The Avengers to assemble on big
screen
Reuters Friday, 15 June 2007
Ahead of the opening of Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer,
Marvel Studios has begun the process of bringing another of its
comics to the big screen: the elite superhero team the
Avengers.
Zak Penn, who wrote the screenplay for Marvel's upcoming The
Incredible Hulk, is slated to pen the live-action adaptation that
would be titled The Avengers.
On the other side of town, Warner Bros. Pictures is developing its
superhero superteam, Justice League of America, with Kieran
Mulroney and Michele Mulroney having submitted a draft adapting the
DC Comics series.
While Penn has not begun his screenplay, those who have read the
Mulroneys' draft give it a thumbs-up, and a search for directors is
about to begin.
One challenge facing the writers is which heroes to include in
their scripts.
While the roster for the Avengers has changed since its inception
in 1963, growing to include the likes of Spider-Man and X-Men hero
Wolverine, the classic iteration of the team consisted of Iron Man,
Captain America, Thor and the diminutive Ant-Man and Wasp. Other
members have been the Hulk, the bow-and-arrow-wielding Hawkeye and
the probability-altering gypsy Scarlet Witch.
Many of these heroes are getting their own starring portrayals in
other movies, with Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man already shooting;
Hulk scheduled for a summer start, with Ed Norton starring; a Thor
script being written by Mark Protosevich; and Ant-Man being
developed by Edgar Wright (Hot Fuzz). Marvel wants to wait until
all those films have entered the market before unleashing The
Avengers.
Marvel, which had licensed out some of its characters to various
studios, owns the rights to most of the Avengers with the exception
of Hulk, which Universal has.
Avengers has acted as the company's answer to DC Comics'
best-seller Justice League of America, which was banded together
such A-list heroes as Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Aquaman,
Flash and Green Lantern as well as the Martian Manhunter.
One question that the respective companies will have to address
before either movie is green lighted is whether to include the
marquee superheroes such as Superman and the Hulk in ensemble
projects.
If The Avengers and Justice League ultimately do include the
biggest names among the superhero fraternity, then the question
would turn to casting. Should Warners try to get Christian Bale and
Brandon Routh, who star as Superman and Batman in their respective
movies, into the ensemble films? Should Marvel talk to Norton and
Downey about starring in Avengers?
The answers could be years in the making.
(source: Stuff)