Joss Whedon’s really on a roll these days, with Cabin in the Woods coming this weekend, which as a horror fan, I enjoyed enormously.
Hot on the heels of Cabin he’s got The Avengers hitting theaters in early May, and with this much Marvel superhero star power going for it, the buzz is already pretty strong.
First the news came down that the superhero marathon slated to play in select screenings before The Avengers goes live is already sold out a month in advance, now Deadline reports the early “tracking” for the film is “incredibly strong.”
As Nikki Finke writes, “Not only will this type of action film normally skew young and older male, but the early tracking is looking strong as a three- and possibly four-quadrant movie, too.”
Early estimate for opening weekend? Over a hundred million, which would make The Avengers Marvel’s biggest opening weekend if that prediction comes true.
The Avengers also just had its world premiere on Wednesday night, one night after Cabin in the Woods premiered, and as The Hollywood Reporter learned on the red carpet, Scarlett Johansson felt that Black Widow is “really the first female superhero. There’s a huge rich background for me to kind of pick from and play with and layer.”
As Whedon told the Reporter, “Scarlett gets to do a lot more than be hot in Avengers. It’s definitely dispiriting to have a woman play a heroic role and then be reduced to body parts by fan commentary, but that can only change slowly. And is.”
Whedon also mentioned that Jeremy Renner, who plays Hawkeye and is also taking over the Bourne franchise, was “an amazing fighter – his fight work is wonderful: precise, heroic, and you seldom have to double him.”
Chris Hemsworth, who also stars in Cabin in the Woods, is back as Thor.
Stan Lee was also at the premiere, he has cameos in practically all the Marvel films, and photographed aboard a motorcycle, waving to fans. With The Avengers arriving May 4, and The Dark Knight Rises July 20, it’s definitely going to be a hell of a superhero summer.
