As of now, Scarlett Johansson (reprising her Iron Man 2 role as the Black Widow) is the only female cast member in director Joss Whedon’s The Avengers. Samuel L. Jackson, however, revealed last night on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (via Slashfilm) something is being done to change that.
Jackson will screen test with five actresses on Friday, all of which will compete for the role of Nick Fury’s “sidekick,” SHIELD Agent Maria Hill. Heat Vision has revealed four of the names to be Morena Baccarin (Serenity, “V”), Jessica Lucas (Cloverfield), Cobie Smulders (“How I Met Your Mother”) and Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World).
Marvel has declined to comment if the role in question is that of the Wasp, as pegged by some early speculation. Whedon has been quoted as saying “the movie is only going to have one female Avenger, but she (Johansson) will not be the only female character.” Either way, it will be nice to get another woman in there to tone down the testosterone overload a bit.
Jackson also confirmed he will appear in both Thor and Captain America, which contradicts what he has previously said. This quote suggests they will be small cameo-type appearances:
In the next month or so, I have to do one day on Thor, and I gotta do another day on Captain America, and in April we start The Avengers — the big deal with everybody. Thor and Captain America are pretty much done, but I haven’t done my part in them yet. I’m just connective tissue for them to join The Avengers.
Here’s hoping the scenes work within the flow of the movie and don’t feel like something tacked on for continuity’s sake just to keep the fanboys at bay. The average movie-goer is going to get tired of these flicks if they don’t stand alone as great movies and only work as two-hour commercials hyping The Avengers.
Also, don’t forget, this Sunday trailers for both Thor and Captain America:The First Avenger will be shown during the Super Bowl.
