Stored in my brain are many, many great memories from the annual five day geek-fest that is San Diego Comic-Con, but if there is one that really stands out amongst all the rest it would have to be the Marvel Studios Panel from Comic-Con 2010. At the end of that presentation, the studio surprised the crowd by bringing out and officially confirming every single member of The Avengers. The energy in Hall H was unlike anything I've ever experienced before - and from the sound of it, this year's Comic-Con may end up generating the same effect.
Speaking with Collider, Mark Ruffalo - who returns as Bruce Banner/The Hulk in The Avengers: Age Of Ultron - has confirmed that plans are being made to bring the entire Avengers cast back to Hall H and essentially recreate the experience from four years ago. "We’re gonna go out there," Ruffalo said in the interview. "We’re all flying. We’re flying from London. We’re working. We’re shooting. We’re gonna stop and get on a plane and go to Comic-Con together. It’s gonna be amazing."
So who can we expect? Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson must surely be locks, but there are a couple of question marks. For example, given how Scarlett Johansson is currently very pregnant, will that keep her off the Comic-Con stage? What about James Spader and Paul Bettany, whom Marvel have been keeping in the shadows a bit? The more people they get, the bigger a spectacle it will be.
Of course, the cast of The Avengers: Age of Ultron arriving in San Diego will only be part of the show. In his own peculiar way, Ruffalo basically confirmed that the audience in Hall H will be getting to see the first ever footage from the blockbuster sequel, saying during the interview,
"There might be some cool new Hulk, Hulk-o, Hulk-o-phobia, Hulk-o-phernalia. Hulk-a-phernalia!"
As epic as this sounds, I don't even think it's everything that Marvel Studios has in store for San Diego Comic-Con. After all, Marvel is a company known for looking into the future and thinking five steps ahead. I imagine that we won't leave the expo without learning about some new titles from Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and maybe even a few release dates. And maybe even some new info about the Netflix shows that are in development! Needless to say, there is a lot to be excited for.
San Diego Comic-Con 2014 will be running from July 23rd to July 27th , and, as per usual, we can probably expect that the Marvel Studios panel will be the final Hall H panel on Saturday night, July 26th. Just like every year, we will once again be on the ground covering the events first-person, so stay tuned for our coverage!
