I've thrown these names and story lines out before in many a comments section, so I thought it would be best to put them all together in the order that they should be introduced. I'm using a combination of mainstream (616) and Ultimate character versions because that is what we are bound to see in the movies.
Keep in mind that the characters I chose are for Marvel Studios produced movies. Even though some of them might also fit into X-Men or Spider-Man movies, those are owned by other studios.
Let me know what you think!
Avengers: The Initiative
Iron Man, Thor and Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow band together to form the first official team to fight the Hulk (under Loki's control).
Geoff Stults as Steve Rogers/Captain America
He meets the criteria most have mentioned are a MUST for the role:
-Tall (6'3.5 ft)
-Muscular frame (former pro football player)
-Relative obscurity, but experience will dramatic roles.
Here's an interesting thing to consider:
Steve Rogers has blond hair and blue eyes. Most of the actors people are fan casting have stated blond hair and blue eyes are a prerequisite. Good logic, right?
WRONG
Here's why:
Picking a natural blond/blue eyed actor is a mild hindrance to both audience association with the role of Cap, and prospective roles for the character to play in the future. For example: Mark Hamil or Christopher Reeve. Their most popular characters forced them to be type cast for their careers. Mark would always be Luke, Chris would always be Supes. The physical similarities between the character and the actor that portray them are too great.
Now if you take an actor, like Geoff Stults, who has always appeared with brown hair and brown eyes (and alot of times a beard) and change his eye and hair color SPECIFICALLY for the Cap role, you've created distinct differences between his portrayal of Cap and other roles he has taken in the past. Sure people will know it's him. But you've created a large enough difference that it will help audiences associate him as Cap (while he's sporting the blond/blue), and leave enough leeway for him to take other major acting gigs (with his normal appearance) without taking the Cap 'baggage' with him.
Jared Padalecki as Hank Pym/Ant-Man/Giant-Man
Pym works for S.H.I.E.L.D. as a scientist on the Super Soldier program when he discovers Pym's Particles and their ability to shrink matter. Fury thinks it's a ridiculous pursuit and not applicable to the threat at hand (Hulk). When Iron Man, Thor and Cap respond to the Hulk's destruction, Pym secretly assumes the Ant Man persona to prove to Fury that it's a great discovery. He realizes how useless it is when he goes up against the Hulk with the rest of the team. He gets laughed out of the SS program. It's THEN that he manipulates the particles to become Giant Man.
Pym needs to be portrayed as an over-confident prick. Someone who constantly feels the need to prove his intelligence. Stark is already the cool, calm and collected center of attention. Banner is already the nerdy, introverted recluse. Intellect-wise, Pym is in the same league as those two. His personality on screen needs to be drastically different than both of them for him to stand out. If he only relies on his raw intellect, it would explain how he stumbles upon Pym's particles (without knowing how to uses them at first) or how he creates Ultron (without the proper restraints to keep it obedient) .
Ashley Greene as Janet Van Dyne/Wasp
Ali Larter as S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Sharon Carter
Eliza Dushku as S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Maria Hill
Gerard Butler as S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Timothy Aloysius Cadwallader "Dum Dum" Dugan
The inclusion of these three S.H.I.E.L.D. agents will bring a power struggle subplot into all three movies. These senior covert-ops agents wouldn't just hand over piles of S.H.I.E.L.D. tech and intel without holding a grudge against the green-footed super humans that make up the team.
Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye
Yes, I think Ultimate Hawkeye is what we will see in the Avengers movies. As much as I prefer mainstream Hawkeye, I doubt that is what's going to happen. Besides, Ultimate Hawkeye seems to fit better into the movie-verse that is being created.
This is how I see Hawkeye being introduced in the Thor movie (if it follows along the 'leaked' outline):
- S.H.I.E.L.D. picks up the seismic activity from Thor's landing; Fury sends a specially trained agent, Barton, to investigate and prepare to neutralize any threat (you only see his silhouette)
- While Thor is getting acclimated to earth with Jane Foster, Barton is shown working undercover at the hospital; but his association with Fury isn't disclosed to the audience.
- Once Thor decides to face Loki and the his threat facing Midgard (hopefully Absobing Man), Hawkeye makes himself known to Thor. Barton probably points a 'trick' arrow pointed at his head while Thor takes up Mjolnir again. Clint and Thor reach a stalemate (Barton realizes Thor is more for him to handle and Thor doesn't want to hurt Barton).
- When Thor finally returns to Asgard, Barton returns to Fury and informs him that the 'threat' is bigger and stranger than S.H.I.E.L.D. realizes. He suggests that Fury attempt to get on good terms with Thor, in case they might need him down the road.
Hawkeye fits into the Avengers as Widow's partner and Fury's go-to guy. Fury wants him to lead the team but he refuses to 'wipe noses'.
Avengers II: Avengers Assembled
Tidal waves and uncommon tectonic plate shifting is threatening to rip apart the African continent. The Avengers are sent to investigate and they encounter the Black Panther, the King of Wakanda, who wants them to leave and let him handle the crisis. The team discover several things:
- The natural disasters are being caused by Namor: the King of Atlantis.
- Namor is retaliating against deep sea mining that threatens to destroy his kingdom.
- The mining venture is run by the Wakandan government. They are searching for more of the precious metal vibranium.
The team decides to face off against the Sub Mariner. Iron Man wants to lead the team, but his tech is no match for the sea battle. Cap steps up as the official Avengers' leader.
Fury asks Stark to use the vibranium to create the Vision, who will serve as the Avengers' sentry while the team is away on assignments. Pym takes this as an insult and secretly uses S.H.I.E.L.D. acquired vibranium to create Ultron. The movie ends as he activates Ultron against Nick Fury's orders.
Tay Diggs as T'Challa/Black Panther
Henry Cavill as Namor
Doug Jones as Vision
Avengers III: Annihilation
Ultron immediately rebels against Pym. He believes that the only way to guard humankind is to control it. He steals all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s files and takes off to begin destroying strategic worldwide government targets. After smacking his wife and getting his ass handed to him by her, Pym is arrested. Wasp doesn't want to be a part of the team anymore. Enter the Maximoff siblings (who know of the Avengers because of their time in Africa) and Falcon (who has information of Cap's old nemesis: Red Skull).
End of credits scene (build up to the next trilogy): Cap runs into someone long thought to be dead.
Rose Bryne as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlett Witch
Christian Campbell as Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver
Chiwetel Ejiofor as Samuel Wilson/Falcon
Jamie Bell as Bucky/Winter Soldier
(He makes an appearance in The First Avenger as Bucky, but now we see him as Winter Soldier.)
I wish I had the time to write out three full screen treatments. I hope you get an idea of where I would want these movies to go.