Earlier this week, Samuel L. Jackson confirmed his involvement in Joss Whedon’s The Avengers. The actor also stated that he was testing with five female actresses jostling for the role of his new sidekick (since, apparently, Scarlett Johansson is too big to be a sidekick). Deadline reports that TV star Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother) is close to landing the role of SHIELD executive director Maria Hill, and that a deal could be done long before we’ve gotten over our Super Bowl XLV hangovers.If Smulders and Marvel close the deal, she would join Jackson, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, and Scarlett Johansson in The Avengers. Hit the jump for more on Maria Hill.
Essentially, Hill is a feisty bitch who bullies superheroes to get her way, and an appropriate sidekick for Samuel “motherfucking†Jackson. Here's a brief character bio:
Originally from Chicago Maria Hill joined SHIELD and rose to the position of commander. After Colonel Nicholas Fury's "Secret War" Maria was chosen to be director of SHIELD by the President himself after he commended her on her work while she was stationed on assignment in Madripoor. Although many others who she herself admitted were better suited for position were not considered for directorship she was assigned director. It has emerged that Maria was chosen as the other candidates were "Fury Loyalists" and SHIELD needed "new direction." [Marvel Wiki]
In point of fact, Smulders has some superhero roots due to a brief appearance in the 2004 season of Smallville.
The Avengers is set to start filming in April for a May 4, 2012 release. Click here for all our coverage on the superhero film.