A quick word of warning before things get too spoilery in here: should you wish to watch The Avengers with fresh eyes, this news really isn’t for you.
Really. I’m being serious. This is (potentially) massive and (if confirmed) it can never be unseen.
We ready? Good.
In a recent interview with The Radio Times, Jenny Agutter made a throwaway remark which has hurled the internet into a frenzy of speculation (via Total Film).
Having just admitted that she was only allowed to see a copy of the script once on set, having been sworn to secrecy (better luck next time, Marvel), the actress, who plays a council woman in the upcoming movie, passingly alluded to two nearby Winnebagos, one belonging to Iron Man and the other to…Spider-man.
“But”, I hear you ask, “huh”? While in the comic books Spider-man has been known to work with The Avengers, even joining their number in The New Avengers series, it was presumed that he wouldn’t be featuring in the cinematic series any time soon, not least because the big screen rights to the character currently sit with Sony.
Should there be more to Agutter’s claims than a simple slip of the tongue or a harmless confusion of her superheroes, this revelati0n would mean some sort of agreement has been reached between Sony and Marvel allowing the crossover cameo to take place, furthering Marvel’s mission to have all of their superheroes living in the same universe (until the next reboot, anyway) and presumably providing Sony with some free publicity before their The Amazing Spider-man reaches screens in July.
What might at first glance seem like quite an exciting possibility, providing of course Joss Whedon can find room to do justice to another iconic character, however, soon raises more questions. Would Sony really want their suited and booted Spider-man revealed prior to the release of their own origin story? Who would portray the character? When exactly would the cross over take place, in either franchise’s timelines?
Marvel will no doubt be quick to either confirm or deny this sizeable leak of information, but in the meantime it’s certainly a juicy prospect, particularly if Whedon can pull it off. What do you think? Would you like to see everybody’s favourite neighbourhood Spider-man crop up in The Avengers, even if it’s just as a cameo or end of credits Easter egg? Or is this one cross over too many?
