AceShowbiz -

While words have been running wild that "The Avengers" might feature Skrulls and Red Skull as the secret villains, producer Kevin Feige recently stated that the reports are not more than just rumors. In an interview for the latest issue of Empire magazine, Feige confirmed that the Earth's Mightiest Heroes will not fight both Skrulls and Red Skulls in the forthcoming film.

"Who said they were aliens? It's not Skrulls, I've been clear about that," said the producer as quoted by Coming Soon. "Beyond that, we want to hide it. The identity of the alien race is not impactful. It exists in the comic books, but we're not setting up the Kree-Skrull war or anything like that."

As for Red Skull, Feige teased that the supervillain might return in another movie but not in "The Avengers". He said, "Was Skull vaporized at the end of the movie, or thrust into another realm? That remains to be seen. It would be fun to see Skull in future, but he's not in this one."

When director Joss Whedon was pushed to comment on the issue, he just said, "I do have a comment on that. It's...Oh, you're breaking up!" The helmer then switched the talk to Loki as saying, "He knows who he is now, and what his powers are. In order for The Avengers to come together, Loki has to be more menacing, and all of his malevolence is founded in a completely delusional dream."

To arrive in the U.S. theaters on May 4, "The Avengers" brings together the Earth's Mightiest Heroes to fight the biggest foes no single hero could withstand. The movie stars Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Chris Evans as Captain America, Mark Ruffalo as The Hulk, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Tom Hiddleston as Loki and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury.