Blockbuster movie crossovers? No, don’t expect to see Carrie Bradshaw dumping Big and falling in love with Indiana Jones (while writing an angst-ridden column with quirky quips like “Bullwhip? Or is he whipped?”). And you probably won’t see Adam Sandler in a decent movie…that would certainly be a crossover! No, what I’m specifically referring to is the new “Incredible Hulk” movie. While not a crossover in itself, the film has been rumored to feature fellow Marvel superhero Ironman aka Tony Stark. And now we have the proof. A new TV spot for the film features Robert Downey, Jr. as billionaire playboy/superhero Tony Stark/Ironman. This news is added to the previously nerd-tastic post-credit ending to the “Ironman” movie, in which Tony Stark is introduced to Nick Fury, the leader of The Avengers (played by Samuel L. Jackson, surprisingly enough, not uttering “mother*&^$#”) which is the Marvel equivalent to DC’s Justice League. With Marvel’s announcement several weeks ago about their continued superhero franchise including “Thor” and “First Avenger: Captain America,” Marvel is setting itself up for “The Avengers” movie, which will feature, as of now, Thor, Captain America, Ironman and The Hulk. This will be the first major movie crossover. With the appearance of Downey, Jr. in “Incredible Hulk” we can safely assume that the studio plans on using the original actors in “The Avengers” movie.
This is genius. Not only is the studio saying “Look, Ironman is in this movie! If you liked “Ironman”, you’ll like this movie!” they are giving fans what they want. The short lived “Justice League of America” movie fizzled out, due in large part to confusion and distress when Christian Bale (“Batman Begin” and “Dark Knight”) and Brandon Routh (“Superman Returns” and “Superman: Man of Steel”) were not asked to portray their respective superheroes in the movie.
As a DC fan myself, I have to give credit to Marvel…they know how to make great movies and they know how to please their fans. DC could learn a thing or two from them…How cool would it be to see Clark Kent do a news story on the Joker’s rampage of Gotham City? My nerd-hackles are raised…
Are movie crossovers going to be the new trend in Hollywood? Just to be on the safe side, Carrie should pack up her Manolo’s and invest in a rhinestoned bullwhip…
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