JJ Abrams claims it’s “insane” to talk about his Star Wars movie this early in advance because the film’s release date is still a two good years away.
Still, we can say the same thing about Avengers 2, which is due in theaters on May 1, 2015, but news about the next installment of the third biggest movie of all time continues to sneak out here and there.
First off, we should say that many are treating Iron Man 3 like a sequel to The Avengers, because it takes place not long after the big superhero battle in New York, and Tony Stark makes reference to it in the film. This could be what Marvel has hoped for all along, that the fans will keep coming back to the sequels because they will also carry on the Avengers saga in and out of that franchise.
Yet there’s apparently at least one jolting spoiler in Iron Man 3, which comes out on Friday, May 3, because as writer / director Shane Black tells Entertainment Weekly, “I thought we needed to do something in the third movie to make it feel like a game changer,” and Robert Downey Jr. told the magazine that after shooting one scene, he asked Marvel’s head of movie production, “What does this mean if we wind up doing an Avengers 2?” The response? “That’s Joss’s problem to solve.”
In fact, Whedon, who will also serve as a consultant to the upcoming Marvel films are part of his deal with the comics giant, saw Iron Man 3 weeks ago, and was very impressed with what he saw. He even reportedly wondered to Black how he can top the climatic battle of Iron Man 3, which we’ve heard is a real whopper.
Don Cheadle, who plays James “Rhodey” Rhoads / The Iron Patriot, also wants to come aboard the Avengers 2 train as well, telling the L.A. Times, “When I signed on to do Iron Man the series, I signed on for multiple movies…I understood that there could be potentially a bigger and more substantive iteration of this character down the line. So yeah, I’d be interested in it.”
Shane Black also told the Times that Marvel has five Iron Man movies planned total, but who knows if they’ll reach that number. Robert Downey Jr. has expressed interest in doing other things in the future, Black would also like to make a smaller feature, and Avengers 2 should have more than enough Iron Man and Tony Stark to please everyone.
While we haven’t seen Iron Man 3 yet, more reviews have been pouring in, and with a few exceptions here and there the critics are really digging it. As you’ve probably already predicted, there’s definitely a surprise at the very end, and this will probably give us another good clue as to where Avengers 2 is headed. It also sounds like it’s going to be a great way to get Marvel’s Phase Two movies off with a bang. Next up, in order, will be Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Ant-Man, Guardians of the Galaxy, and of course, Avengers 2.
