We were lucky enough to attend the Comic-Con screening of the latest Marvel one-shot Item 47, which will be included with The Avengers Blu-Ray/DVD release, arriving in stores September 25th. Fans were invited to participate in a massive scavenger hunt throughout the Gaslamp Quarter that would lead them to the site of the screening. Directed by Marvel Co-President Louis D’Esposito, the short film follows Jesse Bradford and Lizzy Caplan as a down and out couple who strike out on a bank robbing spree after finding a Chitauri weapon in the destruction caused by the final battle in The Avengers. Meanwhile, two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, played by Maximiliano Hernández and Titus Welliver, attempt to track down the desperate duo.
The previous Marvel one-shots The Consultant and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor’s Hammer released on the Thor and Captain America DVDs, respectively, were charming and fun but offered no great revelations. Item 47 follows in the same vein; though the short is three times longer than the previous two installments and features a great deal more special effects. To the audience’s delight, Robert Downey Jr. provided a comedic video introduction to the screening, filmed in a restroom stall on set for Iron Man 3 in North Carolina. The screening was followed by a brief Q&A with the cast and crew; hit the jump for the highlights.
Fans demonstrated a great curiosity about the weapon itself, including what it was made of (which nobody on the panel was sure of) and how much it weighed (about twenty pounds). Jesse Bradford had the prop with him and invited the inquiring fans to come inspect it themselves. Many questions were posed about the future of the Marvel film franchises, which unsurprisingly, remained largely unanswered, though when a kid asked if there would ever be a Black Panther movie D’Espisito whispered the answer in his ear. When a different kid asked if Ant-Man or Wasp would be introduced to in the Avengers sequel, the panel grew suspiciously silent, leading the audience to believe that the answer may be given in tomorrow’s Hall H panel.
As for Spider-Man, D’Espisito made it quite clear that Andrew Garfield would not be swinging into an Avengers sequel any time soon. When a fan asked if the character Jasper Sitwell would be stepping up to fill the shoes of Agent Coulson, Hernández insisted that those were rather large shoes to fill, but surprisingly, that he would not have a problem sharing Coulson’s fate if it were in the interest of advancing and improving the story. It was also made clear that Marvel would not be putting the one-shots in front of theatrical releases anytime soon, as they provide an extension of the viewing experience when released on the DVDs.
Like the previous one-shots Item 47 is a fun and light re-entry to the Marvelverse to hold you over until the next big release.
Catch up on all of our continuing Comic-Con coverage here.
