production sketches of costumes and sets that this was going to be something good. It's just beautiful and the designers really took it to heart. If you look atsome of the more recent Thor comics that are out now, the tone and the costuming is that. It's basically, the way you read the comics now, they're updated the way they are now and that's how the costumes are. I think everyone is going to be very, very happy. Nothing looks cheesy or cheap. Everything looks like it's real. Everything looks like it came from that period. And everything looks right on all the actors. Nothing looks stupid. I guess that's the best word. It's just jaw-dropping even to the Marvel executives.
While Thor opens May 20, 2011, The First Avenger: Captain America will follow on July 22, 2011. Captain America director Joe Johnston says that at least half of the movie will be set in Europe during World War II, which is consistent with the original comic book origin and well before any of the other Marvel movies.
Posted 03.11.10 by Ryan -
No scene from The Incredible Hulk was more discussed than the confrontation between General Ross (William Hurt) and Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), which seemed to set the table for a Hulk appearance in the upcoming The Avengers in 2012. Hurt told Collider that the entire scene was made up on the spot.
We improv'd that. The entire scene had no lines written down. We did improv for that entire scene. We actually both had more of a script because of that and a feeling of more invention because of that. So we could actually go, "okay, who do I think my character is ... what would he say next. I haven't a clue, let's have a shot at it."
Hurt admitted that he will not appear in either Iron Man 2 or Thor, though he said, "if they [Marvel] call me I'll answer." Considering director Jon Favreau explained that Iron Man 2 takes place chronologically before The Incredible Hulk, the news is not surprising. Where Thor is on the Marvel timeline is unknown, but with all the characters coming together in The Avengers, it's still possible that Hurt will jump into his military dress and mustache once again.
Posted 02.19.10 by Ryan -
Ever since Robert Downey Jr. appeared as his Iron Man character, Tony Stark, at the end of The Incredible Hulk, comic book movie fans have been debating what order Marvel Studios will use for the movies leading up to The Avengers in 2012. Obviously, the release dates are all known at this time, but that doesn't mean that the events depicted in the movies will take place in the same order in the "shared universe" that Marvel is developing, which is at the heart of the debate.
The next movie in the Avengers "family" to debut is the highly anticipated Iron Man 2, set for release May 7th. From the trailer, Tony Stark seems to still be doing very much his own thing, with no hint of his involvement with the enigmatic spy organization S.H.I.E.L.D. or the Avengers — though he does have a wing man in War Machine (played by Don Cheadle). This has led many to the conclusion that Iron Man 2 will take place before The Incredible Hulk, since Stark, in the aforementioned cameo, asks Gen. Ross (William Hurt), "What if I told you we were putting a team together?" implying that he is already involved with the creation of the Avengers.
Well, now the debate is over. At least, regarding the timeline of the Iron Man movies in relation to The Incredible Hulk. With a single word, director Jon Favreau cleared up all of the speculation in a Retweet to an inquiring fan:
Before. RT @ThiagoSiQueiraF: Just watched "The Incredible Hulk" Gotta ask you: Does "Iron Man 2" takes place before or after Hulk movie?
Of course, that still leaves a myriad amount of questions about how the upcoming Thor and Captain America will fit into The Avengers timeline...
Posted 02.05.10 by BrentJS