Marvel President of Production Kevin Feige has been very busy lately speaking about the upcoming slate of movies Marvel has in production, from The Avengers to Thor and even Ant-Man, giving plenty of updates about each one.
While he could not confirm another Incredible Hulk movie, Feige did confirm that Hulk will appear in The Avengers:
Now at least we can talk about Hulk being onscreen and Hulk being in a movie. It will have been four years since he was in a movie by that point. By 2012, I'd like to see him in it. We're just starting the story. I was on the phone with [Avengers screenwriter] Zak Penn this morning. He's coming in next week and he's going to work on the outline this summer. It's so intertwined with what we're doing before it. I almost wanted to get done with production on Iron Man 2, and the scripts to Thor and The First Avenger: Captain America well underway, before we even started The Avengers.
With many of the movies being intertwined, this means that several characters will make appearances in different movies, in particular Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury. Feige explained that he hopes to provide fans with a comic book experience, where characters from other books show up unexpectedly.
Feige gave an update on Thor confirming that Donald Blake, Thor's human alter ego, will not appear in Thor, which will take place on both Earth and Asgard. Meanwhile, The First Avenger: Captain America will "primarily" be a period piece taking place during World War II, with an appearance by Cap's sidekick Bucky "a safe bet."
As for casting Captain America, Feige clearly hasn't made a decision:
There are only a handful of stars that mean anything here, much less
overseas. I do think that will be a factor in it. As long as we have the freedom to cast the best actor for the part. Whether it's an actor
who's been a great actor, but hasn't starred in marquee action movies before like Robert Downey, or somebody that came out of Australia that we've never heard.
As for the Ant-Man adaptation that Shaun of the Dead's Edgar Wright is working on, Feige said:
I want to make Ant-Man one of these days. I think that'll be surprising and funny. I love Edgar Wright. What he likes about it is that when he says he's doing Ant-Man, people go, 'Ant-Man? What the
hell is that?' I think that's funny.
Ant-Man isn't the only movie Feige hopes to make post-Avengers, he's also excited about Doctor Strange:
I think Doctor Strange would kick ass. I think we've done very well at
this street-level superhero aspect of the Marvel Universe. I think with Thor, you'll see us cracking into the cosmic side of the Marvel
Universe in a very good way that's never been done before in our movies. I'd love to get into that supernatural element.
Marvel and Feige clearly have a lot on the horizon. However, ultimately, it's The Avengers that Feige is most excited about:
I think The Avengers is going to have it's own vibe. It'll have a different tone than the other Marvel movies. It is about saving the world, because there's no other reason for characters that powerful to band together. I think the scope and the scale will feel like a much bigger thing.
Iron Man 2 opens May 7, 2010, while Thor and The First Avenger: Captain America are due May 20 and July 22 of 2011, respectively. The Avengers should open May 4, 2012.