To say there has been speculation about the villain for Marvel and Joss Whedon's upcoming The Avengers would be putting it mildly. Whedonites and Marvel fans alike have been champing at the bit for more information on the film's villain ever since it was announced that Tom Hiddleston would be reprising his role as Loki.
At first we thought it could be the Skrulls, the alien race of shape-shifters from Marvel's comic books, as announced by Latino Review. Then that theory was squashed and replaced by rumors of Thanos joining the fray against the world's mightiest superheroes. Then even Loki's involvement was up for debate. After that, talk circulated that Hugo Weaving's Red Skull would be teaming up with Loki for The Avengers.
Now The Avengers producer Kevin Feige has quelled the rumors of a villain once and for all. In an interview with Empire, Feige confirmed that the Skrulls will not appear in the film, and nor will Red Skull.
Feige (the president of Marvel Studios) did tell Empire that Loki will not be alone in harrying the Avengers. Feige said that the team will take on an alien threat with its origins in the Marvel comic book universe. To quote Feige:
"It's not Skrulls, I've been clear about that. Beyond that, we want to hide it. The identity of the alien race is not impactful. It exists in the comic books, but we're not setting up the Kree-Skrull war or anything like that.
Well there you have it, straight from the producer's mouth. After set photos were leaked featuring actors wearing motion capture suits, fans knew that the enemy had to be some kind of alien race or monsters.
Despite the limited amount of information he did deign to reveal, Feige refused to comment on Red Skull's fate, or whether or not that character would return for a later installment in the Marvel film series.
Can’t stop the signal: Marvel's The Avengers––directed by Joss Whedon and starring everyone––will be released on May 4, 2012. While you're waiting, read my reviews of Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger.
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