Cobie Smulders Talks Maria Hill’s Role In ‘Avengers: Age Of Ultron’

When Cobie Smulder’s Maria Hill was introduced back in the first Avengers film, mainstream audiences couldn’t have predicted how important the character would eventually become to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe.

To those unfamiliar to the comic books, Maria Hill was just a right hand to Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury, and it wasn’t until her appearance and role in Captain America: The Winter Soldier that her place in the cinematic universe became more prominent (Not to mention Hill’s appearances in ABC’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.). In Avengers: Age Of Ultron, Cobie Smulders’ character will no longer be working for the former juggernaut that was S.H.I.E.L.D., but will instead be working for Tony Stark–as hinted at at the end of The Winter Soldier. What else does this mean for the future of the character? In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Smulders discussed Hill’s role and importance in Avengers: Age Of Ultron, and how it differs from how Hill was used in the past.

“There’s so many pieces to this giant puzzle, and I’m happy that Maria Hill is one of them. She’s working for Tony Stark, yes, but they shot so many locations all over the world and this team is out doing all sorts of things. So I like to think that Maria is at headquarters, trying to keep everything running as smoothly as possible. And working for Tony Stark is a whole other ballgame. She doesn’t have S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel to back her up at her disposal, so it’s an entirely different vibe for her.”

Given the quote, it’s easy to guess that Hill will be mostly pushed to the side in favor of the more powerful Avengers characters, but given the importance of the few females in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, that may not quite be the case. The folks at Screen Rant have taken note of the apparent lack of female leads in the franchise. The closest Marvel has come so far is having Black Widow in a heavy supporting role in The Winter Soldier, but hope for a standalone flick for the femme fatale is fading fast. While Marvel does have female leads coming on the television front in the form of Agent Carter and A.K.A. Jessica Jones, the cinematic female presence has been noticeably lacking as of late (Captain Marvel is still a solid three and a half years away).

Smulders went on to comment on Maria Hill’s importance as a female figure in Marvel’s male-dominated world.

“I see Maria as having a more of a female presence in this world, and it’s really exciting to have Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) come in, and to see the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) have these amazing moments, and see more women on film with all these dudes. It’s great.”

With Wonder Woman getting her own film over at Warner Bros. and DC, Marvel has to realize that the female audience is an increasingly important piece of the market they can capitalize on. Black Widow was a great first step in pleasing that market, but will they take things to the next level with characters like Maria Hill and Scarlet Witch.

Marvel Studios isn’t dumb, and they will undoubtedly take the steps they deem necessary to make things work. Will Cobie Smulders’ Maria Hill be a part of that? We’ll stay tuned for Avengers: Age Of Ultron to see what Marvel does with the character.

[Image Credit: Marvel Studios]