If you’re a comic book fan, then you know that your favorite teams usually have a revolving roster of heroes (or villains, depending on the book). This couldn’t be truer at Marvel than it is for the Avengers, which even includes characters from other prominent teams such as the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Inhumans, and more coming and going every so often. There are so many Avengers teams that there are at least seven books out right now that bear the logo of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. However, when it comes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we’ve only gotten to see one line up so far. Well, that appears to be changing when ‘The Avengers: Age of Ultron’ hits theaters next year.
In 2012, Joss Whedon introduced us to the founding members of the team in ‘The Avengers’, which included Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, and Hawkeye, but in 2015, that roster will be shaken up in some way. In an interview with Buzzfeed, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige compared the Avengers movies to crossover events in the comics such as ‘Civil War’, ‘Infinity’, or the upcoming ‘Secret Wars’ that tend to spotlight different team-ups and mentions that he’s looking to do the same in the films:
“It’s like as it was in publishing, when each of the characters would go on their own adventures and then occasionally team up for a big, 12-issue mega-event. Then they would go back into their own comics, and be changed from whatever that event was. I envision the same thing occurring after this movie, because the [Avengers] roster is altered by the finale of this film.”
Of course, this could just mean that we’re just adding members since Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, and the Vision are all slated to debut in Whedon’s second MCU feature. However, with new heroes coming along such as Ant-Man, Doctor Strange, and Daredevil and contracts coming to an end sooner rather than later, it wouldn’t be a complete shock to most people to see an entirely new Avengers (or New Avengers) team emerge. Regardless of what Feige actually means, change is coming in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and we should all be excited for the ride (even if we’re not totally sold on who is probably playing Stephen Strange just yet).
How do you think the team will be altered in ‘The Avengers: Age of Ultron’? Do you see an entirely new group of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes debuting, simply more members joining the current roster, or some sort of middle ground? Share your thoughts and theories in the comments below.
‘The Avengers: Age of Ultron’ starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Paul Bettany, and James Spader assembles on May 1, 2015.
