Marvel Names Avengers 2 and Shows Off Guardians of the Galaxy Footage at SDCC

In the face of Warner Bros. Superman/Batman bombshell, Marvel Studios engaged in a game of “top this” in San Diego’s famed Hall H.

Tom Hiddleston hit the stage in full Loki regalia, and he told the fans to "Claim loyalty to me. And I will give you what you need." The fans chant “Loki” and he left the stage saying, “Now, I have an army” before introducing footage of Thor: The Dark World  which shows many giants and Dark Elves, along with Lady Sif kicking many different types of ass. 

Kevin Feige then introduced the cast and crew of Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

On the subject of playing Captain America, Evans said that "It's harder to know what's right and wrong. Sometimes the actions you have to take certain threats compromise our civil liberties and privacy, and that's hard for Steve to swallow."

When asked how important Black Widow is to the story, Feige answered that "She and Cap really share this film." Johansson adds, "She and Cap now have this relationship that they've built. It's an opportunity to see how she is in a more casual working relationship with somebody. It breaks down the barriers that she's put up. You learn more about her each time."

Johansson promised that the "film is gritty, down, dirty knuckle fighting. A lot of action in this one."

Sam Jackson was asked how it feels to wear the eyepatch of Nick Fury to which he replied, "Pretty bad ass!" to the delight of the crowd. He says that the Avengers are "instruments of justice. Tools. But people that he cares about. He and Steve have a way of talking because they're both warriors. But he also knows Steve has a black-and-white view of the enemy and the good guys. He doesn't know how that changed. That's the grey area that S.H.I.E.L.D. works in. Almost everything that comes out of his mouth is a lie, and sometimes he has to figure out when he's lying to himself."

Sebastian Stan promises that the film follows Ed Brubaker’s story very closely (and it had better, considering how good the source material is).

In regards to his character, the Falcon, Anthony Mackie says ”I'm introducing Sam Wilson. I have wings and guns! That's all you need! That's what I got! So me and Cap go out and give him the business, her the business, that's what we do. Hand out the business."

Joe and Anthony Russo describe the film, "It stems from 70s style political thrillers. We keep saying this is the best job we've ever had. I've read comics since I was 10 and presenting footage at Hall H is a dream come true."

Cobie Smulders describes Maria Hill’s goal as “basically find her way in this new world we find ourselves in." 

Feige carried on by saying "We want something new, something unexpected, not just something familiar and that's why we announced Guardians of the Galaxy. We just started filming in London, we're on day 14. But they wanted to come say hi." He was promptly joined on the stage by Guardians director, James Gunn, and the cast of the film.

Hardwick asked Chris Pratt (Star Lord) if his amazing weight loss was for the movie, and Pratt joked that they told him he was too fat and hired him a personal trainer. Pratt describes his character as "Peter Quill is this guy who lives in space! I don't know what I can say, but he's kind of jerky, had a hard time as a kid, now he goes around in space making out with hot alien girls and just being a rogue and a jerk. Through teaming up with these guys, he finds a higher purpose for himself, really cares about something and puts his life on the line. That's who Peter Quill is."

Zoe Saldana described her experience of playing Gamora, "It's really exciting. I've been blue once, so why not try green. I love being in space. I love being challenged by great roles, especially with a company like Marvel who makes these amazing characters and movies and gives us the opportunity to bring them to life."

Chris Hardwick asked former WWE champion Dave Bautista what he brings to the film, the ex-champ replies "I don't know man, I'm still at the point that I go to the set and can't figure out how I got this job." Feige jumps in to support his choice for Drax by saying, “He earned this job, he auditioned six or seven times, and he's tremendous.” The massive Bautista sincerely adds that he cried when he got the role "I'm 44 years old, but I'm still the baby on the set in terms of acting experience, so I try to learn something new from the other talented actors."

Benicio Del Toro got involved in the film through the director, that when the actor got the script he "read it, loved the great story, it's cool. I'm the new one here; I haven't started shooting yet, so I'm meeting the cast for the first time here!"

Lee Pace says of his character ,Ronan, "It's the early days. He's a very complicated Kree. He's a beast. He's an iconic character since 1967, but I don't want to say too much right now, because we're going to put it on the screen."

Karen Gillan is introduced as Nebula. She says she had to shave her head for the role and proceeded to throw her wig into the crowd. She added "I was a little worried that I would look like an overgrown fetus, but it's liberating! Everyone should shave their heads."

Michael Rooker reminded the crowd that “Merle is gone. He died two times in one episode, dammit, let him go!"

The clips shown from Guardians of the Galaxy included shots of the Nova Corps; Drax and Gamora in full make-up, and a fully CGI Rocket Raccoon and Groot!

The biggest surprise came when Hardwick brought Joss Whedon out, who said "I don't have anything to say, but I have one thing to add." A brief clip of Iron Man's helmet with various Avengers talking followed, and then a logo...Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Well, there's that mystery solved! We'll get you more on this as it develops!

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for all news updates related to the world of geek. And Google+, if that's your thing!