Other Movies (besides the Marvel movies) Where Avengers Assemble!
When Captain America calls for his Avengers to assemble, he probably doesn’t realize that they had already done been assembled for way long before his butt got defrosted. Yes, it seems that Earth’s Mightiest Heroes had crossed paths many a time before in other non-Marvel affiliated films. Sure, they weren’t called “Hawkeye” or “Nick Fury” but they could still kick ass with the best of them.
With this week’s highly-anticipated Blu-ray release of Joss Whedon’s summer blockbuster Avengers: Age of Ultron , we wanted to take a moment to reflect back on all the movies where team members, their allies and enemies from the sequel crossed paths in cool and sometimes hilarious ways. From dancing to Michael Jackson to fighting a plague of rage zombies, these Marvel all-stars cut their teeth on some interesting projects before banding together to save the world from hordes of aliens and murderbots.
Check out 12 Other Movies Where Avengers Assemble in the gallery below! Let us know what you think in the comments below!
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12 Other Movies Where Avengers Assemble
Godzilla (2014)
ACTORS: Aaron Taylor Johnson & Elizabeth Olsen
Yuck! That's right, the brother-sister duo of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch played husband and wife in Godzilla only a year prior to suiting up for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There are some who argue, including the actors themselves, that a little bit of that sexual tension existed between the Maximoff twins as well, although we really don't want to think about that, thank you very much.
13 Going on 30 (2004)
ACTORS: Mark Ruffalo & Andy Serkis
Although his arms dealer villain Ulysses Klaue is only just emerging as a force to be reckoned with in the Marvel movies (see you in a few years, Black Panther), Andy Serkis has already shown that he can dance side-by-side with The Hulk in perfect harmony to Michael Jackson's "Thriller" in the Jennifer Garner fluff rom-com 13 Going on 30 .
Zodiac (2007)
ACTORS: Robert Downey Jr. & Mark Ruffalo
Before they were history's greatest Science Bros, Ruffalo and Downey were were at odds with each other as a hero cop and an obnoxious reporter (respectively) tripping each other up as they search for the infamous Zodiac killer in 1970's San Francisco. Even in their few brief scenes together one can see the magnetism these two clearly have as a dynamic duo.
Tuff Turf (1985)/Less Than Zero (1987)
ACTORS: Robert Downey Jr. & James Spader
On the Age of Ultron behind-the-scenes footage in the new Blu-ray you can see that, after being pals for over three decades, Downey and Spader still have a blast on set together. It makes sense, having survived two early '80s movies about teens in a bad scene, not to mention foreshadowing their Avengers roles as seen in our Movies That Predicted Other Movies article.
Chef (2014)
ACTORS: Scarlett Johansson & Robert Downey Jr.
Although their roles aren't huge, both Downey and Johansson lent their time and clout to their friend Jon Favreau (who gave them their coveted Marvel parts, after all) as he ventured to a small, personal film about a chef trying to get his creative mojo back.
The Perfect Score (2004)/The Nanny Diaries (2007)
ACTORS: Scarlett Johansson & Chris Evans
Remember that kiss Cap and Black Widow shared on the escalator in Winter Soldier ? Turns out they'd had time to practice as Evans played Johansson's "Harvard hottie" love interest in The Nanny Diaries . If you want to go even deeper into the vault check out the pair as high school students (!) in Perfect Score , the first of six films the two have made together counting the Marvel movies.
The Spirit (2008)
ACTORS: Scarlett Johansson & Samuel L. Jackson
Two years before she was cast as Black Widow, Johansson found herself recruited by Jackson for another comic book adaptation, albeit a far less successful one. Still riding high off the success of Sin City , comics creator Frank Miller put his own garish spin on Will Eisner's classic hero to disastrous effect, including our two Avengers as Octopus and his female sidekick Silken Floss.
S.W.A.T. (2003)
ACTORS: Samuel L. Jackson & Jeremy Renner
Early on in his career, a baby-faced Jeremy Renner took on the one and only Nick Fury (unless you count David Hasselhoff) as the heavy in this '70s TV series adaptation that proved successful at the box office, though not successful enough to warrant a sequel.
The Hurt Locker (2009)
ACTORS: Anthony Mackie & Jeremy Renner
Renner's big break came when he took on the role of a hotshot bomb disposal expert during the Iraq War. Unfortunately his adrenaline junkie ways put him at odds with a Sergeant (Mackie) who just wants to get through the conflict alive. Kathryn Bigelow's hard-hitting action exposé on the nature of modern warfare earned a Best Picture Academy Award.
Playing It Cool (2014)
ACTORS: Chris Evans & Anthony Mackie
A year or so before Anthony Mackie was cast as The Falcon, he took a supporting role as, ironically enough, Chris Evans' Hollywood agent in this somewhat generic rom-com that only saw the light of day this year. Evans' former Fantastic Four co-star Ioan Gruffudd also makes an appearance.
The Losers (2010)
ACTORS: Chris Evans & Idris Elba
Although he may not be an officially uniformed Avenger, Idris Elba's Asgardian guardian Heimdall makes a cameo appearance in Age of Ultron during a Thor dream sequence. You might think you were dreaming watching the 2010 Vertigo Comics adaptation The Losers to spy Heimdall walking side-by-side with Captain America himself.
28 Weeks Later (2007)
ACTORS: Jeremy Renner & Idris Elba
Idris plays another stern authority figure as General Stone in this sequel to Danny Boyle's cult British zombie film. When stone orders his soldiers to fire upon innocent civilians in order to prevent further outbreak, one of his soldiers named Doyle (Renner) decides, as Hawkeye did with Black Widow, to make "a different call."