Extra, Extra!: What the Avengers: Age of Ultron Poster Tells Us About the Movie

In which I report on the latest in entertainment news.

So Marvel just released the first official poster for Avengers: Age of Ultron and, I have to admit, it looks amazing.  But even more than giving us something awesome to look at for the little more than two months before the movie's released in theaters, it gives us a little bit more insight about what we can expect from it.

Right away, it appears that the gang's all here: Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Thor, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, The Vision, Nick Fury and about 10,000 Ultron drones.  But if you look a bit closer at the bottom of the poster, there are a few tidbits that I found especially interesting.

Hayley Atwell and Anthonie Mackey will appear in the movie.  That's right, Agent Carter and The Falcon will appear in at least some capacity in Age of Ultron.  There's no word if we'll see a younger, post World War II Carter in flashbacks or the enfeebled, dementia-ridden Carter from The Winter Soldier, but I'd put money on it being the former.  Latter-day Carter doesn't add much to the film outside of emphasizing Cap's status as the man of yesteryear, while a younger Peggy Carter could potentially tie into the origins S.H.I.E.L.D. and, by extension, Ultron.

Falcon's presence is something that I find particularly odd.  To date, he hasn't been highlighted in any of the trailers, posters or other promotional materials.  We don't see him fighting off Ultron drones, mixing with the Avengers team proper nor pictured anywhere on the poster.  This might mean that he's included only to bridge Cap's presence in Age of Ultron with what he was taking on at the end of The Winter Soldier:  pretty much a nod to continuity before sweeping him under the rug for the main attraction.  We already know that Heimdall, Loki and War Machine will all appear at some point in the movie, so is this just Marvel making sure that their main six's supporting casts get continued screen time, or what?

Danny Elfman is at least somewhat responsible for the Age of Ultron score.  That's right, the frequent Burton collaborator is attached to the film as providing "additional music."  This credit is typically used for industry shorthand for recycling music from previous films.  Do you know what other movie Elfman has worked on that's a prime candidate for inclusion here?  Spider-Man.

Remember, according to the deal brokered between Sony and Disney, Spider-Man will be introduced to the MCU before a 2017 solo movie.  This lends credence to my theory that he will be introduced in a post-credit scene in Age of Ultron, with Elfman's Spider-Man score providing an auditory cue to the audience about what's happening on screen.  If this is the case, then it's the most exciting development yet for the character.

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