Avengers 2: Age of Ultron Release Date, Cast & Plot News: Which Superhero Will See Less Screen Time?
The new "Avengers: Age of Ultron" is undoubtedly one of the most hotly anticipated films of 2015.
It features an all-star cast and is the follow-up to the hugely successful first installment released in 2012. The new film is expected to be bigger than ever, and by "bigger," it means more fan service. That includes new superheroes and a new villain.
Joss Whedon is a terrific filmmaker and he undoubtedly knows that more characters means more compromises. The first film managed to maintain a decent balance between all the major characters, and even then there were some superheroes that lacked the same depth. Hawkeye became somewhat of a bystander for most of the film, and actor Jeremy Renner had some choice words for his role in the film.
"At the end of the day, 90% of the movie, I'm not the character I signed on to play. I'm literally in there for two minutes, and then all of a sudden... All I could really work on was the physical part of it all, because that didn't change. That was just the biggest challenge to overcome in playing the guy. Also, we're pretty much introducing a new superhero character to everyone in a movie where there's a thousand superheroes," he told the Los Angeles Times in August regarding his role. "So there's not a lot of back story or understanding we can really tell about who Clint Barton is, or Hawkeye, and is he working for SHIELD or not. There's a lot of unanswered questions, even for me."
Whedon has since noted that he plans to expand on the character of Hawkeye in his new film, set to come out May 1, 2015. But he is also adding the Scarlet Which, Quicksilver and the Vision. That brings the total of Avengers heroes to nine. Is a film really capable of developing and analyzing the lives of nine superheroes? And, of course, it is essential to consider that the eponymous villain will also need ample screen time.
In the first Avengers film, Whedon utilized Loki as the main antagonist and then brought in an army of aliens that had no actual development in the story. On one hand, Loki was the perfect villain because he, like the main heroes, had already been given a film to establish his character. But on the other hand, the film was so crammed with characters that there was no time to give the aliens much else to do but fight.
This obviously cannot happen again and some characters will suffer on the screen. The recently released synopsis lists Iron Man as the first hero, followed by Captain America, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye.
Not to read too much into it, but Iron Man has always been the Marvel world's biggest asset from a financial standpoint. And Robert Downey Jr. could be on his way out from the world, so it might be time to give him as much time on screen as possible. Moreover, his nonchalant qualities make him the perfect character for comedic relief.
The same cannot be said for Thor or the Hulk. Thor's involvement in the first film hinged largely on his brother being the main villain. But with Loki out of the picture, it would be unsurprising if Thor's screen time diminishes.
The Hulk is a fan favorite, but he has been neglected by Disney over the years. Mark Ruffalo, the current actor playing Bruce Banner, has yet to get his solo film.
Captain America and the Black Widow are slowly growing in prominence in the Marvel Universe and they are likely to maintain their status in this film.
Which Marvel hero will see a dip in screen time in "Avengers: Age of Ultron?" Let us know in the comments section below.