The Avengers will be released in 3-D. The Marvel movie - starring a huge cast including Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson and Chris Hemsworth - is now to be released in the special format alongside a 2-D version.

In the same release, Disney also confirmed another as-yet-untitled film has been moved from a release date of June 2014 to April 2014, with many speculating it may be the follow-up to Captain America: The First Avenger.

Joss Whedon has directed The Avengers, and Disney's distribution chief Dave Hollis has predicted it will be huge upon its release in 2012: "I don't know who doesn't know about The Avengers at this point. It will be an absolute phenomenon."

Jeremy Renner - who stars as Hawkeye in the movie - previously joked he had no idea how the final movie would look after it had been edited: "Someone's in the air, flying around. I'm on the ground, shooting a bow and arrow. There are a lot of things happening. I have no idea what that movie looks like. Zero idea. Most of the time, I have a good idea of how it's going to turn out because I've seen so much of it, but I have no idea. I feel like I might be an extra in it. I'm not sure."