Iron Man vs. Cap in the Marvel movie future?

With The Avengers debuting to a 96% fresh rating (24 out of 25) on Rotten Tomatoes today, the fact that the highly anticipated film is almost here is becoming a clear reality. Of course, there’s no questions as to whether or not the film will spawn off sequels of its own, as it’s a clear fact that with the hit its projected to be, it’s an inevetability. And while Joss Whedon has discussed a more low-key second film, Marvel President of Production Kevin Feige is now discussing just what a third film will consist of.

In a London event for the U.K. release of the film, Feige stated “Avengers 3 might be a good movie for the Civil War storyline”. For those of you who don’t know, the Civil War storyline in the comics was a huge event that saw Captain America and Iron Man divided on opposite sides of the issue of superhero registration, which forced superheroes to reveal their identies to the government after a massive superhero incident causes the death of many. This divides the superheroes, including Spider-Man who’s most notable move during the storyline was his public unmasking to the entire world (which was eventually retconned just a few years later with One More Day).

However, if Feige wants to make this a reality, there would have to be a much large number of heroes present than the ones already introduced. The entire Marvel universe is split by this event, including the Fantastic Four, The Avengers, the X-Men, and others. It seems like a large scale project that doesn’t quite have all the pieces put together just yet. but, ifThe Avengers has taught us anything, when Marvel sets out an idea, they can lay down the groundwork in time.

Furthermore, with different Marvel properties at different studios, it certainly sounds like a tough job to accomplish. It’d be great to see the X-Men and Spider-Man on the frontlines of the Civil War, and to see Andrew Garfield unmask himself to a public who doesn’t know otherwise. But, it would have to be a massive deal that seems incredibly unlikely. If anything, the Marvel Cinematic Universe will have to alter that big time, forcing them to make due with whatever heroes they can set in time, such as Doctor Strange, possibly Ant-Man, and others. Then again, if the studios wake up to a multiple deal that would see each one getting a share in the massive money the film could easily make, it’s not completely out of the realm of possibility, though it’s pretty far out there.

Feige also said at the event “I’d love to bring both [Luke Cage and Black Panther] to the screen. It’s just a matter of when…part of the fun of a continuing Avengers story would be to introduce new characters every time.” This next film certainly does that in terms of Maria Hill and Hawkeye, though the latter made a brief appearance in Thor. It’d be great to see an expanded version of this team in subsequent films.

Also, Feige confirmed that The Hulk won’t be in Iron Man 3, a rumor that somehow got started thanks to Tony’s professed love of Banner’s work in the upcoming film. It looks like fans will just have to stick with Black Widow for now.

The Avengers hits theaters on May 4th.