Newsarama managed to snag an interview with a familiar Marvel Studios name, if you happen to pay attention to film credits that is . Jeremy Latcham, who's served as a producer on Iron Man, Iron Man 2 and The Avengers discusses the next phase for Marvel Studios in our post-Avengers world---
On the chances of solo films for Hawkeye, Black Widow and Nick Fury.
Latcham: In the near, near future...we kind of know the movies we’re going to make, and it’s not those characters on the radar. But we love those characters, and we’re all deeply, deeply interested in doing that one day. Again, a lot is time and place, and other circumstances. Is it solo movies, or is there a pairing? How would you play it? Obviously, Joss did an amazing job of giving a lot of really meaningful backstory to Widow and Hawkeye in the Avengers film. I mean, I want to know what happened in Budapest! I want to know why one of them thinks it’s “just like what happened in Budapest,” and the other has no idea what she’s talking about. I want to see Hawkeye making that different call. I think that would be cool. So in terms of the stories, there’s no doubt there are stories to tell. It’s just a matter of when and where, and how it fits into the bigger picture.
With the monumental success of The Avengers, will Marvel reverse their early strategy and introduce new characters in team-up films and then spin them off into solo features?
Latcham: Well, the idea was always that you have these big special events that happen, which is where you have this Avengers movie, and then the characters spin back into their own solo movies. Iron Man 3 is now being shot in North Carolina with Thor 2 shooting soon in the U.K., so the idea is that these characters are always having their solo adventures, but when there’s an event that’s big enough to have to bring them all together, that it would happen in an Avengers film. And that’s still very much the idea. In the middle, these characters’ lives will change and evolve, and it will be interesting to see what the changes are and how these guys’ lives are different next time we bring them together for a big event.
Wolverine and Spider-Man are key Avengers members in the comic books right now. Will we ever see Wolvie and Spidey side by side with Cap and Thor in an Avengers movie?
Latcham: I don’t know. I really don’t have a good answer to that one. In this moment, right at this moment...not really. Not much of a chance. But with the success of Avengers, and fingers crossed, maybe great response to the new Amazing Spider-Man, well...maybe people start getting excited about that idea. So who knows? But right now, my gut says it’s not really possible.
A personal favorite character that he would like to see on screen. Woodgod? Fin Fang Foom? Ka-Zar? Anyone?
Latcham: You know, there’s not a particularly obscure character I’d like to make a movie out of, because I think there are still a lot of the more well-known characters we can do that we haven’t got to yet. I’d really like to do a Dr. Strange movie. I’d really like to make a movie out of Luke Cage. There are a bunch of characters who, to me, are on that “bigger” roster I’d still like to do. I’m not thinking, “Yeah, I’d really like to make a movie out of The Hood or Hit-Monkey” or something.
But, you know what the strangest one maybe is? You might laugh, and it might look like I have a really soft sensibility—and I do—but I’d really like to do a Power Pack movie. I’d really love to do that someday. I just love the characters, and I think it could be so much fun. But I really don’t think it will happen. The world’s not calling out for a Power Pack movie right at this moment, but I love them. I really just like the idea of making a movie about kids, and I think we could capture that same sense of wonder that was in those old Amblin movies, you know? To get to that same sense of fun...I think Power Pack could be that Goonies movie, you know? I’m a huge, huge Goonies fan! And it totally holds up! I just showed it to my nephew, who was 13 at the time, and I had no idea if he was going to like it. And he was enraptured. It still holds up. It’s the best!
Will we ever see Dr. Strange or Luke Cage in an Avengers film or in their own solo movies?
Latcham: Well, anything’s possible with the characters we have the rights to, and that’s the fun part. So I feel like it’s going to come down to what serves the story. So when we sit down and start going through “what’s the next Avengers adventure?” if there’s an opportunity for one of those characters to serve that adventure, and we have the rights to that character, they’re in.
I mean, Maria Hill, right? There’s a character that’s not an obvious choice to have in Avengers, but we felt like we needed her there, and she became an integral part of the experience, the ride. She was a great foil to Fury, and really accomplished a lot of things that we wanted to accomplish from a story standpoint. It was really fun to bring in this character that people know, not just “generic S.H.I.E.L.D. agent number 27.” It’s fun to bring in Maria Hill, and keep her true to the character she is in the books.
So if there’s a character that comes up who could serve the narrative in a big way, yeah. There’s no corporate mandate of “We have to introduce these three characters in the next movie.” We just want to tell the best story, and it comes down to what characters will serve the story in the best way. We want to be careful to never say, “We need to jam these five characters into a movie, Mr. Director and Mr. Screenwriter, and you just figure it out.” We just want to figure out what makes the story good, and hopefully get agreement on that. So if there’s an opportunity to introduce someone new in an Avengers movie and it works, we’re totally open to that.
There's a few tidbits more over at Newsarama so be sure to click the source link below to read the full transcript.
The Marvel Studios Brain Trust.
The Avengers is an upcoming American superhero film produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name. It is the sixth installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film is written and directed by Joss Whedon and features an ensemble cast, which includes Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner and Samuel L. Jackson. In The Avengers, Nick Fury, director of the peacekeeping organization S.H.I.E.L.D., recruits Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, and Captain America to save the world from destruction.
Development of The Avengers began when Marvel Studios received a grant from Merrill Lynch in April 2005. After the success of the film Iron Man in May 2008, Marvel announced that The Avengers would be released in July 2011. With the signing of Scarlett Johansson in March 2009, the film was pushed back for a 2012 release. Whedon was brought on board in April 2010 and rewrote the screenplay that was originally written by Zak Penn. Production began in April 2011 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, before moving to Cleveland, Ohio in August 2011 and New York City in September 2011. The film was converted to 3D in post-production.
The Avengers was released in the United States on May 4, 2012 in 2D and 3D.
Running Time: 2 hrs 23minutes
Release Date: May 4 2012 (USA)
MPAA Rating: PG 13 for for intense sequences of action and violence, some disturbing images, and language
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Samuel L. Jackson, Tom Hiddleston, Cobie Smulders, Jeremy Renner, Clark Gregg, Stellan Skarsgård, Mark Ruffalo, Amanda Righetti, Scarlett Johansson and Lou Ferrigno
The Incredible Hulk (voice) .
Directed by: Joss Whedon
Written by: Zak Penn (initial screenplay), Joss Whedon (revised screenplay)