Over the past week,
90210 actor Kevin Pennington has been receiving a lot of press from the comic book movie world. A rumor that he had been cast as a remodeled S.H.I.E.L.D. agent in a three picture deal for Marvel Studios was later confirmed by Pennington himself. Though the role is being kept secretive, we do know that it will be a fan favorite character that is being revamped as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The other day, the rumored short-list of characters Pennington has been cast to portray was down to three: Clint Barton (known to fans as Marvel's resident archer Hawkeye), Noh-Varr (a Kree alien who goes by the name Marvel Boy) and Rick Jones (a friend to both Bruce Banner/Hulk and Steve Rogers/Captain America).
In a poll conducted here on ComicBookMovie.com, almost 50% of users voted that they would like to see Pennington portray the new Clint Barton, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., in
The Avengers. Yesterday Pennington shared a bit more information regarding the role with his followers on Twitter:
The Hurt Locker star Jeremy Renner told the media last year that he had several meeting with Marvel Studios regarding the role of Barton. Although it's been several months since any word of the character's involvement in Marvel movies has leaked, comic fans still consider Renner to be the frontrunner for the role.
If the rumored Pennington short-list is accurate, this would now leave two characters; Noh-Varr and Rick Jones. Though these two characters are literally worlds apart, they could both serve to usher in a broader Marvel movie-verse for future films. How long will it be before confirmation hits of the role the actor landed? Eager fans may have to wait until this year's San Diego Comic Con International, which starts on July, 21st, 2010. Another message from Pennington showed that he will be in attendance, more than likely for the official announcement: