With Avengers: Age of Ultron opening in the UK yesterday [read our review here] ahead of its Stateside release next Friday, Joss Whedon has been out and about on the press rounds for the film, during which he fielded a host of questions on all things Marvel Cinematic Universe, including the upcoming debut of Spider-Man, whether Agent Coulson is alive in the big screen side of the MCU, if a Planet Hulk movie could work, and the competition between Marvel and DC.
On Spider-Man (via Yahoo! Movies): “[I’d like to have worked on Spider-Man], he’s the poster child. He’s the first book I read, and I think that’s true for a lot of people. There are so many things I would want to do, even with [The Avengers], even with just one of these characters. But the fact of the matter is: they’re doing fine, and I’ve probably got to move on. I think it’s great that Marvel and Sony have worked this out. Because these films are made by fans and to see Spider-Man come to life in these movies, where he should be… is going to be great.”
On Agent Coulson’s death and resurrection in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (via io9): “A lot of people come back in The Winter Soldier. It’s a grand Marvel tradition. Bucky was supposed to die. And the Coulson thing was, I think, a little anomalous just because that really came from the television division, which is sort of considered to be its own subsection of the Marvel universe. As far as the fiction of the movies, Coulson is dead. But I have to say, watching the first one with my kids—I had not watched the first one since it came out—and then watching it with my kids and watching Coulson die but [thinking], “Yeah, but I know that he kind of isn’t,” it did take some of the punch out of it for me. Of course, I spent a lot of time making sure he didn’t. And at the time it seemed inoffensive, as long as it wasn’t referenced in the second movie, which it isn’t.”
On the prospect of another Hulk solo movie and a possible Planet Hulk adaptation (via IGN): “Honestly I think it’s a legal thing. I think it’s because there’s other studio rights and this and that. It’s difficult. Hulk movies are very difficult because it isn’t a classic superhero story. It is more of a werewolf story, and finding a way to thread both of those makes if difficult. But I think it has more to do with the boring issues… because they love the Hulk and they love Mark as much as I do. [Planet Hulk] absolutely could be put onscreen. I don’t know if it should. I think part of what makes the Hulk great is the world around him and the Banner of it. And it would be mad expensive as well. I think if they were going to do a Hulk movie, they’d want to keep it more grounded.”
On the rivalry between Marvel and DC (via MTV): “I get very confused when people say we’re in competition. Competition for what? Their movies are so different. The way they approach them — the Marvel aesthetic and the DC aesthetic — couldn’t be more opposite. I love that. I love going to their movies. I want to see how they build their team. I want to see Ben Affleck play Batman. Now I just get to sit back and be a fan of both.”
And now that he’s done with the Marvel universe, which DC character would he most like to tackle: “Nobody doesn’t want Batman. Everybody wants to play with Batman. Come on!”
Avengers: Age of Ultron is out now in the UK and opens in North America on May 1st, with Joss Whedon directing a cast that includes Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Chris Evans (Captain America), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Mark Ruffalo (The Incredible Hulk), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Don Cheadle (War Machine), Cobie Smulders (Maria Hill), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Paul Bettany (JARVIS / The Vision), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Quicksilver), Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlet Witch), Hayley Atwell (Peggy Carter), Idris Elba (Heimdall), Anthony Mackie (Falcon), Tom Hiddleston (Loki), James Spader (Ultron), Stellen Skarsgard (Erik Selvig), Thomas Kretschmann (Baron Strucker), Josh Brolin (Thanos), Claudia Kim (Dr. Cho), Andy Serkis (Uylsses Klaw), Henry Goodman (Dr. List), Julie Delpy (Madame B) and Linda Cardellini (Laura Barton). Listen to the Flickering Myth Podcast review of Avengers: Age of Ultron using the player below:
Originally published April 24, 2015. Updated July 2, 2023.
