Marvel Studios: Setting Up The Avengers

Marvel Studios has taken a major step in translating one of the coolest aspects of the comic book universe into their films: character crossovers. Who doesn’t love seeing the cover of their fave comic with a guest superhero? Iron Man kicking ass in a Hulk issue; Spidey swinging through Wolverine; The Punisher blowing away Nick Fury… And then there are the super teams, and at the forefront, The Avengers.

I’d like to give a tip of the hat for what Marvel Studios is doing this summer to set up the forthcoming Avengers film. First, let’s watch the final minute of the Iron Man movie that rolled after the credits:

(For those who haven’t seen Iron Man yet, you might consider this a SPOILER)

Yup, that’s Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. What other super-cameo-crossovers can we look forward to from Marvel Studios? Gale Anne Hurd and Kevin Feige, producers of this June’s The Incredible Hulk, confirmed rumors that Robert Downey Jr. will appear in Hulk. At the New York Comic Con they showed a scene between William Hurt’s Gen. Ross and Downey’s Tony Stark at a bar.

From Sci Fi:

With the announcement in 2005 that Marvel Studios would produce their own films based on their comic-book properties, it opened up the door for Marvel character crossovers, which is the premise of The Avengers. “I can definitely say that part of the fun of doing all these characters in-house now, the ones we have the rights to, is all about being able to bring something that has never been on screen before, which is the Marvel universe, ” Feige said. “Any comic-book reader knows that you can flip through any given issue of a comic and not know who to expect popping into a panel. That’s part of the fun of what Stan [Lee] and Jack [Kirby] did so many years ago, by intertwining these characters. We haven’t had that ability until now.”

If the films are as good as Iron Man and don’t turn into campy musicals (Spidey 3 — ugh) then we’re in for a unique moviegoing experience in the coming years — major stars playing our favorite superheroes and showing up in each other’s films… AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!