Marvel's The Avengers box office behemoth was recently screened in 3D at Hollywood's Director’s Guild of America, before writer-director Joss Whedon dropped by to share interesting tidbits about the movie. Precisely revealing things that didn't make the final cut, including a mystery villain that might appear in the future, Whedon also dots on switching up the ensemble's roster.
“There was a little bit of time where we thought we might not actually get Scarlett [Johansson]. There was a very Waspy draft that I wrote. But it was way too Waspy. I was like, 'She's adorable! I'm just going to watch her!'” As Slash Film notes, Janet Van Dyne wasn't the only character that Whedon wanted to use. “I'm not going to tell you [who it is] because that [villain] might crop up another time. But I definitely felt like, 'I've got Earth's mightiest heroes. I've got four of the biggest, baddest, toughest guys out there and I've got one effete British character actor.' They believed very strongly that they didn't want to add any more mythology, I think was the thing. But it took me a long time to accept that because I was like, ‘they need someone to hit,’”
Of course, Joss Whedon, instead, got a Chituari army in addition to a glimpse of the true mastermind behind the film's villainy, the Mad Titan Thanos. And he was very much satisfied with the ending result. However, “the ace in the hole is Tom Hiddleston because he’s so compelling and commanding and gracious about it that it became, ‘Oh it’s about how he gets in their heads – it’s going to be fine. But it took me a long time to accept that because they need someone to hit!”
Although the filmmaker never revealed anything about Marvel's The Avengers 2015 sequel, he did acknowledge the importance of swapping characters every now and then. “I used to read 'The Avengers' and part of the ethos of the team was that it changed their lineup every month. Their 150th issue was just a bunch of faces. 'Who will be in the team now?!' We had the first issue as a poster in the offices. Now that I'm working on the sequel I said, 'Let's the second issue up there! Let's change it up a little bit!' The second issue is 'Introducing… Giant-Man! And this character! They were already changing it up after one issue. That's what they always do.”
UPDATE: Other tidbits worth mentioning, via Collider, are listed below. Check HERE for the full list.
Whedon wrote a 15-page final battle arc that incorporated a prologue and five acts. Whedon talked about an early draft being too heavy in “dry wit,” and later realized the fact that Hawkeye’s character would need to be compromised and that Agent Coulson would have a man-crush on Captain America. On his most difficult scenes to write and direct in The Avengers, Whedon said that the big action scene was tough due to the smoke from the explosions as well as the various characters interjecting dialogue throughout the sequence. Whedon's favorite scene was the one between Loki and Natasha/Black Widow. On the conflict between writing and directing, Whedon talked about a recent discussion with James Gunn in which they each lamented the fact that becoming a director ruins the purity of the writing experience. “I still believe that even though The Empire Strikes Back is better in innumerable ways than Star Wars, Star Wars wins because you can’t end a movie with Han frozen in Carbonite. That’s not a movie, it’s an episode.”
Marvel Studios already describes their highly-anticipated sequel to the No. 3 highest grossing film of all time, “Marvel's The Avengers,” as another “big cinematic event.” And expected to feature the reassembly of iconic Marvel super heroes Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye, Black Widow & Nick Fury taking on a new unexpected enemy, new additions to the superhero team up of a lifetime are possible.
Expecting reprisals from Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner and Samuel L. Jackson, and directed by Joss Whedon from a screenplay by Joss Whedon, “Marvel’s The Avengers” sequel is based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series “The Avengers,” first published in 1963 and a comics institution ever since. And set for release May 1, 2015, the film is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. In addition to the sequel, Marvel Studios will release a slate of films based on the Marvel characters including “Iron Man 3” on May 3, 2013; “Thor: The Dark World ” on November 8, 2013; “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” on April 4, 2014; and “Guardians of the Galaxy” on August 1, 2014.