Comic Strip: Photos From the ‘Avengers 2′ Set, Chris Evans’ Retirement, and a Look at ‘Gotham’

ScreenCrush’s Comic Strip is a weekly roundup of the hottest superhero movie/TV news items. From Marvel to DC and points in between, if it pertains to costumed comic book heroes, we’re covering it here, bringing you our expert analysis. This week, we have our first look at Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson suited up as Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, 'Captain America 2' star Chris Evans talks more about his retirement plans, and new looks at FOX's 'Gotham.'

Meet The Twins

'The Avengers 2' (which is officially titled 'The Avengers: Age of Ultron') began shooting on location in Johannesburg, South Africa, before moving things to Aosta, Italy, where Jeremy Renner joined Marvel newcomers and 'Godzilla' co-stars Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson on set to film a major action sequence, revealing our first clear looks at Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver in the process.

For those uninitiated, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver (known as "The Twins") are the new sibling additions director Joss Whedon teased all those months ago, and they mark Marvel's first venture into "mutant" territory (into which we've already delved HERE). Scarlet Witch has the ability to wield chaos magic, which Whedon and Olsen previously teased includes minor telekinetic and mind control abilities, while Quicksilver is, as his name suggests, super quick, and both actors seemed to enjoy getting into their characters' powers on set.

The filmed scene reportedly entails the trio of heroes attempting to flee from Ultron, while leaked photos from the set revealed many extras in motion-capture suits, seemingly portraying Ultron's many minions, as well as one standout actor in particular wearing an Ultron suit. You can check those photos out HERE, though keep in mind that Marvel will probably work their magic and create something more visually astounding with Ultron than what we see in the pics.

'X-Men'

One of the things I cannot stand in this world are those pesky Instagram teasers for movie trailers. They're brief, numerous and come off as nothing but an annoying marketing ploy, which is why the campaign for 'X-Men: Days of Future Past' has been a frustrating one to follow. However, 20th Century Fox released the latest full trailer this week and it was worth the wait -- it has Sentinels galore, Iceman doing some ice surfing, Sunspot lighting up a futuristic Sentinel, and ... some bad news for Halle Berry's Storm (though if you've read the original comic on which this film is based, this shouldn't come as much of a surprise).

Fun fact: 'X-Men: Days of Future Past' marks the seventh time Hugh Jackman will appear on screen as Wolverine (including his brief cameo in 'X-Men: First Class'), and it looks like an eighth time is in store. As first reported by Deadline, Jackman will once again don his adamantium claws for 'Wolverine 3,' the third standalone Wolverine movie and sequel to James Mangold's 'The Wolverine.' In addition, Mangold will return to direct from a script written by David James Kelly.

'Fantastic Four 2' and the Mystery Marvel Movie

With all these updates on 'Wolverine 3,' 20th Century Fox announced it will be released on March 3, 2017, which falls in line with Mangold's previous statement that the film would begin production after the 'Days of Future Past' sequel, 'X-Men: Apocalypse.' Also interesting to note, though, is that Fox in the same breath set release dates for 'Fantastic Four 2' (on July 14, 2017) and an untitled Marvel movie (on July 18, 2018).

Despite an earlier rumor that Fox was unhappy with 'Fantastic Four' and looking to recast the whole thing, which proved to be utterly false, 'Fantastic Four 2' will no doubt star the recently cast Michael B. Jordan (Human Torch), Miles Teller (Mr. Fantastic), Kate Mara (Invisible Woman) and Jamie Bell (The Thing). But what of the identity of this mysterious Marvel movie? We have some thoughts. 

Is Chris Evans Retiring Captain America? Well, Kinda...Not Really

Remember how Chris Evans said way back when he wanted to retire from acting following his six-movie Marvel contract commitment? Well, during an interview for his Variety magazine cover story, clarified those statements a bit.

“If I’m acting at all, it’s going to be under Marvel contract, or I’m going to be directing. I can’t see myself pursuing acting strictly outside of what I’m contractually obligated to do.” While that may seem like a sure statement in saying he's going to stop being Captain America after he's done with his current contract, considering also he directed his first film with '1:30 Train,' he did end the interview by saying, "For all I know, in five years, I might say, ‘Shit, I miss acting.’ Right now, I just want to get behind the camera and make movies." So take that for whatever it's worth.

What's interesting is that Evans said his Marvel deal originally entailed nine films, but he declined over such a grand commitment. The studio then came back with a six-film deal, which he also turned down, but it wasn't until Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man) called him up and help convinced him to sign on. "I said, ‘Look man, you might not like the fact that you’ve played one of these guys before [in 'Fantastic Four'], but you know, the thing is this can afford you all sorts of other freedoms' ... I also thought he was the perfect guy for the job."

If you have a few minutes, the full interview is worth a read.

Which DC Character Is Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson Playing?

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson may be playing one of the original heroes, Hercules, but he also teased not too long ago his involvement in the DC universe. While details on his planned role for an upcoming superhero movie for Warner Bros. are unknown, some speculated that he was going to have some part in the forthcoming 'Batman vs. Superman' or 'Justice League' movies. However, your opinions might change after you read what he had to say during an interview with journalists at CinemaCon:

The first quality we were looking for was that he had to be extremely complex and have a lot going on. What that does for me as an actor and the studio is it gives us space that we can explore; his complexities. The other quality was that he had to – the character we were looking for had to be well-known but never brought to life. Then what that does again as an actor, it gives me a little bit of space, and we talked about personality. It just gives me a chance to put an imprint into his personality, with the set of tools that I could bring to the table and put a very unique twist on his personality, but still pay homage to who he is. The third thing – and most important – is he had to be a badass motherf---er, OK, and on a Superman level of power, where [he] could throw down. In those three qualities, I’m happy we’ve found that character.

Our money is on Lobo, DC's 'Sons of Anarchy'-esque vigilante ... unless he could somehow be portraying a villain ... Thoughts?

Superheroes on TV

FOX's highly anticipated Batman prequel series, 'Gotham,' starring Ben McKenzie as Jim Gordon and chronicling the character's early years in cleaning up the streets of Gotham City, has been in the throngs of filming, and both photos from the set and official looks at upcoming characters have debuted online. Check out Selina Kyle/Catwoman, young Bruce Wayne, Alfred and The Penguin/Oswald Cobblepot in the photos below:

Elsewhere in the DC landscape, the latest 'Arrow' installment, the one that featured the "Suicide Squad," dropped one major Batman reference that producer Mark Guggenheim intended to only be an Easter Egg and nothing more. But fans, nonetheless, had one epic freakout. What are we talking about? Oh, nothing ... just Harley Quinn making a brief appearance on the show! If you missed it, watch it right now:

While DC keeps bulking up its TV properties, Marvel's 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' made one geek-tastic (excuse the cheese, but we're super pumped) move in casting Patton Oswalt (aka the expert on epic filibusters). Need more proof? Here's a first look at him in character:

How's that for an epic finish? While you can read more about which comic book character he's playing HERE, be sure to check back next week for another installment of the Comic Strip.