QUICK TAKES - March 13, 2009

Fans of “The Avengers” will have to wait a little longer to see their favorite superheroes on the big screen. Marvel Entertainment Inc. said Thursday that it will debut the flick on May 4, 2012, nearly a year after its previous launch date of July 15, 2011.

“The Avengers,” which features a team of comic book characters, will be the culmination of a series of movies based on individual Marvel characters that will be released leading up to it.

“Iron Man 2” will launch on May 7, 2010, as scheduled. It will be followed by “Thor” on June 17, 2011, instead of its previously planned release date of July 16, 2010. “The First Avenger: Captain America” is now coming out on July 22, 2011, instead of May 6, 2011.

Separately, Marvel confirmed that “Spider-Man 4” from Sony Pictures Entertainment is slated to hit theaters on May 6, 2011.