Given the carnage wrought in the recently released trailer for Avengers: Age Of Ultron, it stands to reason that Marvel’s team of superheroes are going to endure some serious challenges in the upcoming sequel to The Avengers — and according to Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, the group dynamic will change considerably in the aftermath of their tussle with the android Ultron.
“It’s like as it was in publishing, when each of the characters would go on their own adventures and then occasionally team up for a big, 12-issue mega-event,” Feige told Buzzfeed. “Then they would go back into their own comics, and be changed from whatever that event was. I envision the same thing occurring after this movie, because the [Avengers] roster is altered by the finale of this film.”
In Marvel Comics continuity, The Avengers roster was changed after just 15 issues, with The Avengers #16 featuring the departure of Iron Man, Thor, Giant Man (who began as Ant-Man), and Wasp. They were replaced on the active roster by Hawkeye, Quicksilver, and Scarlet Witch, with Captain America taking over leadership of the team from Iron Man.
Whether Age Of Ultron will follow a similar path remains to be seen, but with Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson joining the cast as Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, respectively, there’s no shortage of speculation that the new film will feature a dramatic changing of the guard.
Avengers: Age of Ultron hits theaters May 1, 2015, and stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Samuel L. Jackson, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, James Spader (as the voice of Ultron), Cobie Smulders, Thomas Kretschmann, Paul Bettany, and Stellan Skarsgard.