The Avengers 2 has no choice but to be the biggest, most epic superhero movie of all time — if for no reason other than the fact that Marvel's first Avengers installment accomplished the rare feat of exceeding audience expectations.
Being Joss Whedon right now must be pretty exhilarating and a little terrifying. Avengers could not have set the bar any higher. The Firefly and Buffy writer/director is already confirmed for The Avengers 2, and that fact alone is enough for most avid comic fans to expect a sequel that's nothing short of breathtaking.
Whedon is to true geeks what J.J. Abrams is to their derivative mainstream counterparts — the ones that look up comic story arcs on Wikipedia and talk about video games in the abstract, but don't know how to hold a DualShock controller. In Hollywood, people like Whedon rarely get $220 million and an all-star cast to make a superhero mashup. They're lucky to get a season of Firefly and a TV movie.
Whedon is what makes The Avengers special, and we're lucky that Marvel had the acumen to have him oversee Phase Two of the Cinematic Universe saga, which kicks off with Iron Man 3.
According to the blog twokidsandacoupon, Whedon recently screened Iron Man 3 and after seeing the finale, asked Marvel President Kevin Feige, "what am I supposed to do now? What am I going to do in Avengers 2?"
Whedon probably already knows exactly what he's doing for Avengers 2 because he's nerd-Jesus, but here's what we've picked up so far through the grapevine:
Hulk
Mark Ruffalo confirmed in a tweet earlier this month that Hulk would definitely not appear in any film before the Avengers 2. There have been rumors that The Avengers sequel will follow the Planet Hulk and World War Hulk storylines, where Hulk is cast away to an alien planet, then returns to Earth with a vengeance and the Avengers have to stop him.
Guardians of the Galaxy
According to Cinemablend, Kevin Feige considers Guardians of the Galaxy "much more of a standalone film." Nonetheless, the film will be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and it's slated for an August 2014 release, ahead of the summer 2015 release of Avengers 2. We probably won't see Robert Downey Jr. playing alongside a CGI raccoon, but it will be interesting to see how Guardians will impact the storyline of Avengers 2.
Iron Man
Iron Man 3 will be the first part of Marvel's Phase Two, so it will definitely have a major impact on what happens in Avengers 2. You won't need to wait long to start speculating, since Iron Man 3 will be out May 3, 2013. For rumors specific to Iron Man 3, check out our previous article, which covers a leaked trailer that spoiled with an interesting bit of Pepper Potts info.
