i still think it will hinge on the Thor movie

One of the undoubted highlights of Iron Man 2 for anyone who falls into the Venn diagram crossover of People Who Are Fans Of Scarlett Johansson, People Who Like Ladies In Jumpsuits and People Who Enjoy Seeing Attractive Folk Beat Up Bad Guys was Johansson’s role as Natasha Romanoff, AKA Black Widow.

And while Marvel’s Kevin Feige didn’t exactly confirm that a standalone film for the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent is guaranteed, he did at least talk up the ongoing discussions.

It should come as no surprise that the Iron Man 2 DVD/Blu-Ray arrives next week in the US, since Feige has been hitting the promotional trail. Speaking at a press conference attended by Coming Soon, he announced, "We've already started discussions with Scarlett about the idea of a solo movie and have begun putting together concepts", before cautioning, “The Avengers comes first.”

Since Johansson was confirmed at this year’s Comic-Con as being part of the Avengers line-up, it makes sense that Marvel would wait to see how audiences react to that film before making any final decision about letting the Black Widow loose on her own. Still, given her long history in the comics, surely there’s enough scope for a decent film about her adventures.

Here’s some cool news for everyone that’s anticipating The Avengers.

Mark Ruffalo has revealed that unlike the previous Hulk movies that featured the creature as an all CGI creation, Ruffalo will actually be playing the Hulk in The Avengers as he’s going to do the performance through motion-capture performance.

We’ve seen the technology used in such films as Lord of the Rings and Avatar, and it’ll be interesting to see a Hulk that is an actor’s creation and not made in some computer.

The actor also talked about having a great fondness for the television show and he certainly seems very excited about taking on an iconic character, which let’s face it, has had two underwhelming cinematic outings so far. There’s a great problem with The Hulk on screen. It’s just ‘Hulk angry, Hulk smash’. There’s nothing in between. You know it’s true deep down, so just admit it.

Joss Whedon will direct Ruffalo in The Avengers alongside Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Chris Evans as Captain America, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow and Clark Gregg as Agent Phil Coulson.

Filming is set to begin in February next year.

Like the downtrodden parents in a Dickensian novel, the weeping mountain of Paramount is ready to exchange cold, hard cash for two of the children it has with Marvel and send them packing off to live in a mouse-infested castle.

Which is to say, under a surprisingly easy and grievance-free deal, Disney – which bought Marvel last year for $4.3 billion – has negotiated the rights to The Avengers and Iron Man 3 away from their former home studio.

It’s a shocker, since despite the big Disney/Marvel acquisition, Paramount had been fully in charge of shepherding The Avengers to the screen, and put on a big show for the impending film at this year’s Comic-Con. But now, thanks to $115 million and a higher distribution fee, the studio has agreed to hand over the worldwide distribution rights to the Mouse House for both of the movies.

"We appreciate the tremendous momentum that Paramount established with these iconic Marvel characters and look forward to propelling the brand even further in coming years," said Disney chairman Rich Ross, in a statement picked up by The Wrap.

And in more pertinent news to us as movie-watchers, Disney has been quick to announce release dates for both films, with The Avengers still set for May 4, 2012 and Iron Man 3 now apparently aiming for May 3, 2013.

Of course, the big issue on Iron Man 3 is whether Robert Downey Jr. and Jon Favreau will return for the next outing. We suspect Downey Jr. either has a clause in his contract or could demand a hefty payday to make the thing, but Favreau’s input is not so guaranteed.

But it’s a while before anyone has to make real decisions on that one…

Want to know what Chris Evans looks like as Captain America: The First Avenger, when not viewed through the foggy prism of a faraway pap's lens?

Well, wonder no longer, for those lovely bods at Entertainment Weekly have just unveiled Cap on their brand spanking new cover -

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g1...MERICA_300.jpg

So, what do you think? Does this Cap press all the right buttons?

I think that applies to the first film, but not the second.

As for the pictures of Cap...not as bright and garrish as they could be I suppose which is a good thing...the shield looks a bit too shiny though.
I am wondering if they'll give him the more elongated original shield he had during his pre-frozen series, for the beginning of the film.

Here's a different image with a different shield:

http://www.comicbookmovie.com/images...ngleshield.jpg

I assume he'll be using that shield until Howard Stark builds the round shield.

More pictures:
http://www.comicbookmovie.com/images/uploads/cappy1.jpg
http://www.comicbookmovie.com/images/uploads/hydra.jpg

Howard Stark?

Dominic Cooper has been cast as Tony's father and the assumption is that he's going to be the one to build the shield for Steve Rogers since there was the prototype of the shield sitting around in Iron Man 2.

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g1...shirtless1.jpg

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g1...rica_sub1a.jpg

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g1...ie-image-3.jpg

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g1...ggy-Carter.jpg

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g1..._the_look1.jpg