'Thor' and 'Avengers' Rumors, To Debunk or Not To Debunk?

We’re five months away from the release of Thor and two months away before The Avengers begins filming, so naturally there are plenty of rumors going around.

The Wrap announced today that Hawkeye, as played by Jeremy Renner, would make an appearance at some point in Thor. While Renner has previously attempted to scuttle this rumor, a source who has seen an early cut of the film confirmed that Renner does indeed make an appearance. I believe it, but it would be nice if the scene were longer than the Nick Fury cameo from the first Iron Man film; this would indicate that 2012’s Avengers film does not spend half its time getting the team together (my worst fear for that movie).

As for The Avengers, the film is set to begin filming in New Mexico in February for an expected six-month shoot. Last week the Albuquerque Journal announced that filming would take place near the city and that the story involved the infamous, to comic fans at least, Kree-Skrull War. Marvel immediately debunked the story and the Journal indicated that it was a research error.

From the Albaqurque Journal:

"The Avengers' script will blend Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger story lines as the Avengers battle with two alien races, the Skrulls and the Kree."

Allow me to become a bit of a nerd conspiracy theorist for a moment, but how would your average reporter come up with anything having to do with the Kree-Skrull War? There may actually be something to the rumor, but warring alien races seems like an awfully ambitious plot for the team’s first outing. Though with Hulk and Thor on the team, Whedon is going to have to throw a formidable baddie at Earth’s Mightiest Heroes to capture our interest.

Also debunked: rumors that Alan Tudyk (Firefly) and Demi Lovato (Camp Rock) will be appearing in The Avengers as Hank Pym (Ant-Man) and Janet Van Dyne (Wasp) respectively. This week Heat Vision confirmed Lovato was not up for the role of Wasp and Moviefone confirmed that Tudyk will not playing the troubled Dr. Pym. What has not been debunked, which greatly excites me, is that these characters may just be appearing in The Avengers in some capacity. Not only are these characters founding members, they’ve been a part of the comic books for five decades.

Thor is scheduled for release on May 6, 2011. The Avengers is scheduled for release on May 4, 2012.