Like many of you, I’m a bit worried about THE AVENGERS with Whedon at the helm. Not because I don’t believe in the man, but it’s just that expectations are so high, and the project is so ambitious, there are so many ways it could be a let down in the end.
Hopefully the man’s genius will shine through, and give us a superhero epic for the ages, but he’s got a lot of challenges on his plate to work through first. Whedon recently chatted with SFX UK (via AICN) about what it’s like working with Marvel so far, and how he’s going to balance the blockbuster action that has to be a part of the film, with the character driven stories we know and love the man for. And also he answers the question many of us were wondering a while back: Mark Ruffalo?
“There are definitely stipulations and restrictions, but Kevin Feige is very active as a producer and worked with me a lot on the story, but they are absolutely honouring the fact that this is my film. What I kind of think ultimately defines Marvel Studios was the first thing they did and that was cast Robert Downey Jr. They said, ‘What if we got greatactors and let them have some time to be the people they’re supposed to be instead of going through the paces of hitting this mark and that mark?’ They don’t always get it right, but nobody does. But if you look at who they already had, and who they allowed me to add to the cast, they are thinking about the integrity of the characters. Obviously we have to get from point A to point B, and fans really want to see this – and ideas for set-pieces which I said are great. Now I’m going to make them matter and they are completely on board with the idea.”
“What I will struggle with, in the outline and throughout, is that I would like to put these actors in a room and just make Glengarry Glen Ross,” he laughs. “We’re talking about really exciting people and at the same time I have to keep the momentum of the thing going. I can’t let it turn into a lull fest. Knowing that I have enough time to do both of those things – that by the end of the movie you will feel ‘in’ with these guys – is the trick. It’s not an easy one but one that Marvel absolutely honours. They don’t hire Mark Ruffalo [the new Hulk] to say one iconic line and strike a pose. They hire him because he has so much humanity in him. He’s the antithesis of the iconic actor. He’s so human. He was my first choice to play the part, and the fact he is playing the part is nuts! They went to great lengths to make that happen and they understood exactly why he was right for the part.”
Considering the cast involved, I would LOVE to see them all in a room, chatting it up with Whedon scripted dialog. It’s like some sort of fanboy wet dream. I’m sure we’ll get a bit of that, but yes, gotta get those action scenes in there too.
I do have faith, and the man has yet to let me down. Despite the fact that I think an Avengers film won’t work, I really do hope it does.
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