The Avengers was 2012’s biggest hit, and is now the third highest grossing film of all time both domestically and worldwide (it’s hard to top James Cameron). And now that summer’s over, it’s fair to say it was the most entertaining blockbuster and the most entertaining superhero film of the summer. It’s also got huge problems, though they ultimately don’t matter. Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlet Johansson, Jeremy Renner, and Mark Ruffalo assemble here to fight an army of aliens led by Tom Hiddleston. Joss Whedon writes and directs, and our review of the four-disc 3D Blu-ray set follows after the jump.

Every once in awhile you land an interview that you can’t wait to share.  The one you’re about to watch with Chris Evans is one of those.  At this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, I got to sit down with Evans for over twenty minutes (we were scheduled for a lot less) to talk about his great work in director Ariel Vromen‘s The Iceman.  As you can see in the first trailer, Evans plays a killer and is nearly unrecognizable in dirty long hair as Richard Kuklinski’s (Michael Shannon) friend and partner.

I’ve spoken to Evans a lot over the years, and one of the things I love about him is his honesty and willingness to talk about everything.  If you ask him a question about his career, or even his contract with Marvel, he’ll talk about it.  Most actors will try and deflect the question, or give a politician’s answer.  That’s not how Evans operates and it’s very refreshing.  So besides talking about The Iceman and working with Michael Shannon, Evans talked about how his career has blown up, the intricacies of his Marvel contract, the business of Hollywood, playing a critical character of the Marvel universe, Captain America 2 (Captain America: The Winter Solider), whether he knows anything about Captain America 3, the success of The Avengers, Joss Whedon, Thor 2, Bong Joon-ho‘s Snowpiercer, the greatness of Hayley Atwell, his upcoming anti-romantic comedy A Many Splintered Thing with Michelle Monaghan, and so much more.  Hit the jump for more.

Marvel’s Phase Two is already well underway with production on Iron Man 3 nearing an end and filming on Thor: The Dark World just getting started.  The next film on the studio’s docket is Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Chris Evans recently revealed that filming on the Cap sequel begins in March of next year.  Though the title of the film gives fans a pretty big hint as to where the follow-up will go, we’re still pretty in the dark with regards to plot specifics.

Steve recently sat down with Evans at the Toronto Film Festival to talk about the serial killer drama The Iceman, and the actor talked quite a bit about Winter Soldier.  Evans revealed that the film will get into a lot of stuff that was explored in cut scenes from The Avengers, talked about how far in advance he knew that the sequel would delve into the Winter Soldier storyline, and even teased a possible cameo in Thor 2.  Hit the jump to see what he had to say.

With production underway on Marvel’s Thor: The Dark World, we’re already starting to see some set photos featuring the triumphant return of Chris Hemsworth’s Asgardian god.  Next on Marvel’s docket after Thor 2 is Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Chris Evans recently revealed to Steve exactly when that film starts shooting:

And for all the Marvel fans…Chris Evans says filming on the CAPTAIN AMERICA sequel begins in March 2013.

— Steven Weintraub (@colliderfrosty) September 10, 2012

That puts the film on roughly the same 13-month production timeline as the first Captain America, so directors Anthony and Joe Russo shouldn’t have a problem making the film’s April 4th, 2014 release date.  Hit the jump for a refresher on what we know so far about the follow-up.

If offbeat, anti-romantic comedies are your thing, then keep an eye on A Many Splintered Thing.  The film, in the vein of Amelie and (500) Days of Summer, will reportedly star Chris Evans (Captain America: The First Avenger) and Michelle Monaghan (Source Code). A Many Splintered Thing centers on a young man, burned by past lovers, who falls for a socialite while pretending to be a philanthropist at a charitable dinner.  Too bad her fiance doesn’t appreciate her going on dates.  But, of course, that isn’t going to stop a man like Evans, who fakes a platonic relationship to get closer to her.  Hit the jump for more on A Many Splintered Thing.

Good news, everyone!  Though the Blu-ray/DVD release of Marvel’s The Avengers is less than a month away, the film is returning to theaters so fans can experience Joss Whedon’s brilliant superhero saga on the big screen one more time.  The announcement was made on the film’s Facebook page that The Avengers will be back in theaters this Labor Day weekend (ie. this coming weekend).  So round up your friends and carve out two hours this weekend to go see Hulk smash on the big screen, if you so please.

If you’ve missed any of the deleted scenes/featurettes that Marvel has been releasing over the past few weeks in anticipation of the home video release, you can catch up right here.  Be sure to check out the film’s alternate opening and a wonderful deleted scene between Mark Ruffalo and Harry Dean Stanton.  The Avengers will be available on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital download on September 25th.  Hit the jump to rewatch the first trailer for the film, and be sure to read what Whedon has to say about the film’s deleted scenes and the new S.H.I.E.L.D. series right here.

The first trailer for the thriller The Iceman has been released.  The film chronicles the life of Richard Kuklinski, a professional hitman who kept his work secret from his family. The contract killer received the nickname “The Iceman” because he froze the bodies of his victims in order to disguise their time of death and throw the authorities off track.  “Michael Shannon as a hitman” was really all I needed to hear to get me in the theater, but the film looks to have some great scenes between Shannon and Ray Liotta.  Moreover, Chris Evans is nearly unrecognizable in dirty long hair as Kuklinski’s mentor.  James Franco was originally slated to play that role before Evans took over, but it appears that Franco is still in the film as a supporting character.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  Directed by Ariel Vromen, the film also stars Winona Ryder.  The Iceman recently premiered at the Venice Film Festival and is slated to play at the Telluride and Toronto Film Festivals.

Not unlike their strategy of releasing a bounty of clips before the film opened in theaters, Marvel is now releasing quite a few deleted scenes and featurettes in anticipation of the release of The Avengers on Blu-ray/DVD.  Yesterday we got a doozy in the form of an alternate opening to the film, and today we’ve got another pretty great scene that was left on the cutting room floor.  This one focuses on Captain America (and product placement), and follows Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers before he’s approached by Nick Fury about joining The Avengers.  We see Cap processing this new world and coming to terms with the fact that almost everyone he knows is now dead and gone.  We also see an alternate Stan Lee cameo and the appearance of a character that shows up much later in the theatrical cut.

It’s a really nice scene, but one can imagine it slowing down the momentum of the full film had it been left in.  That said, it’s still a must-watch.  Hit the jump to take a look.  The Avengers hits Blu-ray, DVD, and digital download on September 25th.

[Update: We've been asked to remove the clip at Marvel's request, as this apparently wasn't an official release.]

We’ve been sharing a number of deleted scenes and featurettes from the upcoming Blu-ray release of The Avengers over the past week or so, but arguably the most exciting extra yet has just been released online: an alternate opening to the film.  This deleted scene actually opens the film up with Cobie Smulders’ Agent Maria Hill being interrogated following the events that happen in the film’s finale, setting up the rest of the movie as a flashback.  We see glimpses of New York City destruction, a solemn Captain America, and a tease of Hulk that would have proved ridiculously tantalizing had we seen this alternate opening on first viewing.  I actually think I might prefer this scene to how the movie opens now, as it hints at the grave nature of what’s to come before being thrown into the somewhat confusing research facility sequence.  That said, it doesn’t really fit with the lighter tone that Whedon and Marvel settled on for the theatrical release. Hopefully the Blu-ray also comes with a commentary and/or featurette with Whedon discussing why he opted not to use this opening.

Hit the jump to watch the deleted scene.  The Avengers hits Blu-ray, DVD, and digital download on September 25th.

As we move closer to the release of The Avengers on Blu-ray, we’re slowly getting a peek at more and more special features that will appear on the disc.  We previously saw a wonderful deleted scene between Mark Ruffalo and Harry Dean Stanton, and now a clip from a new featurette has landed online that’s basically just people saying nice things about Ruffalo and Chris Evans.  We see Marvel’s Kevin Feige tout Evans’ ability to inhabit the character of Steve Rogers, and Joss Whedon enthusiastically states that he had a very short list of actors he wanted for The Hulk and Mark Ruffalo was at the very top.

Hit the jump to watch the clip.  The Avengers hits Blu-ray, DVD, and digital download on September 25th, at which point you’ll likely lose most of your day rummaging through the bounty of supplemental material.

Yesterday, we showed you a deleted scene that will be on the upcoming Blu-ray/DVD for The Avengers.  Today, the gag reel and a behind-the-scenes clip have gone online.  Cobie Smulders absolutely steals the gag reel, and it makes me wonder when we’ll get to see her in some comedic roles other than Robin Scherbatsky from How I Met Your Mother.  As for the behind-the-scenes clip, if you’ve ever wanted to hear famous people say nice things about Samuel L. Jackson, this is the clip for you.

Hit the jump to check out the special features.  The Avengers hits Blu-ray, DVD, and Digitial Download on September 25th.

If you can’t wait for September 25th, Marvel has you covered; they have just unveiled seven clips from The Avengers in anticipation of its Blu-ray and DVD combo pack release.  Most of the clips are action scenes, with the exception of a scene from the original trailer of Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr) having a casual conversation about Loki’s chances at taking over Earth.

Though most of the focus is on action sequences, each clip still manages to include some of the film’s trademark humor, much of it coming from Captain America (Chris Evans).  In addition, the mid-credits scene that teases the sequel’s villain is part of the bunch, as is Item 47, a clip from a companion short film that will be part of the DVD, featuring Lizzy Caplan (Party Down).  To see the seven clips, hit the jump.

When a movie like Disney and Marvel’s The Avengers crosses the $600 million mark domestically and approaches $1.5 billion globally, studios can afford to add in extra special items to go along with their Blu-ray/DVD sales.  This time around, the bonus item comes via a new app called “The Avengers Initiative: A Marvel Second Screen App.”  The app will give users access to exclusive content leading up to the release of The Avengers on Blu-ray/DVD with new downloads available bi-weekly in July and August, with weekly updates in September.  The content includes “special access to the S.H.I.E.L.D. database, becoming a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, invitations to “special missions” either remotely or in the field, links to character profiles, stories and scenes, interactive Marvel digital reader comic books and more.”

Joss Whedon’s The Avengers hits shelves on September 25th on Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray, DVD, Digital and On-Demand, but the app will be available starting in July.  Hit the jump for details. [UPDATE: Check out a new trailer for the Blu-ray after the jump.]

We may be nearing the halfway point of the summer movie season already, but Marvel’s The Avengers is still looming over the 2012 “blockbusters” that have come and gone like the slightly older yet much more successful brother of the bunch.  We’ve seen moderate box office successes from films like Men in Black 3, Snow White and the Huntsman, and Madagascar 3, but nothing has come close to the behemoth box office giant that was Marvel’s mother of all superhero movies.

The film shattered the opening weekend record with over $200 million in three days, and now Disney has announced that The Avengers is expected to cross the $600 million domestic mark today, making it only the third film in history to reach that number.  Hit the jump for more, including a rundown of what the all-time box office chart looks like now.

Marvel’s The Avengers continues to Hulk Smash records at the box office, but we now have a release date and details regarding the film’s home media release.  Joss Whedon’s excellent superhero pic will hit Blu-ray and DVD on September 25th, and as expected the combo set is loaded with special features.  The 4-disc Blu-ray/DVD pack includes an audio commentary by Whedon, loads of deleted scenes (including an alternate ending), featurettes and much more.  Additionally, a 10-disc Blu-ray super set is also apparently being planned.  Hit the jump for details regarding the release.