The Avengers 2 release date confirmed

Los Angeles - The Avengers 2 will be released on 1 May 2015.

The sequel to the superhero film will once again be written and directed by Joss Whedon and now Marvel have confirmed when it will come out after much speculation.

They said in a statement: "The Walt Disney Studios has announced a release date for Marvel Studios' sequel to the biggest superhero blockbuster and third highest-grossing film of all time, Marvel's The Avengers.

"Joss Whedon returns to write and direct the untitled Marvel's Avengers sequel, set for release [on] May 1, 2015."

'Ahead of the game'

According to sources, Joss is thought to have already developed a template for the storyline.

An insider said: "Marvel has a very set agenda of what they want to do, they are already kind of ahead of the game [on the sequel] because they've got the guy that did it before doing it again and something tells me Joss already has the template [for the film]."

A number of cast members will be unavailable to shoot the movie ready for an earlier release date as they will be filming their own standalone motion pictures.

Robert Downey Jr is to reprise his titular role in Iron Man 3 in 2013, Chris Evans will return as the lead character in Captain America: The Winter Soldier in 2014 and Chris Hemsworth is to star in Thor: The Dark World next year.

The source added: "In terms of the time frame, I think that it is well in the works. It looks like the release date might be May 1, 2015, but that can change depending on people's schedules.

"The beauty of The Avengers is that you've got so many people in this that even during the shoot if someone has to do another film they can just focus on [other characters]."