Director Bryan Singer starts production on X-Men: Apocalypse today, and one of the first things he did was release a photo of Kodi Smit-McPhee as Nightcrawler. This is the blue teleporting mutant who was played by Alan Cumming in 2003’s X2. Smit-McPhee also released a photo of his own that you can see below.

You can also see a brief animation on Twitter of the character poofing in and out. It comes with the following note:

"Don’t blink or you’ll miss it. Check out this first look of @KodiSmitMcpheee as #Nightcrawler in #XMenApocalypse.https://t.co/Wn4AdMd3tK"

Yesterday we posted an interview in which Smit-McPhee talked about playing the character, and it seems like he's got a handle on the role. As you can see he definitely has the look! 

The actors returning from previous films include James McAvoy as Professor X, Michael Fassbender as Magneto, Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique, Nicholas Hoult as Beast, Rose Byrne as Moira MacTaggert, Evan Peters as Quicksilver, and Lucas Till as Havok.

As for the rest of the newcomers, we have Alexandra Shipp as Storm, Olivia Munn as Psylocke, Lana Condor as Jubilee, Ben Hardy as Angel, and Oscar Isaac as Apocalypse.

X-Men: Apocalypse opens in theaters on May 27, 2016. What do you think of Smit-McPhee's look?

We previously reported a rumor that Daniel Brühl (Rush) would be playing the villain Baron Zemo in Captain America: Civil War. The villain’s name popped up on a leaked casting sheet, but now the actor himself has confirmed that it’s true. While talking to The Independent, Brühl revealed that he would be taking on the role of the evil villain and said,

“I think I can tell you that without being thrown into Marvel prison. For the first few days I’ll walk around like a little boy, just amazed by the megalomania of it. It’s such a huge project. We could do 20 films with the budget.” 

Baron Zemo won’t be the only villain to show up in Civil War. Frank Grillo will also be coming back as Brock Rumlow, a.k.a. Crossbones. I’m curious to see what exactly Marvel plans on doing with Zemo because he’s such a fascinating character with an interesting background.

For those of you not familiar with the character, I included a video breakdown that we posted a couple of months ago, which was put together by THINKAboutTheINK and host Alan Kistler. It’s definitely worth a look if you haven’t seen it yet. 

The movie is set to go into production soon, and it will be released on May 6th, 2016.

If you’re a fan of anime, you’re going to love this hilarious animated comedy sketch that College Humor released. It’s called "The Adventures of Butthurt Anime Fan," and it centers on an overexaggerated hardcore fan who is described as a “super Saiyan pain in the ass.”

Producer Michael Bay released three images from the set of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 on his website,  and they show off the vehicles that we will see in the movie. The vehicles you see here include a garbage truck that has been transformed into an urban assault party wagon vehicle for the Ninja Turtles as well as a Polaris Slingshot.

The first movie was so bad that I seriously doubt that this sequel will be any better. Film history shows that most sequels are worse than the film the preceded them, so that's what I’m expecting from this sequel. It won’t matter how bad it is though, the movie is still going to make a dump truck full of money (pun intended), and I’m sure a third film will follow.

Megan Fox will reprise her role of April O’Neil; William Fichtner is coming back as Eric Sacks; and Will Arnett will play Vernon Fernwick. The film will also feature the debut of Stephen Amell as the masked vigilante Casey Jones and Tyler Perry as Baxter Stockman. The first movie starred Alan Ritchson, Jeremy Howard, Pete Ploszek, Noel Fisher, Danny Woodburn, Johnny Knoxville, and Tony Shalhoub. 

TMNT 2 is set to be directed by Earth to Echo‘s David Green, and it will be released on June 3rd, 2016.

Rocksteady Studios has released a wickedly intense new trailer for Batman: Arkham Knight called  “All Who Follow You," and it's completely packed with incredible action and lots of fan favorite characters. The trailer also gives us our first look at the new “Dual Play” mechanic in the game, which allows players to switch seamlessly between Batman and his allies, including Robin, Nightwing, and Catwoman in free-flow combat.

In the explosive finale to the “Arkham” series, Batman faces the ultimate threat against the city he is sworn to protect. The Scarecrow returns to unite an impressive roster of super villains, including Penguin, Two-Face and Harley Quinn, to destroy The Dark Knight forever.

Batman: Arkam Knight introduces Rocksteady’s uniquely designed version of the Batmobile, which is drivable for the first time in the franchise. The addition of this legendary vehicle, combined with the acclaimed gameplay of the “Batman Arkham” series, offers gamers the ultimate and complete Batman experience as they tear through the streets and soar across the skyline of the entirety of Gotham City.

This looks like it has the potential to be the best game in the Arkham Knight franchise, and I can't wait to get my hands on it! Batman: Arkham Knight will be available for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on June 23rd.

Guillermo del Toro and Hideo Kojima have been working on the highly anticipated Silent Hill video game, Silent Hills. The Walking Dead’s Norman Reedus was set to star in the lead role. A teaser trailer released for the game got fans incredibly excited.

Well, over the weekend it was revealed by Del Toro at the San Francisco International Film Festival that the game is no longer happening, which is terrible news. When he was asked about the status of Silent Hills, he simply said, “It’s not gonna happen and that breaks my greasy heart.”

The quote was tweeted by Matt Hackney, and it quickly spread all over the internet. Del Toro’s own personal assistant, Ian Gibson, responded to another tweet which basically confirmed that the information was true.

Konami later confirmed the news to Kotaku that Kojima and Del Toro's version is officially no longer happening. This is their statement:

"Konami is committed to new Silent Hill titles, however the embryonic ‘Silent Hills’ project developed with Guillermo del Toro and featuring the likeness of Norman Reedus will not be continued.

In terms of Kojima and Del Toro being involved, discussions on future Silent Hill projects are currently underway, and please stay tuned for further announcements."

The playable teaser that revealed the Silent Hills title is being pulled from the PSN store in the next few days, and no explanation has been given as to why the game fell apart. Director Hideo Kojima will also reportedly be leaving Konami after the September release of Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain. 

I have been a HUGE fan of the Silent Hill franchise since it was first released, and this was seriously one of my most anticipated video game titles ever. I’m incredibly sad that we’ll probably never see it happen. I guess such an incredible game project with talent like this involved was too good to be true.

I know there will be more Silent Hill games coming, but I don't think any of them will have the anticipation that this one had. Who would have thought that such a hyped up game would lead to this? We’ll keep you updated as we learn more.

Below you'll find a video of Del Toro talking and the tweets that followed.

"It's not gonna happen and that breaks my greasy heart." -Guillermo del Toro on #SilentHills. #sfff #sffs #sffilmfest #fb

— TV's Matt Hackney (@tvsmatthackney) April 26, 2015

.@Robogeek damn is right.

— Ian Gibson (@Ian_Gibson) April 26, 2015

Super bummed about this was really looking forward to it. Hopefully it'll come back around. Sorry everyone 🍕 http://t.co/drZJ8tBsSN

— norman reedus (@wwwbigbaldhead) April 26, 2015

Sesame Street has released a great parody of Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron. It's called Aveggies: Age of Bon Bon, and it follows the adventures of all your favorite produce-themed superheroes such as Onion Man, Black Bean Widow, Captain Americauliflower, Mighty Corn, Dr. Brownie, and Zuchin-eye. Here's a brief description that came with the video:

A super villain was prepared to destroy all the healthy foods in the world, until one hero, actually, several heroes stuck together to save the world's vegetables! Together, Dr. Brownie, Onion Man, Captain Americauliflower, Black Bean Widow, Mighty Corn, and Zuchin-eye are...The Aveggies!

The Disney Channel has released a trailer for their original movie Descendants, which follows the children of several Disney villains as they are shipped off to prep school. The characters include Maleficent’s teenage daughter Mal (Dove Cameron), Jafar’s son Jay (Booboo Stewart), Cruella de Vil’s son Carlos (Cameron Boyce), and the Evil Queen’s daughter Evie (Sofia Carson). While at the school they will come in contact with some of the children of Disney's heroes. 

The movie looks so damn cheesy, but my girls are freakin' going to love it. There's a huge market out there for something like this, and I'm sure it will do very well for the network. Here are the story details:

Disney’s Descendants takes place in a present-day idyllic kingdom, where the benevolent teenaged son of the King and Queen (Beast and Belle from Disney’s iconic Beauty and the Beast) is poised to take the throne. His first proclamation: offer a chance at redemption to the trouble-making spawn of Cruella De Vil, Maleficent, the Evil Queen and Jafar who have been imprisoned on a forbidden island with all the other villains, sidekicks, evil step-mothers and step-sisters. These villainous descendants (Carlos, Mal, Evvie and Jay, respectively) are allowed into the kingdom to attend prep school alongside the offspring of iconic Disney heroes including Fairy Godmother, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel and Mulan. However, the evil teens face a dilemma. Should they follow in their nefarious parents’ footsteps and help all the villains regain power, or embrace their innate goodness and save the kingdom?

The main villains in the TV movie are being played by Kristin Chenoweth (Maleficent), Wendy Raquel Robinson (Cruella de Vil), Kathy Najimy (Evil Queen), and Maz Jobrani (Jafar). The movie will premiere sometime this summer, and heaven forbid you have kids who are going to want to watch it. 

As a child, Chewbacca was by far my favorite character of the Star Wars universe. He was strong, furry, and wore his belt over his shoulder. I always played Star Wars Battlefront on Kashyyyk, and Episode III was a dream come true seeing his home world come to life. Below are some of the coolest and most interesting things I could find about this remarkable race. Why? I did it all for the Wookie.

There Are Many Sub Species of Wookiee…

Wookiee is actually a catch all term. There are several different species of Wookiee, but all of them share similar traits. All Wookiees have fur, of course, but varying shades of fur depending on what region they reside in. The Rwook are the most common type of Wookiee and are distinguished by their forest toned fur, similar to that of Chewbacca. Occasionally there are Wookiee born with albino fur. This is considered taboo among the Wookiee race and often seen as a bad omen. These Wookiees are unable to conceal themselves in the forest, which in turn reveals the location of other Wookiees to predators or enemies.

Wookiees Know Galactic Basic and All Other Languages In The Galaxy

They are physically unable, however, to speak any of them. Wookiee vocal chords make it impossible for them to form any type of language minus their own primary language, Shyriiwook, and its derivatives. That being said, Wookiees' ability to learn quickly means that as a community they are at least familiar with all languages in the galaxy. There is a famous Wookiee by the name of Ralrracheen who, due to a speech impediment, could speak Galactic basic. His disability amongst his own people allowed him to eventually become a galactic senator to the Republic.

Wookiees Live In Trees…

We all knew this, we saw it in the movies. Did we know why, though? Kashyyyk is a very dangerous planet to live on. The Wookiees, to keep larger predators (and sometimes plant life) from destroying their homes and eating their kind, built in the trees. The housing also serves as a tactical advantage against invaders as Wookiees are adept at climbing.

Wookiees Can Be Force Sensitive

Wookiees have served in the Jedi order, but their force sensitivity is far lower than any other species in the galaxy. Once every hundred years a Wookiee will be born with force sensitivity, and as luck would have it Chewbacca’s nephew Lowbacca would train under Luke Skywalker to become a Jedi. Combined with his far superior strength and intellect, Lowbacca fought in several wars and donned a bronze colored lightsaber... which is pretty bitchin.

Wookiees Consider Age 200 To Be “Their Prime”

Much like dogs, they are fully functioning and independent by age one. Often the education of younger Wookiees is left to the elder men, as the fathers of the Wookiees typically leave the planet for long periods of time to work. Most Wookiees on average live to be 400 to 500 years old, but are considered full-fledged adults at age 18. A common right of passage amongst Wookiee tribes is harvesting fibers from the carnivorous Syren plant. Wookiees who successfully (with or without the help of friends) harvest fibers are honored for their bravery and celebrated within their tribes. Wookiees who reach age 400 often go back to live with relatives and are cared for and revered for their wisdom in the community.

Interesting sidebar...this is likely why Chewbacca does not show many signs of aging as compared to Han Solo in the most recent Star Wars trailer.

Wookiees Can Hold Their Liquor

If a Wookiee buys you a drink, politely decline... as you’ll probably need a stomach pump after. Wookies have a much higher alcohol tolerance and need specific drinks to feel inebriated. Wookiee alcohol is brewed on Kashyyyk in two varieties. The first variety is for Wookiee consumption, and the other is watered down and suitable for other races to consume. Cortyg brandy in particular sells for a high price around the galaxy. When they aren’t really feeling the liquor, expect to see a Wookiee crack open a Garrmorl, which is a beer made with alcohol stock and ground bone.

Wookiees Are Incredibly Handy

While they live a rather simple lifestyle, Wookiees quickly learn most modern technologies. They are sought out in the mechanical world as they are able to quickly learn the ins and outs of various machinery and fix them (albeit somewhat crudely). Wookiee furniture is valued amongst the Galaxy as art and often purchased for a high price. Most Wookiees resent this notion, as their race does not have a concept of “art” and merely constructs furniture for practicality and survival.

Wookiees Have An Extreme Honor Code

Wookiees are an incredibly honorable species. Even in war, the use of their retractable claws is considered incredibly dishonorable and can result in immediate exile from the community. Wookiees believe in life debt. Chewbacca was saved by Han Solo from the Empire and, despite having a family, was expected to carry his debt to Solo throughout his life. This life debt remains the same within family as distant relatives will move in together to care for each other.

George R.R. Martin Had A Hand In Creating The First Wookiee

The original design for Chewbacca, and the Wookiees as a whole, was created by designer Ralph McQuarrie after seeing an illustration in a George R.R. Martin novelette. The drawing for “And Seven Times Never Kill A Man” was drawn by John Schoenherr and featured a very rough drawing of what would eventually become Chewbacca’s Wookiee bowcaster.

We've written a number of times about a potential film adaptation of John D. MacDonald's novel The Deep Blue Good-by, and it appeared that after years in development, the movie was finally ready to move forward with James Mangold (The Wolverine) directing Christian Bale in the lead role. Peter Dinklage and Nicola Peltz were on board, and last we heard, Gone Girl star Rosamund Pike was in talks for the female lead. Shooting was supposed to begin next month, but now THR reports that 20th Century Fox has scrapped the project — maybe for good.

Bale has suffered a torn ACL, and since this movie was said to be pretty physical for him, the studio has decided to put the project on hold. There are conflicting reports: some say the project is done for good, while others say there's still a chance it could make it to the screen with other people involved. (Brad Pitt was reportedly approached to replace Bale, but couldn't make the scheduling work.) I've heard pretty awful things about the script, so this could be a blessing in disguise; hopefully they'll be able to bring someone else on to write another draft, and once that's in order, go back out to talent and directors and try to secure a group that's just as solid as the one they had before things fell apart.

I suppose there's technically a slim chance the movie could eventually move forward with the same people attached, but Bale is pretty damn busy these days and Mangold has to get started on The Wolverine 3 pretty soon if he's going to meet that 2017 release date. I'll definitely keep an eye out for further news on this one, because I was looking forward to seeing this adaptation. Hopefully the project isn't completely dead.

There have been talks about a fourth film in the Rush Hour film series for years, with the project moving forward briefly in 2012 before losing steam. The concept is apparently making its way to the small screen, but before that happens, the team at Funny or Die thought it'd be cool to create a "double sequel" that involves not only a fourth Rush Hour, but a second Face/Off movie. Yes, that's right — Rush Hour 4: Face/Off 2 is here, and it stars Sean "P. Diddy" Combs and G.I. Joe actor Byung-Hun Lee as Detectives Carter and Lee.

They even went as far as to put up a real billboard, which caused a brief bit of confusion among those who weren't expecting this to be a fake project. Check out the billboard below, and then watch the trailer and let us know what you think.

The Rush is back ...

A photo posted by Sean Diddy Combs (@iamdiddy) on Apr 22, 2015 at 12:37pm PDT

While promoting Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron, director Joss Whedon expressed his desire to make a DC movie with Warner Bros. Even though the director has said that he's leaving The Avengers behind to focus on original stories and films, it still isn't stopping him from wanting to take on the challenge of bringing some DC superheroes to the big screen. 

While talking with IGN, the director was asked if he would consider making a DC movie and he started off with a joke, saying:

"Sure. I’d be like 'I have all these joke ideas.' And they’d be like 'No, we don’t do that here'.

He went on to seriously say:

"I desperately wanted to do a Batman film – who doesn’t? And I wanted to do Wonder Woman. I was a Marvel kid growing up, but I was always DC-curious. And I see myself on the spectrum in between." 

I would absolutely love to see what Whedon would do with a Batman film! This isn't the first time that he's said this, and if he's seriously this open about doing it, Warner Bros. shouldn't hesitate to bring him on board! The studio is eventually going to start developing a new solo Batman movie, and it would be amazing if Whedon had the chance to bring it to life. Whedon previously described Batman as being a "Marvel character in the DC universe."

As for Wonder Woman, the filmmaker was developing a version of the film back in 2005. Patty Jenkins is directing the studio's new take on the character after Michelle MacLaren bailed due to creative differences, and the movie being developed to fit in into the DC cinematic universe. This is what Whedon had to say regarding that film (with the character of Wonder Woman being the "she" he mentions in the first sentence):

"I don’t care who she’s seeing now. We don’t talk much. And I wish her well! I worked really hard on that movie and it meant a lot, but I don’t know if what I was trying to do would fit in with what their vision is. I’m excited to see it so I just want them to make it so I can see it!" 

Would you like to see Whedon take on a DC Comics adaptation like Batman? 

Just admitting this out front: I'm a huge mark for Cyclops. Unfortunately, I haven't had many options to choose from, as far as collectibles go, that represent his more current Marvel Now look. Kotobukiya saw fit to remedy that (must have gotten my 25 letters) with the first in their new X-centric series of ArtFx+ statues. The sculpt is based on the artwork of Adi Granov, and his art translates to statue form seamlessly. I dig the pose, and I know some people aren't a fan, but I really have an affinity for this costume.

You can pre-order Cyclops now for $54.99.

Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane is back as the foul-mouthed bear in Ted 2, and it definitely looks like this movie is going to go "full MacFarlane" and up the ante with regards to vulgar humor. Universal has released a new poster and red-band trailer for the sequel, and I'm very curious to see how huge Ted fans react to this.

It's not quite as visceral as the previous trailer we saw (with the main duo in the sperm bank), but it does seem to lay out an awful lot of the structure of the film, so I'll be interested to see if fans get excited about this or if the trailer might be so straight-forward that it actually bores them a little bit. As someone who enjoyed the first Ted, I think I fall somewhere in the middle of those two options.

One of the things we learned from the Star Wars prequel movies, and some of the books in the expanded universe, is that Jedi Knights cannot be married. When a seven-year-old Jedi hopeful named Colin heard about this, he wrote George Lucas a letter asking him to change the law. Here is that letter:

I love that he's so up-forward and blunt about it. The kid just wants to be a good Jedi Knight, and to be happily married one day. It's also good to know that Colin is on a path that won't lead him to the dark side. Lucasfilm was kind enough to send Colin a reply, as well as some cool Star Wars swag! Here’s the official word from the Head of Jedi Affairs. I also included a video of Colin opening the letter from Lucasfilm.

“To be a Jedi is to truly know the value of friendship, of compassion, and of loyalty, and these are values important in a marriage.” It sounds like this Jedi has permission to get hitched when the day comes. How awesome is it that such a big organization like Lucasfilm responded so quickly and positively to this letter? Here's the video of Colin's awesome reaction when reading the letter.

Via: GeekDad

Avengers: Age of Ultron has already made hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office and it hasn't even opened in the United States yet. That'll happen later this week, and I'm guessing it'll surpass Furious 7 as the highest-grossing movie of the year...at least until Star Wars: The Force Awakens comes out. Meanwhile, the actors that comprise the Marvel superhero team are on their seemingly-never-ending press tour, and Chris Evans spoke with Esquire and revealed the filming schedule for the highly-anticipated two-part mega-sequel Avengers: Infinity War.

"You know, you plan around the Marvel responsibilities. You have to. We start [Captain America: Civil War] in a couple weeks, and then that shoots until August or something like that. August or September. Then I've got some downtime and I can do with it as I please. I don't know if I want to take time off or go pursue another directing job or find a movie to act in or, you know, do whatever I'm creatively inclined to pursue or wait, relax, enjoy my life. And then we start the Infinity War, I think, some time in the third quarter. Fall or winter of 2016. That's going to be like nine months to shoot both movies back to back."

Sounds like a pretty intense schedule, and I'm wondering if there will be any major leaks that come from the set that could end up spoiling the end of Infinity War: Part 2. If they start filming in 2016, there's a long time between that and May 3rd, 2019 for scoop hounds to try to track down secretive information about the movie, so Marvel is going to have to keep everything under extremely close supervision if they want to make sure everyone goes in unspoiled. But honestly, even if we know the ending beforehand, we'd still go see Infinity War in theaters on opening day. It's the culmination of everything Marvel has been working toward, and it'll be very interesting to see what they do when those movies are over.

DC Collectibles and Entertainment Earth have teamed up to give us this badass "Gotham City Garage Harley Quinn Statue." It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Harley Quinn, and I love this statue design of her wildly riding a motorcycle ready to throw a bomb. She's even got a wicked chest tattoo that would make Jared Leto's Joker proud. 

See everyone's favorite crazed criminal, Harley Quinn, as never before! This beautifully sculpted statue based on the designs of fan-favorite artist Dustin Nguyen joins the Gotham City Garage line.

Designed by Dustin Nguyen and sculpted by Adam Ross and James Marsano, this incredibly detailed Harley Quinn even features a tattoo designed by Katherine Brannock.

The DC Comics Gotham City Garage Harley Quinn Statue is a limited edition of 5,200 individually numbered pieces and measures approximately 15-inches long x 8 1/2-inches tall x 7 1/2-inches wide.

If you like the statue and want to buy one, head on over to Entertainment Earth and pre-order it. 

I don't know about you, but I've been waiting for that big bad money shot featuring the genetically engineered Indominus Rex from Jurassic World. Well, this is it! This is our first full-on look at the terrifying-looking dinosaur from the movie, and it looks like he's just had a refreshing, bloody lunch. I've also included a few other photos that were featured in Empire Magazine featuring Chris Pratt, his Velociraptors, and more.

Jurassic World also stars Bryce Dallas Howard as park operations manager Claire Dearing, and Irrfan Khan as park owner Simon Masrani, with Vincent D’Onofrio, Jake Johnson, Judy Greer, Omar Sy, Nick Robinson, and Ty Simpkins. BD Wong returns from the original as geneticist Henry Wu, who you’d think would know better by now.

The park is open on June 12th. To watch the most recent trailer for the film, click here.

Via: CBM

Harry Potter is one of those classic film franchises that will live on in the hearts of fans for years and years to come. There are a ton of people out there who look at Harry Potter the same way that some of us look at Star Wars. Over the years, there has been a ton of myths, rumors, and speculation surrounding the franchise and its cast. The YouTube channel TopTenz tries to clear up a lot of these things in a video that breaks down ten facts about Harry Potter. Here's a description of the video:

With so many Harry Potter-themed fan-sites, websites, YouTube videos, memes, magazines, fanfictions and who-knows-what-else, it’s really hard to find actual, truthful facts that surround the most popular fandom in history. Some stories have been stretched, strangled, masked, bound and gagged till the point of no return, however we’ve gone to the base of each story to bring you 10 Incredible Facts You Didn’t Know About Harry Potter.

10. Evanna Lynch beat anorexia, but wasn’t guaranteed the role of Luna Lovegood because of it
9. Alan Rickman didn’t really know all about Snape’s secret from the beginning
8. Dame Maggie Smith underwent chemotherapy for breast cancer during the last movies
7. Daniel Radcliffe’s stunt double was left paralyzed after a flying scene went horribly wrong in “Deathly Hallows”
6. Harry Potter and Voldemort turned out to be blood relatives
5. There’s a hotel in London with Hogwarts-Themed Wizard Chambers
4. J.K Rowling hid a LOT of plot details that were later revealed
3. The First Wizarding War was at the same time as Word War II and Voldemort was influenced by Hitler
2. Seventeen actors who worked on the Harry Potter movies have died
1. J.K Rowling regrets Hermione ending up with Ron instead of Harry and nearly killed Ron off

Joss Whedon is tired. Avengers: Age of Ultron is poised to become one of the highest-grossing films of all time, and The Avengers already holds that title. Whedon has been working hard in the Marvel machine for years now, and though he's talked about wanting to make other superhero movies (namely Batman), he's made it pretty clear in various interviews that Age of Ultron will be his last ride with comic book films...at least for the foreseeable future. But that doesn't mean that the studio let him just walk away: before they hired Anthony and Joe Russo for the job, they asked him back to direct Avengers: Infinity War. Whedon told Rolling Stone:

They very sweetly asked me and I'm like, really? No. It would set me for life – and that life would be about five years long. It's only going to have more characters and be longer and be a bigger movie. That doesn't mean it can't be great; a part of me is desperate to do it. Because I still have enormous love for these characters and want to shepherd them through all other things. But the fact of the matter is, it's been over five years really since I created something. I mean, I created the S.H.I.E.L.D. show, but based on their universe, you know.

I've seen some fans wondering why Marvel didn't at least ask Whedon to direct the next Avengers movie, and now we have confirmation that they did. And while he didn't get into specifics, Whedon also mentioned a bit of friction between him and Kevin Feige on the set of Age of Ultron:

That's part of Kevin's style, too – he wants to get his fingers into everything. Some directors, he makes them crazy; some directors he works fine with. Kevin's incredibly smart about rearranging things and finding not just problems but solutions, which is even better. When he and I are in pursuit of the same thing, it's great — and when we're not, it's tough. There's no way you make this movie without a certain amount of friction, and I respect the friction because I usually find that the best work comes out of that. It's like when an actor has opinions about his role, and we're like yeah, you're supposed to. So this movie was tough. Because I was fighting for some things that are a bit different and that I believe in.

The writer/director is still in promotion mode for this film, so he'd never say anything overtly negative about Feige at this point in the game, but I wonder if, in a few years, we'll hear him clarify and expand on these comments and speak a little more about the dynamic between he and the Marvel Studios president. You can't tell that there was any trouble behind the scenes when you watch the finished film, but this interview has me wondering what kind of compromises Whedon had to make creatively and why Feige wanted those changes. Both of these guys are very smart — Feige is far from a traditional Hollywood suit who doesn't know what he's talking about; the whole MCU was his vision, remember? — and I'm sure they both had some interesting things to bring to the table, and maybe one day we'll find out some more about this. In the meantime, Age of Ultron arrives in theaters this week.