Following the success of Joss Whedon’s The Avengers last year, which fast became one of the most successful movies of all time, talk very quickly turned to a sequel, and what Whedon would bring to the table for The Avengers 2.
The Avengers was such a game-changing, bar-raising movie, and it’s difficult to imagine (until we actually see it in 2015) what direction Whedon will go for The Avengers 2. I have complete faith that he’s going to outdo even himself – not just in terms of bigger blockbuster moments, but in terms of bringing us a character-driven movie that is every bit as entertaining as its predecessor (see our top ten list of who we think may appear here).
One of the things we’ve all naturally been wondering is who will be showing up for round two, amongst the faces we’ve already seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and those we haven’t. Whilst speaking to IGN at an event in promotion of Whedon’s newly-developed ABC/Marvel TV show, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the writer-director talked about two new characters that we’ll be seeing in The Avengers 2 in the form of comic book siblings Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch.
Whedon had previously spoken of a brother-sister team set to appear in the sequel, and it was believed at the time that it would indeed be the twins, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. There was thought to be some issues with the rights to the characters, however, with their father being Magneto, a character owned by Fox. But Whedon’s comments confirm their involvement in his sequel, and we’re looking forward to seeing what kind of back story the pair will get, either in The Avengers 2 or in a potential future standalone movie.
“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.”
To give a little detail on the original characters, Scarlet Witch (a.k.a. Wanda Maximoff) is a mutant able to manipulate probability using ‘hexes’, which can also be used in various other ways to alter reality. Her brother, Quicksilver (a.k.a. Pietro Maximoff), is a mutant capable of both moving and thinking at superhuman speeds, with speed enough to cross bodies of water and run up walls.
These are two characters you would clearly love to have fighting alongside you against whatever bad guy types Whedon is gearing up to bring us in The Avengers 2.
*SPOILER ALERT* If you’re still yet to see Shane Black’s Iron Man 3, LOOK AWAY NOW!
Whedon also spoke a little about the return of Tony Stark / Iron Man for the sequel, following the conclusion of Shane Black’s Iron Man 3, which sees Stark exploding his many suits. And, as you can imagine, the future is still looking good for fans of the character.
“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!’”
Whether or not Robert Downey, Jr. returns to the fold of course still remains to be seen, with his contract now fulfilled following the release of Iron Man 3. Downey, Jr. is in negotiations with Marvel about reprising his role for the sequels – both in terms of The Avengers and future Iron Man movies – and we’re hoping that everything will move along smoothly on all fronts, because it’s very hard to picture somebody else taking his place, at least in the near future.
The Avengers 2 has already been slated for release on May 1st, 2015, and will be preceded in the coming months by Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Guardians of the Galaxy. It’s going to be an epic two years.
