Lex Luthor and Bruce Banner were in the 2013 crime-thriller Now You See Me and will both return for the aptly titled sequel, Now You See Me 2 (2016). In the film, Ruffalo plays an Interpol agent, out to get Eisenberg and the other Four Horsemen magicians for robbing a bank in Paris while performing in Las Vegas. In the sequel, Ruffalo will once again hunt Eisenberg, as the Robin Hood-esque group of magicians resurface for another daring heist. Lionsgate is already planning a third film in the franchise.
Rocket Raccoon, Batman and Black Widow starred in the 2009 American comedy, He's Just Not That Into You. A six degrees of separation -esque romance tale, Cooper plays Ben, a cheats on his wife with a yoga instruction and aspiring singer (Scarlett) after a chance meeting. Neil (Affleck) is best-friends and works with Ben (Cooper) and is dating the co-worker of Ben's wife (Jennifer Aniston). The film was not very well received by critics but still grossed $178.4 million from a $40 million budget.
Affleck had much more success in The Town (2010), the film which catapulted Affleck to new found heights of fame and celebrity as Hollywood took note of Affleck's prowess as a director and screenwriter. Affleck directed, wrote and starred in the crime-drama which follows four lie-long friends in Boston who rob a bank and take a hostage, who Affleck later falls in love with. Renner's character wants to kill Affleck's love as she may be able to identify them to the FBI. Affleck must chose between his friend and the woman he loves. The film would go own to earn praise from fans and critics alike, particularly for Affleck's directing. Jeremy Renner also received a Nomination for Best Supporting Actor at The Academy Awards. The Town would go on to serve as a stepping stone for Argo, another film where Affleck starred and directed. The film won Best Picture at the 2013 Academy Awards.
Zack Snyder's feature film debut was a remake of George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead. The screenplay was written by Guardians of the Galaxy's James Gunn (with additional rewrites from Michael Tolkin and Scott Frank) . The film would go on to gross $102.4 million on a $26 million budget and essentially launched the careers of the two DCEU and MCU linchpins. You can download a PDF of the script, HERE.
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and DCEU liaison Geoff Johns are both heavily influenced by the Richard Donner aesthetic. After college, both went to work at Richard Donner's film company, with Geoff serving as an assistant to Richard and Kevin serving as an assistant to his wife, X-Men producer Laura Shuler Donner. On his time at the company, Feige Stated, "In addition to being great producers, the Donners developed and produced two of the most seminal films in the superhero genre – Superman and X-Men. Why not work for the company that started it all? For a film student and comic book fan like me, there was no better place to merge my two passions." "Both Dick and Lauren provided an incredible work environment which encouraged creativity and taking things as far as they could go. They readily supported the idea of assistants rising through the ranks and they were always quick to recognize talent in young folks – harness this talent and offer a platform in which up and coming producers and executives could grow." Geoff Johns had similar, positive things to say about the Donners. "Pure and simple, they're responsible for some of my favorite films and, specifically, Dick was a director I always admired for his work on Superman, The Goonies and Lethal Weapon. And Lauren was launching the X-Men franchise when I was just moving out to L.A. I was lucky to be a part of the company during that time." "I met Kevin about a month after I moved to Los Angeles. We used to talk about superheroes non-stop. I always wanted to see Green Lantern and a new Superman. He was always talking about Star Trek and Star Wars. But more importantly, Kevin's just a very smart and very creative guy. Like Dick and Lauren, one of the best." These days the two former assistants are at the top of DC Entertainment and Marvel Studios. Feige is probably planning Phase IV and V of the MCU while Johns is busy writing comic book scripts and episodes of DCTV shows like The Flash and Arrow. Johns is also rumored to be working on the script for the next solo-Batman film with Ben Affleck. Were any DCEU and MCU film connections missed? Take to the comment section below and point out any that were overlooked.
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