Joss Whedon Is Making Avengers 2's Ultron Sound Awesome

[Schmeiser]

Would be cool if like 2/3 of the movie is only about ultron, don't even show our heroes just why is he so fucked up AND THEN EPIC FIGHTS ENSUE

 

[vid87]

I'm still looking forward to it, but, along with the character-cramming, that line about him possibly having mommy/daddy issues...worries me. I mean if he's got a good reason to be angry, fine, but I'm really hoping it's not something slapdash like "Nobody love me!" or "I'm a freak!" Come to think of it though, if that does end up happening, QS and SW will probably be the ones to talk him off the ledge so to speak.

 

[Anachronism]

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.

I am inclined to agree with you on this. Having Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk, Captain America, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Nick Fury, Maria Hill, the Vision, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver (plus possibly War Machine and Falcon) really runs the risk of overkill. Granted, the Twins will probably start off working for HYDRA and switch sides after Baron von Strucker gets defeated, but even then you have what sounds like two separate villain plots for him and Ultron. Bloat is a very real concern at this point.

It probably won't matter too much in the future, though. I think we can expect Iron Man and Cap to be phased out a bit in the next, well, Phase, since their contracts are almost up. That's when they need the B-listers like Ant-Man, Black Panther and the Guardians of the Galaxy to take off, so they can hold the franchise in the absence of the heavy-hitters.

And then they need to make a Runaways movie. Because Runaways.

 

[Knocker]

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.

You do know that every time Ultron has appeared, his look changed.

And while we are at it, if you are going to have Scott Lang as Ant-Man, can we get a glimpse of his daughter Cassie? You know, the girl who will be Stature. Then from there, I have two words, Young Justice.

 

[Sonicron]

Ultron is being portrayed by Alan Motherfucking Shore?!!

I want this movie to be released. Like, yesterday.

 

[Quiotu]

Truthfully I think Ultron will be fine, and I think they also have humble hopes when it comes to Guardians of the Galaxy. I think if it's a runaway success, they'll be surprised. They know it's a risk, and they're probably prepared if it doesn't do as good as the other movies. And to me it looks like they spent less money on big name actors and giant action shots in favor of keeping the budget down and making the movie 'feel' like what defines the comic.

Also, I had wondered how they were going to make another Hulk movie down the line, and why they waited so long to make another attempt (and I think it's happening after Avengers 2). I think the answer is in the plot of the Cap 2 movie. The Hulk was never going to run amok as long as SHIELD was around to keep and eye on him; they were always going to have several contingency plans if he lost control. Well... now SHIELD can't really watch him like that anymore, certainly not as well as they used to. This gives them an opportunity for Banner to be accosted much easier than before the big plot points in Cap 2. Banner might be mostly on his own now, and it sets the stage for him having to recklessly defend himself in another movie.

 

[TerribleAssassin]

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.

Spoiler

The return of HYDRA made my balls tingle in the new Captain America, well and truly.

OT: Age of Ultron has the potential to be the epitome of a singular universe media endeavor. But also, at worst, it could be good. Win/win for Marvel in all honesty.

 

[RossaLincoln]

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.

I didn't say obscure, I said relatively unknown. And I was, of course, speaking of moviegoers. I promise you that the vast majority of people going to see this movie won't really have a clue who Ultron is in the comics, and this will be his first appearance. As I said, Loki benefitted from being Thor's deuteragonist, so audiences were already familiar with him enough by The Avengers.

 

[medv4380]

Am I the only one, or is there anyone else who thinks we actually saw the origin of Ultron already?

Spoiler

The computer program that Arnim Zola made in TWS that predicts who will become a threat so that they can be killed before they become a threat sounds a lot like Ultron. If Tony's examining that program, and it infects Jarvis then that could be the flash point for the whole thing. I was hoping that the arm that keeps trying to kill Tony was actually Ultron, but this may do.

 

[Ieyke]

the same time they reveal Black Panther's movie (he better get one Marvel...please!!).

2018 or 2019, by my calculations, unless Marvel actually DOES amp up their release schedule to 3 or 4 movies per year, as Kevin Feige has speculated they might.

Am I the only one, or is there anyone else who thinks we actually saw the origin of Ultron already?

Spoiler

The computer program that Arnim Zola made in TWS that predicts who will become a threat so that they can be killed before they become a threat sounds a lot like Ultron. If Tony's examining that program, and it infects Jarvis then that could be the flash point for the whole thing. I was hoping that the arm that keeps trying to kill Tony was actually Ultron, but this may do.

No, that wasn't it. Ultron will almost certainly be a derivative of JARVIS.

And while we are at it, if you are going to have Scott Lang as Ant-Man, can we get a glimpse of his daughter Cassie? You know, the girl who will be Stature. Then from there, I have two words, Young Justice.

Young Avengers*

that line about him possibly having mommy/daddy issues...worries me.

Those issues are what pretty much define Ultron as a character. His mind is based on Hank Pym, for which he has an irrational hatred, and he's in love with/obsessed with the Wasp - Hank's girlfriend/wife who is kinda Ultron's "mom".
Ultron is a really fucked up robot.

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.

Bingo. Whedon has actually written a good bit of comics for Marvel. He originally wrote an awful lot of the Wasp into the first Avengers, and kept having to reel it in so he didn't go overboard because he loves writing for her character - so it's safe to say Whedon knows his Ant-Man/Wasp/Ultron material.
And Whedon's been writing and refining Avengers 2 since Avengers 1 came out. Nothing about this is remotely phoned in.

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.

Red Skull will be back.
Threads of Thanos have been building up since Thor, essentially.
The Mandarin and the Ten Rings have been building up since Iron Man.
The Kree are starting to pop up.
The Leader and the Hulkbusters are bound to show up in the Hulk sequel.

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.

A. That's probably an Ultron drone.
B. They've already said Ultron will change forms several times in the movie as he does his trademark upgrading to more powerful bodies.

 

[Something Amyss]

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.

Predicting the eventual downfall of a franchise is like predicting winter is coming. It's a safe and utterly unimpressive prediction that almost certainly will come true. It's very likely that people will eventually become disinterested in the Marvel movies. Bands will breakup, franchises will end, the price of stamps will soar ever higher....These aren't guarantees, but they are safe bets.

The most annoying part is that people will predict this for films to come--even if there are 500 successful Marvel films--and should the day come that they fail--even if it starts with the 501st Marvel film--people will act like they were freaking psychics.

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!

Panther spends a lot of time dealing with the issues of Wakanda. But if we're talking sense, isn't it amazing that most of the global threats are not only local to America, but New York specifically? If I had super powers, and 99% of the world domination attempts started in Cambodia, wouldn't you expect me to be showing up in Cambodia a whole lot?

Ultron is being portrayed by Alan Motherfucking Shore?!!

Yeah, but without Denny Crane, it won't be the same.

 

[Metalix Knightmare]

They had me sold on this when they cast Alan Shore as Ultron.

 

[SilverStuddedSquirre]

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.

Agreed, some people need to CHILL OUT!

We're talking about Joss Whedon. If there's anything he can get right, it's group dynamics. We are going to be fine here people.

I will also point out that no matter how hard a Marvel Movie tanks, there will always be DC movies, and Fox or Sony productions of Spidey and the X-men to make them seem awesome by comparison.

I doubt Marvel will flop too hard unless they decide to make X-Factor a thing. (Although, if they managed to do x-factor better than X-men I would Laugh myself literally to death.)

 

[Fappy]

So long as they have this line in the movie I will be happy:

Sounds like Joss is on the right track.

 

[Extragorey]

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.

Believe it or not, most producers are capable of seeing past their next paycheck. In fact, they often see two or three paychecks in advance. The point is, if The Avengers 2 sucks, then sure, it'll probably still make a killing, but they'll lose out big time on any subsequent Marvel movies, because less people will want to see them.
And I'm pretty sure they're going to milk the MCU cash cow dry and then some more before they think about stopping.

 

[romxxii]

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.

"Failed to exceed twice its budget" does not mean it lost money, nor does it mean that the movie was a failure. Typically a movie whose gross box office figures exceed its budget is deemed "successful", not a failure.

Er, nope. A movie that just exceeds its stated budget hasn't broken even yet, as there's the marketing to consider, along with the theater owners' take. That's roughly estimated as being the same as the production budget, hence twice the budget to just break even. That's why Pacific Rim wasn't considered a success until late into its run. Here are several articles that talk about these unpublished costs:

http://io9.com/5747305/how-much-money-does-a-movie-need-to-make-to-be-profitable
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/archive/index.php/t-428906.html

As for the rest of your argument re: Iron Man's popularity, he was third string compared to Spider-man, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Deadpool, Hulk, etc. Sure, Iron Man had his 1960's limited animation series like the rest of the Avengers. None of his succeeding solo TV shows were ever a hit. I don't even remember his Marvel Action Hour show, which I had to Google to find out only ran one season. Sure, you'd see him guesting in other characters' series, and in Marvel's occasional efforts to have an Avengers show. He still couldn't headline anything until RDJ made him a super-charismatic asshole.

 

[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.

I didn't say obscure, I said relatively unknown. And I was, of course, speaking of moviegoers. I promise you that the vast majority of people going to see this movie won't really have a clue who Ultron is in the comics, and this will be his first appearance. As I said, Loki benefitted from being Thor's deuteragonist, so audiences were already familiar with him enough by The Avengers.

Fair enough; I ended up arguing the same position for Iron Man re: his pre-Downey popularity (or lack thereof).

 

[Darth Rosenberg]

Wait a sec...

Can a thing - or any thing - be too Whedonesque?

...no. Some Whedonites saw The Avengers as dialing back the Whedon-ness, and I tend to agree. So if Whedon ups the Whedon-ness (Whedonism?) for Age Of Ultron, then I'm glad. His take on Ultron really does sound awesome. They knocked it out of the park with Loki, so they clearly know they need to make the next crossover/event villain memorably distinct as well.

However, it's dumb to somehow worry about Marvel Studios or Disney letting Joss run amok, as regardless how good his understanding of comics, the characters, and conflicted ensembles of found family might be, he's still just a cog in a big industry wheel. Thus far, it seems that Feige and co know just how much leeway to give directors and writers.

Joss is also too smart to allow his own ego to derail such a project.

I am a little concerned with how stuffed to the superhero gills AoU is looking. But barely anyone believed they could pull of The Avengers, so I'm just excited to see what they do with the next Event film - I trust the MCU, Marvel Studios, and definitely Joss.