It’s nice to see actors go from virtual unknown to multiple Oscar nominee to star of a mega-budget action franchise in just a few years — especially when they’re not in their teens anymore. Fortunately, this time around with actor Jeremy Renner, who’s done just that, we actually like him and don’t feel like he’s being shoved down our throats like certain other people (Sam Worthington, we’re looking at you).

Renner’s latest gig is the lead role in the Tony Gilroy-directed The Bourne Legacy. Renner, who as we mentioned above, has been nominated for Oscars the past two years for his work in The Hurt Locker and The Town, is expected to close his deal quickly to play a new character in the spinoff film that begins production in September.

This new character will reportedly be an operative from a covert government program even more dangerous than Treadstone, the program that created Jason Bourne. Other actors reportedly in contention for this coveted role were Joel Edgerton, Dominic Cooper, Garrett Hedlund, Luke Evans, Taylor Kitsch and Anthony Mackie. Of those, Renner seems like the best choice — especially given his strong performances in his last couple of films.

The Bourne Legacy begins filming this Fall for an August, 2012 release.

It’s rare when two different pieces of news come together to form an even more awesome story. That’s the case here, as Jeremy Renner, star of last year’s critical success Hurt Locker, will be joining the ever growing greatness which is the upcoming Mission: Impossible 4 film.

Why is this such a big deal? That’s a three-part answer.

One: Renner has been a huge deal ever since working on Locker and even got cast as a fan favorite in the upcoming Avengers film helmed by Joss Whedon as Hawkeye. As if that wasn’t enough, two: he’s joining M:I4, which will be directed by Brad Bird, famous for his work on The Incredibles, Ratatouille, and The Simpsons. Three, the script comes from lord of all things geek, J.J. Abrams.  From Deadline:

Renner will star alongside Tom Cruise in the fourth installment of a franchise that will begin production in the fall. It is the second major role for Renner coming out of his  turn as the reckless explosives specialist in the Oscar-winning The Hurt Locker. Renner also will star in Marvel Studios’ The Avengers, playing the role of Hawkeye. Renner will next be seen in the Ben Affleck-directed The Town, the GK Films-produced drama that Warner Bros opens September 17.

Paramount has struggled to find the right co-star to play an operative opposite Cruise, and one factor was to selecting an actor who could potentially carry the series down the line, should Cruise’s Ethan Hunt character not continue to be the emphasis.

So there you have it, Renner will be showing off his archery in The Avengers, fighting alongside the former Daredevil in The Town, and now costarring in one of the highest grossing action film franchises in the past decade. What will he do next? Let’s hope he doesn’t go the way of Vin Diesel and pull a Pacifier.

After many years of happily reading John Romita Jr.’s work on Wolverine’s “Enemy of the State” Arc, Spider-Man and Kick-Ass, I was thrilled to be able to interview John Romita, Jr. (or JR. Jr.) for Marvel’s return to a bright, new day with the “Heroic Age.”

I caught up with the delightful John while he was working hard on the Avengers.  It seems this is one man who can draw and answer in-depth questions at the same time.

As always he was humorous, insightful, and well…in need of a nap.  Read on, true believers, and enjoy the latest from the desk of the modest legend himself.

The Flickcast: Marvel takes the entire Avengers line of titles into “The Heroic Age.” You’ve been paired up with Brian Michael Bendis on the core “Avengers” title; is your opening run contained to the first arc or two, or do you plan on being involved for the foreseeable future?

John Romita, Jr: In the first year I’m doing it [Avengers] for a minimum of 2 arcs and I’m enjoying myself.  If the book is still doing well, I’ll do it for a second year.  It’s so difficult, though, that I may not survive the first year— it’s intense work.

I have to finish 25 pages in the next 17 days.  So, after doing Avengers, I may want to sleep for a year.  But doing the Avengers with Bendis is an amazing experience.  If I get through the year and I’m still healthy enough, I will do another one.

TF: What are the benefits and challenges of drawing iconic characters like Thor, Spidey, Iron Man, Wolverine, and Captain America vs. drawing characters you create?

JR: Oh, that’s on a strictly selfish scale, it’s much more fun to do a character you create because you create them and there’s a lot of gratification for that, but working on iconic characters is like driving your father’s classic car, it’s spectacular and fantastic, but it’s better off when it’s your own.

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It seems like Marvel can do no wrong with casting and news for their upcoming Avengers flick. First, fanboy superstar Joss Whedon is announced as the director, and now it seems fan favorite Jeremy Renner will be taking on the role of Clint Barton a.k.a. Hawkeye.

Speculation started a few months ago that the Hurt Locker actor would join the upcoming Joss Whedon-helmed Marvel pic, The Avengers, but not much evidence came through to make us believe it was going to happen. It seems that it was true all along, as Jeremy Renner is currently finalizing the deal with Marvel Studios to carry the bow-and-arrow. From THR:

Renner’s involvement was initially rumored last fall, although the actor, who was in the middle of the awards derby with his war thriller “The Hurt Locker,” was at the time more taken with Paul Thomas Anderson’s untitled drama and was being heavily courted by Universal for “Battleship.”

Renner never joined “Battleship,” and while he still has definite interest in Anderson’s film, that project is still cobbling financing and has seen its start pushed back several times.

Renner saw a chance to take on work in a role that, while key, is not starring in nature and will allow him to slide into Anderson’s film if it should come together.

The actor will be joining an already full cast of Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Sam Jackson, Don Cheadle, Chris Hemsworth, and Scarlett Johansson. If you are one to believe IMDb’s rumored casting, that group also includes Malin Akerman as The Wasp and Nathan Fillion as Ant Man.

Joss Whedon’s The Avengers is currently set for release on May 4, 2012.

While this is definitely a cool idea, it should be noted that this piece of news is most definitely a rumor as of now and should be treated as such.

With all eyes still on Jon Favreau’s Iron Man 2 as it continues to make money at the worldwide box office, most Marvel fans are already ready for more from the cinematic universe. We’ve got Thor on the way next and then Joe Johnston’s Captain America. But after that, everything leads to Joss Whedon’s The Avengers in 2012.

We’ve heard we’ll see just about every Marvel character in The Avengers the company currently has the film rights to including The Hulk, Thor, Cap, Iron Man, Ant Man, and Hawkeye. Now we’re getting word that the main villains of the film could be the alien race The Skrulls.

The highlight of this insider scoop (DISCLAIMER: which has not been confirmed by the studio itself) is that the shape-changing alien race the Skrulls are being used as the main antagonists for The Avengers. Not only that, but the Skrulls will ‘brainwash’ and use the Hulk in a similar fashion Loki did in the comics.

Don’t expect a full on alien invasion, though; that will have to wait for a sequel. The Skrulls’ role will be largely clandestine, similar to the way S.H.I.E.L.D. operates.

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Captain America (Bucky)

Note: This article may contain spoilers. If you dont care about that, read on.

Norman Osborn is going down. There’s no doubt about it. The “Dark Reign” looks to be collapsing and as casualties on both sides pile up in Seige, the dawn of the Heroic Age is just around the corner.

With the Heroic Age coming, some Marvel books will be coming to an end, most notably New Avengers. In the aptly named New Avengers: Finale, scribe Brian Michael Bendis and artist Bryan Hitch will tie up the loose ends of every New Avengers tale that has led to this point. With no cover image even leaking on to the internet yet, no one knows exactly what’s to come from this book.

This will all come to a head in April, giving perfect timing for Marvel’s latest set of promotional art entitled, “I’m an Avenger” and “I’m a Secret Avenger”. With a “May 2010″ tag, these pieces feature work from John Romita Jr. and show some of the current stars expected to be present in the Avengers team post-Siege. The most shocking has Hawkeye, not Ronin, pictured which could mean that Clint Barton may finally be returning to the good old purple and blue.

The five “secret” pieces show simple silhouettes of various members of the new Secret Avengers along with different quotes they’d use to describe themselves. Of the Secret Avengers thus far there are many theories going on about who might be on the team.

Take a look for yourself at them all below and let us know who you think may be screaming for their team to “Assemble!” come May.

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Marvel is at it again, adding a new spin to their image and changing things up to excite readers new and old. This time around, the publisher is set to unleash “the dawn of new heroism in the Marvel Universe.” What are they talking about? Well, read on for all the scoop, via the official press release.

Marvel Comics is proud to announce The Heroic Age, the dawn of an exciting new era of heroism in the Marvel Universe! Beginning in May 2010 with the release of Avengers #1, The Heroic Age ushers in a brighter Marvel Universe and a bold new era for the world’s greatest super heroes as they emerge from darkness with a renewed sense of hope and optimism, leading to the formation of all new teams with new members…and brand new characters!

Titles branded with the Heroic Age banner offer a perfect jumping on point for readers new and old alike, as the top comic book creators in the world deliver a Marvel Universe like you’ve never seen before!

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As casting news about the upcoming Thor film continues to heat up there’s a little film called The Avengers we’re all really interested in too. The comic book mega-film will bring together some of the biggest Marvel heroes ever.  So, it comes with some excitement to be reporting on potential casting news for The Avengers.

Word is Jeremy Renner, star of war drama The Hurt Locker, may be set to play bow and arrow hero, Hawkeye.  When asked about the role, Renner said:

“Hawkeye could be interesting. They’re going to send me some stuff on it, see what it is. But I think they’re pretty awesome, trying to make superhero movies almost plausible and not just some fantasy thing.”

The simple fact that Renner is being sent “stuff” bodes well for his inclusion in the film.  Another advantage is that Renner has a cameo in Thor which means he’s already on the Marvel bandwagon.  While I can’t imagine Hawkeye having a huge role in The Avengers it’s great to find out Marvel recruiting top talent to fill the hero roster.

The Avengers is set to hit theaters on May 4, 2012.

This is part one of this week’s Pull List, check back tomorrow for part two, and check out last week’s edition here and here.

Before we start off, I have to offer my apologies to a few readers. Despite all the hype and love people have for their pets,  I just couldn’t bring myself to purchase Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers…sorry again.
—- John

Pull of the Week:

Green Lantern Corps #36 – DC – $2.99
Score: 9.0

Continuing to move towards Blackest Night, writer Peter Tomasi takes the reader through three very different stories that all seem to be very dependent on each other. The first picks up with Sinestro, the leader of the Sinestro Corps, explaining to his daughter how the revelation of their relationship came to pass. It becomes quite a heart wrenching scene as Green Lantern Soranik must come to accept that the man, whose defeat made her the hero of her planet and people, is actually her father. Sinestro doesn’t come across as a typical mustache twirling super-villain in the scene either as there seem to be some honest intentions from the former tyrant. He explains to Soranik her role in what is supposedly destined to come.

At the same time there has been a breach in the facility where the Green Lantern Corps has been holding members of the Sinestro Corps captive for their despicable actions. These pages play out beautifully more as a news real feed than a comic book action sequence. Fleeting glimpses of the chaos are shown instead of following each of the specific Green or Yellow Lanterns during the battle. Instead, the overall drama of the confrontation is told with almost CNN-style narrative over what is definitely more than just the “Riot!” proclaimed on the cover of the issue.

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