Marvel Movies: ‘The Avengers’ Shoot Starts Tomorrow; Shane Black Co-Writing ‘Iron Man 3’ After All?
Marvel’s great Avengers experiment is about to begin.Joss Whedonwrote in toWhedonesquetoday to announce thatThe Avengersbegins shooting tomorrow. Specifically he said (in part): “Tomorrow we start shooting (I THINK I’m legally permitted to say that). Day one. That’s right. We’ll be shooting the pivotal death/betrayal/product placement/setting up the sequel/coming out scene, at the following address:” at which point the email goes a bit off the rails, but I think you get the point.
As we’ve knownsince last summer,The AvengersfeaturesRobert Downey, Jr.as Tony Stark/Iron Man;Chris Hemsworthas Thor;Mark Ruffaloas Bruce Banner/The Hulk;Chris Evansas Captain America;Samuel L. Jacksonas Nick Fury;Scarlett Johanssonas Black Widow;Jeremy Renneras Hawkeye;Cobie Smuldersas Maria Hill;Clark Greggas Agent Coulson;Tom Hiddlestonas Loki; andStellan Skarsgårdas Erik Selvig.The Avengerswill be released just over a year from now, on June 26, 2025.
After the break, Shane Black will reportedly co-writeIron Man 3after all.
So when MarvelhiredShane BlackforIron Man 3(he being the screenwriter who rose to fame withLethal Weaponand made a great directorial debut withKiss Kiss Bang Bang) the assumption was that he would write as well as direct. But some hopes were quickly squashed whenDrew Pearcewasannouncedas the writer ofIron Man 3.
At the time, we knew that he’d be working closely with Shane Black on the script. NowCinemaBlendhas “heard from multiple, completely trustworthy sources” that Shane Black will in fact co-write the film.
The site has conflicting info on why Drew Pearce was brought in at all, with one argument saying Disney is nervous about Black’s R-rated history and wants another more family-friendly voice. Or is it just that this is only Black’s second directorial effort, and a much more complicated proposition thanKiss Kiss Bang Bang, so he has a pretty full plate to begin with?
Regardless, Shane Black would in all likelihood have had significant input to the script no matter what the credit roll reads on the final film, but if he is in fact officially co-writing the movie, that’s a great thing. He and Robert Downey Jr. have a proven record working together on Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and Shane Black has been a reliably good creative voice for smart action films.
