Louis Leterrier Officially In The Running To Assemble THE AVENGERS!

Beaks here...

I just finished an interview with CLASH OF THE TITANS director Louis Leterrier, and, wouldn't you know it, the topic of him directing THE AVENGERS came up! Now, Leterrier has lobbied in the past for the gig, but I'm pretty sure today is the first time he's revealed that he is on Marvel Studios' official shortlist to helm the big superhero soiree geeks have been clamoring for since Nick Fury's surprise cameo at the end of IRON MAN. Here's what he had to say:

"I am on the shortlist, but I'm at the bottom of the shortlist, I'm sure. (Laughs) I don't know who the other guys are, but I have a great relationship with [Marvel], and I've been very vocal to them and everyone else that I am the one to direct it. I loved my time at Marvel. I loved those guys. They're fantastic. Kevin is such a passionate boss; he gets his hands dirty. It's a universe I want to keep exploring. I was frustrated with [THE INCREDIBLE HULK]. It was like, "That's it? Only one superhero? Can I do more???" We'll see. Time will tell."

As for "the other guys" in the running, feel free to speculate. Jon Favreau took himself out of the running last October. Of the directors who've been directly involved in Marvel's run-up to THE AVENGERS, this leaves Leterrier, Kenneth Branagh (THOR) and Joe Johnston (THE FIRST AVENGER: CAPTAIN AMERICA). I suppose you could include Edgar Wright (ANT-MAN) and Zak Penn (who's writing THE AVENGERS) as well. Any favorites out of that group? I have one, but I very selfishly don't want to lose him to franchise filmmaking. Also, he has a very specific style that might clash with Marvel's insistence on a somewhat cohesive sensibility. Finally, there's the very real possibility that Marvel's shortlist includes a director or two who has yet to work with the studio. In the meantime, Leterrier's CLASH OF THE TITANS will Bubo your brains out on April 2nd.