If (like me) you knew well enough to stay in the cinema after the Iron Man credits finished, you will know that this is just the beginning for Marvel Studios. Now that they have wrested the keys of control from the hands of large corporations and movie studios, they are free to do as they will… and make their own mistakes? Perhaps.
But the promise of an Avengers movie lies nested in the deep planning of other films. As big wig Avi Arad has stated, Marvel Studios had no interest in simply plopping an Avengers film featuring complete strangers at the feet of a confused movie going public. Instead, the plan is to fully introduce the key characters in the super hero super group before plunging them headlong into an ensemble flick.
That said, it looks like this (thanks to Pardis Parker for the time table)
Iron Man 2 (Marvel) Scheduled for April 30, 2010 release
Thor (Marvel) Scheduled for June 4, 2010 release
The First Avenger: Captain America working title (Marvel) Scheduled for May 6, 2011 release
The Avengers (Marvel) Scheduled for July 2011 release
Ant-Man (Marvel) Writer/director engaged
So we have three long years to wait for a pay off for a post end credit sequence? It’s not that I mind, but… is it going to be worth it? If the films listed above (including next month’s dark horse Incredible Hulk) are as good as Favreau’s Iron Man, I’m in.
But any comic book fan can tell you that nothing is set in stone and the fickle winds of change are only months apart sometimes. Three years could mean anything for the Avengers.
All I know is that the day after I saw the Iron Man movie I saw my cousin-in-law’s children Seth and Ilan and they were ravenous for anything Avengers-related… how weird is that!?
