As we move in for both Guardians of the Galaxy and SDCC, that means the Marvel Studios folks are out in full force. We’re expecting a lot of things to be said at SDCC this year regarding Avengers: Age of Ultron and it looks like the Comic-Con Preview issue of EW is doing just that. The cover has come out, which gives us our first full look at Ultron himself with the actors, as well as a few choice bits that have been released so far.
According to Robert Downey, Jr. in talking about how his character was after Iron Man 3, “What you said about abdication is apt, but I think it’s also about recognizing limitations. 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.”
The issue also gives us an idea of the plot to some degree, with the writer saying:
“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.””
Kevin Feige talks with IGN about where the team stands:
“Last time we saw Stark Tower, from The Avengers, it had gotten beat up a little bit thanks to Hulk and thanks to Loki and the Chituari, and Pepper and Tony were standing over a table looking at plans” he explained. “That’s where we pulled out and all the letters had fallen away except the ‘A’ in Stark. So what they were doing was retro-fitting for The Avengers. And that’s what we see in this next film.
“S.H.I.E.L.D. is gone – for people who are following along. S.H.I.E.L.D. was disbanded and brought down at the end of The Winter Soldier because it turned out to not be the best organisation ever. So Tony’s bank-rolling The Avengers now. And he’s bank-rolling their headquarters. So it’s now Avengers Tower.
“Tony designed it so in addition to a hanger for a brand-new Quinjet, laboratories, places where he can build and store his Iron Man suits, there are I believe two bars. Beautiful multiple space living rooms which are perfect for parties and social gatherings. But it’s a primary location in the film this time around.”
He also goes into some dialogue about the anticipated Hulkbuster sequence:
“There are a lot of scenes that you should be getting excited about” he explained. “That is certainly one of them. I think I said a long time ago when Joss [Whedon] first did his six-page or 10-page outline for Avengers, there was a lot of work and the movie’s adapted quite a bit since then, but there were like six or seven signature things just in that. I said ‘Joss, even if we don’t do anything else. Just do these seven things, that’s enough for the movie. Now let’s get to work and put it all together.’ Those things are in the movie and are amazing, of which that sequence is one.”
[Source: EW]