It was back in 2010 – my first year at San Diego Comic-Con – that I got to witness one of the coolest things that I have ever experienced in my young life. At the end of the Marvel Studios panel that year, director Joss Whedon was joined on stage by every single member of The Avengers - including the newly cast Mark Ruffalo as Hulk and Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye. As you can see in the video above, tonight my memory got a sequel thanks to the cast of The Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Marvel Studios once again held their annual presentation at San Diego Comic-Con this evening, and in addition to bringing out Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll and director Peyton Reed for Ant-Man, the comic book movie studio also once again assembled the Avengers in Hall H. While Joss Whedon couldn’t make it to the event because of recent knee surgery, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige was joined on stage by Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Mark Ruffalo (Hulk), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Cobie Smulders (Maria Hill), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), and Chris Evans (Captain America) as well as newcomers Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Quicksilver), Paul Bettany (Vision), James Spader (Ultron), and Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlett Witch).
The timing of the entrances could have been a little better, as it took Jeremy Renner a little while to join Robert Downey Jr. out on stage, but the arrival of the Avengers: Age of Ultron cast as a whole was still pretty great moment, and – as you can hear – was well-appreciated by the masses crowded in Hall H. Downey showed a touch of class handing roses to each of his female co-stars, and it’s hard to argue with a soundtrack that includes "Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough" by Michael Jackson.
What I sadly didn’t capture on video was the arrival of the latest actor to join the Marvel Studios family: Josh Brolin. It was back in May that we first heard rumors that the Oscar-nominated star was going to provide the voice of the villainous Thanos in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and tonight that news was confirmed. Brolin – who had appeared on stage earlier in the day as part of the Sin City: A Dame To Kill For panel – came out on stage at the end of the Marvel Studios panel wearing Thanos’ famous Infinity Gauntlet and growled at Downey Jr. asking for a rose. When the Iron Man star gave him one, Brolin proceeded to bite the flower off and chew on the petals.
Stay tuned for more of our coverage of the Marvel Studios Comic-Con panel, and look for The Avengers: Age of Ultron in theaters on May 1, 2015.
