If ComicBookMovie is correct, it appears that Jeremy Renner did not learn the lessons of Terrence Howard and Edward Norton and will now pay the price for it.

The website is quoting “Hollywood sources” in saying that the actor who played Clint Barton/Hawkeye in both Thor and The Avengers is being dropped by Marvel Studios, mainly due to negative comments he made about his role in the latter film.

Renner was candid in his feelings about the way his character was portrayed on screen in an interview with Total Film magazine:

“For 90 percent of the movie, I’m not the character I signed on to play. It’s kind of a vacancy. [He's] not even a bad guy, because there’s not really a consciousness to him. To take away who that character is and just have him be this robot, essentially, and have him be this minion for evil that Loki uses … I was limited, you know what I mean? I was a terminator in a way. Fun stunts. But is there any sort of emotional content or thought process? No.”

To be fair to Renner, he does have a point. On the other hand, Hawkeye pretty much serves the same purpose as Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow character, and since Johansson joined the Marvel family first, she gets to play the hero and they had to find something else for Renner to do. That being said, even in the 10% of the film where he WAS the character he signed on to play, he really didn’t make that much of an impression. His quiver had more personality than his Hawkeye did.

But regardless, Marvel has made a point not keeping any actor who is unhappy or unable to work the Marvel way. Terrence Howard was rumored to be difficult to work with during Iron Man. so his role as James Rhodes was minimized in the sequel and he was asked to take a substantial pay cut. He balked and was allowed to walk and Don Cheadle (who was rumored to be Marvel’s first choice originally) took his place. Edward Norton was supposedly so hands-on during The Incredible Hulk that rumor has it he even did script rewrites on set. This didn’t sit well with Marvel or Joss Whedon, so in The Avengers he was replaced with Mark Ruffalo (who was rumored to also be Marvel’s first choice for the role). Hugo Weaving has also been very vocal about  not being excited about his role as the Red Skull in Captain America: The First Avenger and has expressed not being interested in reprising his role in the future. Well, everyone from Toby Jones to Hayley Atwell to Dominic Cooper will be back for Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but not Weaving.

All of this makes the rumor very plausible. And all things considered, this might be the best thing for Renner. He has a burgeoning franchise in Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters(which made an inexplicable amount of money overseas), appears to be in line to take over the Mission Impossible franchise in the event Tom Cruise ever lets go of it, and while many view The Bourne Legacy as a disappointing entry into the franchise, it made enough money worldwide that he might be in the mix if they continue with it. While, at Marvel, his next appearance would have been in a similar, low-key capacity in The Avengers 2. Hawkeye wouldn’t be even considered for a solo film until 2016, and there are a lot of characters, concepts and ideas in development ahead of him.

The source also brings up the possibility of the character being recast and appearing on the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV series. If the role is recast, it will probably be with whoever Marvel’s first choice for the role was.

Ever since his portrayal of Bruce Banner became the talk of last summer’s The Avengers, fans have been wondering where Mark Ruffalo turn up next in Marvel Studios’ superhero films. The actor put an end to the speculation last night when he tweeted the following -

A lot of folks have been asking about the Next Hulk. The next time you see my Hulk it will be in the Avengers2. No plans for stand alone.

— Mark Ruffalo (@Mruff221) March 7, 2013

I am not giving up on another stand alone HULK. But it’s not in the works right now. One never knows what the future will bring.

— Mark Ruffalo (@Mruff221) March 7, 2013

Bad news for those hoping we would see him again at some point in Marvel’s “Phasde Two” that culminates with The Avengers 2 in May 2015. But, you’ll note that his second tweet doesn’t necessarily preclude him not having more appearances outside of the Avengers films as Phase Three goes forward in 2016.

Of course, I suppose that we could parse his statement as saying that while we won’t see Banner’s alter-ego the Hulk we could be seeing Ruffalo playing just Bruce, but I think that the actor is a bit too straightforward a guy to play such word games.

And as much as I enjoyed his work in Avengers, I think that the old showbusiness adage of leaving people wanting more is a good plan of action for right now.

A defiant El Mayimbe stands outside of the Manhattan office building that is home to Marvel Comics. The journalist has been on a quest, a quest to avenge a fellow Latino Review reporter that Marvel Studios tried bully into giving up the source of his information. El Mayimbe went on the hunt for a scoop that would be bigger than the one the studio sent their attack dogs over, and he found it. And on this chilly Saturday morning he was about to film himself revealing it in front of the house of his hated enemy.

Only problem is, it’s not true.

In a video blog posted on Superbowl Sunday, El Mayimbe released what he said would be a huge spoiler as per the next six years of Marvel Studios films by detailing their plans for their Phase 2 and Phase 3. The next two phases of Marvel films would be an adaptation of the Planet Hulk and World War Hulk and would set Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk against the Avengers.

We, of course, reported it, and when we did, I listed a number of major obstacles that might stand in the way of this being true. One of the obstacles was the fact that Banner hardly appears in said comic book story lines, and as such would leave Ruffalo with little to do.

It appears that I was on to something there, because, yesterday, Beaks over at Ain’t It Cool News listed that as a the main reason given by his Marvel sources that El Mayimbe’s “scoop” was “1,000% inaccurate.”

While none of Beaks’ sources would say what Marvel’s plans for the Hulk or Phases 2 & 3 were, both sources Beaks talked to emphatically denied that Planet Hulk or World War Hulk played a part in any of them.

El Mayimbe does state in the post that ran with the video blog that Marvel would come out with a “fake denial” but what he had to say would turn out to be true. However, this is the same El Mayimbe who said that Black Panther would definitely be the second film Marvel would release in 2014. Well, unless it’s going to be renamed Guardians of the Galaxy, El Mayimbe was 100% wrong. And just under two weeks ago, he said that Jason Momoa was going to be Drax in Guardians, only to back away from the claim on Twitter  blaming Momoa’s agent for ruining what was a sure thing. So, his accuracy when it comes to Marvel Studios projects isn’t all that good.

Maybe we will see the Hulk fight the Avengers in Avengers 3. But the rumor didn’t seem likely to begin with, and the way Marvel is denying it makes it seem like it’s another thing El Mayimbe got wrong.

After Edgar Wright showed test footage of proposed special effects from Ant-Man at San Diego Comic Con 2012, the world underwent months of speculation as to whether or not  might sneak the film in before Avengers 2. Unfortunately,  Deadline‘s review of an updated Disney release slate announced today put an end to the guessing. No, Ant-Man will not be part of Phase II, it will be the first part of Marvel’s Phase III, with a release date of November 6, 2015, a little over six months after Avengers 2′s release date of May 1, 2015.

Rumor had it that production on Ant-Man would begin after Wright wrapped up The World’s End, perhaps as soon as early next year. The release date might put this rumor in doubt, as typically even the most effect heavy films don’t take over two years to make.

Another thing to consider is that if Marvel sticks to it’s strict two movies per year development plan, this means 2015 is all sewn up with Avengers 2 and Ant-Man. If we are going to see a Black Panther film, a Hawkeye/Black Widow spin-off, or a solo Mark Ruffalo Hulk film, the earliest we’d see any of these would be 2016. Probably later, because sequels from existing film franchises will also need to be put into the mix.

The blu-ray and DVD release of this summer’s runaway blockbuster The Avengers is due next month, but already Marvel Studios has given us our first taste of what to expect from the supplemental materials in the form of a deleted scene featuring Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner, aka the Incredible Hulk.

The scene comes towards the end of the film after the Hulk’s hasty exit from the SHIELD helicarrier several thousand feet in the air and comes to land in a deserted factory somewhere on the outskirts of Manhattan.

While it means we wound up seeing less of the always entertaining Harry Dean Stanton in the final product, it is easy to see why writer/director Joss Whedon cut the scene. From a pacing standpoint, it adds an extra minute away from returning to the alien invasion of midtown New York big action sequence. This is indeed a nice moment for Bruce’s character and goes right to its core, further illuminating his later line of “I’m always angry.” But, I would say that Ruffalo has been playing the character with this as subtext all through the movie anyway and the scene is just a bit too on the nose.

The Avengers blu-ray and DVD hits shelves on September 25.

Marvel Comics, in its haste to get its properties on the big screen, made a lot of ”use them or lose them” deals regarding the rights, meaning that the film studios would keep the rights as long as they kept making films featuring the Marvel characters. This was good at first because it resulted in a lot of great films by top name directors. But now that Marvel is owned by Disney, a company that knows a thing or two about films, you get the sense that the powers that be wish that some of these properties will come back into the fold.

Fox owns the rights to the X-Men and just about all of Marvel’s mutants, the Fantastic Four and Daredevil. The studio is keeping a stranglehold on the lucrative X-Men rights, always having at least one X-film in development at all times. However, Deadline reports that there has been some action on the Daredevil and Fantastic Four fronts, news that might result in one of the properties reverting back to Marvel.

Deadline states that Chronicle director Josh Trank has been officially named by Fox as helming the Fantastic Four reboot. The FF reboot is on the fast track, meaning that it is expected to be the next Marvel film to come from the studio after The Wolverine and Matthew Vaughn’s X-Men: First Class sequel and it will be the much in demand Trank’s next film. It has been five years since 2007′s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and while the FF were a financial success for Fox, it was far from a success with the critics. Hopefully, this reboot will address that.

2003′s Daredevil was a similar box-office success yet a critical disappointment, and Fox has been looking to reboot that franchise as well. Since we are approaching ten years since that film came out (time flies, doesn’t it?), if Fox doesn’t act soon, the rights to Ol’ Hornhead will revert back to Marvel. And a recent development might mean that we could see Daredevil’s lawyer alter ego Matt Murdock representing Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner or Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark in the near future.

David Slade has dropped out of the reboot over time constraints. Fox needs the new Daredevil film to start production in the fall to avoid the rights going back to Marvel and Slade, who is directing the pilot for NBC’s Hannibal series, cannot find time in his schedule to work within Fox’s. There is a script that the studio likes and is ready to go, but Fox needs to find a new director that is ready to get started quickly and get a project up and running by the times the leaves turn. It could happen, but considering that Fox chose Brett Ratner as a last-minute replacement for Bryan Singer and Matthew Vaughn on X-Men: The Last Stand, I don’t trust Fox’s judgement on finding replacement directors who can get a project up and running quickly. It might be better to just let Marvel take over.

When a film becomes such a hit that it enters the global consciousness, it tends to encourage famous people to come out and profess their love for the movie franchise–and campaign for a role in it. The most famous example of this is Samuel L. Jackson, a fan of the Star Wars franchise who campaigned for–and won–the chance to be a character in prequel trilogy.

Add Angie Harmon to that list. The former Law and Order and Baywatch Nights star has let in be known: she wants to play the Marvel comic character She-Hulk. She really, really wants to.

She-Hulk, in the comic books, is Jennifer Walters, a Los Angeles lawyer who happens to be a cousin to Bruce Banner. When she is shot by members of an organized crime family she was trying to bring to justice, cousin Bruce was on hand to give her a blood transfusion that saved her life. As we all know, Bruce Banner is also the Hulk, and he passed his ”curse” onto Jennifer, who became able to turn into a female version of the Hulk called She-Hulk.

The character, created by Stan Lee and John Buscema in 1980, has had a number of series in her name, and has been a member of the Fantastic Four and, you guessed it, The Avengers.

Harmon has been tweeting her desire to play the character for a while now. The picture to the left is a photo of Harmon “getting into character” that Harmon shared on Twitter. A fan doctored the original photo so it was color-correct, and Harmon tweeted that shot as well.

Entertainment Weekly reports that during the Turner networks up fronts, where Harmon was promoting the third season of her current series, Rizzoli and Isles, Harmon couldn’t stop talking about how much she loved The Avengers. Talk soon turned to her desire to play She-Hulk:

“I have to be her,” Harmon said. “You don’t understand. I have to be her. It’s the best quote ever when The Hulk turns around and goes ‘I’m always angry.’ I was like, Ohmygod! I stood up in the theater and literally cheered. I did.”

And she’d be fine wearing She-Hulk’s skimpy costume? ”I would rock that like there is no tomorrow. I would kill that outfit. I’d put these 36Cs on display. Boom!” she said. “And what about her libido? That’s my favorite part. She-Hulk, bed! She-Hulk, screw! Can you imagine? Then she just picks him up and throws him around the room like the Hulk did with the bad guy. [Makes smashing noises.] But apparently, she’s normal size.” Well, no role is perfect.

Well, we can learn two things from that quote: Harmon’s breast size and that she seems really enthusiastic about the character. Add to this to the fact that earlier in the article she was schooling Mark-Paul Gosselaar (also there for the Turner up fronts) on the history and origins of the character, and it appears that Angie Harmon is a She-Hulk fan girl. More power to her. My respect for her has grown.

It’s hard to tell if Harmon is completely serious, joking, or a combination of the two, but I think Marvel studios could do worse than consider Harmon for the role if they ever decide to bring She-Hulk to the big screen. Especially considering that in the 1990s we came close to having Brigitte Nielsen play the character on film. And her origin story could be a good B-plot for and Incredible Hulk film, if Marvel decides to make one with Mark Ruffalo.

So far, there has been nothing in Marvel’s future plans for a film version of She-Hulk. But you got to love Angie Harmon to keep trying.

It had the biggest opening weekend of any film, ever. It has made $226,337,707 as of today, which is more than it cost to make. And no matter how what type of math you use, the $702,137,707 million it has made worldwide has guaranteed the film will make a profit. And this is all after its first weekend of release in the U.S. with unbelievable buzz that will surely bring people into theaters for weeks to come. Of course The Avengers will have a sequel.

The Hollywood Reporter states that Disney CEO Bob Iger  confirmed the sequel during a conference call to go over quarterly earnings. There will be theme park attraction tied into the franchise as well. I can see an “Avengers 3-D Quinjet Experience” coming to Disney World and Disneyland in the next couple years.

Iger also talked about the franchise in an interview with CNBC yesterday (see clip of the interview below), and what he said there is much more interesting. This is exactly what Iger said on the matter, as per the CNBC transcript (Emphasis mine):

Well, The Avengers isn’t just a film. it’s a franchise, from our perspective. It was helped by the success of the Iron Man movies and Captain America. From The Avengers we get a chance to make Thor 2 and Iron Man 3 and hopefully another Avengers movie. This one film, which was successful, over 700 million, as you said, as of last night, is going to get a number of other films and franchises. We see tremendous interest in products and in games for The Avengers.

You can take the ‘hopefully another Avengers movie” as The Avengers 2, or you can also take it as The Incredible Hulk 2, Black Widow, Hawkeye, or S.H.I.E.L.D. as well. Or all of the above. The quote isn’t exactly saying anything definite, other than the success of the film will result in a lot of spin-offs and tie-ins, both in and out of movies. So, for all of you clamoring for a Hulk film starring Mark Ruffalo, keep clamoring. If the studio feels there is a demand for it, you just might get it.

No date has been announce for the sequel. While Marvel does have a date in 2014 free (May 16), it seems more likely that the sequel would come sometime in 2015. The good news, according to Collider, is that Marvel has an option to bring Joss Whedon back for a sequel. This is great news, because I don’t think the film would have been as good without him.

Calling The Avengers the best comic book film of all time or the perfect comic book film is a bit unfair, especially with The Dark Knight on the table. But it is a great film that captures the spirit of the Marvel film franchise perfectly. Every thing that makes the Marvel films so great is exemplified here.

Rich gave a rundown of the plot in his review, and adding any more here would send us into spoiler territory. So I’ll just get into my review.

One of the reasons why Marvel comic book adaptations are so successful and most DC Comics adaptations are not is because the Marvel franchise is a sterling example of serving the comic book fan while presenting a quality film for the uninitiated.

The fan service begins immediately with the setting for the first scene, which is a research facility many comic book fans will be familiar. But it builds from there. This is not a spoiler, because the scene is references in the ads for the film, but there is the trademark hero-fighting-hero scene in the film. As any Marvel Zombie would tell you, more often than not, when two Marvel heroes met for the first time, a misunderstanding would cause them to beat the snot out of each other before realizing they are on the same side.

There is also another hero versus hero battle that is a classic chestnut from the comics. Many of the characters have connections with each other that mirror their connections in the books. And unlike other franchises that like to split up the team so they fight each bad guy individually (*koff koff* X-Men*koff koff*), in this one, the team actually acts as the team in the climax, all working together to bring the bad guys down.

But Joss Whedon never loses sight that if the film is going to be successful, it has to be accessible for the non-comic book fans.  In other words, it needs interesting characters and it needs to tell an interesting story.

I have to echo Rich’s kudos to Whedon for skill on getting the most out of an ensemble cast. Each character has a chance to shine and each has an arc through out the film. Granted, the time to shine for characters like Thor and Captain America, whose individual films are fresh in the memory, and Hawkeye, due to plot requirements, might seem less than the time Banner/Hulk or Black Widow get, no one appears to be a third wheel.

Sidebar on the Black Widow. Relegated to a supporting character in Iron Man 2, she is the breakout character here. People seem to forget how good an actress Scarlett Johansson can be, but she gives her all in the role.   I want a Black Widow film, directed by Whedon, now.

Johansson isn’t the only stellar performance in the film. All the actors do a great job in their performances, especially Mark Ruffalo. It’s not easy stepping in a role that has been made famous by three other actors in the last forty years, including an actor he controversally replaced, but Whedon’s decision to go with Ruffalo over Edward Norton makes sense. Ruffalo adds layers to Bruce Banner, nuances that can only be truly appreciated upon repeat viewings after you are informed of a third-act plot point about the character.

The only weak point of the cast, as Rich mentioned, is Cobie Smulders, who, quite frankly, appears to be a bit out of her depth. Her performance doesn’t take away from the film–her Maria Hill exists only to be an exposition engine, the character who asks questions necessary for another character  say something that advances the plot. In this function, her hesitant line readings can be written off as “characterization.” But until this realization takes hold, she seems to be just a bit off in her role.

It’s hard for me to say whether or not you need to see all the other Marvel films to truly enjoy this one because, well, I have seen all the other Marvel films. But it does appear that Whedon made the effort to provide enough about the characters so newcomers will not be totally lost. And the writer has peppered the script with plenty of his trademark zingers, all of which should generate a chuckle or a guffaw.

The Avengers is a great film, another in a long line from Marvel. I am curious to see where Marvel goes from here and if the quality stays the same. But you should go see this film. And if you do, stick around until the very end of the credits, because there are two bonus scenes.

Well, I am thrilled to report that the gamble that Marvel took with this plan has paid off and paid off big. The Avengers is a hell of a summer blockbuster film and definitely is much more than the sum of its individual franchises.

Asgardian god Loki (Tom Hiddletson) is anxious to get revenge on his brother Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and aligns himself with a mysterious benefactor for the services of an alien army to lay waste to Thor’s favorite place, Earth. Naturally, this doesn’t sit too well with Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson), the head of the super spy agency SHIELD, who assembles the world’s most powerful superheroes to stop him including the aforementioned Thor, billionaire Tony Stark aka Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr), World War Two supersoldier Captain America (Chris Evan) only recently reawakened from seven decades in suspended animation, scientist Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) who has a rather powerful alter ego and to SHIELD assassins (Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner). However, with that many Type-A personalities in the room together, Loki has little trouble in goading them into quarreling with each other rather than uniting against his plans. But the arrival of Loki’s army in the skies above midtown Manhattan galvanizes our heroes to action against the invading hordes in a finale that is one of the best sustained action sequences seen in quite some time.

Outside of J J Abrams’s recent Star Trek franchise reboot, I can’t think of a writer/director who had a tougher remit than what Joss Whedon faced with this film. He had to balance the concerns of several franchises as well as their stars as well as pick up several pre-existing story threads while still make the film accessible to audiences who haven’t seen the previous installments. Whedon does it in a way that makes it look remarkably easy. (Although not necessary, one will get a greater appreciation of some story elements if they’ve seen last summer’s Thor and Captain America.)

Of course, Whedon is able to draw on his experience as the creator of the television series Buffy, The Vampire Slayer, Angel and Firefly, all of which excelled at character group dynamics. Our heroes aren’t necessarily inclined to play well together and that comes from how well Whedon’s script handles each character, which roots each conflict in their various backgrounds and personality and never for the need just to have a clash between characters.

Surprisingly, the advertisements for the film have heavily featured footage form the film’s climactic and action-packed third act. But all of those cool moments that are highlighted are only a small fraction of what that twenty-five minute sequence has to offer. Staging a battle sequence like this one takes a lot of work and Whedon brings the goods. Michael Bay mounted a similar urban battle between science-fiction heroes in the recent Transformers 3, but his battle in downtown Chicago was a messily conceived affair. Here, Whedon delivers a sequence with much cleaner action, including a couple of shots that place us in the action in markedly different ways. And of course Whedon demonstrates that he is the master of punctuating the drama with just the right amount of comic relief.

Now granted this is not high art, though now that I think of it, if anyone were to make a superhero version of My Dinner With Andre, I would want it to be Whedon. It is however, great popcorn and perhaps the most perfect summer movie we’ve seen in quite a long time.

But for all the things that The Avengers get right, there are a few minor missteps. Whedon gives Cobie Smulders a nice action scene at the beginning of the film but then relegates her for the rest of the film to standing around in the background shouting information from and reacting to readouts on computer displays. The 3D is serviceable enough for a post-production conversion but doesn’t really add too much to the proceedings. Perhaps the biggest disappointment is Alan Silvestri’s score, which is not very memorable. And when a movie like this gets the adrenaline pumping, you want something to hum on your way out of the theater. Unfortunately, the score doesn’t provide that.

Quibbles aside, The Avengers is just wall-to-wall action, thrills and fun. Marvel is going to have to work hard in the next phase of their cinematic plans to build off of what they’ve given us here. And as any comics fan can explain to you if you didn’t get it, the tease at the end of the film promises that they are certainly going to swing for the fences again with the inevitable Avengers 2. And this time I have absolutely no doubt that they will hit it out of the park.