Joss Whedon Is Making Avengers 2's Ultron Sound Awesome

[RossaLincoln]

Joss Whedon Is Making Avengers 2's Ultron Sound Awesome

Ultron is probably going to be a mentally ill robot with mommy/daddy issues, just like God intended.

With Captain America: The Winter Soldier an enormous hit, people are beginning to wonder when the Marvel Backlash is going to start. My money is on "not soon, unless Guardians is a terrible movie." But assuming Guardians of the Galaxy ends up being as awesome as we hope it is, another decent candidate for official start of the Marvel backlash is Avengers: Age of Ultron.

The sequel/attempt to capture lightning in a bottle a second time, currently under production [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/133185-Leaked-Avengers-Age-of-Ultron-Photos-From-Italy-Assemble-Online], is a big operation. It has the 7 of the 8 core characters from the first film (Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Captain America and Nick Fury), is adding James Rhodes/Iron Patriot, Vision, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, there's a good chance it'll also include Anthony Mackie as Falcon, not to mention supporting characters like Pepper Potts and Maria Hill, and that's not even getting into the fact that Baron Strucker appears early in the film before Ultron takes over as the main villain. That's... a lot to cram into two and a half hours.

Fortunately, most of the characters above have already appeared in several films, which means we can at least count on the audience to know why Tony Stark or Thor act the way they do. Not so Ultron, who is not only one of the less well-known villains from the comics, but is also being seen for the first time in Avengers 2. (Loki, on the other hand, was also the deuteragonist of Thor.) To ground a film overstuffed with characters around a relative unknown character, director Joss Whedon and his cowriters are going to have to get things exactly right. Fortunately, at least judging what said in an interview with Empire magazine, he's got the matter well in hand.

I'm having a blast with Ultron. He's 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.

This is... genuinely awesome. Ultron is a weird character to try and turn into a compelling villain. He's basically an obsessive stalker with a serious Oedipal complex who is also something like a living computer virus. His schemes, already crazy when he debuted in the 60s, get gradually more and more over-complex and insane until he eventually takes over the world while somehow living in the future. It is batshit insanity in the best possible way.

Whedon seems to get how absurd (in an awesome way) the character is, and that's a great sign, especially since Ultron is being portrayed by the great James Spader. So what say you, commenters? Does Whedon's comment sound like the right track? And while we're at it, how do you feel about Ultron generally? Sound off in the forums.

Source: Empire Magazine, via Badass Digest [http://badassdigest.com/2014/04/24/that-ultron-is-quite-a-character/].

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[Something Amyss]

Hey, Ultron's already a decent villain for the Avengers. If they can make him compelling and interesting on a personal side as well, more the gooder.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

To me the more I read about Avengers 2 the more I worry. Its just sounding too...Whedon. A little to in love with itself.
How best to put it...It sounds like the producers have already decided on our behalf that this movie is going to make a gazillion dollars so they told the Whedons to just do whatever. Don't bother keeping the tone or themes of the other Marvel movies, go full Michael Bay. Its not like those die hard Whedon fans aren't going to see this.
I guess my problem is that no matter what they do, its going to make SO much money that it won't matter if they put effort into it. They can make an Bay's Optimus Prime clone and still everyone in the world is going to see it. And I'm not sure anyone should be cut a blank check THAT big.

 

[Agayek]

To me the more I read about Avengers 2 the more I worry. Its just sounding too...Whedon. A little to in love with itself.
How best to put it...It sounds like the producers have already decided on our behalf that this movie is going to make a gazillion dollars so they told the Whedons to just do whatever. Don't bother keeping the tone or themes of the other Marvel movies, go full Michael Bay. Its not like those die hard Whedon fans aren't going to see this.
I guess my problem is that no matter what they do, its going to make SO much money that it won't matter if they put effort into it. They can make an Bay's Optimus Prime clone and still everyone in the world is going to see it. And I'm not sure anyone should be cut a blank check THAT big.

Eh, from everything I've heard about it, the one thing we definitely don't need to worry about is anyone phoning it in.

That's not to say it's guaranteed to be a good movie; after all, I could easily see this becoming a bit too "Whedon", for lack of a better phrase. Dude's almost certainly got all but absolute creative control, and some of his more annoying tendencies could easily run rampant since there's no one to stop him. I just don't think "well, we have all the money in the world, so fuck it we'll just make whatever" is going to be the result.

Edit:
Also, shame on you Escapist. I totally thought this article was gonna be about how they're doing fancy shit to Ultron's voice and that there'd be a soundbyte to show off about it.

Ah well, this is good news anyway.

 

[romxxii]

Wait, since when was Ultron ever an obscure villain? He's right up there with Loki and Kang on the Avengers' usual To-Do list.

Also, it's funny when people talk about the "Marvel backlash". You do realize we're nine movies in, right? Marvel's already had its sophomore slump -- in the form of Iron Man 2 and The Incredible Hulk -- and it's survived. They've got the action-comedy-superheroics formula down pat, the way Michael Bay knows how to distract the world with tits and explosions.

 

[Akiraking]

Same day we get an announcement about Cyborg for Man of Steel 2 (aka Superman vs Batman aka it is really Justice League ) we get some news about Ultron. At this rate they will reveal the new Batman suit at the same time they reveal Black Panther's movie (he better get one Marvel...please!!).

 

[ExtraDebit]

But........he doesn't even look like ultron. I don't mind they change the aesthetic but you have to change it so that it's realistic and make sense while at the same time with on look it's recognizable.

Same day we get an announcement about Cyborg for Man of Steel 2 (aka Superman vs Batman aka it is really Justice League ) we get some news about Ultron. At this rate they will reveal the new Batman suit at the same time they reveal Black Panther's movie (he better get one Marvel...please!!).

I disagree about a black panther movie, black panther just doesn't make sense as a concept, he was supposed to be from a secret advance city in africa, a continent with so much war and problem of its own and the only superhero there choose to help......americans? That just don't make SENSE!

Besides we already got Captain America, black widow and hawkeye....super heroes that doesn't have flashy super power. Black Panther would be a redundant that adds nothing to the story.

They don't need to add more heroes, what they need is more villains. Superheroes story is only as good as its villains, lex luther to superman, joker to batman, magneto to xmen etc.

 

[Nooners]

Also, it's funny when people talk about the "Marvel backlash". You do realize we're nine movies in, right? Marvel's already had its sophomore slump -- in the form of Iron Man 2 and The Incredible Hulk -- and it's survived. They've got the action-comedy-superheroics formula down pat, the way Michael Bay knows how to distract the world with tits and explosions.

Even those weren't really slumps. Those were more along the lines of, "The first one was better, but that wasn't too bad, I guess." What we're all dreading is the box office bomb that critics universally despise. The Batman and Robin, if you will. The one that risks the whole franchise.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Hm...it does sound like the cast of characters is getting perhaps a bit too big. The Hobbit suffers from this, in that the extra dwarves don't get much of a chance to shine. But, the fact that many of these character have already been established in other movies, this could possibly work.
Also, it's entirely possible that some of these characters won't be in the entire movie, or just have side rolls. Hill was barely in The Avengers, but she still came off well and as a good character. So it can be done.
Just...when Avengers 3 comes around, trimming the character roster might be a good idea. Maybe at the end, have every single surviving Avenger all appear on screen together, but let's try to keep things reasonable.

Still looking forward to this and Guardians of the Galaxy like no other.

 

[romxxii]

Spoiler: tl;dr -- Marvel's already had slumps.

Also, it's funny when people talk about the "Marvel backlash". You do realize we're nine movies in, right? Marvel's already had its sophomore slump -- in the form of Iron Man 2 and The Incredible Hulk -- and it's survived. They've got the action-comedy-superheroics formula down pat, the way Michael Bay knows how to distract the world with tits and explosions.

Even those weren't really slumps. Those were more along the lines of, "The first one was better, but that wasn't too bad, I guess."

Iron Man 2 still made money its lukewarm reception from critics. Compare to The Incredible Hulk, whose global box office returns [http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=incrediblehulk.htm] failed to exceed twice its budget. In industry terms, it lost money, and is definitely a box office failure. Thankfully, none of the succeeding Marvel movies have ever performed as poorly.

What we're all dreading is the box office bomb that critics universally despise. The Batman and Robin, if you will. The one that risks the whole franchise.

Critical panning won't do it; Even Iron Man 3's controversial plot points were nevertheless received well by majority of audiences and critics. IMHO, it's going to take a string of box office failures to take down the Marvel machine at this point.

The one with the biggest risk to really "blow it" from a financial standpoint, at the moment, is Guardians of the Galaxy. It's by far the biggest "risk" of the bunch to date, with a significant tonal shift compared to most of the other films, and it features folks who most audiences won't recognize in any form.

People forget that Iron Man was, at best, considered a third-string hero, and at worst, was unknown to anyone who hadn't picked up a comic. Yet here we are, nine films later, and he's headlining The Avengers. If GotG bombs, it's not because the "characters are obscure". More likely, it'll happen because, and I quote:

It'd be easy for them to botch it from a story standpoint, too, as some of the characters and cast are potentially off-putting.

Emphasis mine. If they fail to make it an engaging film, and fail to tap in to the knowledge they've acquired from making nine of these bad boys, then yes, it's possible that GotG will bomb.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

I feel they need to focus more on creating good villains now. So far the only recurring villains have been Loki and HYDRA agents, while everyone else has been offed in their respective films. The cast of heroes grows larger, but the villains get no such time to truly develop their motivations or become more threatening over time.

 

[Kameburger]

In all fairness to Whedon, I feel like this is the thing he is actually good at; juggling worlds with characters who are all too large for the same screen. It's why the avengers work and its why his TV shows work. Its all his ordinary characters that seem to be he most worthless cannon fodder. I don't know where that stems from but it sounds like he'll do ok with this. Taking Whedon on his own merits this is kind of his wheel house.

 

[JagermanXcell]

Just...when Avengers 3 comes around, trimming the character roster might be a good idea.

Lucky for you, Avengers 3's plot will be all about "trimming" the cast. What with the inevitable villain for that movie.

OT:
Ultron is already one of the more interesting Avengers villains. So knowing Joss will give him beefier depth than he already has is gonna be tons of fun! Maybe making him a sort of Nega-Tony Stark, snarking it up as he smacks heroes into the dirt letting them know how f***ed they are logically...

Ultron is no joke man, I cannot wait for his debut.

 

[TheMemoman]

I'm as cynic as you can get, thus the fartest from pledging allegiance to a brand or company. Just not so too long ago I was really jaded with how movies seemed cynical and calculated products for profit by CEO committees. I was through with movie theaters. But Marvel studios has really given me hope that some people make movies because they actually want to tell a story, to dazzle us with a marvelous yarn to spin. I can't but root for that spirit. Being somewhat of a geek and a nerd, but mostly a huge fan of creativity, I'm rooting for Marvel and Whedon to keep their hearts and brains brimming with passion to tell these wonderful stories of cosmos, courage and heroism.

I've never been much of a comic book guy, although I love to draw and write, but these movies ignited me curious about Guardians of The Galaxy, so I went back and read the whole 2008~9 to present run and it was fantastic. Seriously, it's some of the best, most endearing, dynamic, intelligent and clever storytelling I've found. I'm rooting for these guys so much. Not because I want to see a corporation make millions, or see a brand crush it's rival; I don't care for any of that: The more people telling good stories, the better for us all. I just want to see a movie that is engaging, fantastic, innovative and charming; made by people with passion, with a twinkle in their eye and their tongue firmly planted in their cheek.

These projects have rejuvenated the storyteller in me, they've brought me back to a place of gleeful, wide-eyed innocence where a film exists to tell a story that needs to be told by those who lovingly want to craft it. It's a childlike sense of wonder that I've long believed lost and I've recently recovered. How can I not root for these guys? These guys got me back to the movie theaters.

Also, James Spader as Ultron: Fuck yes. I'm on board.

PS: I had to look up "deuteragonist" and I'm so glad to have learned such a useful, fancy new word!

 

[elvor0]

Wait, since when was Ultron ever an obscure villain? He's right up there with Loki and Kang on the Avengers' usual To-Do list.

Lets be honest here, we're talking obscure from a mainstream point of view, and none of those villians were known to anyone before now. Heck I didn't know who Ultron was before now, and I consider my geek card pretty well stamped. I thought we were still on queue to have Thanos as the villian. (I read DC). Lokis only so popular because Tom Hiddleson propelled him into the limelight.

Heck before the age of Whedon, the only character with any recognition was Spider Man, and The Hulk and Spideys not even part of the Whedon-verse. People /may/ have heard of Captain America, but not in the good way. Even the villians rosters are going to be hithertoo unknown before now. The only villains people would've been able to name were The Joker and Lex Luthor, the mainstream public don't exactly have comics on the brain.

 

[Strazdas]

To me the more I read about Avengers 2 the more I worry. Its just sounding too...Whedon. A little to in love with itself.

if there is anything about Avengers 2 we dont need to worry about it is Whedon. Whedon was in love with sci-fi and comics throughout his career and he really has the talent to pull this off. He was finally given the chance to shine in big wig industry, and the result was best superhero movie of all time. So while it is hard to beat himself, phoning it in is certainly not going to be the case. not with Whedon on board.

The Batman and Robin, if you will. The one that risks the whole franchise.

Two words: Mr. Freeze. The rest of the movie can be whatever tud it was, Mr. Freeze alone is worth the watch.

 

[Daniel Ferguson]

Lucky for you, Avengers 3's plot will be all about "trimming" the cast. What with the inevitable villain for that movie.

Trimming in the Book/Wash sense?

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

Also its out on 24th April in the UK, and a week later in the US. Not sure why. Either way, only a year to go.