Paramount has finally released the much anticipated trailer for the epic superhero mash-up The Avengers and as usual, it does not disappoint. The main focus of the trailer is still centered around the big battle in the streets of New York, but there’s still a whole bunch of new footage to geek over.

Check out the trailer below!

Loki isn’t the main focus this time, which makes way for new looks at the interactions between our heroes, including some dialogue between Black Widow (Scarlett Johanson) and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), with much more drama being brought in this time around. We also get a glimpse at the enemy in the film, with a few shots of what is to be believed the alien race Loki somehow summons, and a final shot of the giant insect-like ship making its way in the last few seconds.

With a much better glimpses of the Hulk, great voiceovers by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), and the presence of the alien race we’ve been teased with (possibly something different than the skrulls) all backed up by an epic soundtrack, the new trailer gives a much better feeling of “Wow this is actually going to happen.”

Continuing the epic big-screen adventures started in Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger, Marvel’s The Avengers is the superhero team up of a lifetime. When an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, Director of the international peacekeeping agency known as SHIELD, finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. Spanning the globe, a daring recruitment effort begins.

The Avengers, directed by Joss Whedon, will be released May 4th in the US and April 26th in the UK.

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A few days ago we got our first glimpse at The Hulk’s new appearance for The Avengers in the form of a concept art poster. The green guy will look slightly different to what we saw in The Incredible Hulk, and in a recent interview Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige explained the thinking behind his new look.

From The L.A. Times:

He’ll be about the same size he was in “The Incredible Hulk” [which was about 9 feet tall] or maybe a little bit smaller. His muscles won’t be quite as cut. We figure he’s been the Hulk now for a few years and [his physique is changing]. He’s not as cut or as ripped as he was in “The Incredible Hulk.” The most important thing is that face. As you can already see in that concept painting, it is — more than any Hulk that’s ever been done in live action — a Hulk that let’s you see the actor in there. You will be able to see Ruffalo in there. That was a big revelation for us. It’s just a concept painting, but in that you can see the [influence of Marvel Comics pioneer and original Hulk artist Jack] Kirby, as people have already pointed out, but also, and equally important in this case, Ruffalo’s eyes and his cheek structure. It is him.

Earlier this year Mark Ruffalo said “they want this Hulk to be as close to me as possible. I’ll be playing him in motion-capture, so this Hulk will just be a bigger avatar version of me. As they’re modeling him, they’re using many of my own features, down to my scars and wrinkles. He will have body hair, but I don’t know to what extent.”

As well as Ruffalo The Avengers will also star Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Samuel L.Jackson (Nick Fury), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Chris Evans (Captain America), Clark Gregg (Agent Coulson), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye) and will be released May 4th, 2012.

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Over the past week Marvel have been releasing concept art posters for individual characters in The Avengers for the San Diego Comic-Con. I didn’t post them because we already know what Iron Man, Black Widow, Thor and Captain America look like, but now Marvel have released a poster for The Hulk, giving us our first look at his third on-screen appearance.

You can check out the full poster below, which also features the face of Mark Ruffalo:

The full poster featuring all the gang together can be seen by clicking the image below:

The Avengers, directed by Joss Whedon, will star Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Mark Ruffalo (The Hulk), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Chris Evans (Captain America), Clark Gregg (Agent Coulson), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye) and will be released May 4th, 2012.

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SuperHeroHype! recently spotted a promo poster for The Avengers at the Licensing International Expo in Las Vegas. The poster is only a drawing, but it does give us a preview of the team, and we get our first look at Jeremy Renner in his Hawkeye costume.

Check the poster out below: [Update: /Film got a clearer version]

The Avengers, directed by Joss Whedon, will star Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Mark Ruffalo (The Hulk), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Chris Evans (Captain America), Clark Gregg (Agent Coulson), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye) and will be released May 4th, 2012.

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With a new actor taking over the role of Bruce Banner/The Hulk in The Avengers I suppose it was inevitable the big green guy would get another make-over. I didn’t think there was anything wrong with how he looked in The Incredible Hulk, but it seems director Joss Whedon and Marvel are distancing themselves from that version.

Mark Ruffalo recently took part in an interview with The Advocate (via MovieWeb) and spoke about how The Hulk will look in the film.

“No one has asked me to shave my chest yet, thank God. They want this Hulk to be as close to me as possible. I’ll be playing him in motion-capture, so this Hulk will just be a bigger avatar version of me. As they’re modeling him, they’re using many of my own features, down to my scars and wrinkles. He will have body hair, but I don’t know to what extent.”

A hairy Hulk? What do fans think about that?

As well as Ruffalo The Avengers will also star Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Samuel L.Jackson (Nick Fury), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Chris Evans (Captain America), Clark Gregg (Agent Coulson), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye) and will be released May 4th, 2012.

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Two months ago we learned that Marvel TV and ABC Studios were pairing up to create a new Hulk TV series, the first to be created by Marvel’s new TV division. Deadline now has the news that the series is in fact being created by Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, Pan’s Labyrinth), and David Eick (executive producer of the 2004 Battlestar Galactica series).

Apparently the Hulk series will follow the superhero’s “origin story” (we’re getting a lot of those lately, aren’t we?), Bruce Banner being “in his mid-twenties, less reactive and more energized as the world is still his oyster.” I don’t have a problem with that, I just hope they get the actual origin out of the way pretty quickly – the 2008 Incredible Hulk benefitted greatly from getting straight to the point, instead of rehashing the origins yet again. But then I suppose if it’s told in a way that is different enough, it’ll be fine.

Del Toro, who has already had previous experience with comic book adaptations Blade II and the two Hellboy movies, will create the story together with Eick, and subject to availability, will direct the pilot episode. Eick will write the script.

Del Toro’s biggest talent is, arguably, his ability to create wonderfully twisted monsters and creatures, and provide strange and fantastic imagery. Naturally, he will oversee the look of the Hulk character, which will this time employ a combination of puppetry, prosthetics, and CGI, instead of just CGI like was featured in the 2003 and 2008 Hulk films. The new Hulk is “expected to draw on previous comic book incarnations, as well as the original 1978-82 Incredible Hulk TV series, with a few wild tweaks on the old look.” Wild tweaks? How “wild” are they willing to go, I wonder?

Del Toro commented on the matter:

“I have always been attracted at the combination of comic book heroics and monsters, Jack Kirby’s Demon or Kamandi or DC’s Deadman or Marvel’s Dr. Strange, Morbius, Metamorpho, Mike Mignola’s Hellboy, etc,” Del Toro said. He said that The Hulk has been at the top of his list and he first pursued it as a feature film around the time of the 2002 release of Blade II, which he directed. Del Toro added that, with partner Eick “we coalesced a respectful but powerful way of retelling the Banner/Hulk story in a fresh way.”

Not to be pessimistic, but I’d be more excited about new properties such as Deadman or Dr. Strange, than a Hulk show.

Eick also had something to say:

“I’ve enjoyed the challenging, rewarding process of revisiting beloved characters,” he said. Eick called The Hulk “one of the crown jewels of the Marvel world for generations” ans said it was a “dream opportunity to join one of my all-time filmmaking heroes, Guillermo del Toro, in a faithful but unique retelling of the primal, emotionally-rich tale of one of my all-time comic book.”

It doesn’t seem to have been clarified, but it appears as though this will share a separate continuity to Marvel Studios’ current Avengers film universe, and I don’t know if that’s a good or a bad thing. I’d prefer Marvel TV shows about characters that are not already being explored in the movies…but that doesn’t mean I can’t look forward to this, del Toro’s enthusiasm for the project, and the hopefully-large roster of villains that will be employed. Perhaps the terrible Toad Men, pictured above, will make an appearance?

This is still in incredibly early stages, but Marvel is looking to release the Hulk TV series after the release of The Avengers in 2012, so they can exploit the Hulk’s appearance in that film, and get people watching. It will most likely begin airing in fall of that year. Are you excited? Or skeptical?

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April 2012 Update: Don’t expect another Hulk solo movie

At the moment The Avengers is the main overall priority for Marvel as they have been working towards it with the Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and Hulk movies. The company has other projects in the pipeline such as The Runaways, Luke Cage, Dr. Strange and Iron Fist, but in terms of The Avengers world nothing has been announced beyond 2012.

In the long run Marvel will be hoping Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger succeed next summer in order to warrant sequels, and according to Bruce Banner 3.0 Mark Ruffalo we may see another Hulk movie.

From Empire:

“They set up several pictures over a couple of years and possibly there will be a Hulk movie. There’ll probably be a couple more Avengers too, which would be fun.”

“The way I see it, Edward Norton has bequeathed this role to me. I reckon the part is my generation’s Hamlet, and there’s still some room for interpreting who The Hulk is.”

I enjoyed The Incredible Hulk but we don’t really need another Hulk movie. Not anytime soon anyway.

Lou Ferrigno, who played the original Incredible Hulk and provided the voice for the green one in the 2008 film, confirmed to Collider that he will be returning to voice The Hulk in The Avengers and he gave his thoughts on why the character is providing difficult to connect with audiences.

What do you think about Mark Ruffalo (being cast) as The Hulk?

I think he’s a great actor. I think he’s a great choice. My only problem is that they keep changing (the actor playing The Hulk’s alter-ego) David Banner. I don’t know the situation with Eric Bana because maybe he had a one-picture deal, but I think Mark (Ruffalo) is a wonderful actor and I think he’ll be, he’ll be a great David Banner.

What did you think of Eric (Bana) and Edward Norton (in the previous incarnations of The Hulk)?

They were good. I mean, Edward Norton, I loved because he was, he’s close to (TV’s original David Banner) Bill Bixby. Eric Bana was the first one that came with the first film (directed by Ang Lee) and he, and he’s a fine actor, too. They’re all different and it’ll be interesting to see how Mark pulls it off, because Mark is deep. You know, like he did Shutter Island? He’s got a deep quality about him. He’s got a sensitive side and I think that’s gonna come out of him.

Why do you think the first two didn’t work as successfully as people had hoped?

Because it’s not human and you can’t connect with the Hulk because it’s CGI. It needs to be more emotional. It’s very hard with CGI.

Do you want to see another solo Hulk movie post-The Avengers, or should he just appear in future Avengers sequels?

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When studios produce tentpole movies they don’t just intend to create revenue from the box office. Merchandising, licensing and all the rest help create a brand that people will gladly throw money at. We’ve seen this over recent years with movies such as Transformers and G.I Joe increasing toy sales for Hasbro.

With Marvel releasing Thor, Captain America and The Avengers over the next two years they are making the most of their brand, and we can expect to see The Avengers pretty much everywhere:

From Advertising Age:

“You’re going to see ‘Avengers Assemble’ logos and icons take more prominent positions,” said Paul Gitter, president-consumer products for Marvel Entertainment. “On a lot of the packaging you’re going to see everywhere, Marvel does tie back into ‘The Avengers,’ and the umbrella platform we have set up.”

Among the goods set to roll out are a full line of action figures, vehicles and role-playing items from toy maker Hasbro; arts and crafts products from Crayola; die-cast toy vehicles and play sets from Maisto; and footwear from Brown Shoe. Additional licensees include Fruit of the Loom, Kids Headquarters, AME and Jem Sportswear.

Whatever Marvel learns in its efforts, expect to see lessons learned applied well beyond the release of “The Avengers” film, said Mr. Gitter. He alluded to a plan in development pegged to 2017, but declined to offer details. As they say in the comics, to be continued.

It looks like Marvel has everything covered, in the toy/kids department anyway. Now we just need to wait and see if they have the movies covered too.

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When Mark Ruffalo became Bruce Banner 3.0 earlier this year it was assumed he would just be playing the human side to the character and the special effects wizards would handle The Hulk himself. However, as we live in a post-Avatar world just about anything is possible, and Marvel has decided Ruffalo will actually play The Hulk too.

Ruffalo revealed this tiny detail to Vulture:

“I’m really excited. No one’s ever played the Hulk exactly, they’ve always done CGI,” he told us at last night’s Launch of Farmhearts at Pure Yoga. “They’re going to do the Avatar stop-action, stop-motion capture. So I’ll actually play the Hulk. That’ll be fun.” But he’s nearly as excited about playing Banner: “I really love the first TV version of it, the Bill Bixby one,” Ruffalo told us. “I’m gonna shoot for that a little bit. He was an everyman in it. He’s always on the run and trying to find love. It’s really a sympathetic character, before he turns into the Hulk and fucks everything up.” Also, if you needed one more reason to be excited for Avengers, Ruffalo tells he’ll be playing history’s first-ever 3-D Hulk: “I hope I don’t bulge in anyone’s face, that’s all I have to say.”

This will probably allow Joss Whedon to direct Ruffalo in Hulk-mode alongside Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth and Samuel L. Jackson in the same scene. I hope they keep the same Hulk look we saw in The Incredible Hulk. Re-casting is sometimes beyond anyone’s control, but I don’t see any reason to change The Hulk’s appearance for a third time.

Ruffalo will most likely be working on his grunting and Hulk smashes ready for filming in January/February next year.

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Earlier this year Marvel Studios President of Production Kevin Feige said they were re-casting The Hulk for The Avengers as they have a “need for an actor who embodies the creativity and collaborative spirit of our other talented cast members”. Edward Norton’s agent didn’t particularly like this “purposefully misleading” and “offensive statement”, and hit back saying Marvel’s decision to re-cast is mainly a financial one.

At the time Edward Norton was the only one not throwing mud, saying he was “sincerely grateful” to Marvel for allowing him to play Bruce Banner and was “sad” that people would be disappointed with his departure. Now, a few months on, the actor was asked about the situation again assures that it was “nobody’s fault”.

From MTV:

“The thing that was disingenuous about some of the stuff that had gone on is it was a very professional and very respectful business situation,” he told MTV News. “We really couldn’t work it out on a business level, and I know that’s disappointing to some people, but it’s nobody’s fault. I don’t have any disrespect for anybody’s decisions in the business framework. You do what you feel you need to do on both sides, and that’s totally fine.

“I didn’t want to be negative about anything,” he said. “I had a great time doing that. I was very happy to be part of it all. People’s response to that film was great. That’s everything you want. If you’re going to do one of those, and be in those long traditions of those things we all grew up in, you don’t want to be in one of the bad ones. So I’m really happy people had a good thing with that.”

“My life’s way too good on too many levels to be over-intense about things like that,” he said.

Mark Ruffalo will play The Hulk/Bruce Banner in The Avengers which begins filming January/February next year,

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