The Avengers - Phase 2

The Avengers - Phase 2

If there's one quality I don't pride myself on, it's impatience. Over the past six years, Marvel has teased us with epic movies of stunning proportions. From the introduction into the Marvel universe in the form of 2008's Iron Man all the way to this year's ultimate crossover smash The Avengers, the comic-book creators have offered us movies of unequal scale and ambition. Now they're making us wait even longer, with a rumoured Avengers 2 release date of May 2015 - my patience is surely about to be tested.

Yet, there is hope...

2012's Comic-Con saw various teasers and announcements for 'Phase 2' of 'The Avengers Initiative': that is to say, the next batch of movies that Marvel will release in the run-up to The Avengers 2. So, here's a round-up of what to expect from the Avenging superheroes.

Iron Man 3

Director: Shane Black

Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Don Cheadle, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Kingsley 

Release Date: May 3rd 2013

Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) went through something of a transformation during The Avengers. From a genius, billionaire, playboy philanthropist (his words, not mine) to a man willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to save the world, Iron Man has realised he may not always be the most important person in every room. The movie left Tony heading back to rebuild Stark tower, with his girlfriend and assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) ready to pick up the pieces and rebuild New York after Loki's rampage.

Concept art shows Tony caught with his iron pants down.

Iron Man 3 will see Tony stripped of his tools, however. The footage at Comic-Con (which has thus far not made its way online) showed his Malibu penthouse (where he keeps his iron suits) under attack from mysterious military aircraft - is the government now attempting to seize his technology by force for their military gains? Or is something more sinister at work?

Rumours are abound that the storyline will follow the 'Extremis' storyline from the comic books, which dealt with Tony's personal conflicts regarding his past life as a weapons manufacturer. Marvel Studios executive Kevin Fiege has discussed the fact that Tony will be on his own, bringing him full circle back to his origin story in the first instalment. "He's stripped of everything, he's backed up against a wall, and he's gotta use his intelligence to get out of it. He can't rely on Thor, he can't call Captain America and he can't look for the hellicarrier in the sky." Basically, all ties are going to be severed from his buddies in The Avengers, and now that we know that Iron Man's arch nemesis The Mandarin will be involved, Tony could be in some deep trouble indeed.

Thor: The Dark World

Director: Alan Taylor

Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Christopher Eccleston

Release Date: 8th November 2013

Possibly the best origin movie in 'Phase One' of The Avengers build up, Thor introduced us to the mighty God of Thunder. After being cast out from his home planet of Asgard and landing on Earth, Thor bumps into Jane, a scientist who longs to know more about other worlds and constellations out there. After realising his arrogance and selfish quest for power has hurt the ones he loves most, Thor travels back to Asgard and reclaims his father's place as King of the realm, defeating his spiteful brother Loki.

Christopher Eccleston cast as Malekith - the resemblance is uncanny.

The original was brilliant simply because, instead of focusing on the evil beasts and monsters in outer space, Thor introduced us to the real characters who would form the stepping stones for us to walk into this intergalactic universe. Giving Thor a real character-arc and making his adopted brother Loki the chief villain made the movie a very character-driven affair, and it was definitely pulled off with style.

So what's in store for Thor 2? Having caused mischief on Earth and destroyed New York, Loki was defeated by The Avengers and Thor transported him home to Asgard. However, Marvel have stated that Loki is at the lowest of lows and will not be the chief villain in Thor 2 - instead revealing that former Doctor Who star Christopher Eccleston will play Malekith the Accursed.

Not much else is known about the plot, however with Natalie Portman reprising her role as Jane Foster it can be assumed that some of the action will take place on Earth - or perhaps Jane will be coming to Asgard? With Game of Thrones director Alan Taylor taking the reigns of the production, it can be assumed that Thor 2 will be an excellently majestic affair.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Director: Unnanounced.

Cast: Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan
Release Date: April 4th 2014

Steve Rogers was something of a teacher's pet in The Avengers, wasn't he? "We have orders. We should follow them," he preached, constantly a counter to Tony Stark's self absorbed hero. Still, he showed great leadership skills in the final battle, true to his comic-book style. Quite rightly too, as you'd expect a super soldier built for combat during the Second World War to be an expert in battle. 

So, after The Avengers, Steve rode off into the sunset on his motorbike with no clear indication of where he'll be heading next. The smart money would be on him heading back to S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters to act as an agent for commander Nick Fury - but against who exactly? Captain America has no shortage of comic-book villains, but personally I'd like to see him fight something a little more real. Rather than fighting an alien race, how about a war lord, terrorising civilians in Eastern countries? Or perhaps modern terrorists? Something tells me this kind of territory is a little too dark (and possibly too political) for Marvel to tackle, but whatever happens there's no doubt Captain America 2 will be exciting and thrilling to watch as Steve struggles to find his place in the modern world.

Ant-Man

Director: Edgar Wright

Cast: Unnanounced.
Release Date: Unnanounced.

The second biggest reveal at Comic-Con was the announcement of Edgar Wright's Ant-Man movie. For those who don't know, Ant-Man (real name Henry Pym) is yet another superhero from the Marvel comics. Ant-Man can, by definition, shrink himself to a tiny size, a skill which he uses to solve mysteries.

While this doesn't exactly sound like something that would be useful in a fight against Loki's army, Ant-Man's armour allows him to command hordes of insects against his enemies.
Still not convinced? Well, Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz director Edgar Wright has signed on to direct the project, and he promises a much more lighthearted take on the miniscule man. There have been no casting confirmations as of yet, however Lee Pace, Bradley Cooper, Josh Holloway and of course Simon Pegg have all been rumoured to bag the lead role.

Guardians of the Galaxy

Director: Unnanounced

Cast: Unnanounced

Release Date: August 1st 2014

The number one super mega ultra spectacular reveal at Comic-Con was that Guardians of the Galaxy will enter production at the end of this year. Guardians is the story of an intergalactic band of superheroes who vow to keep balance in the universe and keep evil at bay.

The group consists of Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax the Destroyer, Rocket Raccoon (yes, a talking Raccoon with a gun) and Groot (yes, a talking tree). Throughout the comics, their main enemy is Thanos, the enormous titan warrior who was introduced cinematically at the end of The Avengers.

Thanos could be the major villain in Guardians

So basically if it seemed that incorporating Thor's other-worldly elements into the grounded reality of Iron Man was a bit of a stretch, a talking raccoon and a fighting tree might possibly stretch that too far. Still, Guardians of the Galaxy takes place in space, not Earth, and for all we know Iron Man, Cap, Hulk and Hawkeye may find themselves catapulted into the big wide universe come Avengers 2.

The Avengers 2

Director: Joss Whedon

Cast: (rumoured) Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo

Release Date: 1st May 2015

This week, news hit the internet that Joss Whedon, the superb writer/director of The Avengers, will return to script and direct the sequel. So far the plot is anyone's guess, as it will only be the result of the conclusions of all the Phase 2 movies. However, it's rumoured that Whedon has a general outline of what he would like to happen, and if it's anywhere near as good as the original it will be yet another triumph.

Still, too many cooks can spoil the broth and Marvel may unfortunately find that the cast from the original instalment may be short-changed in favour of the new additions to the team. Nobody can overshadow Tony Stark, but there's no doubt a talking raccoon would certainly give it a good bash.

Motion-captured by Danny DeVito...surely?

So Marvel have their hands full for the next three years at least: six movies from their cinematic universe are coming together by 2015. Add to that The Amazing Spider-Man 2 which will be released in 2014, as well as reboots of both Daredevil and The Fantastic Four, and it's fair to say we won't be short of superhero smashes to entertain us.

At least until Phase 3.