Joss Whedon's original cut of Avengers: Age Of Ultron clocked in at almost three-and-a-half hours long. Given how many scenes had to be removed for the final version, many fans have wondered about the possibility of a Director's Cut. Indeed, while the Marvel blockbuster was, on the whole, warmly received by audiences, one common criticism it received was over how rushed it felt at times - a problem that a lengthier version would surely rectify.
Sadly, this vision may never be realized. Speaking at the Nerd HQ panel at Comic-Con this weekend, Whedon unfortunately ruled out the possibility of an Avengers: Age Of Ultron Director's Cut in the near future - citing his reluctance to constantly meddle with something when it's done (along with his own personal laziness). He did, however, tease plenty of extras in the DVD release. You can read his comments in full below, courtesy of Collider.
"It has always been my ambition never to do a director’s cut of anything, and always to make the movie with the studio that we both want to make. Ultron was very complex. There was a lot of back-and-forth. My instinct is no. Just as an artist, I’m super f*king lazy and that sounds like it would be hard. I don’t think there’s interest in it, right now. You’ll see a bunch of stuff on the DVD in extras that were meant to be there. But the narrative came together very close to the way that I hoped it would, and I don’t think it needs me to constantly tweak it. I feel you put something out, and there it is."
"The first time I ever heard a re-mix, I was 13 and I was listening to the radio. I heard a song that had been re-mixed and it freaked me out so much that I turned off the radio and never listened to it since, literally. That is an actual truth. I felt like, “Wait, that was the song. You can’t do that.” Our entire culture consists of doing exactly that, but I’m not for it. If I tell a story, I want that to be the story I told. Ultron may have some transitions that I’m not 100% on board with. It’s also one of the most ridiculously personal things I’ve ever put on screen. The fact that Marvel gave me that opportunity and supported it, I’m very happy and very proud of everybody that worked on it. I don’t feel the need to go in and fix. I feel like, there she is."
Disappointing, huh? However, given how much this film is said to have worn Whedon down during production, it's hardly surprising he's unwilling to revisit it just yet. Maybe in a few years? What are your thoughts? Are you interested in seeing an Age Of Ultron Director's Cut, or are you happy with the movie as it is? You can check out the entire Nerd HQ panel below, and be sure to leave us your thoughts in the comments!