Interviews from this year's San Diego Comic Con are apparently still hitting the net; this time, MTV has brief snippets from both Captain America star Chris Evans and Marvel Studios President of Production Kevin Feige. From Evans, regarding his research into the origins of his new role:
"The comic books have been fantastic. Personally, when I was going through the comic books, the ones that were the most intriguing were the origin stories," said Evans. "I just kind of wanted to get as many different takes on how this guy started out, because that's the story we're telling. I just wanted to know who he was prior to this happening to him. I think if that character is someone that the audience can relate to, we win."
Feige was asked why he hand-picked Whedon to helm The Avengers; Marvel Studios' much anticipated ensemble film:
“I’ve known Joss for many years, we were looking for the right thing and he came in and met on it. As you’ve already heard him say on his panels, he’s incredibly intelligent, he’s got great things to say about it, and if you look at the directors we’ve worked with, we hire directors who have the potential to do great things and we want our film to be that great thing.
“Whether it’s [Kenneth] Branagh who of course has done some great things, whether it’s [Jon] Favreau , who did some fun movies prior to 'Iron Man,' we want to find a director that’s on the verge of doing something great, as we think Joss is.”
Feige even said that Marvel Studios looks to hire directors who are “on the verge” of greatness; apparently, Whedon was the highest on the list of potential directors.