During the world premiere for Iron Man 3, a smiling Joss Whedon confirmed the first draft for The Avengers 2 was completed. Amidst the shrieking fanboy frenzy, he also let slip that a brother-sister act would make their Marvel cinematic debut in the film. Whedon, whose Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. series for Marvel has been picked up by ABC, has since been interviewed by IGN. The interview has confirmed that the rumours are true, and the sibling double act are in his first script.
When asked about their presence in the script, Whedon said:
“You know, they had a rough beginning. They’re interesting to me because they sort of represent the part of the world that wouldn’t necessarily agree with The Avengers. So they’re not there to make things easier. I’m not putting any characters in the movie that will make things easier.”
Wanda Maximoff (aka the Scarlet Witch) and Pietro Maximoff (aka Quicksilver) made their first appearance in Marvel Comics’ X-Men #4. The dynamic duo born from the loins of Magneto later went on to join The Avengers. The rumours of Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch appearing in The Avengers 2 were at first treated as exactly that, rumours. Kevin Feige, head of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe fuelled the rumour mill by stating: “I’m not confirming or denying.”
This may have hinged on the fact that the characters, who stem from Marvel’s comics, are tangled up in a complicated rights issue. Through a deranged loophole, it seems that both Marvel Studios and 20th Century Fox are eligible to use the characters. For the time being, Fox have made no moves to introducing the twosome into their X-Men universe.
With these new additions for the sequel penned into the script, where does this leave everyone’s favourite billionaire jokester, Tony Stark? The amount of column inches dedicated to dissecting whether or not Robert Downey Jr. will once again don the suit and become Iron Man again is staggering. He’s still not committed to the project, but by the sounds of it, that isn’t fazing Whedon or Feige.
*SPOILERS*
While the ending of Iron Man 3 makes it clear that Tony is shedding his Iron Man persona and starting afresh, Whedon has no qualms about adding him to The Avengers 2:
“Well, I feel like in Iron Man 3, even though he said, ’I’ve changed’ — he blew up his remote suits, but I don’t think anybody thinks he doesn’t have one anymore. The question is, if The Avengers are called, does he show up? And the answer is, ‘Yes!’”
After the events of The Avengers, during which Stark underwent a hell of a lot to help save the world, he still kicked arse in the final instalment of Iron Man. So, despite the ending of Iron Man 3 indicating otherwise, it’s likely he’ll return. If Downey Jr. doesn’t sign back on, it looks like Stark’s future is still as bright and shiny as his suit. Feige has envisaged a stream of sequels, with a stream of different actors in the lucrative role. Talking to EW, he said:
“I believe there will be a fourth Iron Man film and a fifth and a sixth and a 10th and a 20th. I see no reason why Tony Stark can’t be as evergreen as James Bond. Or Batman for that matter. Or Spider-Man. I think Iron Man is a character just like that.”
*END OF SPOILERS*
The future of The Avengers 2 was never in question. The first outing raked in a colossal $1.5 billion worldwide, and Iron Man 3 has just pipped past the $1 billion mark. Who’ll jump in the Iron suit for the next Marvel Cinematic outing? It’s anybody’s guess at this point. There’s plenty of time though, as The Avengers 2 is scheduled for release on May 2nd, 2015.
