Look. We live in a day and age where sequels are greenlit before their preceding films have even hit theaters, and whether or not a movie is critically acclaimed doesn’t necessarily have anything to say about whether it gets a follow up (see persistant rumblings of a Tron 3). So, yeah, nobody should really be surprised that a movie that has made $702 million dollars globally by the end of its first opening weekend in America, a movie whose merchandise Disney itself is reportedly having difficulty keeping in stock, a movie that set up for its own sequel in its post credits sequence, a movie that studio executives were saying was getting a sequel last October… is getting a sequel.
It is.
The LA Times took it upon themselves to talk to Robert A. Iger, Walt Disney Co. Chairman and CEO, who confirmed that the company was already in development on an Avengers 2. Iron Man 3, Thor 2, and Captain America 2, as you might already know are fully greenlit, in various stages of production and have release dates in the summers of 2013, 2013, and 2014, respectively. The earliest we might see an Avengers 2, therefore, would be 2014, but it would be liklier, I think, in 2015.
The questions left unanswered by Iger is what plans Marvel has to introduce new characters to its Cinematic Universe. Ant-Man, which would feature Hank Pym and one would assume his wife/partner Janet Van Dyne, is being teased hard by director Edgar Wright, but with no actual confirmation yet that the movie has made it past script stages. Marvel has theoretically committed to several television shows, or at least to pilots of those shows, based on the Punisher and Jessica Jones. AKA Jessica Jones, if it gets made, has already been confirmed as being set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe rather than its own separate timeline. And what of the characters given greater screen time and significant fan attention since The Avengers hit theaters? Mark Ruffalo‘s Hulk is being called the best movie version of the character yet, and if Marvel would offer Joss Whedon a chance to write and direct a S.H.I.E.L.D. movie featuring Black Widow, Hawkeye, Nick Fury, Maria Hill, and Agent Coulson who I don’t think is actually dead I mean come on they left that door wide open, it could contribute a lot to the run up to a second Avengers film.
But in the meantime, according to Iger, we can all look forward to one of the most important synergies of the Disney/Marvel takeover. Theme park attractions.
Iger also said that Disney’s parks and resorts planning group, known as the “Imagineers,” have been working on ways to incorporate Marvel into the company’s theme parks, beyond Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., where Universal Studios holds the rights to the characters.
“We have a number of other opportunities … at our other parks, notably California and Europe and in Asia — I guess that pretty much covers the rest of the world,” Iger said. “And our Imagineering group has been working over the last year … to create more opportunities for Marvel in the parks.”
Until then, if you want your Marvel fix, you’ll have to get it where it usually is: Universal’s theme parks.
(via The LA Times.)
