By: Russ Burlingame on April 29, 2012
Between a post-credits teaser that has everyone talking and the sense of inevitability that surrounds a sequel to The Avengers, it’s likely that nobody in Hollywood seriously believes the cast and crew of next week’s blockbuster superhero team-up flick won’t be back at work soon. The question now–thanks to an interview given by Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige to Badass Digest–is whether all of the actors will be returning.
Apparently, the interconnectedness of the Marvel Universe means it would be harder to reboot a franchise if it got to be something of a mess, but that doesn’t mean things will just keep on keepin’ on forever and always; Feige suggests that, like James Bond or the pre-Nolan Batman films, these actors may be somewhat replaceable.
“Let’s put it this way: I hope Downey makes a lot of movies for us as Stark,” Feige is quoted as saying in the interview. “If and when he doesn’t, and I’m still here making these movies, we don’t take him to Afghanistan and have him wounded again. I think we James Bond it.”
It won’t, however, be a Batman-type situation, according to the studio head; there won’t be change for the sake of change, and if the actor wanted to return, he suggests that Marvel would be willing to allow Tony Stark to age alongside Downey–something that’s relatively unheard of in the time-frozen world of superhero comics.
On the subject of reboots–and The Amazing Spider-Man in particular–Feige had something to say, as well; prequels, he said, went out of vogue following the critical failure and fan outrage regarding Star Wars Episodes I-III. He suggested that studios are now using the term “reboot” more or less exactly where prequel used to be used in the past, hoping to skirt the negative connotations of the latter, but that the former is becoming tainted as a result. He says that “the term reboot has to go,” and expresses enthusiasm over The Amazing Spider-Man.
The questions–which revolved mostly around Downey, who is both the oldest and arguably most famous of the Marvel movie actors–originated with Badass Review and not Marvel, so there’s no real reason to think that any of the actors might be on their way out the door just yet…but if this is the studio’s attitude now, it may easily deteriorate to a “he’s pretty expensive, so…” kind of thing down the road. Are there any Avengers you’d like to see recast?
