We're just three months shy of potentially getting an unofficial look at The Avengers: Age of Ultron with filming scheduled to kick-off in late March. Though principal photography is set primarily in the United Kingdom, you may recall last year when Marvel Studios reportedly requested permission to shoot some of The Avengers sequel in Cape Town, South Africa. Now it appears they've probably received approval from the city as the Age of Ultron has added a South Africa-based extras casting coordinator, J.P. van der Merwe, to its production crew list on the Internet Movie Database (IMDB).
The nature of the shoot is still unknown, but South Africa may be one of several international settings in The Avengers: Age of Ultron. Writer and director Joss Whedon revealed previously that “a lot of the sequel has to do with [the team's] place not only in America but in the world.” Of course, filming in South Africa also fuels speculation that Earth's Mightiest Heroes will run into T'Challa aka the Black Panther, whose homeland is a fictional African nation called Wakanda. However, when you consider the several characters that Whedon already has to flesh out or establish in the film, there may only be room for a reference to the Wakandian prince. The film could even make use of Wakanda's mound of vibranium, which is the rare metal that not only makes up Captain America's shield, but also has been sought by The Avengers' villain Ultron in the comics. Anyhow, Cape Town, South Africa has accommodated the filming of several major films such as Chronicle, Safe House, Dredd and more. What do you think?
In other small Age of Ultron news, Clint Barton aka Hawkeye actor Jeremy Renner has confirmed that he, too, has received his copy of the script, but he's not revealing anything from it anytime soon. And while there's been rumors of who might be scoring the Marvel sequel - Brian Tyler, but Alan Silvitri may return after all - it seems Joss Whedon already has some brilliant ideas:
The Avengers: Age of Ultron stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Cobie Smulders, Jeremy Renner, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, with Samuel L. Jackson and James Spader. The anticipated film is set to release on May 1, 2015.