Disney officially announces plans for "The Avengers" sequel

Leah Zanolla | Posted: May 12, 2012 | Updated: Oct 19, 2014 - 9:25:27 AM

After last weekend's record-breaking $207 million opening, Disney CEO Bob Iger officially announced plans for a sequel to "The Avengers." The fact that Disney gave the greenlight to the superhero film is not much of a surprise considering the number of records the film has broken since its May 4th U.S. opening. Not only did the $207 million box office top the last Harry Potter film for best opening weekend ever by nearly $40 million, but according to BoxOfficeMojo.com it was also the fastest film ever to earn $100, $150, and $200 million. In addition, it set new high box office totals for a Saturday ($69.6 million) and Sunday ($57.1 million). Even more impressive is that, according to BoxOfficeMojo, the film "accounted for 83.1 percent of the $249.7 million the Top 12 (films in release) earned this weekend." When international and domestic ticket sales are combined, the movie has made over $800 million, currently making it number 32 on the all-time worldwide box office grosses. If industry experts' predictions come true the picture's worldwide box office total could reach $1 billion by the end of Mother's Day weekend, which would move it close to 10th place on the all-time list.

While the announcement of a sequel is as sure of a bet as there is in Hollywood, confirmed details are a bit more sketchy. It is still unclear what, or whom, The Avengers' will battle in the sequel, let alone which Avengers may return or join the group. A final scene in the film may offer hints to a future conflict, but nothing is certain. Director Joss Whedon ("Firefly," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer") is not yet committed to the project, which has some fans concerned that he'll decline to direct the sequel, similar to Gary Ross leaving the "Hunger Games" franchise after the first blockbuster film.

In his conference call to announce earnings, Iger also mentioned plans for "Avengers based attractions" to be put into Disney theme parks. However, such attractions probably won't be seen in any of Disney's Orlando theme parks any time soon due to existing licensing agreements regarding where Disney can incorporate Marvel characters. According to JimHillMedia.com this is why the current "Avengers Monorail" at Walt Disney World in Orlando is on a loop that does not officially enter a theme park. While theme park plans may be cloudy, Avengers fans can look forward to already in-development sequels for many of the film's characters including "Iron Man 3," "Captain America 2," and "Thor 2."