Talking about how S.H.I.E.L.D. is presented in The Avengers, Marvel Studios President and executive producer Kevin Feige had this to say. "Up to this point in the previous Marvel movies, S.H.I.E.L.D. has just been this shadowy organization that pops out occasionally to give some advice and goes back into hiding. In this film, you really see the world through the eyes of S.H.I.E.L.D. and for the first time audiences will get to see this big organization that has a lot of resources, a lot of equipment and has been tasked with keeping the world safe."
"At the beginning of the film, we check in with them and they’re overseeing an experiment with the Cosmic Cube—also known as the Tesseract— which they don’t know much about," he reveals.
"So they’re working on this and something goes very, very wrong, which brings sources of evil into our world who begin to lay waste to them in such a way that it begs one question: If this big organization S.H.I.E.L.D can’t handle this, who can? It’s at that point that Nick Fury realizes he’s got to pick up the phone and start building a team of Avengers."
"The events that happen in the first act of this film are so far-reaching that Nick Fury realizes ‘The Avengers’ must assemble despite what the World Security Council or other forces outside of S.H.I.E.L.D. might say," explains executive producer
Louis D’Esposito.
"He knows it’s an extremely desperate measure, but he has to take it in order to save the world. Unfortunately for Nick Fury, bringing his Super Hero team together is not as easy as it sounds. He has the means to bring people together, whether it’s Agent Coulson or Natasha Romanoff, but the bigger issue is what happens when they all get in the same room together."
"One of things we always try to infuse all Marvel films with is that there are consequences to actions and that they play out in the real world," continues D’Esposito.
"That’s why in the opening sequence of the film, it’s really important that audiences see that there are real world implications to the events that are unfolding and that Nick Fury is affected by it, because if you can set that up, then you can really buy off on the rest of the conceit."
•Kevin Feige, Joss Whedon and Robert Downey Jr. Discuss MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS
•The Cast Of MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS Discuss Their Characters In The Superhero Ensemble
•Kevin Feige Describes THE AVENGERS As Being From Nick Fury's Point Of View
•Joss Whedon, Cobie Smulders And More Comment On Maria Hill's Place In THE AVENGERS
•Robert Downey Jr.: "If Steve Rogers And Tony Stark’s Relationship Doesn't Work, Then THE AVENGERS Doesn’t Work"
•Joss Whedon Describes Agent Coulson's "Man Crush" On Captain America In THE AVENGERS
•Robert Downey Jr. And Gwyneth Paltrow On The Return Of Pepper Potts In THE AVENGERS
•Joss Whedon And Chris Evans Discuss The First Day Of Shooting THE AVENGERS
•Joss Whedon And Jeremy Latcham On The Challenges Of Writing THE AVENGERS
•Stellan Skarsgård And Patricia Whitcher On Bringing Back Erik Selvig For THE AVENGERS
•Tom Hiddleston Talks Stunt Training And Loki's Battle With Thor On Stark Tower
•Joss Whedon, Scarlett Johansson And Samuel L. Jackson Talk Black Widow
•Chris Hemsworth And Kevin Feige Talk THE AVENGERS; Reveal How Thor Returns To Earth
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: April 26th, 2012. (UK) May 4th, 2012. (US)