While we're breaking news about the upcoming Fantastic Four Reboot, we thought we'd pass along a couple of items collected from around the Web, regarding both Captain America and The Avengers.

There have been several Captain America: The First Avenger set photos that have popped up in the last few weeks, and today we have images of a celebratory sequence that was filmed in London's famous Trafalgar Square. On The Avengers front: there's news coming out that Black Widow (played by Scarlett Johansson) won't be the only female character in the film.

First up, we'll talk about The Avengers. Joss Whedon was talking to the The Sunday Herald-Sun recently, where he made the following statement:

"It is true that the movie is only going to have one female avenger...But she [Black Widow] will not be the only female character".

The immediate knee-jerk reaction is that Whedon is alluding to either Pepper Potts from the Iron Man franchise (played by Gwyneth Paltrow) or Betty Ross, the love interest of Bruce Banner played by Liv Tyler in The Incredible Hulk. Natalie Portman's character from Thor, Jane Foster, is also a possibility, and, if I were a betting man, one (or more) of those love interest ladies returning for The Avengers would be the safe bet.

However, since there is no money at stake here, it's just as fun to speculate that we could see some notable female agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in The Avengers (Sharon Carter or Maria Hill, for instance). We could also perhaps see a femme fatale from the villain side, such as Madame Hydra or a Skrull Queen (if rumors of the shape-shifting aliens being The Avengers' foes are true).

The only real evidence to cite for The Avengers featuring a previously-unseen female character is that Marvel likely would've brought any returning big-name actresses to the stage as part of their Avengers panel at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con. Maybe not, though.

Sharon Carter (Agent 13) in Captain America 2

Personally, I think bringing back Pepper, Betty and/or Jane Foster would be a bit on the boring side - if I had it my way, Sharon Carter (see above) would be the other female featured in The Avengers. In my opinion, Carter is a key element missing from the Marvel movie universe - a few quick facts about her:

  • She's the modern-day love interest of Captain America.
  • She's the descendant of Peggy Carter, Cap's WWII love interest who will appear in The First Avenger.
  • She's also the kick-ass spy known as "Agent 13" and would likely be featured in the proposed S.H.I.E.L.D. spinoff film.

What do you think:  should Sharon Carter appear in The Avengers? Or should the other female character(s) be a villain (Black Widow needs somebody to cat fight, after all). Would you be disappointed if the other girl(s) was simply a returning love interest? I'm sure we'll find out more in the coming months as production on The Avengers ramps up.

Continue to the Captain America Set photos...

CAPTAIN AMERICA SET PHOTOS

The most recent photos from the Captain America set come our way courtesy of WENN. They show a crowd gathered around Trafalgar Square in London, to celebrate VE Day, which marked the official surrender of Germany and the Nazi's Third Reich to Allied Forces.

Check out a few of the photos from the set below:

[gallery exclude="74847, 74846, 74840" link="file" columns="2"]

There is still a very small continuity question that I have about The First Avenger, that these photos only further raise.  Maybe our audience of savvy readers can help:

Obviously The First Avenger is an origin film about Captain America being transformed from a wimpy kid with a heart of pure patriotism, into the star-spangled Avenger we know and love him as. We also know that the movie must end with Cap being locked in suspended animation, until he is thawed in this modern day and age and becomes the leader of The Avengers.

Now, anybody who knows their Captain America lore also knows that Cap didn't just become a super soldier, fight one battle against the Red Skull (Hugo Weaving) and end up in a block of ice after one that one battle. The actual history of Cap's exploits during WWII is extensive - extensive enough for more than one movie if you think about it. So how will they handle the origin, exploits and ultimate fate of Captain America in The First Avenger? I see three possible scenarios:

Captain America Comic-Con banner
  1. The First Avenger will reduce a lot of Cap's WWII exploits into some kind of battle montage, ending with his final battle against the Skull.
  2. The film will cover Cap's initial origin and initial outings as a superhero, and we'll see the time-spanning montage at the end, leading up to WWII being won (hence the photos above) and Cap being frozen in suspended animation in a last fateful battle.
  3. An incredibly lame scenario: Cap becomes a superhero, immediately goes to battle against the Skull, saves the day, but is also locked in suspended animation while doing so. Narratively speaking, for an origin movie, it makes the most sense - however, it would basically mean that The Avengers are getting a "super soldier" who has only been on one real mission. Not quite the experienced leader you would hope to have for a super team.

Alright, hopefully one of you savvy readers will be able to answer this for me (and please don't beat me up too hard if I simply missed out on the explanation). Other than that, how did you like seeing photos of a Captain America movie from the English perspective? (Head over to WENN for the rest of the gallery.)

Captain America: The First Avenger will be in theaters (3D and 2D) on July 22, 2011.

The Avengers will be in theaters (3D and 2D) on May 4, 2012.

Sources: Wenn via Coming Soon & The Sunday Herald-Sun via Moviehole