Joss Whedon Shares His Thoughts On Jeremy Renner And Mark Ruffalo!

Joss Whedon Shares His Thoughts On Jeremy Renner And Mark Ruffalo!

The director of the upcoming 2012 epic discusses why he thinks each actor is perfect for the roles of Hawkeye and Bruce Banner respectively! PLUS: Hear more from Chris Evans about what he thinks of the director!

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By JoshWilding - Jul 25, 2010 03:07 PM EST
Filed Under: Comic-Con
Source: MTV Splash Page



"The thing about Hawkeye, he’s got his bows and arrows, you need somebody who’s very very down to earth, who’s very grounded, and who’s going to be the kind of guy who, you see him, and you understand why he likes to be far away from things and then shoot at them. With Jeremy, he just has a lovely quality."

Whedon went on to say that Mark Ruffalo was his, "first and only choice for Bruce Banner."

"I’m stunned that we landed that, just stunned," he added. "He has what I remember loving about the show, that quality of, you just look at him and you go through it with him, he invites you in in a way that no other performer has since Bill Bixby. He is a guy who’s been beaten up by life, but not defined by that. That’s what I want from Bruce Banner, is a guy who’s still getting it done, even though he has his problem."





"It seems like Whedon knows the world incredibly well. It seems like this world respects him back. It seems like he's the guy for the job."

"He did a pass on the 'Captain America' script and it was phenomenal. All the little tweaks he made, he really knows storytelling, he really knows dialogue and scriptwriting and that's always a comforting thing."



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bleedthefreak
bleedthefreak - 7/25/2010, 3:54 PM
cool even though norton is one of my favorite actors i love the avengers way to much to pass on it. As much as i love norton he really wasnt the perfect banner, i think ruffalo could easily do better
tazmaniak
tazmaniak - 7/25/2010, 3:56 PM
I kinda understand not wanting Norton for the Banner they want to portray.Ruffalo seems like he could portray a more nebbish, unsure or withdrawn Banner, while Norton's Banner was more sure of himself.
P862010
P862010 - 7/25/2010, 3:57 PM
i agree Ruffalo has that damaged soul quality that Norton does not have

if you just look at mark you get a "he has been though some stuff" vibe from him
DaenerysTargaryen
DaenerysTargaryen - 7/25/2010, 3:58 PM
I'm fine with Ruffalo. As long as the hulk design looks the same.
cashsteele
cashsteele - 7/25/2010, 4:00 PM
So, Hopefully Ultimate Avengers Hawkeye, Ruffalo is a good actor, people who are still pissed about Norton will continue to be until the movie gets out, Loki will most likely be in control of the Hulk, so Banners screen time will be cut down, maybe that will ease people since Hulk will be terrorizing throughout the whole film and if its Skrulls then they'll use Banner and need the Hulk more than Banner....
twiztied
twiztied - 7/25/2010, 4:04 PM
Edward Norton is a great actor. One of my most favorite. His Banner was fantastic. He will be missed. Ruffalo is good in alot of his movies and fits the loner persona well. This could be his greatest role. Either way it's more about the Hulk being there then Banner. Let's hope for the best from all of these actors.
actorkidrox
actorkidrox - 7/25/2010, 4:05 PM
If they cut down Banner's screen time, I'd be okay with that. I think Norton was a fantastic Banner, even though Feige said he wasn't a team player. Though I hope this wasn't all over how involved he was with post production. I see how it could get annoying, but isn't the mark of a good actor that he cares about his work, even after it's out of his hands? Another reason I don't like Ruffalo is... How are they going to change the Hulk design THIS time? If they make him look more "Hulk" and less "Incredible Hulk", then everyone will just get pissed all over again. Plus, Ruffalo in "Incredible Hulk 2"? If they make it-- It will be ACCEPTABLE (nothing more, nothing less) to see Ruffalo in Avengers. But can he carry a solo flick as Banner? Probably not. IMHO.
DaenerysTargaryen
DaenerysTargaryen - 7/25/2010, 4:05 PM
@superkal
I am blake. ;)
tazmaniak
tazmaniak - 7/25/2010, 4:06 PM
"And the more and more I hear about Whedon and how he is so committed to great story telling, I'm feeling more and more confident the avengers will be an all around great movie"

It's great that he's a fan who has been reading Marvel since he was a kid.Also, his other projects have been the equivalent of live action comic book ensembles.I've never been this sure of a CBM director, without having seen any of the finished movie.

Anyway, it's been 2 years since we saw Norton as Banner.Come 2012, it'll be 4.I can understand it's still fresh now, but people have gotta let it go by then.
Gearstation
Gearstation - 7/25/2010, 4:07 PM
Man, I just hope Ruffalo slims down for the part. Banner should be very thin and appear the exact opposite of what the Hulk represents, pure physical power.
Bronson
Bronson - 7/25/2010, 4:11 PM
Yeah, I wish they would have picked Ruffalo the first time around. Norton is too hardcore and has too much energy to play Banner. Ruffalo has that calmness about him and he looks the part, think he is a great pick!
soperman
soperman - 7/25/2010, 4:16 PM
wow only 1 (mostly) negative comment, thats a first :)
comicbookjerk
comicbookjerk - 7/25/2010, 4:16 PM
OH! SO NOW ITS YOUR FAULT WHEDON! YOU KNOW FANS WANTED NORTON AND YOU HAD TO GO BE A DOUCHE! I HATE YOU WHEDON...But I do Like what you do! So After the Avengers if I don't see a sequel to The Sing Along Blog I will be so Angry that you wont even care...DOuche!
LEEE777
LEEE777 - 7/25/2010, 4:18 PM
HANK & JAN WHEDON or you can [frick] off with RUFFALO! : P
SentinelofLiberty
SentinelofLiberty - 7/25/2010, 4:21 PM
Didn't Ruffalo beat brain cancer a while back? Cut the guy a break already.
DaenerysTargaryen
DaenerysTargaryen - 7/25/2010, 4:21 PM
@superkal
No Penn Badgley is my boyfriend.
Sturmpionier
Sturmpionier - 7/25/2010, 4:22 PM
All this patter about Ruffalo has me bummed. No, not about the Norton thing, although I did like his Banner in TIH. There has been all this noise, from fans, from producers, from studio suits, from directors, about the Banner role. What this tells me is that they seem to be leaning towards the Banner character carrying most of the lines/plot from that point of view, rather than the Hulk character. I'm not sure I like that since it represents a significant break with the comics. Yeah, I know it's an adaptation, but still, it was always the Hulk persona that made his participation in the Avengers interesting. You never knew what he was going to do. The Avengers have always had enough nerds.

It could work, but I hope they still the Hulk persona some characterization in the film as part of the group dynamic. You know the Avengers are going to spend some part of the time beating on the Hulk and then have to find a way to work with him. How is that going to work if all the screen time goes to the Banner persona? I trust Whedon and Feige, so I'm not worried, but the train tracks right now look like they are pointing away from what I was hoping for.
blueballs
blueballs - 7/25/2010, 4:22 PM
soperman@ lol I agree there has been far to much negativity around here lately, but no worries once those negative people read this they will cry and claim that their lives are forever ruined.
blueballs
blueballs - 7/25/2010, 4:24 PM
opps spoke to late here they come! lol
Vital
Vital - 7/25/2010, 4:25 PM
Haha soperman mentioning only 1 negative comment, now you have 3 (Lee and ArrionShadow). There will be more rest assured.
JoshWilding
JoshWilding - 7/25/2010, 4:31 PM
Although I'm still a little worried that Whedon wont include Hank and Jan in The Avengers, you cant deny that he sounds like he knows what he's doing as is evident by these two stellar casting choices! Ed Norton was a good Bruce Banner but Ruffalo sounds like the far better choice of actor for what Whedon plans to do with the character IMO.

I'm so glad he was involved with perfecting the Captain America script as well. His work on Astonishing X-Men showed what an amazing comic book writer he is and how well he can handle an ensemble cast of characters in a team situation. (as shows of his like the excellent Firefly have also demonstrated of course!)
spiderman620
spiderman620 - 7/25/2010, 4:36 PM
i have no worries about ruffalo playing the character(although like the rest of you i was hoping for norton to come around) i think he can do the character as long as he losses some weight and cleans up a bit...he looked like he hasent showerd in days last night...and make his hair not so curley...if he can do that then were straight
ottoevans
ottoevans - 7/25/2010, 4:42 PM
wtf? why is this guy the director? What big budget movie has he made?
ottoevans
ottoevans - 7/25/2010, 4:44 PM
omg!! Buffy the Vampire slayer creator????????

EPIC FAIL!!
XmutantX
XmutantX - 7/25/2010, 4:46 PM
I think norton did a great job as banner in his version...but 2 be honest i think ruffalo will bring a diff dynamic 2 the character....norton played a banner that was constantly trying 2 controle and figure out a way 2 beat/ get rid of the hulk...i think ruffalo will do a better job at showcasing the weaker exausted depressed apoligetic side of banner...a more emotional banner...i think honestly we will see a side of banner that we were kinda missing in TIH
InTylerWeTrust
InTylerWeTrust - 7/25/2010, 4:48 PM
Ruffalo is lame (IMO) but Renner's awesomeness negates it.
comicbookjerk
comicbookjerk - 7/25/2010, 4:48 PM
@ Ottoevans

Whedon Is A Great Writer His run on Astonishing Xmen was FANTASTIC, Dr Horribles Sing Along Blogs FN Perfect and the Work he has Done on Buffy gives me hope that The Avengers will be Ok With Whedon Directing, But the problem still remains His Casting for Banner was Ridiculous and awful, Ill be Skipping The Avengers but Im sure the Story will be good, But not as Spectacular as it could have been, Some of Marvels Great Property's are owned by FOX and Sony If Spiderman and members of the Xmen cant be in it then I don't really care about the Avengers...But Whedon deserves his credit
XmutantX
XmutantX - 7/25/2010, 4:49 PM
hahaha i like how we hav all these AMAZING characters thats gonna be portrayed 2GETHER on film and all half of u can sa is "f*"k the avengers if there is no hank or jan"...that is sooo lame on so many levels...u get 2 see all the a-list charcters and ur b1tching cus u may bot see the b-listers???...boycott it all u want losers...but u kno u will go see it hahaha

ps~I think banner will be portrayed more as how he was in the ultimates animated movies
AverageCitizen99
AverageCitizen99 - 7/25/2010, 4:52 PM
Cool interviews and I'm glad to hear that Joss knows what he's talking about. Never noticed it 'til Joss said it but I do see a type of 'welcoming' feeling from looking at Mark. I was skeptical about him being Bruce, but if Joss was behind it and knowing that he is a good actor I will give him a shot. And it's good to hear about the reception everyone has had towards Joss' reworking on the Captain America script. :)
AlexDeLarge87
AlexDeLarge87 - 7/25/2010, 5:04 PM
Ruffalo is a great actor and im sure he makes decent job as Banner, but goddammit it would have been great to see Norton with these other guys in The Avengers!:D I waited it so long and when they are finally starting release the cast... Norton is not coming back anymore!! I mean F*CK i was angry!:( You all know the feeling of dissapointment! Im sure of it!
majinlogan
majinlogan - 7/25/2010, 5:16 PM
all of us are huge comic book fans here and i think we should stop with the complaining to get behind and support joss whedon. everything that guy does is for the fans and hes the perfect guy for this job. Lets have some optimism. Support this movie and believe that it WILL be the greatest comic book movie ever made. :D
steelrocks
steelrocks - 7/25/2010, 5:19 PM
Guys, we all loved Norton (most of us). We all wanted him to be back (pretty much all of us). It wont happen, Ruffalo is a great actor and he will be a great Hulk character (we went through the same thing when Norton was casted (most of us).

It's like separating from a girlfriend that you like, she likes you back but you cant have her (she went on to live in freaking, I dont, overseas...). It's hard to let go.

We have to let go!
secretasianboy
secretasianboy - 7/25/2010, 5:21 PM
i have 100% complete confidence in whedon and he has 100% confidence in ruffalo so i'm not going to critique the choice
he liked the first avenger script (which is good) so now all i have to worry about is the cap and bucky choices
AlexDeLarge87
AlexDeLarge87 - 7/25/2010, 5:33 PM
Ruffalo is growing on me.
Gearstation
Gearstation - 7/25/2010, 5:39 PM
I'm not worried about too many characters in the movie. Not everyone needs an origin tale. Look at movies like Saving Private Ryan (or any military type movie), there were tons of characters in that movie but none needed an origin story. You could tell what kind of person they were from what their characters did. It seems superhero films have gotten trapped into this formula of needing an actual origin told, taking up at least half of the film. They really need to break away from this in order to keep things fresh. And sometimes not knowing a few things about how a character became what he is could leave things open for future movies.
DDD
DDD - 7/25/2010, 5:54 PM
Whedon is one of the top scriptwriters in the
business. I would say he is a genius at reworking
scripts! He has reworked and written a bunch of
scripts for other movies, very successful movies.
I am not worried about his writing at all!

Serenity showed me personally that he can direct
a big screen bigger-than-life sci-fi movie so it
seems to me he is perfect for THE AVENGERS!

It's not his decision whether Hank & Jan are there
or not, it's Marvel's and Kevin Feige's! The blame
for not including 2 of the 5 founding members of
THE AVENGERS goes on Marvel and Feige! I have no
clue why they aren't included and even more puzzled
why a lot of people outright hate them! I mean, a
giant 50 foot man is cool as hell!!!!!

Hank with Jan invented Ultron who should be the bad
guy in AVENGERS 2. They are throwing away half of the
Avengers story when they throw away Hank & Jan!!!!
IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE TO ME WHATSOEVER!!!!!
DDD
DDD - 7/25/2010, 5:59 PM
Ruffalo & Renner...hahahaha..R&R are going to be
great in the AVENGERS! And Whedon is going to do
a great job of writing and directing them, period!
Ranger14
Ranger14 - 7/25/2010, 6:09 PM
People seem to be quick to blame Whedon for not doing this or not having that. Do you really think he is making any decisions without Marvel? There is no way Marvel is going to let him make the key decisions that people seem to be blaming him for. Marvel will be dictating things like whether Hank and Janet are going to be in the Avengers. Whedon will not be dictating that to Marvel.
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