It’s the second weekend after Thor opened in the U.S. and the estimated US$344 million box office reaction proves that it is definitely one of the top superhero movies to date, edging out both Hulk and The Incredible Hulk in terms of opening weekend takings, as well as Fantastic Four and its sequel. The mind-blowing post-credits scene also gave us the first proper teaser for The Avengers movie, which is currently filming and is slated to open in just under a year’s time.
Of course, we understand that not everybody may have seen Thor yet, so here’s the requisite warning (in bad Shakespearean):
There be spoilers yonder! If thee wouldst remain uncorrupted, then flee post haste!
A quick recap of the Thor post-credits scene: Doctor Erik Selvig, played by Stellan Skarsgård, meets up with Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Nicholas Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) in an underground bunker, and the latter reveals an object of “unlimited power” – the Tesseract, better known as the infamous Cosmic Cube in the comics. Loki (Tom Hiddleston) then makes an unexpected return, after his disappearance earlier in the film, and reveals to the audience that he is controlling Selvig’s mind in order to gain access to the Tesseract.
Best. Post-credits scene. Ever.
Not only did it give us ample opportunity to totally geek out (and for this geek, became the saving grace for a movie that barely felt connected to its comic book sources at times), it was also a clear indication that The Avengers would be following very closely to its origin story by having Loki be the superhero team’s first nemesis, and giving actor Tom Hiddleston more opportunities to delight fans everywhere.
In an interview with ComingSoon.net, Hiddleston discussed his involvement in The Avengers and mentioned this little snippet of information in passing, “it’s going to take eight superheroes to stop [Loki] this time as opposed to just his chunky brother.”
Wait, eight superheroes? When the cast was revealed at San Diego Comic Con last year, we knew that six Avengers would be involved in the movie: Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Black Widow (Scarlett Johannson), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), and since then, the only new member of the cast was Cobie Smulders who will play Agent Maria Hill, who is definitely not a superhero nor an Avenger. Does this mean that we’re going to see more casting news in the near future?
The geek in me wants to shout YES, PLEASE! but I’m also aware that filming has already begun and unless there is a HUGE cover-up going on, I highly doubt there’s going to be any further casting changes this late in the game. Still, you can’t blame me for dreaming, especially not when Marvel Studios head honcho Kevin Feige reveals this little tidbit in his interview with Collider.com about Thor.
It was when Selvig, Darcy, and Jane are on the roof and S.H.I.E.L.D. has just taken all of their stuff. Selvig then tells a story, which is clearly alluding to Bruce Banner, that he knew a gamma scientist and this thing happened and S.H.I.E.L.D. came up, which he had never heard of again. He goes, “I have a friend who has had experiences with these people. Let me email him.” That friend is Hank Pym.
That’s right, founding member of the Avengers formerly known as Ant-Man, Goliath, Yellowjacket, Wasp and currently returning to his early identity as Giant-Man would’ve gotten a mention in Thor but that reveal was dropped as it felt like one too many easter eggs. Still, it would definitely be a big deal if all the founding members of the Avengers had a role, no matter how small, in the movie.
Eight superheroes? My dream would be: Cap, Thor, Iron Man, Hulk, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Ant-Man and the Wasp. Now that would be a lineup truly worthy of a 2012 summer blockbuster.
