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[Jacky]

New pics from Guardians 






Trailer will premiere tomorrow night on Jimmy Kimmel at 10:35pm cst and then online afterwards




I can't even begin to comprehend how excited i am. Like even moreso than Avengers 2. It looks like the quiet, sneakily hot nerd/goth girl to the bleached blonde cheerleading prom queen that is The Avengers. Both ladies could be great people, of course, but I always veered toward the former myself.  Marvel's really taking a gamble on this film, but they've more than earned it. It's the most ambitious and unique MCU movie released so far, and that's why i'm so pumped. Not to underestimate how fascinating and awesome these characters are, and how James Gunn seems to totally grasp the concept of them. (he better have Mantis, Bug and Jack Flag in the sequel though)

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

Hey, you missed some pictures, a couple more awesome batches were released

http://screenrant.com/guardians-of-the-galaxy-trailer-photos/

 

These three stills depict the first scene played at Comic-Con where Chris Pratt’s Peter Quill enters an alien temple of sorts. At the alter he finds and picks up the mysterious and all-powerful orb we’ve seen in the promo art, toys and in person, as a prop brought to Comic-Con. Once he does, he’s confronted by Korath the Pursuer, played by Djimon Hounsou who asks him who he is. Quill proudly announces himself as Star-Lord before Korath comically responds, “who?”

Peter Quill, a human (or mostly human) Earth child of the ’80s is very passionate about what few belongings he still has from home, namely his Sony Walkman we saw at Comic-Con. It’s the source of the iconic “Hooked On A Feeling” music that’s played during the footage and teaser. Anyway, one of the larger alien guards on the prison station known as Kyln is listening to the Walkman and Quill (who’s held there along with the other Guardians before they meet) demands that he stop and return it. It results in a beating and a tase as shown above. There’s also – at some point – seemingly a prison brawl and you can see some of the alien inmates above.

Meet Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), a one-man unstoppable army of sorts on a singular quest to find and seek revenge on Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace), whom he blames for the death of his family. In Marvel Comics, Drax is seeking out Thanos, but in Guardians of the Galaxy, the focus is on Ronan who works for Thanos. The tattoos/markings hold a special meaning to Drax and we’ll find out more in the film. Who’s green blood is that in the first image we wonder? Drax uses a pair of deadly blades like he does in the books, holstered at the side of his boots (see here).

It’s hard to tell from these images (which might be unfinished effects) but Rocket Raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper) is riding on the shoulders of his best friend Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel) in an epic circular shot of them surrounded by enemies. It was a highlight of the Comic-Con footage and last week animated .gifs revealed the conceptual animation behind it (we were asked to take those down unfortunately). Yes of course, Rocket Raccoon is wielding an over-sized gun. He loves demolitions. He’s good at it.

From blue skin in Avatar to green skin in the the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Zoe Saldana continues to reign as the queen of sci-fi film franchises (the other being Star Trek). Here she plays Gamora, the most lethal assassin in the universe. She shares some harsh history with Thanos and Nebula (below) and while it may be difficult to tell from this imagery, she sports distinctive tattoo markings across her face. It took the designer many iterations of this design before they (and Saldana) landed on one they loved. The second image we can only guess is an homage to Willow Smith’s “Whip My Hair“.

Chris Pratt, the inspired casting choice by James Gunn after auditioning dozens and dozens of actors for the lead part in Guardians of the Galaxy, had to reshape his physique to fit the part. He joked with us about the diet at Comic-Con – watch that funny video here. The other images highlight scenes we saw brief teases of at Comic-Con, the first being the silhouette of Quill suited up as Star-Lord, ready for battle with his dual signature blasters, the second with him navigating treacherous alien weather. We think the second image might be on his way to or from that temple up above since there’s a hint of Korath running through a similar environment, perhaps in pursuit. He is “the Pursuer’ after all…

This is the Milano in the first five images, what I like to think of as the Millennium Falcon of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’s Star-Lord’s personal ship and is the centerpiece of the first revealed Guardians of the Galaxy LEGO toy set. Here we see Quill (Pratt) piloting it into or away from battle with that big dark alien ship (the last image) which features a design reminiscent of the Dark Elf vessels in Thor: The Dark World.

The last image shows this large intimidating vehicle launching an armada of smaller vessels, which judging by the wings, might be the same little speeder/skiff that Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace) seemingly rides at some point – compare to the LEGO set here. Is this big monster of a ship Ronan’s ride?

Why Karen Gillan, don’t you look ready for battle. This is our very first official look at Nebula in Guardians of the Galaxy since the Comic-Con footage featured a stand-in close-up to show the makeup on her face. There’s metal and perhaps even a cybernetic eye on her face. But watch out for those blades and get ready for the Gamora vs. Nebula confrontation. Compare this design to that from the comics here – it’s very close.

Who cares about random explosions you might say, but take a closer look! Note the “Tivan” logo in both images. What’s that? It’s the base/home/ship/station of Taneleer Tivan. Who’s that? He’s the Collector played by Benicio Del Toro who showed up in the mid-credits scene of Thor: The Dark World (explained here) and who has a major role to play not only in Guardians of the Galaxy but in at least two other films after thanks to the actor’s multi-picture contract. The Collector, what he has in his collection, and what he wants, are central to some of the big cosmic plans Marvel has in mind.

And to wrap up, above is the new version of the Guardians of the Galaxy film logo. It’s actually the third version (previous two below) which seems to embrace yellow as much as the film embraces a ’50s pulp science fiction that the film’s producers and directors are aiming for.

 

The new logo awesome, and does anybody else think Starlord is going to be SICK in action?! cant wait for the trailer... needs more Nova though

 

 

Oh and who else loves this song, as apperently Peter quiller does XD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5jkAkm4JmM&feature=kp

[Dejimon11]

Here's the trailer

[Echidna Adventurer CC14]

Wreck-It Ralph just told me all about Rocket Raccoon. I have officially lived.

[Blue Wisp]

I can't help but keep repeating the last 20 seconds of that trailer. The music goes together so damn well it's amazing. Just badass.

 

Anyway, remember The Winter Soldier? That Captain murrika America film? Well, thanks to the soundtrack and the toys, we've got ourselves a /massive/ leak! Guess who's the main villain!

Red Skull is back.

 

But that's just a toy right? It can't be that, right? Wrong. Apparently there's a soundtrack leak that lists a song called 

Alexander Pierce is the Red Skull.

 

I have no idea if that is true, but if it is then once again toys and the soundtrack spoil everything. Like the The Lego Movie soundtrack or The Phantom Menace's.

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

^I guessed that months ago, he had to be either that or Baron von strucker

[Chooch]

The Guardians of the Galaxy trailer was cool but methinks that Star-Lord needs to, you know, have his helmet on.

 

If it only gets put on for like five minutes I'm going to be kind of annoyed.

[Gabz Girl]

Some of the comedic trailer bits were cheesy, but the rest looks great! Wow, it's amazing how a few years ago I was all "wtf is a Rocket Raccoon?" and now it's "OMG I love Rocket Raccoon the little badass!" XD I wish we could hear his and Groot's voice, but I guess we'll have to wait till the next trailer. Either way, it looks really fun!

[Klinsy]

Marvel is apparently doing a series of videos to introduce the Guardians, first up is Rocket Raccoon.

 

I was pretty impressed with that visual effect test and we get to hear Bradley Cooper voice as Rocket, a bit tough sounding to me, as I expect Rocket to sound, not bad.

 

I wonder who is next, I think it might be Groot or Drax.

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

Marvel is apparently doing a series of videos to introduce the Guardians, first up is Rocket Raccoon.

 

I was pretty impressed with that visual effect test and we get to hear Bradley Cooper voice as Rocket, a bit tough sounding to me, as I expect Rocket to sound, not bad.

 

I wonder who is next, I think it might be Groot or Drax.

Wish it was lance astro  or Cosmo the russian space dog

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

Oh, and a reminder, this guy is Baron Von Strucker, and he may be showing up at the end of winter soldier

http://screenrant.com/avengers-2-age-ultron-baron-strucker/#comments

 

Thomas Kretschmann Talks Baron von Strucker in ‘The Avengers: Age of Ultron’

 

Published 3 hours ago by Anthony Vieira

There are four movies based on Marvel Comics properties opening in theaters in 2014: Captain America: The Winter Soldier will show up in April, Sony’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Fox’s X-Men: Days of Future Past in May, with August’s Guardians of the Galaxy perhaps serving as a direct lead-in to The Avengers: Age of Ultron in May 2015.

 

 

 

Much of the most recent news on Age of Ultron has revolved around some of the early set footage and confirmation of the various international shooting location, along with the casting of the voice of J.A.R.V.I.S. himself, Paul Bettany, as the Vision. And later this month, an ABC special will debut footage from the sequel.

When it comes to the villains, James Spader will portray the titular evil android Ultron, and will be joined by Thomas Kretschmann (Van Helsing in NBC’s Dracula) as HYDRA member Baron von Strucker. Not much is known about von Strucker’s role in Age of Ultron, but we have new details about Kretschmann’s involvement in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole.

Speaking to B.Z. Berlin (by way of CBM), Kretschmann confirmed that he will be in more than one Marvel Studios film, but appears know about as much as you or I about the story details:

“I have a multi-picture deal which means I will not only appear in the 2nd part, but they’re planning with me for a longer period of time. But I don’t know details yet, they’re keeping their cards close to their chest – top secret!”

Kretschmann is no stranger to big budget productions, having appeared in Bryan Singer’s World War II drama Valkyrie as well as Peter Jackson’s King Kong remake, but evidently being cast in The Avengers sequel was nerve-wracking. According to Kretschmann:

“Oh yes, I was nervous. I was overprepared; then on the set I went up to Joss Whedon, who passes for a genius, and said ‘this is my first day, this is huge, please have patience with me, I’m a bit nervous.’ ”

Kretschmann’s confirmation about a multi-picture deal is interesting, but given Marvel’s pattern of locking down actors across a span of films, not surprising. Unless Kretschmann is referring to rehearsals or other pre-production commitments, it sounds like he’s already shot a portion of his role.

One big question is whether or not Baron von Strucker will actually be introduced somehow in the upcoming Captain America 2. The character is traditionally a HYDRA villain and adversary of Captain America, although he has worked with Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch and even helped Black Widow become a dangerous assassin.

Kretschmann’s multi-picture contract definitely means he’ll be involved in projects beyond Age of Ultron, but it’s entirely possible – perhaps even likely – that he’ll be teased in The Winter Soldier and/or Guardians of the Galaxy. When ABC airs their special on the Marvel films later this month, we might know more.

_________________________________________________

Captain America: The Winter Soldier hits theaters April 4, 2014, Guardians of the Galaxy on August 1, 2014, The Avengers: Age of Ultron on May 1, 2015, Ant-Man on July 17, 2015, and unannounced films for May 6 2016, July 8 2016 and May 5 2017.

Source: CBM

 

Someone photoshop him into a Baron Von Strucker Outfit, STAT!

[Klinsy]

Who wants concept art for Guardians Of The Galaxy, Avengers: Age Of Ultron and Ant-Man?

 

Man, I always love seeing this stuff, though the Ant-Man stuff is just stuff from the test footage but it's still cool.

 

Also, we got the first look at Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, they are looking pretty nice. That jacket Scarlet Witch is wearing pretty sweet and Quicksliver has a decent blue suit.

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

UM, you missed something, HULKBUSTER! (sorry,, meant no offense, meant it in emphasis)

http://screenrant.com/quicksilver-scarlet-witch-hulkbuster-art-the-avengers-2/

 

First Look At Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch & Hulkbuster Designs in ‘The Avengers 2′

by Rob Keyes

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For fans of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. frustrated with its broken and confusing schedule of air dates, Marvel made us all forget about that with their Assembling a Universe special on ABC this evening. Featuring behind-the-scenes footage, interviews and concept art for the upcoming officially announced Marvel Studios productions, the highlight of the program was the reveals of several key character and costume designs.

 

With the final Phase 2 films all in production and the first Phase 3 film (Ant-Man) beginning to shoot later this year, the headlining segment was on The Avengers: Age of Ultron, which rounds off Phase 2 next summer. While there are several new characters the sequel will introduce, the pair earning the most attention are the “brother-sister act” of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen, respectively.

Unable to avoid questions about their characters and roles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the pair of talent – who can be seen together in Godzilla this May – have carefully dodged inquiries while vaguely revealing tidbits about their characters, powers and costumes for months now. Today, we can finally put to rest what they will look like for at least part of The Avengers 2, both in terms of their outfits and visual design of their powers in action.

Quicksilver has the simple power of being able to run at super high speeds whereas Scarlet Witch’s abilities are a little more complex. From Olsen’s hints, they involve a combination of telekinesis and perhaps even the ability to read the history of objects she touches. In the books, Scarlet Witch is incredibly powerful, able to alter reality, and we’re curious as to what extent writer and director Joss Whedon will utilize the character and her overpowered abilities for the film’s plot – especially considering her interesting relationships with Ultron and Vision, the latter of which who has yet to be officially confirmed as a new character appearing in the sequel.

 

Our first look confirms that Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s portrayal of Quicksilver won’t involve silver hair but will involve a tight blue-colored bodysuit, reminiscent of the character’s classic light blue tights. Sorry, no white lightning bolt down the front! As for Scarlet Witch, no extreme lingerie-esque design which we knew wasn’t to be expected from Olsen’s description of the character costume. This Scarlet Witch is much more real and rugged, but evidently powerful. The design team made sure to at least give her a red jacket. Keep in mind, it’s possible they suit up in multiple outfits throughout the film.

The other major reveal of course, is one fans have waited years for – the Hulkbuster. For every movie Tony Stark is in, there must be at least one new suit for him to showoff (must sell those toys!) and the Hulkbuster is one of the most iconic designs from the books and one we’ve seen concept for in the past. When the massive Mark 38 “Igor” suit was unveiled or Iron Man 3 we thought that could be it, but it wasn’t. This is the real deal:

 

For comparison purposes, here’s concept art released years ago for a possible Hulkbuster design for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, along with an image from Iron Man 3′s ”Igor” suit:

 

The official Hulkbuster concept art reveals a vastly larger suit for The Avengers: Age of Ultron, one that’s bigger than other designs. We’d expect that Stark is inside that suit, while wearing one of his standard suits, but who cares – Iron Man is fighting the Hulk! This means previous rumors about Hulk potentially losing control in this film might prove true and for fans of the books, that might be setting up a scenario where The Avengers must make the difficult decision to remove Hulk from our world by blasting him off to space, leading to the oft-rumored Planet Hulk and World War Hulk storylines which have been reportedly of interest to Marvel Studios boss and producer Kevin Feige.

Does this lend more credence to the possibility of a Planet Hulk film or could we be being misled? Perhaps Ultron, the artificially intelligent antagonist of The Avengers 2, is simply controlling the Hulkbuster armor by hacking into it? We like to think it’s the former and like in the books, Hulk simply cannot be tamed or controlled.

Stay tuned for more Phase 2 & 3 concept art revealed during the program. As an added bonus, here’s another image of Black Widow and Hulk fighting back-to-back:

Thoughts?

 

[turbojet]

So we are using the extremely complicated relationship of the Scarlet Witch and the son of Ultron, but Hank Pym gets axed in spite of being A.) an original Avenger and B.) the person who created Ultron? Yeah, this is bullshit.

[Carbo]

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is incredible.

It is easily Marvel's best yet. Everything about it is on point, and alongside the excellent cast performance it also manages to serve double duties as a Black Widow movie.

I want to rave more about everything that makes it a good movie but I'm already exhausted from it's roller coaster ride. An incredible cast, action with impeccable cinematography and flair that makes it feel like a comic book that's come alive, the best hand-to-hand combat in any super hero movie to date, an engaging mystery story, villains that for once feel legitimately unsettling and like a major threat, and overall just a blast from start to finish that never relents. Believe the hype. Comic book movies don't get better than this.

And don't forget to stay through the credits because god damn it's happening.

 

So we are using the extremely complicated relationship of the Scarlet Witch and the son of Ultron, but Hank Pym gets axed in spite of being A.) an original Avenger and B.) the person who created Ultron? Yeah, this is bullshit.

Pin it on the delaying of Ant-Man which was supposed to be a Phase 2 movie.

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

So we are using the extremely complicated relationship of the Scarlet Witch and the son of Ultron, but Hank Pym gets axed in spite of being A.) an original Avenger and B.) the person who created Ultron? Yeah, this is bullshit.

Wait, I thought he had a movie coming.

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

Wait, I thought he had a movie coming.

He does, but they still think "Oh tonys our tech guy lets give it all to him even though having even an older ant-man making the basis of the tech then tony abusing it could work"

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

He does, but they still think "Oh tonys our tech guy lets give it all to him even though having even an older ant-man making the basis of the tech then tony abusing it could work"

Meh, too be fair, ANt-Man's not all too popular with the comic book crowd to spu=ousal and jackass issues.

 

Personally, I'm not really interested in the guy myself.

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

Meh, too be fair, ANt-Man's not all too popular with the comic book crowd to spu=ousal and jackass issues.

 

Personally, I'm not really interested in the guy myself.

first off, the whole spousal thing was ONE minor moment, that was actualy blown out of proportion, and he actualy hit her by accident, and that is the least most minor part of his character, and the Jackass issue was only the Ultimate version mainly(YellowJacket can be egotisical, but thats a different matter).

Whereas on the other hand, he is the only person who has both his alter ego and actual idenity on the Avengers roster, is responsible for the creation of 3 other superheroes(Ant-man1 and 2, Goliath, oh and there was an evil female yellowjacket, and Hawkeye became goliath for a while)

The basis of the character is a super genius who does his best to be a hero and save the world, even when he is overlooked and overshadowed by many other teammates(even as goliath, he was still overshadowed by Thor and Hercules as strongmen). Oh and dealing with the reality that his greatest creation, that used his own Brain Patterns wants to destroy the human race, thats another defining feature

 

 

Oh, and someone who says it even better than me, Dr. Homem

 

Dr. Homem

Ant-Man gets a bad reputation, but in reality he's a really well-constructed character. Perhaps more than anyone else in the Marvel universe, he has faults. He fucks up (a lot), and yet he always tries to be a good guy. He is a very real character - if superheroes really did exist, they'd probably be a lot like Hank Pym.

Mar 12 2014 11:40 AM

Dr. Homem

Age Of Ultron was shit, but this part was pretty great http://i.imgur.com/I6PLBGI.jpg

Mar 12 2014 11:25 AM · Unlock · Lock · Approve

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  Dr. Homem It's the epilogue issue, the only one written by Mark Waid. I've always wanted Waid to write a full Ant-Man book, it fits his style.

  Mar 12 2014 11:26 AM

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  Mando hmmm it shows even more of the troubled part of his past, of course you will be slightly unstable, especialy since he also saw his first wife get murdered by commies, then his own creation try to commit genocide on the entire human race

  Mar 12 2014 11:27 AM · Delete

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  Dr. Homem Yes, all those things are part of what makes his character so interesting. I hate to see idiots who never touched a comicbook in their life say, "Haha, Ant-Man is a stupid hero!", when Hank is a lot more than that. He's the Scientist Supreme, he's an intelligent, driven person who keeps trying to be a good guy without regard for how he's outshined by bigger heroes or how much he messes up.

  Mar 12 2014 11:33 AM

 

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

I get that. The problem is that thanks to the time period that problem erupted, Ant-Man had done quite a few....other questionable things which even I can't stand bringing up. Certainly  didn't help that Marvel had also started showing a trend of "anti-marrage" around then with several harsh divorces and of course One More Day.

 

With how out of sorts the Marvel Universe was, it's no surprise that Hank Pym often gets viewed as one of its major porblems. ANd frankly, I don't entirely disagree with that line of thinking either. I dunno, maybe it's becuase I ran into more his jerk-ass and semi-villainistic phase, curtesy of the writers.

[Blue Wisp]

oh hello

 

 

hi ultron

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

I one up you with... HAWKEYE!

http://screenrant.com/the-avengers-2-hawkeye-new-costume/

 

Hawkeye Also Gets A New Costume For ‘The Avengers 2′

 

Published by Rob Keyes

While many of the core heroes from The Avengers have yet to begin principal photography on The Avengers: Age of Ultron, director Joss Whedon is on set in Italy shooting outdoor action sequences involving a few of the key characters this week. This of course, is just a few weeks after the second unit shot Hulk-smash-related scenes in South Africa.

 

 

 

9 Characters We Still Can't Accept Are Gone

 

 

 

 

The set photos reveal new characters Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) fighting alongside returning S.H.I.E.L.D. marksman Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) battling extras and stunt people suited up in motion-capture gear and the titular villain, Ultron. While the enemies need special effects work before we can see their true designs, we do at least get a look at the heroes’ costumes, including a brand new one for Marvel’s top archer, Hawkeye.

The first set images from earlier this week featuring Renner in action, depicted him in the same sleeveless getup.

Newer photos shared by La Sampa reveal Clint Barton aka Hawkeye rocking a new suit, same color scheme, but clearly inspired by his classic comic uniform.

Note the added color to his custom Hoyt Buffalo bow. All he needs is the mask from the comics, and we have a relatively accurate, practical live-action adaptation of the original Hawkeye uniform, colors aside. Now I’ll have to get another new Halloween costume made…

Renner’s not the only one getting a new uniform, though. While Thor’s Asgardian duds have remained mostly the same throughout all of his onscreen appearances, and Hulk is hulking it up big, green and topless as per usual, Captain America and Iron Man get new uniforms too. At the end if Iron Man 3, Stark blew up his arsenal in a spectacularly ridiculous fireworks display, but we already know two of his armor suits in Age of Ultron will be new and different. First there’s the Hulkbuster armor which we’ll see for the first time on screen in a battle against the Hulk, and his more fitted normal suit will be similar to his more-tan-less-red armor from Iron Man 3.

Hulkbuster Amor

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Head to MTV for an exclusive set photo of Iron Man’s new armor suit.

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As for Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), he confirmed during the Captain America: The Winter Soldier junket that he had seen his new main costume for The Avengers: Age of Ultron as well, and hinted to The Scotsman that he’d been fitted for another cool WWII jacket, leading us to believe there just might be a flashback sequence to WWII in the sequel as well.

Now, all we need is a new uniform for Thor. Since he spends his time on Earth after the events of Thor: The Dark World, perhaps he’ll get something Ulimates-inspired:

Which character design do you like the most?

 

 

 

Finaly ssomething a little more interesting... still needs more color and a mask though

[turbojet]

Pin it on the delaying of Ant-Man which was supposed to be a Phase 2 movie.

Then choose a different villain. There are like 5 Marvel movies coming out for phase 2 and you are telling me that they could not build a world threat in any of them? Guardians of the Galaxy coud have...fuck could...is the movie that introduces Thanos. We have already seen him in the first Avengers movie and he may have been the guy behind Loki's invasion(I did not see Dark World so no spoilers). An Ultron without Hank Pym is not Ultron. Even then, why is Ant-Man Scott Lang instead of Hank Pym? The man can't even keep is own alias in the movie.

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

Oh it's Scott Lang instead? *Whew!* Thank god. I cannot stand Hank Pym.

[Carbo]

Then choose a different villain. There are like 5 Marvel movies coming out for phase 2 and you are telling me that they could not build a world threat in any of them? Guardians of the Galaxy coud have...fuck could...is the movie that introduces Thanos. We have already seen him in the first Avengers movie and he may have been the guy behind Loki's invasion(I did not see Dark World so no spoilers). An Ultron without Hank Pym is not Ultron. Even then, why is Ant-Man Scott Lang instead of Hank Pym? The man can't even keep is own alias in the movie.

Thanos is an endgame villain. He's not going to be in the middle of things - he is literally it. He's the last stop of this expanded universe. They were always going to save him for last, partially because you just don't get a deadlier Marvel villain than him, but also because he's the kind of character that would have to take too much time to justify (hence why he's been built up in the background and hinted at ever since the first Thor movie).

The only other significant villains I can think of that would be worthy of the attention of The Avengers is The Skrulls. But that doesn't really work because The Skrulls can't work without Fantastic Four. If you'd rather prefer an event to stand at the end of the series and move Thanos to Avengers 2, all I can think of is Civil War, which wouldn't work on account of a lacking representation of street level narrative what with most MCU heroes being on good terms with Shield. And frankly, fuck Civil War.

Despite being a Phase 2 movie, Guardians of the Galaxy also seems to be the first major entry that's playing into Phase 3 which will supposedly deal more with Thanos (seeing how Gamora is literally the adopted daughter of him in the comics). They don't seem to have any role in Avengers 2.

Rewrites happen all the time but it's kind of hard when you have to deal with an entire cinematic universe.

Apropos nothing: Chris Evans will retire from acting after his contract with Marvel is fulfilled (three more movies).

http://variety.com/2014/film/news/captain-americas-chris-evans-says-hes-ready-to-leave-acting-behind-1201144687/