Avengers: Age of Ultron
| Avengers: Age of Ultron | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Joss Whedon |
| Produced by | Kevin Feige |
| Written by | Joss Whedon |
| Based on | The Avengers by Stan Lee Jack Kirby |
| Starring | |
| Music by | |
| Cinematography | Ben Davis |
| Edited by | |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
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Release dates
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Running time
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141 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $279.9 million1 |
| Box office | $1.396 billion[2] |
The sequel was announced in May 2012, after the successful release of The Avengers. Whedon, the director of the first film, was brought back on board in August and a release date was set. By April 2013, Whedon had completed a draft of the script, and casting began in June with the re-signing of Downey. Second unit filming began in February 2014 in South Africa with principal photography taking place between March and August 2014. The film was primarily shot at Shepperton Studios in Surrey, England, with additional footage filmed in Italy, South Korea, Bangladesh, New York, and various locations around England.
Avengers: Age of Ultron premiered in Los Angeles on April 13, 2015, and was released on May 1, 2015 in North America, in 3D and IMAX 3D. Upon its release, the film received positive reviews and has grossed over $1.3 billion worldwide, making it the third-highest-grossing film of 2015 and the sixth-highest-grossing film of all time. Two sequels, Avengers: Infinity War – Part 1 and Avengers: Infinity War – Part 2, are scheduled to be released on May 4, 2018, and May 3, 2019, respectively.
Contents
Plot
In the Eastern European country of Sokovia, the Avengers – Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Thor, Bruce Banner (Hulk), Natasha Romanoff, and Clint Barton – raid a Hydra outpost led by Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, who has been experimenting on humans using the scepter previously wielded by Loki. They encounter two of Strucker's experiments – twins Pietro, who has superhuman speed, and Wanda Maximoff, who can manipulate minds and project energy – and apprehend Strucker, while Stark retrieves Loki's scepter.Stark and Banner discover an artificial intelligence within the scepter's gem, and secretly use it to complete Stark's "Ultron" global defense program. The unexpectedly sentient Ultron, believing he must eradicate humanity to save Earth, eliminates Stark's A.I., J.A.R.V.I.S., and attacks the Avengers at their headquarters. Escaping with the scepter, Ultron uses the resources in Strucker's Sokovia base to upgrade his rudimentary body and build an army of robot drones. Having killed Strucker, he recruits the Maximoffs, who hold Stark responsible for their parents' deaths by his weapons. Together, they go to the base of arms dealer Ulysses Klaue in an African shipyard to obtain Wakandan vibranium. The Avengers pursue them, but Wanda subdues the heroes with haunting visions, causing the Hulk to rampage until Stark stops him with his anti-Hulk armor.2
A worldwide backlash over the resulting destruction, and the fears Wanda's hallucinations incited, send the team into hiding at Barton's safehouse. Thor departs to consult with Dr. Erik Selvig on the meaning of the apocalyptic future he saw in his hallucination, while Romanoff and Banner plan to flee together after realizing a mutual attraction. However, Nick Fury arrives and encourages the team to form a plan to stop Ultron. In Seoul, Ultron forces the team's friend Dr. Helen Cho to use her synthetic-tissue technology, together with vibranium and the scepter's gem, to perfect a new body for him. As Ultron uploads himself into the body, Wanda is able to read his mind; discovering his plan for human extinction, the Maximoffs turn on Ultron. Rogers, Romanoff, and Barton find Ultron and retrieve the synthetic body, but Ultron captures Romanoff.
The Avengers fight amongst themselves when Stark secretly uploads J.A.R.V.I.S. – who is still operational after hiding from Ultron inside the Internet – into the synthetic body. Thor returns to help activate the body, explaining that the gem on its brow – one of the six Infinity Stones, the most powerful objects in existence – was part of his vision. This "Vision" and the Maximoffs accompany the Avengers to Sokovia, where Ultron has used the remaining vibranium to build a machine to lift a large part of the capital city skyward, intending to crash it into the ground to cause global extinction. Banner rescues Romanoff, who awakens the Hulk for the battle. The Avengers fight Ultron's army while Fury arrives in a Helicarrier with Maria Hill, James Rhodes and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to evacuate civilians. Pietro dies when he shields Barton from gunfire, and a vengeful Wanda abandons her post to destroy Ultron's primary body, which allows one of his drones to activate the machine. The city plummets, but Stark and Thor overload the machine and shatter the landmass. In the aftermath, the Hulk, unwilling to endanger Romanoff by being with her, departs in a Quinjet, while the Vision confronts Ultron's last remaining body.
Later, with the Avengers having established a new base run by Fury, Hill, Cho, and Selvig, Thor returns to Asgard to learn more about the forces he suspects have manipulated recent events. As Stark and Barton also leave, Rogers and Romanoff prepare to train new Avengers: Rhodes, the Vision, Sam Wilson, and Wanda.
In a mid-credits scene, Thanos, dissatisfied by the failures of his pawns, dons a gauntlet3 and vows to personally retrieve the Infinity Stones.
Cast
Cast of Avengers: Age of Ultron at the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con International.
- The benefactor of the Avengers,[3][4][5] who is a self-described genius, billionaire, playboy, and philanthropist with electromechanical suits of armor of his own invention.[6] On how his character evolves after the events of Iron Man 3, Downey said, "...it kinda reminds me of like all that stuff particularly as you get a little older or if you have any existential queries whatsoever. It's like why aren't I dealing with that which is going to destroy me any second anyway? And then the armor was kind of an extension of that. And also there was just so many suits, but I think he realizes that tweaking and making all the suits in the world—which is what he has been doing—still didn't work for that thing of his tour of duty that left him a little PTSD. So his focus is more on how can we make it so that there's no problem to begin with. That, you know, there's a bouncer at our planet's rope. That's the big idea."[7]
- Chris Hemsworth as Thor:
- An Avenger and the crown prince of Asgard, based on the Norse mythological deity of the same name.[8] About Thor's place in the film, Hemsworth said, "Well, Thor stayed on Earth from [Thor: The Dark World]. So he's here. He's part of the team. This is his home for the moment. So the initial threat of attack from Ultron is personal. Thor then begins to see a bigger picture about what this threat could potentially be and it begins to tie into all of our films."[9] Commenting on his portrayal of the character, Hemsworth said, "What becomes a challenge is trying to not repeat the same thing all the time. So you've got to work that bit harder to see what else you can do with the character." He added, "...it was just lightening up a bit. It gave us room to kind of make him a little more grounded and human and have him in some civilian clothes and mixing it up at a party. I want to do those scenes more. It's what I loved about the first [Thor film]. There was an innocence and naïveté to him, which as he matured into the king of the second [Thor film]—or the rightful king—we sort of lost a little bit of that."[10] Hemsworth noted that this is the first MCU film in which he did not work closely with Tom Hiddleston. "I was interested to see what was gonna be his conflict or his motivation, because he was sort of driven by that relationship previously. I love working with Tom, and I think there's always room for more Thor and Loki stuff, but it's nice to do something completely different."[5]
- An Avenger and a genius scientist who, because of exposure to gamma radiation, transforms into a monster when enraged or agitated.[11] Ruffalo worked with motion capture performer Andy Serkis' The Imaginarium Studios in preparation for the role.[12] Ruffalo added, "[My role's] even bigger than last time, and it's more complex and it has more layers and a bit more arc. Not only that, but it seems that the motion capture process is becoming a whole lot more agreeable second time around. I'm really tripping on the technology of this motion-capture stuff... now I just completely embrace it and see it as this other exciting place we can go as performers."[13] Describing the relationship between Banner and Hulk in the film, Ruffalo said, "I think there's a whole relationship with Banner and Hulk that needs to be discovered. There's a very cool thing happening: Hulk is as afraid of Banner as Banner is afraid of Hulk." Ruffalo added, "Both of these guys are obviously the same guy, and they have got to come to peace somehow with each other. And I think that this confrontation is building along the lines of this film."[14] While filming in London, Ruffalo said that Whedon still had not given him any of the Hulk's lines.[15] Whedon later explained that he writes the Hulk's dialogue spontaneously, saying, "What makes the Hulk so hard to write is that you're pretending he's a werewolf when he's a superhero. You want it vice versa. You want to see him, Banner doesn't want to see him, but you don't want Banner to be that guy who gets in the way of you seeing him. So the question is, how has he progressed? How can we bring changes on what the Hulk does? And that's not just in the screenplay, that's moment to moment."[16]
- The leader of the Avengers[3][5] and 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.[17][18] Describing his character's place in the film, Evans said, "He's still looking for a home, probably a metaphorical home. He's always felt comfortable as a soldier. And he likes structure. He works well taking orders. But when that dynamic turned on him, he's now left to depend upon his team, the Avengers. There really is no one above them telling them what to do. They're kind of having to operate independently. So there's a lot of leaning on one another, but there really isn't a kind of clear chain of command. And I think Cap looks for that. I think he's looking to understand where he belongs, not just as a soldier, as Captain America, but as Steve Rogers, as a person."[10] Evans said that he was able to maintain the strength he built up for Captain America: The Winter Soldier by working out up to an hour a day. Evans said, "...you pull the plug about two to three weeks before you wrap. When you see the finish line coming, you are so glad to not have to think about the gym. But we are starting Avengers 2, so over the past month, I have been hitting it pretty hard."[19] Regarding Captain America's fighting style, Evans said, "You just can't be Jason Bourne. We gotta see this guy do stuff that's like, yeah, he deserves a spot on this squad. In [Winter Soldier] he's pinballing off of jets and doing unbelievable things. I don't wanna take a step back, so we gotta make sure that he's continuing training. His fight style needs to advance a little bit. I don't wanna go full Bruce Lee, but there needs to be more than just haymakers and fun kicks. There needs to be a consistent display of strength. Utilize your environment in a way that's like, 'That's right, he can pick up a motorcycle with one hand...'"[20]
- An Avenger who formerly worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. as a highly trained spy.[21] Producer Kevin Feige stated that more of the character's backstory is explored in the film.[22] Johansson elaborated, "In Avengers 2 we go back... we definitely learn more about Widow's backstory, and we get to find out how she became the person you see. All of these characters have deep, dark pasts, and I think that the past catches up to some of us a little bit."[23] On where the film picks up Widow's story, Johansson said, "At this stage, when you see the Widow, she's—especially in Avengers, these characters all have a past, and hers is a very complex one, where she's realizing—and it's kind of a continuation of [The Winter Soldier]—'I've never made an active choice. I'm a product of other people's imposition.' That's going to catch up with her. That's bound to have a huge effect. There's got to be a result of that realization... You'll see her actively making some choices in her life, for better or worse."[24] A mixture of close-ups, concealing costumes, stunt doubles and visual effects were used to help hide Johansson's pregnancy during filming.[25]
- An Avenger and master archer who previously worked as an agent for S.H.I.E.L.D.[26] Whedon said that Hawkeye interacts more with the other characters in the film, as opposed to the first film where the character had been "possessed pretty early by a bad guy and had to walk around all scowly."[27] As the character did not appear in any other of Marvel's Phase Two films, Whedon stated Age of Ultron sheds light on to what the character was doing since the end of The Avengers.[16] About the character, Renner said, "[Hawkeye] is kind of a loner anyway, and he's a team player only 'cause he sort of has to be. He's not really a company man. Captain America can be that guy. In [Age of Ultron] you'll understand why [Hawkeye] thinks the way he thinks."[20]
- Don Cheadle as James "Rhodey" Rhodes / War Machine: An officer in the U.S. Air Force and Tony Stark's close personal friend who operates the War Machine armor.[28][29]
- Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Pietro Maximoff / Quicksilver:
- The twin brother of the Scarlet Witch, who can move at superhuman speed.[30] About the character Taylor-Johnson said, "Him [sic] 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 because of a short attention span.[31] Feige stated exploring Quicksilver's relationship with his sister and his backstory growing up in Eastern Europe would help differentiate the character from Evan Peters' version in X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014).[32] Taylor-Johnson stated that the running style for Quicksilver went through multiple iterations, saying, "The running style we tested early on was just very one-dimensional and boring to look at, but if you try to do free running, like parkour, then that's very much Captain America's style... You have to find your own place in the stunt world."[5] Much of Taylor-Johnson's scenes were filmed outdoors to give "life" to his running, as opposed to running on a treadmill in front of a green screen.[33]
- The twin sister of Quicksilver, who can harness magic and engage in hypnosis and telekinesis.[30][34] Olsen said, "The reason she's so special is because she has such a vast amount of knowledge that she's unable to learn how to control it. No one taught her how to control it properly. So it gets the best of her. It's not that she's mentally insane, it's just that she's just overly stimulated. And she can connect to this world and parallel worlds at the same time, and parallel times."[34] Describing her character's mind control powers, Olsen said, "I am able to go into someone's head and they'd never see. I can feel and see what they feel and see. So it's not just me manipulating them. What I love about her is that, in so many superhero films, emotions are kind of negated a bit, but for her everything that someone else could feel—like their weakest moments—she physically goes through that same experience with them, which is pretty cool."[35] Olsen drew on her relationship with her older brother and her sisters to prepare for the role,[34] as well as looking to the comics for inspiration.[5] Olsen revealed that Whedon was inspired by dancers as a way to visually represent how the character moves. As such, Olsen mostly trained with a dancer in lieu of traditional stunt training.[36] Olsen is signed for this film and another.[33]
- Paul Bettany as J.A.R.V.I.S. and Vision:
- Bettany, who voiced J.A.R.V.I.S., Stark's A.I. companion in previous films, was cast again as the Vision,[37][38] an android created by Ultron.[39] About the casting, Bettany said, "I got a call on a Friday night from Joss going 'Do you want to be the Vision?' I can't explain the amount of luck that went into that. And frankly for ages, because I understood once you were one character in a Marvel series and never another, I understood that was my thing. I'd be J.A.R.V.I.S. and get my bag of cash and go."[40] On what intrigued him about the Vision, Bettany said, "The thing that appealed to me is that this sort of nascent creature being born, being both omnipotent and totally naive, the sort of danger of that and complex nature of a thing being born that is that powerful and that created in a second and the choices he makes morally are really complex and interesting. They've really managed to maintain all of that".[40] Bettany also stated that the Vision feels paternal and protective to a number of people in the film, particularly Scarlet Witch, and has the ability to change his density. Bettany did wire work for the part.[40] Whedon stated he wanted to include the Vision before he signed onto the first film, explaining, "I said, 'Well, I don't know if I'm right for this or if I want it or you want me, but in the second one, the villain has Ultron [sic] and he has to create the Vision, and then, that has to be Paul Bettany.'"[16]
- A former high-ranking S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who now works for Stark.[41][42][43] Describing Hill's situation in the film, Smulders said, "I think, you know, after [Captain America: The Winter Soldier]...you're sort of left a bit shell shocked, and I think we're coming into this movie where we don't really know who's a good guy and who's a bad guy and she's trying to figure out that throughout this film." She added, "She's not getting any sleep. She's doing all the work. She doesn't have the kind of manpower that she had in S.H.I.E.L.D."[44] Elaborating on this, Smulders later said, "She's working for Tony Stark, yes, but they shot so many locations all over the world and this team is out doing all sorts of things. So I like to think that Maria is at headquarters, trying to keep everything running as smoothly as possible. And working for Tony Stark is a whole other ballgame. She doesn't have S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel to back her up at her disposal, so it's an entirely different vibe for her."[45]
- A pararescueman trained by the military in aerial combat using a specially designed wing pack and a friend of Steve Rogers.[46] Discussing the relationship between Wilson and Rogers, Mackie said, "With Falcon and Cap, what's so great is there's a mutual respect. There's a soldier respect. What's great about Age of Ultron and [Captain America: Civil War] is you get to see their relationship grow."[47] Feige said, "We designed the new Falcon costume for [the later film] Ant-Man. Which we then reshot for [the final scene of] Age of Ultron because we had shot ... originally in the old Falcon outfit."[48]
- Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter: A retired officer with the Strategic Scientific Reserve and a co-founder of S.H.I.E.L.D., who is a former love interest of Steve Rogers.[49]
- Idris Elba as Heimdall: The all-seeing, all-hearing Asgardian sentry of the Bifröst Bridge, based on the mythological deity of the same name.[50]
- Linda Cardellini as Laura Barton: Hawkeye's wife.[51][52]
- Stellan Skarsgård as Erik Selvig: An astrophysicist and a friend of Thor.[53]
- James Spader as Ultron:
- An artificial intelligence repurposed by Tony Stark and Bruce Banner for a pilot peace program that is overwhelmed with a god complex, and now desires to pacify the Earth by eradicating humanity.[39][54][55][56][57][58] Director 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.[59] Feige clarified, "We'll be capturing his face and his body to create a whole performance... We did not hire James Spader to do a robot voice."[60] Extensive scans were taken of Spader's head and body in preparation for the role.[61] 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."[62] Whedon added that Ultron is "not a creature of logic—he's a robot who's genuinely disturbed. We're finding out what makes him menacing and at the same time endearing and funny and strange and unexpected, and everything a robot never is."[63] Whedon compared Ultron to Frankenstein's monster, saying, "It's our new Frankenstein myth [...] We create something in our own image and the thing turns on us. It has that pain of 'Well, why was I made? I want to kill Daddy.'"[64] Spader called the character "self-absorbed" and added, "I think he sees the Avengers as being part of a problem, a more comprehensive problem in the world. He sees the world from a very strange, [biblical] point of view because he's brand new, he's very young... He's immature, and yet has knowledge of comprehensive, broad history and precedent, and he has created in a very short period of time a rather skewed worldview."[65]
- The former director of S.H.I.E.L.D. who originally recruited the Avengers and continues to be a mentor and leader for the team.[57][66] Jackson described the role as a cameo, saying, "I'm just kind of passing by there ... Because, it's another one of those 'people who have powers fighting people who have powers'. That's why I didn't get to New York in The Avengers. There's not a lot I could do except shoot a gun."[67]
Production
Development
"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."
—Joss Whedon, director of Avengers: Age of Ultron, on balancing the film's accessibility and continuity.[76]
At the premiere of The Avengers, Feige said the studio had an option for Whedon to return as director.[80] In May 2012, after the successful release of the first film, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced a sequel was in development.[81] 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 expired after Iron Man 3.[82]
At the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con International, 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."[83] However in August 2012, Iger announced that Whedon would return to write and direct the sequel and develop the Marvel television series, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., for ABC.[84] Later in the month, Disney set a May 1, 2015 release date.[85] When 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."[86] Whedon said that they intended for the film's production to not be as rushed as the first one.[87]
In December 2012, Whedon stated that he had completed an outline for the film.[88] In February, at the 2013 Jameson Dublin International Film Festival, Whedon said that death would play a theme in the sequel,[89] and in March, he said that he looked to The Empire Strikes Back and The Godfather Part II as inspirations.[90]
Feige revealed that Captain Marvel, who is scheduled to appear in her own MCU film in 2018, appeared in an early draft of the screenplay, but was removed since the character had not yet been cast, saying, “It didn't feel like the time. We didn't want to introduce her fully formed flying in a costume before you knew who she was or how she came to be.”[91] Whedon went so far as to shoot visual effects plates for Captain Marvel to fly into Avengers Tower at the end of the film; those shots were reused, however, for Scarlet Witch instead.[92]
Pre-production
By April 2013, filming was scheduled to begin in early 2014 at Shepperton Studios in England.[93] At the Hollywood premiere of Iron Man 3, Whedon said that he had completed a draft of the script, started the storyboard process, and met with actors. Whedon also mentioned that he wrote with Downey in mind and included a "brother/sister act" from the comic books,[94] later confirming that he was referring to Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch.[95][96] Whedon explained his rationale for including the characters in the film saying, "Besides the fact that I grew up reading them, their powers are very visually interesting. 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."[97] Whedon later elaborated, "I fiercely dislike the idea of just throwing in more people for the sake of doing that. Last time I had all of Earth's Mightiest Heroes versus one British character actor, and I needed more conflict."[63] Whedon stated that the twins allowed him to add more conflict: "They don’t like America, and they don't like the Avengers... The Avengers are like a world power, and not everybody’s on board with the Avengers coming in and starting fights, even in the name of justice. So you need that dissenting voice, and you need to understand it and sympathize with it."[33] Because Marvel Studios shares the film rights to Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch with 20th Century Fox and had to avoid conflict with Fox's X-Men films, Whedon was able to introduce two major characters into the Marvel Cinematic Universe completely on his terms for the first time. "It allowed me to tie their origin into the mythos of this [Marvel Studios] universe more effectively," said Whedon. "It’s more useful to me than introducing the idea of mutants."[33] Whedon relished at the storytelling opportunities by introducing a character with telekinesis powers, saying, "[Scarlet Witch] can make you have a nightmare, is one way of putting it. 'Trip balls,' would be another one. That was something I very much wanted, because it meant we could spend a little time inside the Avengers’ heads—either their past or their impressions of what’s going on, or their fears, or all of the above. And confronting that is very debilitating for the Avengers, but it’s also kind of revelatory. That’s not the movie I made last time. I could never have done that.”[33] By May, Downey had entered negotiations to extend his contract with Marvel Studios and reprise his role as Iron Man in the film.[98] A month later, Downey signed on to return for the then-untitled Avengers sequel, as well as a third Avengers film.[6]
Whedon promoting the film at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con International.
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."[104] Commenting on finding the right balance between technology- and fantasy-based heroes in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Feige said "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."[105]
Casting continued into August 2013, with the announcement that James Spader would play Ultron.[54] In November, Marvel confirmed that Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson would play the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, respectively.[30] Taylor-Johnson had been in negotiations since as early as June,[106][107][108] while Olsen's potential involvement was first reported in August.[109][110] By the end of the year, Mark Ruffalo,[11] Chris Evans,[17] Samuel L. Jackson,[66] Chris Hemsworth,[8] Scarlett Johansson,[21] Jeremy Renner[26] and Cobie Smulders[41] were confirmed to be returning to their roles from the first film, and Don Cheadle, who portrayed James Rhodes in the Iron Man films, had committed to a part in the film.[28] In the early months of 2014, Thomas Kretschmann was cast as Baron Wolfgang von Strucker,[68] Claudia Kim was cast in an unspecified role,[111] and Paul Bettany, who voiced J.A.R.V.I.S. in previous MCU films, was cast as the Vision.[38] Whedon said "juggling" all the characters in the film was "a nightmare" explaining, "They’re very disparate characters. The joy of the Avengers is they really don’t belong in the same room. It’s not like the X-Men, who are all tortured by the same thing and have similar costumes. These guys are just all over the place. And so it’s tough. Honestly, this is as tough as anything I’ve ever done."[112]
On January 24, 2014, 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 other locations in Aosta Valley including Aosta, Donnas, Bard, Pont-Saint-Martin, and Verrès.[113] The next month, the Gauteng Film Commission announced that action sequences would be filmed in Johannesburg, South Africa and other locations in Gauteng, beginning in mid-February.[114] A few weeks later Marvel announced that portions of the film would be shot in South Korea. Feige cited the nation's "cutting-edge technology, beautiful landscapes and spectacular architecture" as ideal for the film.[115] Gyeonggi Province and its capital, Seoul were selected as filming locations with South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism reimbursing up to 30% of the studio's expenditures, as part of a state-funded incentive program.[111]
Filming
Members of the Korea Film Commission and executives from Marvel Studios signing a memorandum of understanding in Seoul in March 2014 with actress Claudia Kim (center) in attendance.
On April 8, shooting began in the Hawley Woods in Hampshire, England.[126] In mid-April, Hayley Atwell, who played Peggy Carter in previous MCU films, was on set at the Rivoli Ballroom in London to film a 1940s flashback sequence.[49] In mid-June, scenes were shot at the University of East Anglia in Norwich and at Dover Castle in Kent,[127][128] while in July, filming took place at a training facility for London’s Metropolitan Police Service, which doubled as a city in Sokovia.[10][33] Additional filming took place in Chittagong, Bangladesh, including the Chittagong Ship Breaking Yard[129][130] and in New York.[131][132] On August 6, Whedon announced on social media that he had completed principal photography on Avengers: Age of Ultron.[133]
Cinematographer Ben Davis, who also worked with Marvel on Guardians of the Galaxy, shot the film with a main unit of three Arri Alexa cameras. Davis said, "Although the Alexa was Marvel's preferred camera, we weren't locked into that choice from the start. What wasn't negotiable was the fact that we were shooting digital: that's how Marvel shoots all of its films." Davis also used Blackmagic Design's Pocket Cinema Cameras to meet the needs of the second unit kit explaining, "The second unit typically needs a fleet of smaller cameras that are less expensive and are rugged enough to handle the various trials by fire, as it were, that we throw at them."[134] About the camera system, Whedon said, "We shot this movie very differently [from the first film]. I was running a lot of cameras, I was shooting long lenses, which I don't usually do," and that he aimed to shoot the film almost like a documentary.[112] To create the scenes depicting how Quicksilver views the world, scenes were shot with an ultra-high-speed camera and later combined with scenes of Taylor-Johnson running through the same frame at regular speed.[33]
Post-production
The original shot (top) of the new Avengers training facility and the completed shot (bottom) with CG interiors created by Method Studios.[135]
In May 2015, Whedon revealed he conflicted with Marvel executives and the film's editors on certain scenes in the film. The executives were not "thrilled" with the scenes at Hawkeye's farm or the dream sequences the Avengers experience because of Scarlet Witch. Also, Whedon had originally shot a much longer scene with Thor and Selvig in the cave, compromising with including a reduced amount of the total footage shot, as test audiences did not respond to it.[140] In the scene, Thor would be possessed by a Norn, a goddess of destiny, while Selvig would quiz her about Thor's hallucination.[141][142][143] Additionally, Whedon reiterated he had wanted to include Captain Marvel and Spider-Man at the end, but deals for each character (signing of an actress and a deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment, respectively) were not completed in time for their inclusion.[140]
The film contains 3,000 visual effects shots,[144] completed by ten different visual effects studios, including Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), Trixter, Double Negative, Animal Logic, Framestore, Lola VFX, Territory, Perception, Method Studios, Luma Pictures and The Third Floor.[145] ILM opened a facility in London, citing Avengers: Age of Ultron as a catalyst for the expansion,[146] and developed a new motion capture system for the film called Muse, which can better capture an actor's performance and combine different takes.[147] About the motion capture process, Ruffalo said, "We've done a lot more with the motion capture. And because the face capture and the motion capture can now be put together, you get a lot more latitude as a performer... instead of it just being basically a placeholder for CGI, it becomes more of a collaboration. And the actor really can add performance to it. Now the technology is taking another step forward... a lot of importance is put on the first unit, but now they're starting to look at motion capture in a equal sort of way... And so I see the motion capture as this incredible new place for us to go in performance that we never had before that's kind of a puppeteering. You know, you're no longer constricted by the attributes that you have as a person: your age, or weight, or size. None of that matters anymore. And so there's this whole exciting place to go that is kind of unknown."[15]
Method Studios created the interior of the new Avengers training facility by digitally designing the training facility, extracting the characters from the original set and placing them into the new CG environment. Method also contributed to Iron Man’s new Mark 45 suit and played a key role in creating Scarlet Witch's CG mind control effect.[135]
Following the trend in recent years, most of the computer screens in Stark’s lab, Dr Cho’s laboratory, the Quinjet and other locations in the film weren’t added in post production but were actually working screens on set, adding to the realism of the film and saving some on the post production budget. London-based Territory Studio delivered the screen visuals filled with unique imagery and animations that matched the character using them.[145]
Music
Main article: Avengers: Age of Ultron (soundtrack)
In March 2014, Brian Tyler signed on to compose the film's score, replacing the composer for the first film, Alan Silvestri, while also marking his third film collaboration with Marvel following Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World in 2013.[148] Tyler stated that the score pays homage to John Williams' scores for Star Wars, Superman, and Raiders of the Lost Ark and references the scores for the Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America
films in order to create a similar musical universe, saying, "That’s
the goal for sure. You have to build in nostalgia and do it upfront so
you can relate to it."[149] Danny Elfman also contributed music to the score,[150] using Silvestri's theme from the first film to create a new hybrid theme.[151] Hollywood Records released the album digitally on April 28, 2015, and in physical formats on May 19.[152]Release
Renner arriving at the world premiere of Avengers Age of Ultron.
In September 2014, TNT acquired the US cable broadcast rights, for broadcast two years after its theatrical release.[162] On March 4, 2015, ticket pre-sales for the film began. Variety noted, "The two-month gap between advance sales and the release is much wider than normal and reflects the heavy fan anticipation for" the film.[163]
Marketing
At the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con International, Whedon introduced a teaser trailer for the film, which included a look at an Ultron helmet and a title treatment.[164] Footage of the teaser, as well as a brief interview with Whedon, was made available as part of Iron Man 3 's second screen companion app for its Blu-ray release on September 24, 2013.[165][166] On March 18, 2014, ABC aired a one-hour television special titled, Marvel Studios: Assembling a Universe, which included a sneak peek of Avengers: Age of Ultron.[167] The special debuted concept art for Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, as well as art of the Hulk fighting the "Hulkbuster" Iron Man suit.[168][169] Harley-Davidson partnered with Marvel to provide their first electric motorcycle, Project LiveWire, for use by Black Widow in the film.[170] At the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con, the cast was introduced to promote the film, along with screening footage from the film.[171] Avengers: Age of Ultron received the second most amount of social media mentions at the convention, following Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, but had a higher intend-to-see response.[172] Marvel's "Avengers: Age of Ultron" – Teaser Trailer (OFFICIAL) The use of the song "I've Got No Strings" from Pinocchio (1940) was lauded by critics.[173][174][175] |
In November 2014, ABC aired another one-hour television special titled Marvel 75 Years: From Pulp to Pop!, which featured behind the scenes footage of Age of Ultron.[182] Also in November, an extended trailer debuted on Samsung Mobile's YouTube channel, featuring product placement for various Samsung devices.[183] In December 2014, additional behind the scenes footage was released as a special feature on the Guardians of the Galaxy BIu-ray, highlighting the various filming locations for the film.[132][184] Also in the month, ABC announced that an episode of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. would tie-in to the events of the film.[185] The episodes "The Frenemy of My Enemy" and "The Dirty Half Dozen" feature "Easter eggs, plot threads and other connective tissue leading into the opening scene of Avengers: Age of Ultron" while "Scars" explores the aftermath of the film.[186]
In January 2015, a featurette focusing on Ultron was shown at Samsung's "Night With Marvel" event at the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show (CES).[187] Also at CES, Samsung revealed a selection of hardware inspired by the Avengers films, as well as a simulation of Avengers Tower via its Gear VR virtual reality device.[188][189] A second trailer premiered on ESPN on January 12, 2015 during the broadcast of the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship.[190] Mendelson enjoyed the trailer, but wished it did not reveal as many story elements as it did. However, he added, "the marketing thus far [for the film] has been far superior to much of what sold The Avengers three years ago, both in terms of the specific footage and the artistic choices being made... I'm sold, and I imagine most of the general moviegoers are already onboard too."[191]
On February 3, 2014, Marvel "stealth released" a one-shot tie-in comic, Avengers: Age of Ultron Prelude—This Scepter'd Isle. Written by Will Corona Pilgrim and illustrated by Wellinton Alves, it reveals how Strucker came into possession of Loki's scepter and the origin of the Maximoff twins' abilities.[192] At the end of the month, the film's official poster was revealed. Graeme McMillian of The Hollywood Reporter criticized it for its lack of originality, calling it "pretty much the poster for the first Avengers movie, except with added flying robots in the background" and the fact that it incorporated many of the same tropes the other MCU Phase Two film posters did. These included: the hero(es) staring off camera; destruction in the background as well as something occurring in the sky; and poor Photoshop on the poster, highlighting the fact that "Each of the shots have been taken in isolation and then composited together later, but in such a way that your eye can tell that none of these people were in the same place at the same time." McMillian concluded, "Marvel’s posters weren’t always like this; the posters for [many of the Phase One films] are more traditional in their layout and, interestingly, brighter in both tone and color. It’s possible that the grim, muted nature of everything that followed was intentional for the [Phase Two] era of the studio, and that we’ll see something else as we head into [Phase Three], but if not, let’s hope that Avengers: Age of Ultron will prove to be an end to this era of increasingly generic, boring posters."[193] Mendelson agreed with many of McMillian's observations, and called the poster "hilariously photoshopped".[194]
The final trailer was "unlocked" by fans on March 4, 2015, via the use of hashtags on Twitter, ahead of its broadcast debut during the series premiere of American Crime on March 5.[195] Mendelson felt "this [was] a fine final trailer, teasing what we already know, hinting at the scale and a few new action beats without telling us much we don’t already know" adding, "Here we have the fourth and final Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer and we don’t know all that much about what transpires in a moment-to-moment sense in the finished 150-minute feature. I have expressed my concern dating back to October that Marvel and Disney would release too many trailers and would by default give away too much plot and character information between October and May. But if this really is the final Avengers 2 trailer, then at least on the trailer front they have kept the film relatively unspoiled."[196] A week after the final trailer debuted, Marvel revealed that the trailer had "smashed records" with over 35 million views.[197]
In April 2015, members of the cast presented Downey with the MTV Generation Award at the 2015 MTV Movie Awards, along with debuting an exclusive clip from the film.[198] On April 27, Downey and Renner along with executives from Marvel Entertainment rang the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange in celebration of the film's theatrical release.[199]
Merchandise
In January 2015, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Traveller's Tales announced a Lego video game adaptation of the first film and Age of Ultron for release in late 2015 on a variety of video game consoles.[200] In March 2015, Disney said it planned to broaden its merchandising strategy with Avengers: Age of Ultron by expanding the target demographics to women and to fans of the individual superheroes that make up the Avengers. Paul Gitter, senior vice president of Marvel licensing for Disney Consumer Products, said, "For the first film, we primarily focused on the Avengers property and the group shots... Now we're broadening the line and scope to create skews that focus on the team and the individuals characters, as well." Disney Consumer Products partnered with Hasbro, Lego, Hot Wheels and Funko for action figures, playsets and other toys, and with Under Armour for apparel. Disney established new partnerships in the food and packaged-goods categories, including with Sage Fruit, ConAgra, Crunchpak and Chobani.[201] Walt Disney India's consumer products partnered with 50 brands to promote the film in India, considered the highest ever for any film—Hollywood or Bollywood—released in India (the previous record held by Ra.One had 25 partners). Some of the brands include Amazon India, toy retailer Hamleys India, online fashion store Myntra, Hero Cycles, Mountain Dew, Liberty Shoes, Tupperware, and Subway restaurants among others.[202]Home media
Avengers: Age of Ultron will be released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on digital download on September 8, 2015 and on Blu-ray and DVD on October 2, 2015.[203] The film will also be collected in a 13-disc box set titled "Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Two Collection" which includes all of the Phase Two films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It is scheduled for release in late 2015.[204]In July 2015, Whedon commented on the potential for releasing "a director's cut" of the film:
It has always been my ambition never to do a director's cut of anything, and always to make the movie with the studio that we both want to make. Ultron was very complex. There was a lot of back-and-forth. My instinct is no... I don't think there's interest in it, right now. You'll see a bunch of stuff on the DVD in extras that were meant to be there. But the narrative came together very close to the way that I hoped it would, and I don't think it needs me to constantly tweak it. I feel you put something out, and there it is... If I tell a story, I want that to be the story I told. Ultron may have some transitions that I'm not 100% on board with. It's also one of the most ridiculously personal things I've ever put on screen. The fact that Marvel gave me that opportunity and supported it, I'm very happy and very proud of everybody that worked on it. I don't feel the need to go in and fix. I feel like, there she is.[205]
Reception
Box office
As of July 26, 2015, Avengers: Age of Ultron has grossed $456.6 million in North America and $939.3 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $1.396 billion.[2] It is the sixth highest-grossing film of all-time as well as third highest-grossing 2015 film.[206][207] Avengers: Age of Ultron 's worldwide opening of $392.5 million is the fifth-largest ever.[208] The film set a worldwide IMAX opening-weekend record with $25.2 million (previously held by The Dark Knight Rises) and also broke the record for the fastest movie to make over $40 million in IMAX theaters, doing so in 12 days.[209] According to some analysts, the opening weekend box office gross was lower than expected because of the weekend's featured boxing match between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.[210]On May 15, 2015, Avengers: Age of Ultron became the twenty-first film in cinematic history, the third Marvel Studios film and the eighth film distributed by Disney to cross the $1 billion threshold at the box office.[211]
North America
Avengers: Age of Ultron earned $84.46 million on its opening day, marking the biggest opening day for a superhero film and the second-biggest opening and second-biggest single-day gross, behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 ($91.7 million). The film's Friday gross included $27.6 million from Thursday night, which began at 7 p.m., and was the sixth-highest ever for Thursday preview earnings and the highest among Marvel films.[212][213] In total, the film earned $191.3 million in its opening weekend, which was the third-highest of all time, behind The Avengers ($207.4 million) and Jurassic World ($204.6 million).[214] It also saw the second-highest IMAX opening weekend total with $18 million (behind The Dark Knight Rises), a record $13.5 million from premium large format theaters and the highest share for the first weekend in May, accounting for 85% of the top twelve box office total earnings (previously held by Spider-Man 3).[212][215] Of those in attendance the first weekend, 59% were male, 41% were female and 59% were over the age of 25.[212]In its second weekend, the film fell 59%, earning $77.7 million, which is the second-biggest second weekend gross behind The Avengers ($103 million).[216] It holds the record for the second biggest loss between first and second weekends with $113.6 million, only behind Deathly Hallows - Part 2 's $121 million loss between its first and second weekends in 2011.[217] As of July 12, 2015, it is the eighth highest-grossing film of all-time, and the second highest-grossing film of 2015.[218]
Outside North America
Avengers: Age of Ultron earned $200.2 million in its first weekend from 44 countries, opening in first in all, which was 44% above its predecessor's opening. Additionally, the film saw the largest non-China international IMAX opening of all-time with $10.4 million. The top earning countries were South Korea ($28.2 million), the UK ($27.3 million) and Russia ($16.2 million).[157] The film broke records in many countries, including: opening-day records in Mexico ($6.8 million), the Philippines ($1.6 million) and Indonesia ($900,000);[212][209][209][219] opening-weekend records in Mexico ($25.5 million), Russia and the CIS ($16.2 million), Hong Kong ($6.4 million) and the Philippines ($7.7 million); and highest opening weekend for a superhero film in the UK, Ireland and Malta ($27.3 million), Germany ($9.3 million), Sweden, Norway, and the Netherlands.[220][221][157]In the UK, where Age of Ultron was filmed, it earned $5.4 million on its opening day and $27.3 million during the weekend, setting an opening-weekend record for a superhero film, Marvel's biggest opening in Britain, the biggest April opening, the eighth-biggest debut.[222] It also set the best single-day earning for a Disney and superhero film with its $9.4 million haul on Saturday.[222][223] In South Korea, also where part of the film was shot, the film earned $4.9 million on its opening day and $28.2 through the weekend.[222][157] It held the record for an all-time advance ticket sales rate, accounting for 96% of tickets reserved, breaking Transformers: Dark of the Moon 's record of 94.6% in 2011, the widest release ever, across 1,826 screens, also breaking Dark of the Moon 's 1,420 screens, and the fastest imported film to surpass one million admissions, doing so in two days;[224] it topped the box office for three consecutive weekends,[225] and became the biggest Disney/Marvel release as well as the second biggest Western film in the country.[226] The Chinese opening scored the biggest weekday opening day of all time, as well as the biggest Disney/Marvel opening, with $33.9 million,[227] and the second-biggest six-day start of all time with $156.3 million (behind Furious 7) of which $17.5 million came from IMAX theaters — the biggest ever.[226]
As of July 12, 2015, it is the fifth highest-grossing film of all-time,[228] and the second highest-grossing 2015 film.[229] Additionally, the film's largest markets as of July 17, 2015 are: China ($240.1 million), South Korea ($80.5 million), and the UK, Ireland and Malta ($76.6 million).[230][231]
Critical response
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 74% approval rating with an average rating of 6.7/10 based on 274 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "Exuberant and eye-popping, Avengers: Age of Ultron serves as an overstuffed but mostly satisfying sequel, reuniting its predecessor's unwieldy cast with a few new additions and a worthy foe."[232] On Metacritic, the film achieved an average score of 66 out of 100, based on 49 critics, signifying "generally favorable reviews".[233] CinemaScore reported that audiences gave the film an "A" grade on an A+ to F scale.[212]Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter said, "Avengers: Age of Ultron succeeds in the top priority of creating a worthy opponent for its superheroes and giving the latter a few new things to do, but this time the action scenes don't always measure up."[234] Scott Foundas of Variety wrote, "If this is what the apotheosis of branded, big-studio entertainment has come to look like in 2015, we could be doing much worse. Unlike its title character, Age of Ultron most definitely has soul."[235] Writing for the Chicago Sun-Times and giving the film three-and-a-half out of four stars, Richard Roeper said, "Some day, an Avengers film might collapse under the weight of its own awesomeness. I mean, how many times can they save the world? But this is not that day."[236] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone wrote, "Age of Ultron is a whole summer of fireworks packed into one movie. It doesn't just go to 11, it starts there. [Joss Whedon] takes a few wrong turns, creating a jumble when the action gets too thick. But he recovers like a pro, devising a spectacle that's epic in every sense of the word."[237]
Conversely, Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times said, "Although this movie is effective moment to moment, very little of it lingers in the mind afterward. The ideal vehicle for our age of immediate sensation and instant gratification, it disappears without a trace almost as soon as it's consumed."[238] Scott Mendelson of Forbes said, "Avengers: Age of Ultron plays like an obligation, a box to be checked off on a list before all parties move onto the things they really want to do."[239] Manohla Dargis of The New York Times wrote, "This Avengers doesn't always pop the way that the first one sometimes did, partly because its villain isn't as memorable, despite Mr. Spader's silky threat."[240] Camilla Long of The Sunday Times remarked, "Two hours of boredom and boobs add up to a sorry basis for the new Avengers."[241] Much like the release of Guardians of the Galaxy, the film received mixed reviews upon release in China, due to poor translations. The translations, which were said to be too literal, were thought "to have been done by Google Translate."[242]
Accolades
| Year | Award / Film Festival | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice Movie: Sci-Fi/Fantasy | Avengers: Age of Ultron | Pending | [243] |
| Choice Movie Actor: Sci-Fi/Fantasy | Chris Hemsworth | Pending | |||
| Robert Downey, Jr. | Pending | ||||
| Choice Movie Actress: Sci-Fi/Fantasy | Scarlett Johansson | Pending |
Sequels
In October 2014, Marvel announced a two-part sequel to Age of Ultron, titled Avengers: Infinity War. Part 1 is scheduled to be released on May 4, 2018, with Part 2 scheduled for May 3, 2019.[244] Filming for Part 1 and Part 2 was initially scheduled to begin in late 2015.[139] In January 2015, Whedon said that it was "very doubtful" that he would be making the two films.[245] In April 2015, Anthony and Joe Russo were announced as directors for Avengers: Infinity War, while Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely will write the two-part film.[246][247] Both parts will be shot back-to-back, and filming is expected to begin in 2016.[248] They will be the first films shot entirely on the IMAX/Arri 2D digital cameras.[249]Downey,[250] Evans, Hemsworth,[251] Hiddleston,[252] Ruffalo,[253] Renner,[254] and Brolin are expected to reprise their roles as Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Loki, Hulk, Hawkeye and Thanos in the films.[255]
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