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When AlloCiné asked if the events of this summer's Captain America: The Winter Soldier have an effect on The Avengers sequel, Joss Whedon explained: "The events of Captain America [The Winter Soldier] will definitely affect the world of Avengers 2.
But at the end of the day, I have to make my movie assuming that people will only have seen the first one, or possibly not even seen the first one. I can't assume that everybody went to see Thor [The Dark World], Captain America, and Iron Man 3 in-between. I have to go from one movie to the next and be true to what's happened [in the previous movies], but not be slavish to it. [...] The model I'm always trying to build from, or my guiding star, is The Godfather: Part II where a ton has happened in-between and it's a very different movie [from Part I], but you don't need any information. It's there in the film about what's happened since, what's different, and why is this a different film; why is it a different kind of structure, and why is it darker. It's all there, you're in the vernacular of the first movie and you're just ready to pick up in this new place, and hopefully that's what will happen with my movie. Obviously I'm talking about one of the greatest films ever made (The Godfather: Part II)... I hope mine will be good, but that is my guiding star."
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While we doubt that Joss Whedon will go full Dark Knight, Mark Ruffalo has revealed that the Avengers sequel will have a darker tone. In an interview with MTV,
Ruffalo said, “I would say that it’s better, it’s cooler, it’s more awesomer. It’s a little bit darker, but also really has Joss Whedon’s incredibly, witty and sly sense of humor.”Another tidbit that Ruffalo revealed is that
there will be plenty of Hulk in that Avengers: Age of Ultron. Ruffalo said, “He gets to do such great stuff.”he organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D. is at the center of Captain America 2 and the television series Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which could mean some changes for Samuel L. Jackson (Director Nick Fury) and Cobie Smulders (Agent Maria Hill).
Both Jackson and Smulders addressed The Avengers 2 and the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in separate interviews. Firstly, Jackson spoke to Fandango and "insists he has no idea about the road ahead for Nick Fury beyond the Captain America and Avengers sequels.
'Nope, none whatsoever,' he says proudly.
'I just know that the Marvel Universe is there, that there are things going on, and that I have three pictures left on my nine-picture deal. That's all I know. I've done six of them, and I'm about to do seven, so I'm running out of Marvel pictures - unless they extend my contract.'"It's hard to imagine an Avengers movie (or even a Marvel movie, really) without Nick Fury, so an extension seems likely; however, if S.H.I.E.L.D.'s importance to the narrative starts to wane, then perhaps Jackson would not be involved in future sequels.
Smulders, meanwhile, told IGN with a laugh that she's "not talking about Avengers...anymore" when asked if she has seen the Age of Ultron script. She added that she is excited and knows everything there is to know, but she won't talk about it "until literally the movie's out on DVD." She also called Joss Whedon "the best man on the planet."
As for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., in which she guest starred in the pilot episode, Smulders said the following when asked if she would be available to appear on the show again:
"No, I don't know anything about Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I've been watching, and I think it's such a great show. They're doing such a wonderful job, but I don't know about my personal involvement."
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There’s been a good deal of uncertainty as to how this second chapter of Captain America’s story might unfold, with the repackaging of the presumed dead Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) as the assassin known as the Winter Soldier. We’ve also heard Robert Redford make comments about being a villain for the film, and we have Frank Grillo in the mix as Crossbones, too… so who is Chris Evans looking at as a main adversary this time around with so many options on the table to step into the limelight?
The answer is all of them, but at the same time none of them. Obviously all three of them will play a part in Captain America’s battle against evil, but,
for the purposes of THE WINTER SOLDIER, it’ll be in the name of a greater enemy, which is set to be HYDRA as an expanding organization. With HYDRA seemingly decimated, following the capture of Arnim Zola (Toby Jones) and the removal of Red Skull from this realm, HYDRA will be secretly brought into the modern era, using sleeper agents to infiltrate the United States government and other federal agencies, including S.H.I.E.L.D. in an attempt to rise to power and take over our way of life. That leaves Captain America and Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow, who we’ve been told time and time again is a major player in THE WINTER SOLDIER, to root out these hidden agents before it’s too late.
Remember how CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER was being painted as a 70s-style political thriller…? Well, here you go… This is how they’re going to do it.
Robert Redford as a villain…? Guess how. Yep… HYDRA. Bucky becoming the Winter Soldier…? Recruited by HYDRA. Maximiliano Hernández reprising his role as Jasper Sitwell… HYDRA. Even Garry Shandling returning as Senator Stern, who desperately wanted Tony Stark’s Iron Man armor turned over to the government… Guess where his loyalty lies. I think you know.
For those of you who have been checking out of AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D., we’re hearing there are some HYDRA overtones that very well may come into play for THE WINTER SOLDIER, but the one thing we’re absolutely sure of from our sources is that HYDRA is the main focus Captain America and Black Widow will have to focus on this time around. Now don’t take that to mean the Winter Soldier story arc is going to be minimized in any way. It still is a major chunk of the film, but, as mentioned earlier, it all winds up pointing back to HYDRA.In addition, that should explain how Baron von Strucker will be introduced into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as an introduction during THE WINTER SOLDIER looks like a distinct possibility before he winds up kicking off AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON. Gotta establish him somewhere.
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Academy Award-winning actor, filmmaker, and philanthropist Robert Redford sat down recently with Entertainment Weekly at the Sundance Film Festival, which he founded 30 years ago, and discussed his many upcoming projects. With his role as the Head of S.H.I.E.L.D., Alexander Pierce, in Captain America: The Winter Soldier the first venture on his plate, Redford addressed once again why he joined the upcoming Marvel sequel. “One of the reasons that I did it was I wanted to experience this new form of filmmaking that’s taken over where you have kind of cartoon characters brought to life through high technology,” he says. “The Avengers series is a product of high technology playing a major role in the new order of filmmaking so I wanted to experience that—I just wanted to know what that was like and I had that opportunity, so for me it was like stepping into new terrain just to experience what it was like.”
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