MAJOR POTENTIAL SPOILERS IN LINKS AND AFTER JUMP!
It's been quite a ride for Latino Review, a NY-based movie news/gossip site originally set up to focus on stories related to Latino stars and projects that has in addition become a go-to site for comic-book movie scoops thanks to the alarmingly-excellent digging skills of one "El Mayimbe," who claims to be acting (in part) out of a cheeky vendetta against Marvel Studios brass for pulling some shady business on a professional pal.
To date, probably their biggest scoop was breaking the subject of the post-credits teaser at the end of "Avengers" (and thus the principal over-arching antagonist of Marvel's "Phase 2" projects) before anyone else; but now they're claiming to have gone one bigger. Revealed tonight in a much-hyped video blog recorded in front of Marvel's NY offices, "El Mayimbe" purports to know A.) Marvel's long-term plans for an Avenger whose cinematic future hasn't been made 100% clear yet, B.) A major plot detail for "Avengers 2" and C.) The actual premise of "Avengers 3."
This should ALL be considered rumor, but highly reliable rumor (with the caveat that plans this long-term can always easily change) and thus possible MAJOR SPOILAGE. If you want to hear what the man has to say, hit the jump/keep reading. If not, turn back now:
Last chance not to read any further folks (assuming you haven't hit "play" yet)
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So... Mark Ruffalo did sign the Marvel-standard six-movie deal, and the big arc of the plan is apparently to take him through Movieverse versions of PLANET HULK and WORLD WAR HULK.
Short version: "Planet Hulk" was a year-long story arc wherein Hulk was blasted into deep space "for his own good" (and everyone else's) by The Illuminati, a secret brain-trust of powerful/connected Marvel denizens (Mr. Fantastic, Professor X, Namor, Black Bolt, Doctor Strange, Iron Man, etc) whom we come to learn are responsible for coordinating certain overly-coincidental big events throughout past Marvel continuity.
As the title implies, Hulk winds up on a semi-primitive planet where - for the first time - being an unstoppable giant monster is an asset; allowing him to become a sword-swinging, gladiator-fighting, army-leading, princess-wooing Conan-esque barbarian hero. "John Carter," except with The Hulk. Awesome. Meanwhile, back down on Earth, tragic circumstances and some more Illuminati meddling cause the "Marvel Civil War" event to unfold, leaving everything pretty well fractured for when Hulk turns up on Earth looking for payback with an alien army under his command for "World War Hulk."
Based on "El Mayimbe's" info, it would appear that "Illuminati shoot Hulk into space" is either planned as the finale or post-finale of "Avengers 2," with "Planet Hulk" presumably being a movie of it's own in "Phase 3" and events similar to "World War Hulk" being the starting premise for "Avengers 3."
Here's the part of this that makes MAJOR sense to me: Assuming for a moment that the movie-verse version of The Illuminati aren't just going to be the shadowy Council seen bossing S.H.I.E.L.D. around in "Avengers," that would be a bunch of new guys all showing up at once, named or otherwise. In the comics, the membership of The Illuminati included Tony Stark, Black Bolt (of "The Inhumans"), Doctor Strange and Namor - with Black Panther invited but abstaining. What do all those guys have in common, apart from Iron Man? They're all heavily rumored to have movies or movie-appearances happening as part of "Phase 2." How do you top revealing one big character at the end of Part 1? Revealing the next FIVE big characters at the end of Part 2.
Hulk as the antagonist of the third "Avengers?" color me intrigued, sure... but what really interests me is what "Planet Hulk" would be as a live-action movie of it's own (it was already turned into an above-average animated feature for DVD): In the comic, Hulk is in Hulk form for abut 95% of the story, and most of the alien characters are distinctly non-humanoid. Assuming they don't change that up so that Ruffalo would have more screentime as Banner... would this end up being an almost entirely-CGI-animated feature a'a "Avatar?"
This will be worth watching, especially since Marvel will probably spend a week or so denying all of this.
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