There were plenty of jokes, lots of silliness and even a costume change at today’s press conference as director Joss Whedon, Elizabeth Olsen, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jnr, Chris Evans, Paul Bettany, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Scarlett Johansson sat down to talk about the Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Here’s our roundup of the best bits.
Robert Downey Jnr likes looking at himself in the mirror
To kick off, the cast were asked what they most looked forward to before starting work on an Avengers movie.
Downey Jnr gave the best answer: ‘Probably my first costume fitting. Me surrounded by many full-length mirrors.’
Want a serious answer? Here’s Ruffalo: ‘Coming back to the world and seeing where these crazy people that we’re playing are heading and knowing that Joss is going to take us there into his own twisted psyche.’
The Avengers are like family now. Aw.
Chris Evans summed it up: ‘Marvel does a great job of bringing the same people together not just in front of the camera but behind the camera.
‘Coming back together as a group it kind of feels like a family. Lots of familiar faces; it’s like a high school reunion.’
Scar-Jo wants a Black Widow film. Don’t we all?
‘Yeah, a Black Widow movie. That would be cool. I’m always happy to put the catsuit back on. Get in front of all those mirrors just like Robert. I’m an actor.’
Ultron was always going to be the villain
Whedon explained: ‘I said we should have Ultron on the second movie before I decided to make the first one.
‘He’s big, he’s powerful, he’s angry, he’s metal, he’s strong enough to take these guys on. He’s been so angry for so long, I think he might be a little unhinged and I can write that.’
Robert Downey Jnr needs frequent costume changes even during press conferences
He actually stopped the press conference after five minutes to change into a leather jacket and different glasses. True story.
There’s going to be a romance between Hulk and Black Widow – and everyone loves it
‘I liked seeing the intimate moments between Scarlett and Ruffalo,’ said Evans. ‘[It’s] kind of like a challenged relationship in a team of superheroes where you don’t get to see romance especially within the group.’
Taylor-Johnson agreed: ‘It was great to dive into Mark Ruffalo’s character, the Hulk, and see such a sensibility in that beast. It was quite an emotional journey in that film. ‘
Joss Whedon doesn’t think about the box office
‘If I had a key on my computer that said a billion dollars I would press it. I just try to write it as best I can. I don’t really think about those things.’
And that there’s still lots of mileage on the superhero genre. Lots.
‘The thing I loved about Marvel comics is the thing I love about what Kevin Feige is doing with the Marvel universe is that he approaches every movie as a completely new idea, as a movie of a particular genre which happens to have superheroes in in.
‘He’s not interested in creating a formula. He’s interested in creating a universe so as long as he can stay alive, which is probably I think a few months more, it has legs.’
He’s planning a nice long holiday after Avengers: Age of Ultron
‘After my long rest, I plan a longer rest and possibly an eternal rest.’
Paul Bettany, who voices J.A.R.V.I.S., is glad he’s finally physically on screen now as The Vision
‘It was lovely to be finally on set with a bunch of people I’m supposed to be working with for 10 years but I haven’t really met… It was a dream, honestly, everybody was so welcoming. They’re a bunch of really lovely, happy, well-paid actors.’
That post-credit scene with Spider-Man that’s leaked online? That’s fake.
Whedon said: ‘Yeah that’s not real. I don’t know where it started. It’s not part of the movie and I don’t know who came up with it.
‘I wanted to be clear that there’s no tag scene at the very end of the film because after sitting through 40 minutes of credits and not seeing anything, we thought people would become irate.’
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