As well as having less special features and there being no sign of Joss Whedon's "Director's Commentary", fans were baffled by the decision to edit Agent Coulson's death scene in the UK home release of
Avengers Assemble (read more about that by clicking
HERE). It may not sound like a big deal, but as I've already mentioned here on CBM, it completely changes the impact of what is arguably one of THE most pivotal scenes in the film. On Monday, Disney UK's home entertainment spokesperson Lydia Rodrigues said the following.
"There’s been no censorship, no foul play. The version of Marvel’s Avengers Assemble on Blu-ray disc in the UK is the same as the version shown theatrically. It really is. The simple fact is for a 12 certificate film in the UK, that scene was deemed inappropriate. So Marvel Studios chose to remove the spear tip digitally."
Seems fair, right? Wrong.
Bleeding Cool reached out to Disney for a statement about the controversy which currently surrounds the film and were told that,
"another region’s elements were inadvertently used to create the UK in home release which minimally altered this scene in the film. We thank our fans for their vigilance in recognizing this and apologize for the mix up." So, it seems fair to assume from reading this that the studio blatantly lied to fans about it being the same cut that was released in cinemas. It's already shocking enough that they have suggested that fans should import copies of
Marvel's The Avengers from the US (a far more expensive option than buying it on this side of the pond) and they have so far offered no sort of re-issue or replacement scheme. A poor way to treat those who contributed over $80 million to its worldwide box office.
Of course, it's not just the UK who have been affected by this as several other territories across Europe will have also received the incorrectly edited version. It remains to be seen whether US fans have anything to worry about, but this will surely make most fans wish Paramount Pictures were still distributing Marvel Studios' films!
Marvel Studios presents in association with Paramount Pictures Marvel’s The Avengers--the super hero team up of a lifetime, featuring iconic Marvel super heroes Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow. When an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, Director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. Spanning the globe, a daring recruitment effort begins.
STARRING:
Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America
Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man
Chris Hemsworth as Thor
Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye
Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Ramanoff/Black Widow
Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/Hulk
Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury
Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson
Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill
Tom Hiddleston as Loki
RELEASE DATE: September 17th, 2012 (UK) September 25th, 2012 (US)