This afternoon Marvel Studios held a live Twitter chat with Avengers writer/director Joss Whedon and stars Clark Gregg, Tom Hiddleston and Samuel L. Jackson. The quartet answered some fan questions and dodged others about the upcoming superhero mashup and possible plans that Marvel has for future films before unveiling a ten-second preview of the thirty-second commercial for the film that will be unveiled on Sunday during the Super Bowl.
Among the things discussed in the twitter chat include-
- The number of Avengers comics Whedon had to read before starting work – “I had already read them all.”
- What version of The Avengers did Whedon look to inspiration – the classic stories or the more recent Ultimates version? – “It’s a combo platter: classic, Ultimate, plus a little “Richie Rich” & “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.”
- The possibility of seeing more background on Nick Fury in this film – “Not Yet” (Jackson)
- What about that rumored Spider-Man cameo? – “There is no Spider-Man cameo. But the Avengers do turn off the dark.” (Whedon)
- How much of the stunt work did the actors do? – “As much as the insurance company allowed. I prepped by working out a bit.” (Jackson)
- Can you enjoy The Avengers without having to see the other Marvel Cinematic Universe films? – “You don’t need to see any Marvel movies to enjoy Avengers! But you need to see Steel Magnolias, like, six times.” (Whedon)
- Is Loki looking for revenge for what happened to him in Thor? – “He doesn’t want revenge so much as identity. Belonging. Purpose. Self-esteem. Through delusional dreams.” (Hiddleston)
As for the clip itself, we get a few new glimpses of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), The Hulk (a motion-captured Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Captain America (Chris Evans), though it looks like there’s no Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). Not to worry though, as there’s still 20 seconds more to the commercial that we’ll get to see on Sunday, so he’s probably in there. As well as hopefully a better look at the alien space ships we can briefly see zooming through the Manhattan skyline.
