Though things have been getting pretty dark and gritty elsewhere in the world of comic adaptations, a recent Q&A with Kevin Feige and Joss Whedon after an Avengers: Age of Ultron screening revealed that’s not in the cards for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

A moderator on Reddit’s Marvel Studios thread was able to get a lot of great information from the Q&A, including the fact that despite ominous trailers and cataclysmic events, the MCU will always keep its sense of humor (and “swashbuckling adventure,” as another commenter put it), which is really great news.

Basically, even though things are going to get dark story-wise (and already have, in some cases), it’s safe to assume that ultimately the heroes will always prevail. As the original poster says, this is really just talking in terms of marketing strategy and the overall feel of the movie franchise. Feige even said he “hoped people would catch on by now.” Catch on, people!

There have also been reports that Feige’s contract has been renewed, and apparently that is not the case. The OP of the thread edited his post to say, “EDIT: [Feige] said that some of the actors’ contracts were renewed. He did NOT, I repeat NOT, say that his own contract was renewed.”

Additionally, there is an interesting tidbit where Feige reveals that one of his “favorite scenes in AoU ended up not making it into the movie; will instead be in Civil War. The scene just did not fit the ‘vibe’ of AoU so they wanted to put it in the next film. Joint decision by [Feige and Whedon].”

Start speculating … now!

There is a lot more really cool information from the session, including a few clarifications about character relationships, superpowers, who is really dead in the series (so far), and an note on how far in advance the thinking / planning is for upcoming films, all of which is definitely worth checking out. And let us know if any of it surprises you!

h/t CBM