Hawkeye's Terrible New Costume in 'Avengers: Age of Ultron'; Kevin Feige and Joss Whedon Talk Hulkbuster Armor

Hawkeye is one of the two members of the Avengers who have no superhuman powers. He's there for his incredible archery skills and combat experience, and his costume in the first film reflected that he's a soldier first and foremost. But clearly something has changed in Avengers: Age of Ultron because his costume is pretty ridiculous.

Empire Magazine has released a pair of new set photos that show Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, with Joss Whedon teaching him how to fire his bow. And that costume he's wearing looks like something Magneto might have given away to Goodwill, but certainly it doesn't fit what an agile soldier would want to wear. There may be a storyline reason for it that we don't know about because the Comic-Con posters show him wearing what he wore in the first film.

Hawkeye's not the only one sporting some different duds. The part of the Comic-Con teaser footage that drew the biggest cheers was a brief battle between Hulk and Tony Stark in his vaunted Hulkbuster armor. Kevin Feige and Joss Whedon were asked about the suit's part in the story, and as expected they were pretty vague.

Feige: 'It's a bespoke suit. The back-up plan in case things go awry." 

 Whedon:  "The Hulkbuster is from after my time [as a reader], but even I knew what a big deal it was. It makes sense because there's no one who can really go up against Hulk, but more importantly, those guys are best friends, so what that battle is and what it means is fascinating to me."

Are we seeing the beginning of a feud that leads to Banner perhaps leaving the Avengers and going off on his own?  Avengers: Age of Ultron opens May 1st 2015.

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Superhero Update: Hiddleston reveals The Avengers plot? Black Widow, Hawkeye solo films?

Tom Hiddleston has been a little elusive when it comes to what role Loki will play in Joss Whedon's The Avengers. Oh heck, let's just say it. He's been downright misleading, even at one point saying that Loki won't appear at all. The trickster God is going to have his hands full with his brother come this weekend when Thor finally hits theaters, but Loki's role in The Avengers has been a mystery. We know he'll be in it, and for months the speculation has been that he'll use the power of the Cosmic Cube(discovered in Captain America: The First Avenger) to summon the warlike alien race The Skrulls to attack the earth. This would be the catalyzing event that brings The Avengers together.

Well Vulture recently had a sit down with the Brit actor, who gives the impression that not only will Loki be in the thick of the Avengers action, he might be ready to take the supergroup on all by himself...

Hiddleston: Well, I think it was a plan from the get-go, but it wasn’t really dead-set until near the end of Thor. What was wonderful is that about four days after I wrapped on Thor, I went out for a cup of tea with Joss Whedon. We sat down at two o’clock in the afternoon, and we were still sitting there at six o’clock. He said, “Listen, you’ve lived with this guy for six months. I want you to spill the beans and tell me all of his dark secrets. Who is this guy? Why is he who he is?” Ken had already shown him a rough cut of the film, and mercifully, everything I had done accorded with Joss’s idea of the character, too. I’m really so flattered that Marvel and Josh think I can take them all on. In Avengers, it’s going to be me versus seven of them, and I say “Good luck to them,” frankly.
 
That statement can be seen a number of ways. It could mean the Skrull storyline is very much in play, or it could mean something totally different. I'm sure we'll find out soon enough. Personally I love the idea of the Skrulls showing up, because their shapeshifting powers should cause a hell of a lot of confusion in the Avengers ranks, leading to some tense moments.


One thing I'm getting really worried about is superhero overload. There are too many superhero comics out there already(although most don't last long), and I don't want there to be so many movies that I start ignoring them too.  The Avengers will no doubt be the launch pad for a number of potential spinoffs, and according to Marvel Films chatty prez, Kevin Feige, Hawkeye(Jeremy Renner) and Black Widow(Scarlett Johansson) are the leading candidates for solo projects. This isn't anything new as we've heard about a potential Black Widow film since back when Iron Man 2 was shooting, but with Feige's backing you can all but take it to the bank.

Feige also revealed to The Playlist that Marvel will be introducing their next crop of films, likely for 2013 and beyond, later this summer. Whether that will be at Comic-Con in July remains to be seen. The question is which films will he announce? Black Panther actually has a screenwriter attached to it in Mark Bailey, while Doctor Strange has been mentioned more than once as well. And let's not forget Edgar Wright's slow moving Ant-Man pic. It could be any or all of them, or none at all. Personally I'm hoping for Runaways.

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Is Hawkeye set to make a cameo appearance in Thor?

As the Marvel movie universe continues to tighten up, it's practically become policy that we see characters from other flicks popping in and out for cameos. The coolest of which by far was Iron Man showing up at the end of The Incredible Hulk to announce the formation of The Avengers, the film version of which is already coming together. One of the key cogs in The Avengers, Hawkeye, is being played by Jeremy Renner(The Hurt Locker), but it's looking like we'll get a chance to see him strut his stuff a little early.

The Wrap is reporting that Hawkeye is set to make a cameo appearance in Thor, directed by Kenneth Branagh and starring Chris Hemsworth as the Thunder God. This news isn't exactly new, as way back in November of 2009 Renner stated that he'd bet on Hawkeye showing up in the film. Kindof an odd statement since I don't recall the script being done at that time, nor was Renner even signed for the role. But the statement stuck, even after Renner denied it only a few weeks later. Now that he's won the role, it appears that the original statement turned out to be true, as an insider who has seen a cut of the film confirms that Hawkeye does make an appearance. No word on what he actually does, so we might just have to wait for that.

Thor will be hammering it's way into theaters on May 6th 2011!

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Hawkeye to Appear in Thor? Jeremy Renner to Play Him?

In an interview with Empire, Jeremy Renner(The Hurt Locker) threw out some possibilities for his future in the Marvel Universe film world. The actor, who blew audiences away with his portrayal of an EOD tech in Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker, made it clear he thinks his future involvs plenyt of bows, arrows, and deep purple tights.

“I don’t know if I’d be right for Captain America. I met with the Marvel guys, actually, but we didn’t talk about Captain America. But one of the writers, Zak Penn, we’ve become friends over time and he was thinking maybe Hawkeye could be interesting. He sounds like an interesting character.”

Renner then went on to add this...

“If I was a betting man, I would bet that Hawkeye would probably show up in Thor, and then be in The Avengers,” he said. “But do I know for sure? I can’t say. But I’d love for that to happen. It’d be fun.”

Renner hasn't signed anything as of yet, and this could all be just his idea of wish fulfillment, but personally I think he's a perfect choice for the hot headed archer. Hawkeye is one of the most prominent members of the Avengers, and occasional counter-balance to the more even tempered Captain America. You can't possibly have an Avengers film without him, and frankly, Renner's role in The Hurt Locker could very well have been the perfect test case. The two characters are very similar in terms of personality and attitude.

The Avengers is slated to release on May 4th, 2012. Projected cast is a powerhouse, with Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johannson, and possibly Ed Norton.

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