What was once “very likely” is now “yes definitely.” How I Met Your Mother‘s Cobie Smulders is officially on board as S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Maria Hill in the 2012 Joss Whedon-directed The Avengers film, says Variety.
Smulders emerged as the front-runner on Saturday, after Samuel L. Jackson revealed on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon that producers were auditioning “female sidekick” for his Nick Fury. This helps balance a heavily male cast that previously counted only Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow as a known major female player. Maria Hill was created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist David Finch, having first appeared in New Avengers #4 before becoming interim executive director of S.H.I.E.L.D. during Civil War. The character is currently appearing in the Bendis-written, John Romita Jr.-illustrated Avengers flagship title.
Smulders is familiar to Whedon fans — she was reported as a front-runner for the role of Wonder Woman when the writer/director was attached to that property; her How I Met Your Mother co-star is Buffy the Vampire Slayer alum Alyson Hannigan, and the show has seen several Whedon vets show up as guest stars, including Alexis Denisof, Amy Acker and Morena Baccarin.
Right role? Right casting? Let us know your thoughts.
February 7th, 2011 at 10:11 pm
Sold!!! I’m a very big fan of this.
February 8th, 2011 at 12:03 am
First she tries to kill Lex Luthor now she want’s to stop the baddies of the Marvel U.
February 8th, 2011 at 9:19 am
these movie sound more and more like a mess
February 8th, 2011 at 9:20 am
Robin Sparkles : Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D
February 8th, 2011 at 9:27 am
Wow, it’s amazing that ‘rama confirmed that she will be Maria Hill when no other site has the confirmation of who she will be playing. They even link to the Variety article, that does not mention who she will be… At least they are letting us comment.
February 8th, 2011 at 9:59 am
Sorry, but I don’t trust Joss Whedon to handle a project this big.
February 8th, 2011 at 10:02 am
I love it. Didn’t Maria Hill appear in the Secret Wars mini series before New Avengers issue four?
February 8th, 2011 at 10:04 am
I trust him. We’ve seen his great ensemble pieces and we’ve read his big damn action stuff. Now with the money to do both the sky is the limit.
February 8th, 2011 at 10:12 am
comicbookmovies.com said it was a rumor that it was a rumor today and newsarama confirmed it before anybody….newsarama for the win
February 8th, 2011 at 10:13 am
Mike Dodaro-
Yeah, that’s where I first saw her, in the Secret Wars mini.
While Avengers is not my super-team of choice, you can’t deny that this movie has amazing potential, given the cast and director.
Now if only Sam Jackson would play “Nick Fury” and not “Sam-Jackson-with-an-eyepatch”…..
February 8th, 2011 at 10:27 am
Much as I like Cobie Smulders, I still think Morena Baccarin would’ve made a better Maria Hill…
MTOcean890′s comment is LEGEN – wait for it – DARY!
February 8th, 2011 at 10:37 am
Odd choice – she’s a bit too lightweight comedy for this role. Morena Baccarin would have been better. But maybe Cobie will surprise us.
February 8th, 2011 at 11:06 am
I trust Joss.
Right now though I don’t trust Marvel. I think too many things are being thrown into the movie. It should be a smaller movie with less characters.
February 8th, 2011 at 11:31 am
@Nathan: she’s got a fair amount of non-comedy background, including in genre TV (ANDROMEDA, SMALLVILLE, JEREMIAH).
@NEWSARAMA: fix the spelling of her first name on the front page bug (Cobie, not Colbie).
February 8th, 2011 at 11:38 am
Rob – A smaller movie with less characters? It’s the freaking Avengers!! If there’s one thing this movie better not be, it’s small.
February 8th, 2011 at 11:51 am
Sure about Secret War? That had Daisy Johnson in it, who looks like Maria Hill. I don’t recall Maria Hill being in that series, but I could be wrong.
February 8th, 2011 at 11:57 am
@axonrey: Hill and Johnson were in Secret War.
I think this was a good choice to play this part. She has the look and she can act.
February 8th, 2011 at 12:00 pm
Has anyone read the latest on the hot mess that is the Spider-Man musical? It’s a sign that the rest of the world has hit the wall when it comes to mainstream super-heroics.
We can fantasize who should play what for ever — but if a studio wants to spend $65 million and get hundreds of thousands in return, that’s a sign that someone is going to lose their job.
http://theater.nytimes.com/2011/02/08/theater/reviews/spiderman-review.html?hp
February 8th, 2011 at 12:16 pm
@QNetter,
What episodes or parts was she in for Andromeda and Smallville?
February 8th, 2011 at 12:25 pm
Me
Yes it is the Avengers. So they don’t need Nick Fury or Maria Hill in it.
7 characters would work fine.
Big does not mean good. sometimes it can be bogged down by its own weight.
February 8th, 2011 at 12:49 pm
More characters = more merchandise = more money.
By all means, include Maria Hill, but if the plot doesn’t allow for more than a glorified cameo appearance, then don’t try to force it.
February 8th, 2011 at 2:05 pm
The guy wanting Jackson to play Fury as something other than Sam Jackson with an eyepatch forgets that Ultimate Nick Fury IS Sam Jackson with an eyepatch, and has been for years before Jackson stepped in front of a camera to play him.
February 8th, 2011 at 2:53 pm
Now we just need Neil Patrick Harris as Quicksilver and Jason Segel and Alyson Hannigan as Giant Man and the Wasp.
February 8th, 2011 at 6:03 pm
Sweet, now sack Jackson and get a white guy to play Fury, like it should have been. Stupi ****ing Marvel. Why don’t we just get a black guy to play Spider-Man or Batman? I’m sure there would eb a shitstorm then.
February 8th, 2011 at 8:10 pm
Smulders’ acting is pretty wooden and robotic on HIMYM, so she’s perfect to play a stiff and rigid female military officer.
February 8th, 2011 at 11:08 pm
Yes!!
February 8th, 2011 at 11:27 pm
Her body is not the right type for action girl. Her entire build is very motherly like.
February 8th, 2011 at 11:51 pm
Big deal, some actress from a mediocre sitcom is going to be in the Avengers. The movie is probably going to be a mess because with some many characters vying for screen time and it’s mostly going to be filled with CGI so it’s no different to X-Men 3. But mouth-breathers who like this type of brainless entertainment, much like Joss Whedon’s work is going to love this nonetheless.
February 9th, 2011 at 2:24 am
I love the way even a casting announcement can have people spitting bile.
Oh and someone lend Baggins a copy of the Ultimates
February 9th, 2011 at 5:05 am
I could not have said it any better Inane Geek.
February 9th, 2011 at 7:31 am
Love it. I’m sure it’ll be a small role, but she fits it perfectly. BTW, she did not appear in Secret War. That was Daisy Johnson. When she first showed up in New Avengers I had to go back and read Secret War again to make sure they wern’t the same person, so I can see the confusion.
February 9th, 2011 at 10:15 am
@Bob
X3 was a mess because of the plot and weak story development. Too many characters WE DON’T KNOW AND NEVER GET EXPLORED can be a problem. CAN be.
But, the reason the Avengers is even POSSIBLE is because they all have their own respective movies. A lot of characters doesn’t necessarily mean a bad flick, check out Battle Royale, Layer Cake, Watchmen, American Pie, The Matrix, and the Pirates of the Caribbean; all are great films that have big casts but are fairly assumed to be good movies.
Avengers NEEDS to be big, noisy and amazing. That’s the whole reason for them! They were each known before they teamed up, and when the world needed them to come together, they did. They each still have a solo book, but big flashy things happen in Avengers. That’s the POINT of the book, it should be the POINT of the movie. Otherwise just keep them in separate movies. Oh wait, that would suck.
So no, we don’t need that much character DEVELOPMENT, only character dynamics, how they interact and what toll their various styles take when acting in concert. So we need to see how Cap reacts to a man in armor, and how Tony takes to seeing a man wield lightning without tech. But there’s no inner turmoil in the Avengers flick, save the character defining element for the solo films, and let them come together to beat the shit out of a foe.
February 9th, 2011 at 10:17 am
Lanark Says:
February 8th, 2011 at 9:27 am
Wow, it’s amazing that ‘rama confirmed that she will be Maria Hill when no other site has the confirmation of who she will be playing. They even link to the Variety article, that does not mention who she will be… At least they are letting us comment.
jcav Says:
February 8th, 2011 at 10:12 am
comicbookmovies.com said it was a rumor that it was a rumor today and newsarama confirmed it before anybody….newsarama for the win
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More like Newsarama for the “We No Longer Care” tactic. The Forums are gone .. err, I mean, “under construction”; the previews here don’t work; and you can only comment on about half of the articles. Hear that creaking noise in the distance ? That’s the sound of the doors on this place closing. LOL