Posted on: July 24th, 2010 Renner & Ruffalo Confirmed For AVENGERS?

Clint Barton (Hawkeye) as he appears in 'The Ultimates'

The news and confirmation are firing faster that Iron Man’s palm-mounted repulsor blasts this week as the San Diego Comic-Con continues have a stranglehold on the attendees and internet-observers alike. A few big ones dropped last night for camp Marvel, and there big panel hasn’t even happened yet.

First was the confirmation – as if we already didn’t know – that Firefly creator Joss Whedon will direct The Avengers. Whedon confirmed this during a shared panel with Star Trek savior J.J. Abrams. Why Marvel hasn’t said anything before today goes beyond me. Anyways. Moving on to the interesting news…

Academy Award Nominee Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker, 28 Weeks Later) has had his name long attached to that of Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye, for The Avengers movie, and now it seems we can finally let this is-he-or-isn’t-he casting go. Ontheredcarpet.com nabbed an exclusive confirmation from Joss Whedon that Renner will portray the avenging archer. We pretty much knew it was going to happen, or at least hoped it would, as Renner seems perfect for Clint Barton. I wouldn’t expect to see him in the purple skirt and eye-wings though, if I were a betting man I’d put money on Marvel and Whedon leaning more towards the more subdued Hawkeye seen in The Ultimates (who is still really bad-ass… he can kill you with flying fingernails, for starters).

It rhymes with 'buffalo', bitch.

Now, we all now about the Ed Norton/Avengers kerfuffle, and with the big Marvel panel happening today, they want to have their Bruce Banner locked down and official (and maybe even at the con?). We know it ain’t Edward Norton and now we know it also won’t be Joaquin Phoenix either. The Wrap is reporting that actor Mark Ruffalo is in the very last stages of negotiations to take on the role. The Wrap also reports that the negotiations are heavily focused on two factors: the salary, which Marvel is notoriously cheap, and the number of films Ruffalo would need to commit to, in this case four to six (which seems like more of a buffer rather than realistic).

It has been expected that the cast of The Avengers will appear at the Marvel panel, including Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johannson, Jeremy Renner and Sam Jackson. I’m sure Marvel wants to nail down Ruffalo in hopes of rushing him out with the rest of the cast to make an announcement. But, just like with Norton, you never know. I think it’s fair to say at this point that Ruffalo is all but officially confirmed, and it would appear we have our main Avengers roster complete.

More news following Marvel’s panel at SDCC tonight.

One Response to “Renner & Ruffalo Confirmed For AVENGERS?”

1. Ben Rankel Says:
   July 24th, 2010 at 11:15 am

   Could do worse than Ruffalo, we was awesome in Blindness – or at least his latent Ruffalo-ness fit well.

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