Hard to believe, but after years of rumors and hype a big screen “Avengers” movie is pretty much just eight months away. The Marvel Studios superhero ensemble is in its last days of shooting in Cleveland, Ohio, but a few of the film’s stars popped into Disney’s D23 Expo last weekend providing the first real sneak peek at the Joss Whedon flick.
In case you hadn’t heard, the extended scene featured all the film’s major players including Nick “Sick of cameos” Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), returning villain Loki (Tom Hiddleston), the Black “Still sexy” Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Bruce Banner aka the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Captain “Who knew we’d make more than Thor?” America (Chris Evans), the god of thunder (and abs) Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and, or course, Iron “you’re welcome for all the profit Disney” Man (Robert Downey, Jr.). Attendees got a glimpse of some nice bickering between Fury and Loki as well as Loki and Tony Stark. The latter laying out the memorable dig “We have a Hulk” which should be on T-shirts everywhere just in time for Christmas (hint, hint). Of course, Disney could have created much more buzz by having Downey, Jr., Hemsworth, Johansson and crew show up at Comic-Con in front of 10,000 fans in Hall H only a few weeks earlier, but then they couldn’t make money off it. Still, it created more than enough chatter for the Mighty “Avenegers” to pop back into the top spot in this week’s movie power rankings.
As for the rest of this week’s list…
August 26, 2011
1. “The Avengers” (last week no. 2)
Joss Whedon’s expected blockbuster just might live up to the hype.
2. “The Dark Knight Rises” (last week no. 3)
You can say goodbye to Pittsburgh, but you can’t get the paparazzi off your back. This week: Gary Oldman and Marion Cotilard.
3. “The Hunger Games” (last week no. 12)
Finally, the first footage of the much-hyped “expected” franchise will be revealed on Sunday. We’re waiting to be impressed.
4. “Wolverine 2” (not ranked)
Did you ever think you’d have to wait until 2013 for another ‘Wolverine’ movie? Trust us, neither did Hugh Jackman or the execs at 20th Century Fox.
5. “The Twilight Saga” (last week no. 8)
Wait – an MTV Awards show without some sort of ‘Twilight’ sneak peek? RPattz in the house? KStew? Um, Taylor…? Whew, that was close.
6. “The Lone Ranger” (last week no. 1)
Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock, tick tock. Answer anyone? Hellooooo?
7. “The Tree of Life”(not ranked)
Turns out Sean Penn wasn’t a fan. He knows everyone can easily translate a french language interview, right?
8. West Memphis Three (not ranked)
One of the few times a director has had no problem re-cutting or re-writing the ending.
9. Toronto Film Festival (not ranked)
The closer we get, the more worried we get about the quality of some of the titles (you know who you are).
10. “Man of Steel” (not ranked)
Your first fan taken photo of Kryptonian villainess Faora. Spoilers ahead.
11. Pixar (not ranked)
The animation powerhouse announces two new films for 2013 and 2014. We don’t really have titles, but one is about dinosaurs and the other is a trip into your mind. We’d have preferred an “Incredibles” sequel, but maybe 2015.
12. “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance” (not ranked)
Does a demon hero piss fire? Should we even be asking this question? It appears so.
13. “Ghostbusters 3” (not ranked)
Dan Akryod tells another ex-“SNL”er that the long awaited third “Ghostbuster” movie will shoot next year. Will that be before or after the “Arrested Development” movie is in production?
14. “X-Men: First Class” (not ranked)
No, we have no idea if a sequel will occur, but after watching this DVD extra clip we sure hope so.
15. Vacations
Yep, this town is pretty damn near dead. Well, it’s dead for anyone who isn’t getting ready for the new TV season or heading to the upcoming festivals.
Movie Power Rankings appears weekly on HitFix. What do you think of this week’s rankings? Share your thoughts below.
For year round entertainment commentary follow Gregory Ellwood on twitter @HitFixGregory.