The dust is finally settling on the box office juggernaut that is known as The Avengers. Marvel is now taking their next steps to complete their own version of "Phase Two". That starts with the production of Iron Man 3 which began shooting last month. Zak Penn was hired by Marvel to write The Avengers even before the first Iron Man movie was out. Penn wrote his treatment for the film but it was ultimately turned over to director Joss Whedon who put his own stamp on Earths Mightiest Heroes. While talking with Crave Online Penn talked a little bit about how different the film turned out from when he started working on it to the finished product.
"I think it turned out better. I think he did a fantastic job. I mean, look, I think that it’s very similar in terms of what we imagined in our head, what the movie would be like and what characters would be in it. Kevin Feige was working on it all the way through so he’s the person to ask the most," said Penn. He went on to say that the movie is exactly what they imagined in their head, and that it's a big relief that the film is as successful as it has been.
One of the biggest question marks when the first trailer for The Avengers was released was who exactly was Loki's alien army. The answer came from Whedon about a month before the films release in the form of the Chitauri. According to Penn a there was a lot of discussion on which aliens they could and could not use.
"Actually, there was a lot of debate back and forth because there were rights issues," he explained.
"And whether or not it could be the Skrulls or whether it could be the Chitauri, and even in the beginning whether it would be Loki or not. It all got kicked around." The decision ultimately came down to Whedon with Penn saying
"It's his script, he rewrote it." Agent Coulson's death, which wound up being a major story line for the movie, wasn't in Penn's story either. He said he started working on the script before Agent Coulson was even introduced, and that he wasn't required by Marvel to include it.
To check out the rest of the interview where Penn talks about not being involved with Marvel any more as well as writing the sequel to Jaden Smith's The Karate Kid head on over to
Crave. You can pick up your copy of The Avenger when it hits stores later this fall in September.