Avengers: Age of Ultron

Avengers: Age of Ultron is the upcoming sequel to The Avengers and the eleventh film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Plot
With S.H.I.E.L.D. destroyed and the Avengers needing a break from stopping threats, Tony Stark creates Ultron, a self-aware, self-teaching, artificial intelligence, who can assess threats and control Stark's Iron Legion. However, things quickly go awry when Ultron realizes that humans are the main enemy and sets out to eradicate them from Earth.

Cast

 * Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man
 * Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/Hulk
 * Lou Ferrigno as the voice of the Hulk
 * Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America
 * Chris Hemsworth as Thor Odinson
 * Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury
 * Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow
 * Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye
 * Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Quicksilver
 * Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch
 * Don Cheadle as James Rhodes
 * James Spader as Ultron
 * Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill
 * Thomas Kretschmann as Baron von Strucker
 * Paul Bettany as The Vision
 * Kim Soo Hyun as a to-be-confirmed character
 * Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter
 * Josh Brolin as Thanos
 * Andy Serkis as a to-be-confirmed character
 * Stan Lee as a to-be-confirmed cameo character

Development
In October 2011, producer Kevin Feige hinted at a sequel to The Avengers during the New York Comic Con stating, "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 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
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 began meeting 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 Tony Stark/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. That same month, Evans also revealed during D23 that the sequel will start filming in the first week of March 2014. Later in the month, USA Today reported that Samuel L. Jackson would reprise his role as Nick Fury. Also in August, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Marvel Studios was in negotiations with Elizabeth Olsen to play the Scarlet Witch. At the end of the month, Marvel announced that James Spader would play Ultron.

In September 2013, Chris Hemsworth and Scarlett Johansson confirmed they would be returning as Thor and Black Widow respectively, with Johansson mentioning that filming would begin in January. Also in September, extensive scans were taken of Spader's head and body in preparation for the role.

In October 2013, Samuel L. Jackson confirmed that Elizabeth Olsen had been cast as Scarlet Witch, while The Wrap reported that Aaron 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 would be reprising her role as Maria Hill. Also in November, Feige commented on finding the right balance between technology and fantasy heroes in Avengers: Age of Ultron, saying, "Iron Man is a very technological hero and 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 be shot in the United States.

In December 2013, USA Today reported that Don Cheadle would reprise his role as James Rhodes.

In January 2014, Thomas Kretschmann was cast as Baron 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 Part I], 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 other locations in Aosta Valley including Aosta, Donnas, Bard, Pont-Saint-Martin and Verrès. By the end of the month, filming was scheduled to take place in South Korea, with locations in Incheon and Seoul, and Kim Soo-hyun was cast in an unspecified role.

In February 2014, the Gauteng Film Commission announced that action sequences would be filmed in Johannesburg, South Africa and other locations in Gauteng, beginning in mid-February. Also in February, Paul Bettany, who voiced J.A.R.V.I.S. in previous MCU films, was cast as Vision.

Filming
Filming began on February 11, 2014 in Johannesburg, South Africa that commensed for two weeks. Additonal filming began at Fort Bard on March 22nd in Bard, Aosta Valley, Italy. Filming in South Korea began on March 30 on the Mapo Bridge, and continued through April 14th at various locations in Seoul. Filming in the Hawley Woods in Hampshire, England began on April 8th. Filming in the Rivoli Ballroom began in Mid-April. Filming as of June 1st has reached the half-way point. Filming at the University of East Anglia campus in Norwich, UK began on June 13th and concluded on June 16th. Filming at Dover Castle in Kent, UK started on June 17th and continued until June 23rd. Filming in London and Guildford, England started on June 24th.

Continuity and References to the Marvel Cinematic Universe

 * The repaired Stark Tower, now called Avengers Tower, appears.
 * The Chitauri Scepter appears. It first appeared in The Avengers and was seen briefly in the mid-credits scene of Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
 * Baron von Strucker appears. He first appeared in the mid-credits scene in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
 * Peggy Carter appears. She first appeared in Captain America: The First Avenger, has a cameo in Captain America: The Winter Soldierand appeared in her own One-Shot and spin-off series.
 * Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch appear. They first appeared in the mid-credits scene in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
 * Thanos appears. He first appeared in the mid-credits scene of The Avengers and was featured in Guardians of the Galaxy.
 * James Rhodes appears. He previously appeared in Iron Man, Iron Man 2 and Iron Man 3.

Trivia

 * This film will mark the first Marvel Cinematic Universe appearance of Thor without Loki and Erik Selvig.
 * 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.
 * Coincidentally, Johnson's Kick-Ass co-star Evan Peters was cast as Bryan Singer's version of Quicksilver in X-Men: Days of Future Past.
 * Saoirse Ronan was considered to play Scarlet Witch. 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.
 * In the Title Reveal Teaser presented at Comic-Con 2013, Thor's dialogue "After all this time, why return now" has never been heard before the teaser was released. The dialogue for Iron Man, Captain America, Bruce Banner, Nick Fury, and Maria Hill was taken from "The Avengers" except Thor's. However, the dialogue is featured in a deleted scene in Thor: The Dark World.
 * 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 revealed 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!"  Kevin Feige, adding in October 2013: "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. We did not hire James Spader to do a robot voice".
 * This film will mark Robert Downey Jr. and James Spader's third collaboration together after both starring in Tuff Turf (1985) and Less Than Zero (1987).
 * Robert Downey Jr. and Joss Whedon spoke more about Ultron and Tony Stark in Entertainment Weekly stating: “What you said about abdication is apt, but I think it’s also about recognizing limitations,” Robert Downey Jr. says. “The downside of self-sacrifice is that if you make it back, you’ve been out there on the spit and you’ve been turned a couple times and you feel a little burned and traumatized.” with the article going on to explain that Stark does indeed create Ultron: For better or worse (trust us, it’s worse), Tony Stark has devised a plan that won’t require him to put on the Iron Man suit anymore, and should allow Captain America, Thor, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and the Hulk to get some much needed R&R as well. His solution is Ultron, self-aware, self-teaching, artificial intelligence designed to help assess threats, and direct Stark’s Iron Legion of drones to battle evildoers instead. The only problem? Ultron (played by James Spader through performance-capture technology) lacks the human touch, and his superior intellect quickly determines that life on Earth would go a lot smoother if he just got rid of Public Enemy No. 1: Human beings. “Ultron sees the big picture and he goes, ‘Okay, we need radical change, which will be violent and appalling, in order to make everything better’; he’s not just going ‘Muhaha, soon I’ll rule!’” Whedon says, rubbing his hands together. “He’s on a mission,” the filmmaker adds, and smiles thinly. “He wants to save us.”