Whedon needs a healthy hiatus
Joss Whedon should have appeared enthusiastic. Many others did. A portion of Hollywood Boulevard was shut down Monday evening for the premiere of Whedon’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” as hordes of whooping fans lined the street.
Instead, the director seemed as much relieved as happy. After helming the first two “Avengers” installments, Whedon has opted not to return for the next movie, as Marvel this month announced that the Russo Bros. had been hired for the next two films.
“It’s a break, or a breakdown,” Whedon said, perhaps only half-joking about his decision not to come back. “I need to see who I am when I’m not working, because I have no idea.”
Unlike the cast of “Avengers” — which includes Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson — Whedon said he was unable to take time off to work on other projects between the first and second films.
“They all probably made, like, five other movies,” he said. “They come in and say, ‘I was here eight months ago. We’re doing the same scene? Great.’ It’s kind of surreal for them, but it’s immersive for me.”
Chris Hemsworth said playing Thor has allowed him to “have more choice in navigating [his] career.” And without those breaks to work on other films, he said, he doesn’t know if he’d be able to bring new dimension to the muscle-bound character.
“By the end of each film, you go ‘Now I understand it,’ and then by the next one, six months later, you go ‘Why did I do it like that?’ And you get another shot at it,” the actor said at the premiere. “You just try different things each time, and this time I wanted to make Thor more fun and less serious — less kingly and godly.”
Ruffalo, who plays the Hulk but has yet to have his own stand-alone film like “Thor,” said he also feels there’s much left for him to mine within the Marvel universe.
“It’s been interesting to keep finding different places in this character. I haven’t even cracked the surface yet,” said Ruffalo“I don’t feel locked into [the franchise].”
Which isn’t to say it’s always easy. With so many characters and plot lines, some in the cast said it can become difficult to keep things straight on set. Elizabeth Olsen — new to “Ultron” as the Scarlet Witch — admitted she sometimes had trouble staying “focused when they’re always rewriting a scene and you find out something has changed.”