The title of Avengers: Age of Ultron makes it clear just which Marvel heavy will cause Nick Fury to send an "Assemble!" group text to Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

It seems that the mechanical man won't be alone, however, as the identity of a supplemental villain – one with a connection to some Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch – in the Avengers sequel has been revealed.

After sitting out an attempted alien invasion of Earth in The Avengers, Lt. Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes will stand alongside Earth's Mightiest Heroes in Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Don Cheadle is aboard the sequel to play the man inside the War Machine/Iron Patriot armor for the third time.

For months now, just who will play superpowered siblings Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver in Avengers: Age of Ultron has been pretty much a foregone conclusion.

But actors in talks don't always become the actors who play the parts, so Marvel Studios has officially announced that Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson are set to appear in the Avengers sequel.

Two of what are guaranteed to be the biggest comic book movies of the next two summers, X-Men: Days of Future Past and Avengers: Age of Ultron, will feature different takes on the same character.

Marvel Studios head honcho Kevin Feige – he of the ever-present baseball cap and the teasingly coy non-answer – is talking about this strange tale of two Quicksilvers.

Today in news that everyone already assumed was the case: Cobie Smulders will reprise her role as S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Maria Hill in Avengers: Age of Ultron.

A sequel that improves upon the original is as rare as an alignment of the Nine Realms.

Thor: The Dark World, hitting theaters this Friday, is cosmic alignment of a movie: the Asgardian Avenger is only getting better as he goes along.

The latest installment in Phase Two of Marvel Studios' ongoing Cinematic Universe picks up where Thor and The Avengers left off. 

When last we saw Thor, he was enjoying shawarma on Earth, but this entry returns him to his celestial home.  After the destruction of the Bifrost in the first film, the titular hero finds himself leading the Realm Eternal in a series of skirmishes.  When the Dark Elves, an ancient race older than the universe itself, reawaken with a plan to restore existence to darkness, Thor must ally himself with the human Jane Foster and the God of Mischief, Loki, in order to save the day.

The sequel to 2011's Thor sees Chris Hemsworth (Rush) once again hurling Thor's hammer, with Natalie Portman (Black Swan) as Jane and Tom Hiddleston (War Horse) as Loki.  Kat Dennings (2 Broke Girls) returns as Jane's sidekick Darcy, with Christopher Eccleston (28 Days Later) joining the cast as Malekith the Accursed, leader of the Dark Elves. 

At the London press conference promoting Thor: The Dark World, stars Hemsworth, Portman, Hiddleston, Dennings, and Eccleston were joined by director Alan Taylor (Game of Thrones) and producer/Marvel Studios President of Production Kevin Feige.  Each member of the assembled group shared their enthusiasm for the sequel, discussing the relationship between Thor and Loki, Jane's increased role, improvisation, the film's sense of humor, and making the unbelievable relatable.

Thanks to countless trailers, TV spots, and whatnot, the "Anyone else?" beat in Thor: The Dark World has no doubt been spoiled for you.

But a new clip for this weeks Marvel fantasy adventure provides some context and, in the process, reminds us why Chris Hemsworth is so damn great at the God of Thunder.

Scheduled to open in theaters on April 4th, 2014 is the highly awaited sequel to Captain America: The First Avenger entitled Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The film is directed by Anthony and Joe Russo (You, Me and Dupree), and stars Chris Evans (The Iceman) as Steve Rogers/Captain America, Scarlett Johansson (Don Jon) as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Samuel L. Jackson (Django Unchained) as Nick Fury, Cobie Smulders (Safe Haven) as Maria Hill, Anthony Mackie (Pain & Gain) as Sam Wilson/The Falcon, Emily VanCamp (Norman) as Agent 13, Sebastian Stan (The Apparition) as Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier, Frank Griillo (The Grey) as Brock Rumlow/Crossbones, Hayley Atwell (The Sweeney) as Peggy Carter, Dominic Cooper (The Devil's Double) as Howard Stark, Toby Jones (The Hunger Games) as Arnim Zola, and Robert Redford (All Is Lost) as Alexander Pierce.

IAR's Managing Editor Jami Philbrick recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Cobie Smulders to talk about her work on the new comedy Delivery Man, which opens in theaters on November 22nd. While we will run that portion of the interview closer to the film's release date, we wanted to share with you now what she had to say about Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. The popular actress talked about her upcoming Marvel sequel, not appearing in much of the recent trailer, the size of her role in the film, not having any scenes with Robert Redford, not even having a chance to meet the legendary actor, how much fun she had shooting the pilot for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and possibly returning to the series before the end of the season. 

If you're already hurling any shield-like object in anticipation of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, hold your horses, because the next Marvel movie has yet to actually bring the thunder.

Thor: The Dark World hits in many a foreign market this week and arrives in Stateside theaters on November 8th.

What better way get in the Asgardian spirit with a new featurette and TV spot for the Thor sequel?

Next year, the star-spangled Avenger is returning to theaters. 

And we've got a good feeling about Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

When last we saw Chris Evans as Steve Rogers, he was leading the titular superteam and enjoying some shawarma in The Avengers.  That summer blockbuster marked the commercial peak (so far) of the roll Marvel Studios has been on for the past several years.  Phase 2 of that roll kicked off in fine fashion this year with Iron Man 3, and continues in mere weeks with Thor: The Dark World.

But we're looking ahead to April 2014, when Cap tosses his signature shield on his first solo outing since Captain America: The First Avenger.  Unlike that two-fisted World War II adventure, Captain America: The Winter Soldier brings Rogers into a recognizably modern world, a more cynical setting in which he confronts sinister conspiracies, untrustworthy characters, and a familiar figure with a bone to pick.

Marvel Studios unveiled the first Winter Soldier teaser trailer just this morning.  By now, you've probably laid eyes on the trailer, but if not, click right here.

We've long heard that this sequel is a comic book movie riff on the conspiracy thrillers of the 1970s.  The trailer shows just that, combining event movie spectacle and shadowy goings-on.  Basically, Captain America: The Winter Soldier looks fantastic.  So much so we here at IAR wanted to share just a few of the reasons that we're properly excited for the sequel after viewing the first trailer.