The Avengers 2

Weighing in at thirteen discs, this ultimate status symbol among Marvelites collects the Blu-Ray, Blu-Ray 3D, and digital-only editions of Iron Man 3, Thor: the Dark World, Guardians of the Galaxy, Ant-Man, Captain America: the Winter Soldier, and Avengers: Age of Ultron.

As expected, Avengers: Age of Ultron dominated the box office for the second weekend in a row, pulling in numbers that would be the envy of most summer blockbusters’ opening three days. And while the only new release of the week faltered, it was a surprisingly strong week overall, with many of the films in the top 10 faring well despite facing one of the biggest movies of the year.

There’s a bizarre narrative floating around the internet: Avengers: Age of Ultron is already a disappointment because it didn’t open higher than The Avengers in its first weekend. This seems to be ignoring the fact that The Avengers had the biggest opening of all time and Avengers: Age of Ultron now has the second biggest opening of all time, which is nothing to scoff at. Sure, the sequel may not match the numbers of the first movie in the end, but it’s already well on the way to becoming one of the biggest movies of the year. And of all time.

Just before filming began on Avengers: Age of Ultron, Scarlett Johansson found out she was pregnant. A movie like Avengers can't just be delayed, so Marvel used a variety of tricks to hide the pregnancy including shooting her from the waist up, using three stunt doubles and CGI-ing out her growing belly. This is just one of the facts packed into the latest episode of You Think You Know Movies, which follows the latest adventures of Earth's Mightiest Heroes!

At some point, we’re not sure when, Sesame Street stopped being a low-key educational children’s program and started being an educational children’s program that finds time to create internet-friendly parodies of whatever pop culture event is huge in a given week. So yeah, of course the show has made an Avengers-themed sketch and of course it’s called The Aveggies: Age of Bon Bon and of course it recasts Cookie Monster as the Hulk.

Avengers: Age of Ultron doesn’t hit American theaters for another week, but Marvel’s latest superhero epic opens today in many theaters around the world. This means that you need to tread cautiously if you want to avoid spoilers, but it also means that Amazon.co.uk is already offering its users the chance to pre-order the film on Blu-ray and DVD. We know that the window between theatrical and home releases are shrinking, but that’s just ludicrous. However, it’s the details about the disc that should get fans stroking their chins and saying “Hmmm.”

Marvel has long included Easter eggs in their films, referencing other superheroes and properties in the MCU throughout its current run with Disney. But there’s another Disney property that’s been acknowledged in the MCU: Star Wars. Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige reveals that they’ve used the same Star Wars Easter egg in each and every one of their Phase Two films, although you probably didn’t notice it.

There’s a lot to like about Avengers: Age of Ultron, but the coolest thing about it is the way it reclaims the comic book part of the phrase “comic-book movie.” Rather than using these characters to do something “edgy” or “adult” or “important,” or sanding down their quirkier edges to appeal to as broad and mainstream an audience as possible, Age of Ultron doubles down on its source material’s geeky origins.

Ever since the Hulk stole the show back in 2012’s The Avengers, fans have been clamoring for a solo adventure for Mark Ruffalo and his big, green alter-ego. And yet, we’ve heard nothing and aside from a tiny cameo in Iron Man 3, Bruce Banner has sat out Marvel’s Phase 2. However, Ruffalo himself has spoken out about the matter and it sounds like Earth’s mightiest green rage monster is being constrained by the most powerful force in the universe: rights issues.

Avengers: Age of Ultron has already begun screening for critics and it has been receiving very positive responses, which is definitely not doing anything to deter our personal hype from reaching unfair and dangerous levels. Thankfully, Marvel has thrown the rest of us a bone with this new clip from the film, which features enough of that typical Joss Whedon wit and enough big action to satiate us for, oh, another day or so.

Since the very first Avengers 2 trailer, one of the scenes we were most looking forward to was the Hulk vs. Hulkbuster battle. If you just can’t wait until May 1, last night during the MTV Movie Awards, Marvel premiered an extended clip showing you more of the epic brawl between the two Avengers powerhouses.

We’re approaching that point in the ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ marketing campaign where it can start to feel like we’ve already seen every big stunt and setpiece in the film before the movie’s even opened. But the new ‘Avengers’ trailer reveals yet another amazingly cool beat that’s never been seen before: Chris Evans’ Captain America loses his shield in battle with James Spader’s Ultron, so Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow snatches it while trailing the fight on a motorcycle, then slides under a semi-truck Fast & Furious-style and tosses it up to Cap so he can continue the battle. Awesome awesome awesome. (Marvel’s going to try to use that as a pull-quote on the poster, aren’t they?)