First up, Avengers: Age of Ultron's Thomas Kretschmann, who will be playing the villain Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, has confirmed he signed a mult-film deal.....which should surprise absolutely no one. Okay, this is hardly news because Marvel signs everybody to these contracts, but his comments on the matter are interesting...
Kretschmann: "I have a multi-picture deal which means I will not only appear in ['Age of Ultron], but they’re planning with me for a longer period of time. I don’t know details yet, they’re keeping their cards close to their chest — top secret!"
Okay, so my personal hope is that they'll somehow find a way to introduce his children, the super-powered Fenris twins, but chances are he'll lead his terrorist group HYDRA in a war against SHIELD at some point. Hopefully he won't just be coming back as part of a Marvel One-Shot. [BZ Berlin]
In case you havent' seen it splashed over the gossip rags yet, Scarlett Johansson is expecting her first child with fiance Romain Dauriac (sorry fellas), and is due to give birth in August. Because of that, her upcoming return as Black Widow for 'Ultron' is being pushed up so her scenes can be fast-tracked. Nobody wants a baby bump peeking out from all that black leather. Um, and doing all those stunts could be dangerous in her condition, there's that to consider. She'll jump into production on that once the promo tour for Captain America: The Winter Soldier wraps up. [E!]
Speaking of "wrapping up", once Chris Evans is done with his Marvel contract he's going to take a break from acting. He told Glamour magazine that he intends to focus more on directing, a path he recently began with his directorial debut, 1:30 Train, co-starring Alice Eve. The film is already completed and should be out later this year.
Of course, this opens up the question of Marvel's plans post-Evans. It may be awhile before he hangs up his costume for good, but knowing Marvel prez Kevin Feige he's already looking ahead at a replacement. Perhaps we'll see a "Death of Captain America" storyline play out, after all?
