UPDATED: Avengers, Assemble! Joss Whedon, Hawkeye… And The Hulk?
It wouldn’t be Comic Con with out some major news about the big bad comic book movies coming out in the next couple of years, and this year Marvel is ruling the roost. When it’s not displaying the throne of Odin for anyone to get their picture taken on, it’s letting Joss Whedon do what he does best:
Get people excited.
Whedon gave us our first for-serious-official confirmation that, yes, as we all figured out, he is writing and directing The Avengers. He also let slip a bit of casting information that came as a surprise: Jeremy Renner will be playing the part of Hawkeye. Renner, who was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in The Hurt Locker, will be taking up the purple bow of Avengers’ crack shot archer and martial artist.
Whedon also joked that Nathan Fillion was going to play Ant-man, a bit of humor that passed over the heads of many fangasming people at his panel yesterday. Just to confirm: it was a joke, and we are very sad.
The question on everyone’s minds, however, is Who will play the Hulk? It was only two weeks ago that Marvel Studios confirmed, in no uncertain terms, that it would not be renewing its relationship with fan favorite Hulk actor Edward Norton. Since then, speculation has fun high, both on why the decision was made, and on who Marvel might find to replace him.
This weekend rumors have been swirling that Mark Ruffalo is in final negotiations for the role, negotiations perhaps accelerated by Marvel’s desire to have all of its Avengers on stage for tonight’s Marvel Studio’s panel at Comic Con. That panel runs from 6pm to 7pm California time tonight, so fans don’t have too long to wait in anticipation.
You can watch Joss Whedon talk about The Avengers right here:
Update: Mark Ruffalo did indeed step on stage at the Marvel Studio’s panel, and will be playing Bruce Banner in The Avengers.
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