Avenging angel

Turns out the biggest battles in "The Avengers: Age of Ultron" were behind the scenes. Director Joss Whedon reports that he fought Marvel over scenes involving Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), various dream sequences and that scene in a cave. He reports that negotiations "got really, really unpleasant" at one point. Whedon also wanted Captain Marvel and Spider-Man to appear in the film, but was foiled when Marvel and Sony didn't agree to team on the Spider-Man franchise until too late in the filming process. And then there's the small matter of Captain Marvel still being uncast.

D'oh! Of course

"The Simpsons" has been renewed for two more seasons, bringing it to 28. … Josh Charles is joining "Masters of Sex" as a "perfume magnate." … Queen Latifah plays Bessie Smith in the HBO biopic "Bessie." … Adam Scott and Jon Daly will play professional golfers (get it?) in a live-action comedy on "Adult Swim." … Fox has canceled "The Mindy Project," but it might be resurrected on Hulu. … "Jimmy Kimmel Live" will air a repeat on May 20, the night of David Letterman's final show.

Wooden you know

Keanu Reeves has signed up for "John Wick 2." … Louis C.K. writes, directs and stars in the indie drama "I'm a Cop." … Ron Howard's Beatles documentary will seek a distribution deal at Cannes. … Martin Freeman has joined the cast of "Captain America: Civil War." … Jon Hamm has signed on to the political thriller "High Wire Act" from director Tony Gilroy ("Michael Clayton"). … Kevin James has the title role in "The True Memoirs of an International Assassin." …

Jonesing for one more

Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy confirms that the studio has begun "talking about" another "Indiana Jones" movie. "When it will happen, I'm not quite sure," Kennedy told Vanity Fair. "We haven't started working on a script yet." Although "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" implied the torch was being passed to Shia LaBeouf, it appears the next film will feature a new actor in the reimagined Indy role; Bradley Cooper or Chris Pratt, anyone?

CYNTHIA DICKISON