Avengers: Age of Ultron

The Avengers: Age of Ultron
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Film information
Directed by:	Joss Whedon
Produced by:	Kevin Feige
Studio:	Marvel Studios
Distributed by:	Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Release Date(s):	May 1, 2015
Language:	English
Preceded by:	Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron, or simply Avengers: Age of Ultron, is an upcoming American superhero film produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name.

It is intended to be the sequel to 2012's Marvel's The Avengers and the eleventh installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film is set to be scripted and directed by Joss Whedon and to feature an ensemble cast that includes Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Cobie Smulders and Samuel L. Jackson reprising their roles from the first film, with Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and James Spader joining the cast.

The sequel was announced in May 2012, after the successful release of the first film. Whedon was brought back on board in August 2012 and a release date was set. By December, Whedon had completed an outline of the script. Casting began in June 2013 with the re-signing of Downey, Jr. The film is scheduled to begin principal photography in early 2014 at Shepperton Studios in England.

Avengers: Age of Ultron is scheduled for release on May 1, 2015.

Cast

• Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man: A self-described genius, billionaire, playboy, and philanthropist with mechanical suits of armor of his own invention.
• Chris Evans as Steve Rogers / Captain America: A World War II veteran who was enhanced to the peak of human physicality by an experimental serum and frozen in suspended animation before waking up in the modern world.
• Mark Ruffalo as Dr. Bruce Banner / Hulk: A genius scientist who, because of exposure to gamma radiation, transforms into a monster when enraged or agitated.
• Chris Hemsworth as Thor: The crown prince of Asgard, based on the Norse mythological deity of the same name.
• Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow: A highly trained spy working for S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill: An agent with S.H.I.E.L.D. who works closely with Nick Fury.
• Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury: The director of S.H.I.E.L.D., who was revealed in previous films to be coordinating the "Avengers Initiative".
• James Spader as Ultron: An artificial intelligence overwhelmed with a god complex and a rage toward his creators, who longs to take over the Earth with his own spawn. Joss Whedon stated that Spader was his "first and only choice" for the role, because of his "hypnotic voice that can be eerily calm and compelling" while also being very human and humorous. About the character Whedon said, "He’s always trying to destroy the Avengers, goddamn it, he’s got a bee in his bonnet. He’s not a happy guy, which means he’s an interesting guy. He’s got pain. And the way that manifests is not going to be standard robot stuff." Whedon also indicated that some of Ultron's abilities from the comics would be stripped.
• Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch: The twin sister of Quicksilver, who has telekinetic abilities and can weave spells. Olsen described the character as a "nexus", elaborating, "She's crazy. She has more things wrong with her than any character I've ever played. She can tell you where an object has been, she can tell you what your future is, she can connect with the dead and people from the past, the future, other universes, and she's the only person in this universe who's capable of doing that. She's unbelieveable.
• Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Pietro Maximoff / Quicksilver: The twin brother of the Scarlet Witch, who can move at superhuman speed. About the character Taylor-Johnson said, "Him and his sister [Scarlet Witch] have been abandoned by their parents and their father, and they grew up in Eastern Europe defending and looking out for themselves and each other... His sister really is his guidance - emotionally she's the one who looks after him, and vice versa. He's very overprotective physically - he doesn't want anyone touching her." Taylor-Johnson also said that Quicksilver has "real anger frustration" and is easily bored due to a short attention span.
• Don Cheadle as James Rhodes
• Thomas Kretschmann as Baron Strucker

Production

Development

In October 2011, producer Kevin Feige said during the New York Comic Con, "Iron Man 3 will be the first of what we sort of refer to as phase two of this saga that will culminate, God willing, in Avengers 2". In March 2012, Joss Whedon, director of the first film, stated that he would want a sequel to be "smaller. More personal. More painful. By being the next thing that should happen to these characters, and not just a rehash of what seemed to work the first time. By having a theme that is completely fresh and organic to itself."

At the premiere of The Avengers, Feige said the studio had an option for Whedon to return as director. In May 2012, after the successful release of the first film, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced a sequel was in development. Most of the film's cast members were under contract to potentially appear in the sequel; however, Robert Downey, Jr. was not, as his four picture deal with Marvel would expire after Iron Man 3.

At the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con International, Joss Whedon said he was undecided about directing, stating, "I have not come to a decision on directing Avengers 2. I am having too much fun with this [Firefly reunion] now." However in August 2012, Iger announced that Whedon would return to write and direct the sequel and develop a Marvel television series, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., for ABC. Later in the month, Disney set a May 1, 2015 release date. Asked about his decision to return, Whedon said "Avengers 2, it wasn’t a tough decision.

For a long time I thought, 'Well, it’s just not going to happen.' Then when I actually started to consider it, it became so clear that I desperately wanted to say more about these characters, it would’ve been an easy no and it was a spectacularly easy yes. There was no wrestling." Whedon said that they intended for the film's production to not be as rushed as the first one. In a December 2012 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Whedon stated that he had completed an outline for the film.

In February 2013 at the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival, Whedon said that death would be a theme in the sequel. In March, Whedon said that he looked to The Empire Strikes Back and The Godfather Part II as inspirations. Also in March, Mark Ruffalo, who played the Hulk in The Avengers, tweeted that he will reprise the role in the sequel.

Pre-production

Whedon at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con International.

In April 2013, it was reported that filming was scheduled to begin in early 2014 at Shepperton Studios in England. At the Hollywood premiere of Iron Man 3, Whedon said that he completed a draft of the script, and had started the storyboard process and to meet with actors. Whedon also mentioned that he wrote with Downey in mind and included a "brother/sister act" from the comic books.

Entertainment Weekly reported that Whedon was referring to Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch, which Whedon confirmed. During an appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Whedon explained his rationale for including the characters in the film: "Besides the fact that I grew up reading them, their powers are very visually interesting," said Whedon. "One of the problems I had on the first one was everybody basically had punchy powers... [Quicksilver]’s got super speed. [Scarlet Witch] can weave spells and a little telekinesis, get inside your head. There’s good stuff that they can do that will help sort of keep it fresh."

In May 2013, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Downey was in negotiations to extend his contract with Marvel Studios and reprise his role as Iron Man in the film, as well as a third Avengers film. Also in May, the chairman of Cape Town Film Studios said that Marvel Studios was interested in shooting the film in Cape Town, South Africa. In June 2013, Variety reported that Aaron Taylor-Johnson had entered talks to play Quicksilver, which Taylor-Johnson confirmed in a July 2013 Collider interview. Later in the same month, Downey signed on to return as Iron Man for the film and The Avengers 3. Marvel also announced that filming was expected to begin in March 2014.

At the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con International, Whedon announced the film would be titled Marvel's The Avengers: Age of Ultron. Despite the subtitle, the film is not based on the 2013 comic book miniseries Age of Ultron. Feige explained, "We came up with a few titles, but every month a new comic book appeared, and that's a great title. Age Of Ultron is a great title. We had a few other 'Of Ultrons', but that was the best one. So we're borrowing that title, but taking storylines from decades of Avengers storylines." Whedon added, "We're doing our own version of the origin story of Ultron....We were crafting our own version of it where [Ultron's] own origin comes more directly from the Avengers we already know about.

The other thing is in the origin story there was Hank Pym, so a lot of people assumed he was going to be in the mix, but he's not. We're basically taking the things from the comics for the movies that we need and can use. A lot of stuff has to fall by the wayside." Whedon also said the film would have a darker tone due to Ultron's involvement, and confirmed that Hawkeye and Black Widow would return. The title of the film came as a surprise to many fans who were expecting Thanos, the mastermind behind the events of the first film, to be the main villain in the sequel. When asked about Thanos' involvement, Whedon responded, "We have to stay grounded. It's part of what makes the Marvel universe click - their relationship to the real world. It's science fiction, and Thanos is not out of the mix, but Thanos was never meant to be the next villain. He's always been the overlord of villainy and darkness."

In August 2013, Deadline reported that Chris Evans would return to play Captain America in the sequel after making his directorial debut on 1:30 Train.

In September 2013, Chris Hemsworth and Scarlett Johansson confirmed they would be returning as Thor and Black Widow respectively, with Johansson mentioning filming would begin in January. In October 2013, Samuel L. Jackson confirmed that Elizabeth Olsen had been cast as the Scarlet Witch. That same month, The Wrap reported that Taylor-Johnson closed the deal to play Quicksilver after working out scheduling conflicts in promoting his appearance in the 2014 Godzilla reboot.  Marvel later officially confirmed Olsen and Taylor-Johnson in November 2013.

In November 2013, Cobie Smulders confirmed in an interview that she is reprising her role as Maria Hill. Also in November, Feige commented on finding the right balance between technology and fantasy based heroes in Avengers: Age of Ultron saying, "Iron Man is a very technological hero his movies are always technologically based. The first Thor was all about introducing Asgard and Thor in that more fantastical realm into the more reality-based MCU, and explain that obviously it might look like magic, but it's another form of science and technology. As we go into Ultron clearly he does come out of technology, but we're using all of our tools at our disposal that we've established so far as part of the MCU to build the storyline of Age of Ultron. At the end of the month, Screen Rant reported that portions of the film would also be shot in the United States. In December 2013, USA Today reported that Don Cheadle will have a part in the film.

In January 2014, Thomas Kretschmann was cast as Baron Wolfgang von Strucker. On January 24, 2014, while promoting the French release of Much Ado About Nothing, Whedon spoke about the continuity of the film saying, "I have to make my movie assuming that people will only have seen the first one, or possibly not even seen the first one. I can't assume that everybody went to see Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Iron Man 3 in-between. I have to go from one movie to the next and be true to what's happened, but not be slavish to it... The model I'm always trying to build from, my guiding star, is The Godfather: Part II where a ton has happened in-between and it's a very different movie [from The Godfather], but you don't need any information: it's there in the film. On the same day, the Forte di Bard Association announced that filming would take place at Fort Bard in the Aosta Valley region of Italy in March 2014, as well as in Aosta, Donnas, Bard, Pont-Saint-Martin and Verrès.

Marketing

Footage of the 2013 Comic-Con teaser, as well as a brief interview with Joss Whedon, was made available as part of Iron Man 3's second screen companion app for its Blu-ray release on September 24, 2013.

Trivia

• This film is intended to be the eleventh installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
• This film will mark the first Marvel Cinematic Universe appearance of Thor without Loki.
• Reports surfaced in May regarding several cast members in dispute with Marvel concerning their salaries if they were to return for a sequel. Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth in particular were reportedly having trouble negotiating their returns to solo-franchises as well. It was also mentioned that the cast rallied behind Robert Downey Jr. - “He’s the only guy with real power in this situation. and balls of steel, too. He’s already sent a message that he’s not going to work for a place where they treat his colleagues like shit.” one source explained.
• At Comic-Con 2013, Aaron Taylor-Johnson confirmed that he was in negotiations to portray Quicksilver, stating that he'd met with Joss Whedon, had begun extensive research on the character and is particularly interested in the relationship and backstory with [Quicksilver and] Scarlet Witch.
• Saoirse Ronan was considered to play Wanda Maximoff. The Hollywood Reporter later confirmed this when it was announced that Elizabeth Olsen entered negotiations to play the character, stating that Ronan "passed on the offer". It was also revealed that Joss Whedon used Ronan as the main inspiration for the concept art of the character. 
• Joss Whedon said that Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch aren't going to be immediate allies of The Avengers.
• The addition of Quicksilver to the cast sparked wide discussion over the direction of the character who is also slated to appear in X-Men: Days of Future Past. Quicksilver had been discussed previously as a potential character in both X-Men: The Last Stand and The Avengers, but legal complexities over the license to the character resulted in his omission from both films. However, in May 2013 both Marvel and Fox Studios announced a resolution to the previous legal issues, and that Quicksilver would appear in this film as well as an X-Men sequel, though under certain parameters: no allusion to his relations to the X-Men or Magneto (the character's father) can be made in an Avengers film, and no reference to Quicksilver's membership in the Avengers can be made in an X-Men film; the rights agreement between Fox and Marvel even goes so far as to stipulate the character cannot be referred to as a mutant in any Marvel film. Additionally, the day after Fox announced Evan Peters as Quickilver, Marvel and Fox entered into a legal standoff over provisions of the rights agreement for the character, including the issue of whether Peters would be allowed to portray Quicksilver in any other film outside the X-Men franchise, possibly necessitating a second actor to play Quicksilver in any Marvel film, resulting in two different versions of the same character appearing in two competing film series. As of May 2013, this dispute which also includes the character Scarlet Witch (Quicksilver's twin sister) has yet to be resolved.
• Louis D'Esposito revealed that Tony Stark will be co-leading The Avengers with Cap in the film.
• Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth have stated in separate interviews that Joss Whedon initially hadn't told them the arc of the plot, with Evans claiming that he didn't even know the title of the film until the official announcement at Comic-Con. Additionally, Hemsworth and Cobie Smulders, who played Maria Hill in the first film, have both admitted to not knowing who Ultron is.
• Anthony Mackie has expressed his enthusiasm to return as The Falcon after Captain America: The Winter Soldier, revealing that he thinks the character could benefit from appearing in a large-scale ensemble like The Avengers. Mackie also joked that he wished to "take down Iron Man" so Falcon could be the only "flying-Avenger".
• Hugh Jackman and Andrew Garfield have also said that they would be honored to play Wolverine and Spider-Man in an Avengers sequel despite the rights issues between Marvel, Fox and Sony.
• The original release date of Ant-Man being pushed up to July 31, 2015 has sparked more speculation regarding Henry Pym having a possible cameo in Age of Ultron.
• James Spader was Joss Whedon's first and only choice for the role of Ultron, because of his "hypnotic voice that can be eerily calm and compelling while also being very human and humorous."
• Joss Whedon described Ultron as a perfect villain for the Avengers: "He's got a bee in his bonnet, he's always trying to destroy the Avengers! He's not a happy guy, which means he's an interesting guy. He's got pain."
• In September 2013, James Spader said  that he went in for extensive body scans, facial scans to portray Ultron stating - "I have spoken to Joss Whedon about it. And yes, actually, just this weekend I went in for them to take very extensive photographs, head scans, body scans, and all kinds of things in preparation for figuring out how the hell I’m gonna fit in this Ultron character!" with Kevin Fiege stating in October 2013 that "Well, I think it will be more than a voice role - we'll be capturing his face and his body to create a whole performance. He's a very unique and incredibly exciting and unpredictable actor. And Ultron in the comics is a robot, but what's cool about him in the comics -- and certainly how Joss Whedon is interpreting him for the movie -- is that he is much more than just a robot. That he's infused with much character. And I don't want to say too much, but you can imagine James Spader will be very dynamic in his portrayal of this character." He also stated that they did not hire Spader to do a 'Robotic voice' saying: "We did not hire James Spader to do a robot voice".