The Black Panther to play a role in ‘Avengers 2′?

"The Avengers" Japanese Theatrical Poster

THE MOVIE: This announcement shouldn’t come as an earth-shattering surprise, considering that the Avengers movie earned an obscenely amount of money, but Disney confirmed that Joss Whedon is signed on to write and direct Avengers 2. Disney isn’t talking a release date but Summer 2015 is a likely target.

So, who do you think the Avengers are likely to face in the sequel? Captain America 2 is bringing Cap’s old partner Bucky into the present as the brain-washed baddie Winter Soldier, while Thor 2 is going to the trouble of introducing a whole slew of new Asgardian foes. But don’t forget, the post-credits teaser of Avengers revealed a certain celestial foe was pulling Loki’s strings.

The Playlist notes that The Avengers 2 will be in theaters May 1, 2015.

Update: It’s looking likely that Marvel will turn their attention to a second Hulk movie once Avengers 2 reaches completion. Marvel movie head Keven Feige suggested to MTV that the studio might consider adapting the comic book storylines ‘Planet Hulk’ or ‘World War Hulk’ for Hulk 2. In ‘Planet Hulk,’ the other heroes shoot Hulk into space for the safety of Earth but the Green Goliath ends up stranded on a war-like alien planet. In ‘World War Hulk,’ the Hulkster returns to our world to have his revenge.

AICN suggests we might see Emily Blunt (Looper) or Ruth Wilson (The Lone Ranger) as the female superhero Ms. Marvel in Avengers 2. | Joss Whedon says the script for The Avengers 2 will be complete in a few months. Instead of topping The Avengers, he says he wants to delve deeper into the characters. “Don’t go bigger; go deeper,” he told MTV (via The Playlist).

AICN says those rumors about the end of Avengers 2 setting up a Hulk movie based on the comic book storyline “Planet Hulk” are totally bunk. This is due at least in part to the fact that Bruce Banner doesn’t feature at all in the Planet Hulk storyline and Marvel Studios is keen to keep Mark Ruffalo front and center as Bruce Banner for at least five more films.

Jean-Claude Van Damme commented on his official Facebook page: “I read that Chris Hemsworth would like me to costar in The Avengers 2 movie! Well, it would be fun to play one of these types of amazing comic book characters again. By the way, I am a big fan of Marvel’s superhero Silver Surfer (see our latest on the Fantastic Four reboot) and also another heroic fictional character known as Doc Savage – the Man of Bronze!”

BREAKING NEWS: Actor Morris Chestnut (Under Siege 2: Dark Territory) has fueled internet rumors that he may be auditioning for the role of the popular Marvel superhero Black Panther for Avengers 2.