The Marvel Cinematic Universe: The Avengers, etc.

[Kel Varnsen]

Thanks for the link, nobodyyoucare! Interesting that so many of the targets are not Marvel characters.

CMH1981, I'm heading back to wiki to find out who that is. Thanks for the info!

What I find more interesting is who is not on the list. It doesn't even take out all of the avengers, just Iron Man, Hulk and Cap. Sure it probably would have trouble tracking down Thor, but what about Hawkeye and the Black Widow. Not to mention Avengers associates like Pepper Pots (CEO of Stark Industries) or Jim Rhodes (War Machine) who might have some issues with a Helicarrier taking out their friends. Not to mention the power to do something about it. 

 

Although it amuses me that even the most advanced MCU satellite tracking system wasn't able to figure out that Phil Coulson isn't dead.

 

Also what would have happened if that system went on line when Cap was on one of the Helicarriers?

[nobodyyoucare]

Note the Zola algorithm predicts current and future threats. But there is no word on what it determines the threat would do.

Obviously a politician could be a threat as could a military commander. Someone in journalism could be a threat if they expose Hydra's activities.

 

Also the algorithm was only targeting people in a certain range of the helicarriers and likely wouldn't know someone whose name wasn't in the database. I read one comment it was 20 mill or so people that were targeted. 

[calliope1975]

When CA:WS was released, I read the high school kid was Amadeus Cho, but I'm not finding anything saying he's from Iowa. Maybe it was just speculation.

[nobodyyoucare]

When CA:WS was released, I read the high school kid was Amadeus Cho, but I'm not finding anything saying he's from Iowa. Maybe it was just speculation.

Yep Speculation. The IncredibleHulk novelation did have Amadeus Cho at Culver University. The movie just identified the character as computer nerd in the credits. 

[Jenniferbug]

Yeah I'm still not finding anyone tied to Iowa except Hawkeye. It will be interesting to see if the reference ever means anything!

Black Widow not being on the list really makes no sense. I guess we can fanwank that every other potential target was out of range (Pepper, Rhodey, Hawkeye) but she was right there! And it's interesting that Falcon wasn't deemed to be a threat based on the algorithm, considering how quick he was to aid Cap.

[drmka9]

Black Widow not being on the list really makes no sense. I guess we can fanwank that every other potential target was out of range (Pepper, Rhodey, Hawkeye) but she was right there! And it's interesting that Falcon wasn't deemed to be a threat based on the algorithm, considering how quick he was to aid Cap.

 

I've kind of figured that the Triskelion was off-limits to the helicarriers. Zola's algorithm would likely try to weed out the non-HYDRA SHIELD agents, and, at the Triskelion, there'd be too many of them in one place for the HYDRA agents to escape the line of fire.

[nobodyyoucare]

Remember algorithms aren't perfect, its not artificial intelligence. Just like auto correct or predictive text there are often times the results of algorithms can be hilariously wrong or just sadly wrong. 

 

Black Widow being a former assassin perhaps hydra thought they could make her work for them. Her mindset when killing is close to that of a Hydra agent. 

[Bruinsfan]

Depending on the Project Insight helicarriers to enforce HYDRA's rule runs into a major stumbling block if Thor returns to Earth and finds out about what they've done. I imagine those things would be highly vulnerable to a tornado popping up out of nowhere, and his entrance in the first Avengers movie shows that he can manipulate weather well in advance of his own arrival on the scene. (It's also entirely possible he's tough enough to survive an initial bombardment salvo and can fly fast enough to avoid subsequent ones.)

[Kel Varnsen]

Remember algorithms aren't perfect, its not artificial intelligence. Just like auto correct or predictive text there are often times the results of algorithms can be hilariously wrong or just sadly wrong. 

 

Black Widow being a former assassin perhaps hydra thought they could make her work for them. Her mindset when killing is close to that of a Hydra agent.

Plus wasn't the full list millions of people? Maybe this list was just the first shots. Although i wonder if the algorithm took into account that by shooting people out of the sky you would be in creating more people who would have an issue with this, be a problem for hydra and in turn become future target.

Then again this is the hydra, who had the tesseract in their possession for like 60 years and never did a damn thing with it.

[nobodyyoucare]

Plus wasn't the full list millions of people? Maybe this list was just the first shots. Although i wonder if the algorithm took into account that by shooting people out of the sky you would be in creating more people who would have an issue with this, be a problem for hydra and in turn become future target.

Then again this is the hydra, who had the tesseract in their possession for like 60 years and never did a damn thing with it.

 

Shield didn't get funding for Tess research until Thor showed up. 

[Kel Varnsen]

Shield didn't get funding for Tess research until Thor showed up. 

But that was only their on the books legal funding right? How hard would it have been for Hydra to transfer the thing to a "storage facility" in Germany or something so that Hydra Scientists could study it. Although considering how many people were Hydra (including at least one senator, and a member of the world security council who was a former high ranking Shield Officer) why couldn't they have found a way to have research funded? I mean they found a way to get funding to have Armin Zola's brain downloaded into a computer on an actual US Army base.

[nobodyyoucare]

Hydra infiltration  took decades and they had to work very had to not be discovered, considering agents of Hydra could have been found or turned rogue like what happened with Leviathan. They would have to eliminate such security leaks without making it worse. Taking something like the Tess would have tipped off the non Hydra Shield and other intel services. In the Marvel movies Hydra wasn't known to the world except as being destroyed during World War 2. So there was no need of a war against shield while controlling shield like in the comics. 

 

Hydra looks to be until the events of the Chitauri invasion, content on a long term plan instead of a very fast reaction to eliminating threats against them which would revealed their presence.. Prior to Winter Soldier Hydra would have eliminated threats the old fashioned way without people thinking something was up. 

Also they still had other stuff that had been researched from The Tess courtesy of world war 2 Hydra. So they really didn't need the Tess for weapons research since they already had weapons based on it that they could do further testing on.

[lion10]

 A link to an HD picture of the completed Infinity Gauntlet from the Age of Ultron Blue-Ray.  It looks pretty sweet and gives a good idea of what we'll be looking at come Infinity Wars.  

[ChelseaNH]

Taking something like the Tess would have tipped off the non Hydra Shield and other intel services.

 

Loki's scepter is something like the Tesseract, and they managed to make off with that.  Of course, one could then argue that making off with two such objects would be extra riskier.

[Amethyst]

 A link to an HD picture of the completed Infinity Gauntlet from the Age of Ultron Blue-Ray.  It looks pretty sweet and gives a good idea of what we'll be looking at come Infinity Wars.  

 

Thanks for the link.  The gauntlet is certainly bright and shiny.  It always looks so big, though.  I can see that it fits his hand, but I wonder if someone with a small hand could wear it without it falling off.  Silly question, but does it just magically fit?

[OakGoblinFly]

 A link to an HD picture of the completed Infinity Gauntlet from the Age of Ultron Blue-Ray.  It looks pretty sweet and gives a good idea of what we'll be looking at come Infinity Wars.  

 

 

All six stones appear in the gauntlet and if I'm remembering correctly there are still two stones unaccounted for.  Then again, the four known stones are scattered and aren't actually in the gauntlet at this time.

Edited September 9, 2015 by OakGoblinFly

[nobodyyoucare]

Loki's scepter is something like the Tesseract, and they managed to make off with that.  Of course, one could then argue that making off with two such objects would be extra riskier.

 

Also Hydra decided to reveal themselves at that point correct? The Tesseract had been handed over to Thor and they didn't want to lose the sceptor if Thor came back to get it. 

 

 

Thanks for the link.  The gauntlet is certainly bright and shiny.  It always looks so big, though.  I can see that it fits his hand, but I wonder if someone with a small hand could wear it without it falling off.  Silly question, but does it just magically fit?

There are two gauntlets. The one in Odin's vault is not the same one we see Thanos getting out. So they can be crafted and wielded by others. What makes the gauntlet work is having the gems. 

[ChelseaNH]

Also Hydra decided to reveal themselves at that point correct?

 

Not exactly.  Hydra's secret was exposed during CA:TWS and there was an overt struggle for SHIELD resources.  In a post-credits scene, we learn that Hydra has been experimenting with the scepter long enough to have produced the abilities of the twins.  So they had the scepter for some time before the SHIELD cataclysm.

[stealinghome]

But HYDRA probably didn't outright "steal" the scepter per se, in that I highly doubt SHIELD knew it was gone. I think it's more likely that some high-ranking HYDRA mole in SHIELD got his/herself appointed as the person who was supposed to oversee--or even experiment on--the scepter, and then just created a ton of false records about where it supposedly was while quietly moving it to a HYDRA base. I don't think any non-HYDRA people at SHIELD knew that HYDRA had the scepter.

[lion10]

We'll be waiting until May 4, 2018 for this but this fan art poster is too cool not to share.  It's not mine, the credit goes to BossLogic.

 

[Athena]

Rachel McAdams has been cast in Doctor Strange. With her, Tilda, Mads, and Chiwetel, I'm in except if it looks like a trainwreck. Marvel rarely does. I like Cumberbatch, but he's not the draw for me in this.

[JessePinkman]

I love Rachel McAdams, I was almost going to complain about them pairing her with Cumberbatch due their age difference but he's only 39 (I wonder if that's a Hollywood 39...) and she's 36. A very youthful 36 but 36 nonetheless. Or maybe Mean Girls will always make me think of her as a teenager! Who really knows?

 

We were discussing this a few weeks ago, here is Terrance Howard in the new Rolling Stone on what happened with him and RDJ and Iron Man 2:

 

"I called Robby and was like, 'Look, man . . .' Leaving messages with his assistants, called him at least 17 times that day and 21 the next and finally left a message saying, 'Look, man, I need the help that I gave you.' Never heard from him. And guess who got the millions I was supposed to get? He got the whole franchise, so I've actually given him $100 million, which ends up being a $100 million loss for me from me trying to look after somebody, but, you know, to this day I would do the same thing. It's just my nature."

[Bruinsfan]

OK, so any feeling of RDJ being the bad guy just evaporated for me. Howard blew up his phone like a crazy stalker ex for two days, which would make anyone leery of contact, and is apparently delusional enough to think the entire MCU could have been founded on James Rhodes and been just as successful.

[Kel Varnsen]

Talking about a 100 million loss seems like a colossal exaggeration. A supporting character would never get that much. Did he think they were going to kill offStark and Rhodes would become Iron man?

I like Cheadle better but i do think I buy Howard as a marine corps officer/combat veteran. Not sure if it is because of past roles or what. But Cheadle works better as Tony Stark's friend.

[nobodyyoucare]

 

Did he think they were going to kill offStark and Rhodes would become Iron man?

Apparently that is what he was wanting Marvel to do. He considered himself the bigger star and refused to be the sidekick in the next film.

[Fukui San]

It wouldn't be completely beyond the realm of possibility that Marvel would kill off RDJ and/or Tony Stark and have Rhodey be Iron Man. There were periods of the comics' history that Rhodey was Iron Man. 

 

If Iron Man 1 wasn't such a hit driven by RDJ's charisma, they could have switched or written Iron Man 2 to have the roles as more equal to one another.

[Dandesun]

Iron Man was going to live and die on who portrayed Tony Stark. End of story. Rhodey could have been the most amazing thing about the film but that wasn't going to make Iron Man fly. It just wasn't. What would Iron Man 2 have been then? "Oops. Here's the guy you actually liked from the first movie." Would a second film even have happened if RDJ as Tony hadn't been such a success? I'm thinking no. The MCU hinged on Iron Man and Iron Man is Tony Stark.

 

I liked Rhodey in the first movie and liked him even more in the follow ups. I look forward to seeing more of him. I really enjoy Don Cheadle in the role (but I've always liked him, too.) Terrence Howard has Empire now. It's not like Rhodey has completely taken over the franchise or anything like that so I'd say that Howard isn't necessarily missing out.

[Raja]

The only thing I don't like about the change is that Don Cheadle comes off as too old for the character USAF Colonel/War Machine to me. At 50 he is in the range for the role he just comes off as older to me.

[KatWay]

I also think Don Cheadle plays Rhodey as a bit too prim and proper to be believable as a friend of Tony's...Terrence Howard just had more of a sleazy vibe to him. But maybe that's just the actor.

[stealinghome]

I also think Don Cheadle plays Rhodey as a bit too prim and proper to be believable as a friend of Tony's...Terrence Howard just had more of a sleazy vibe to him. But maybe that's just the actor.

IA. I don't find Cheadle's Rhodey believable as Tony's-best-bud Rhodey. He's way too straight-laced and "by the rules," and RDJ and DC don't have the right BFF bros chemistry. On the flip side though, I think Cheadle is much more believable as a member of the military, precisely because his Rhodey is more uptight and disciplined. TH's Rhodey seemed to me like he would have washed out in basic! Edited September 15, 2015 by stealinghome

[ribboninthesky1]

I also think Don Cheadle plays Rhodey as a bit too prim and proper to be believable as a friend of Tony's...Terrence Howard just had more of a sleazy vibe to him. But maybe that's just the actor.

 

Trust your instincts.  

 

I don't care for Howard or Downey, so I've no dog in the fight.  But even if Howard was wronged, that he still talks about it some 6-7 years later is amusing. 

[Raja]

Trust your instincts.  

 

I don't care for Howard or Downey, so I've no dog in the fight.  But even if Howard was wronged, that he still talks about it some 6-7 years later is amusing. 

I think his talking about had more to do with his being in the hottest breakout TV show of the year and the publicity/entertainment news mills are going into everything before the second season premiere of Empire

[nobodyyoucare]

I think his talking about had more to do with his being in the hottest breakout TV show of the year and the publicity/entertainment news mills are going into everything before the second season premiere of Empire

You may want to read the Rolling Stone interview. http://www.rollingstone.com/tv/news/terrence-howards-dangerous-mind-20150914?page=8

He comes off as a crazed lunatic. He went from millions a picture to 40,000 dollars a movie.

 

As for Howard claiming a 100 million pay cut that may have to do with his own version of math he created.  Terryology

"This is the last century that our children will ever have been taught that one times one is one," he says. "They won't have to grow up in ignorance. Twenty years from now, they'll know that one times one equals two. We're about to show a new truth. The true universal math"

[ribboninthesky1]

I think his talking about had more to do with his being in the hottest breakout TV show of the year and the publicity/entertainment news mills are going into everything before the second season premiere of Empire

 

Oh, I'm sure the media prompts him, but ultimately, it's his choice to talk about it.  

[JessePinkman]

Phase 3 Update:

 

Scott Lang will return alongside Hope Van Dyne on July 6, 2018 with Marvel’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp.” The sequel will mark the first Marvel Studios film named after its heroine.

 

Marvel’s “Black Panther” moving up to February 16, 2018 (I wonder how much Black History Month marketing they will do, hopefully zero because that's just weird)

 

Marvel’s “Captain Marvel” pushed back to March 8, 2019.

 

Three untitled Marvel Studios films will premiere on May 1, 2020, July 10, 2020, and November 6, 2020.

 

New Schedule:

2016
May 6 – Captain America 3: Civil War
November 4 – Doctor Strange

 

2017
May 5 – Guardians of the Galaxy 2
July 27 – Spider-Man
November 3 – Thor 3: Ragnarok

 

2018
February 16 – Black Panther
May 4 – Avengers 3: Infinity War – Part 1
July 6 – Ant-man 2: Ant-Man and the Wasp

 

2019
March 8 – Captain Marvel
May 3 – Avengers 4: Infinity War – Part 2
July 12 – Inhumans

 

2020
May 1 – ???
July 10 – ???
November 6 – ???

 

Avengers: Infinity War Parts 1 & 2 Rumored To Have One Billion Dollar Production Budget

 

I swear both movies had better be 3 hours long!

[Bruinsfan]

How would you even spend a billion dollar production budget? It can't be CGI, practically every frame of Age of Ultron had that. Are they going to build a real heli-carrier?

[Demented Daisy]

Every actor from every movie will be in it?  That might eat up half the billion right there.

[vb68]

And it will be about four and a half hours long to fit all those characters in.

[nobodyyoucare]

How would you even spend a billion dollar production budget? It can't be CGI, practically every frame of Age of Ultron had that. Are they going to build a real heli-carrier?

Well 500 mill for each. Remember its two movies. So when you break it down its not that huge. CGI hasn't made things cheaper if you want to do it right. This is going to be a huge movie in terms of what is going on. Its the Infinity War saga after all. 

[AimingforYoko]

 

Well 500 mill for each. Remember its two movies. So when you break it down its not that huge. CGI hasn't made things cheaper if you want to do it right. This is going to be a huge movie in terms of what is going on. Its the Infinity War saga after all.

Plus for most of the known actors it's going to be their last payday, so they're going to get a large chunk of that budget as well.

Are they going to shoot each movie seperately or all at once ala Lord of the Rings?

[JessePinkman]

Plus for most of the known actors it's going to be their last payday, so they're going to get a large chunk of that budget as well.

Are they going to shoot each movie seperately or all at once ala Lord of the Rings?

 

All at once.

[Raja]

Rumors from New York Comic Con that the Inhumans movie may be cancelled to allow Agents of SHIELD a free hand

[Kel Varnsen]

Plus for most of the known actors it's going to be their last payday, so they're going to get a large chunk of that budget as well.

That's what I was thinking. Not sure if that figure is correct or not, but if it is and based on past films then probably at least 10% of that budget is going right into the pockets of Robert Downey Jr. Which might be a good reason to kill him off at the end of part 1. 

[JessePinkman]

Rumors from New York Comic Con that the Inhumans movie may be cancelled to allow Agents of SHIELD a free hand

Ugh. So lame. I'm really looking forward to what they're gonna do with the royal family.

[frenchtoast]

Aaaand to make it more interesting I saw this from Hitfix refuting the rumor of no Inhumans movie. I'm leaning toward--it may be getting tossed around, a decision hasn't been made and so there isn't going to be a confirmation or a denial from Marvel.

[calliope1975]

Ugh. So lame. I'm really looking forward to what they're gonna do with the royal family.

 

I needed Gemma Arterton as Medusa so I hope these are just rumors. 

Edited October 10, 2015 by calliope1975

[Kel Varnsen]

Ugh. So lame. I'm really looking forward to what they're gonna do with the royal family.

Really hope it's false. While i admit SHIELD has gotten better, i have zero faith in the show being able to pull off Black Bolt (not to mention the rest of the royal family). The writing/directing isn't strong enough to do the character who can't speak becase it would destroy everying aspect, and the effects budget isn't good enough to show off his powers.

[nobodyyoucare]

They would have to seriously revaluate the Marvel Cinematic Universe outline if they tossed the Inhumans movie. This isn't some untitled or rumored project. It was announced as part of Phase 3. 

[Joe]

I haven't read much Inhumans, but from what I have read, I just couldn't bring myself to care. And Marvel's attempt to push them to the forefront while easing back on the X-Men just left me cold. But people do care about the Inhumans? They have fans?

[nobodyyoucare]

I haven't read much Inhumans, but from what I have read, I just couldn't bring myself to care. And Marvel's attempt to push them to the forefront while easing back on the X-Men just left me cold. But people do care about the Inhumans? They have fans?

Yep a lot. They have been involved in a lot of the comic series. From Fantastic Four to the Avengers to the X-men the Inhumans have been involved as either main characters or side characters. They have even worked with the Guardians of the Galaxy.